Ryan Divish
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
rdivish@havredailynews.com
Considering the tough courses and the tough competition, Havre High golf coach Karla Bolken found plenty to pleased with in her team's showing at Great Falls Invitational over the past two days.
"I think we played pretty well considering it was the first tournament of the year," Bolken said. "We've only had a week of practice. All of the kids identified things they needed to work on after the meet which was good to see."
The Pony boys team finished ninth in a field that featured mostly Class AA competition. Havre had team rounds of 323-321 for a two-day total of 644. Whitefish won the boys title with a two-day score of 588.
Individually, Anthony Wirtzberger and Brandon Job led the way with two-day scores of 159. Both were fairly consistent. Job shot 79 on Monday and 80, while Wirtzberger was the opposite with a first-day score of 80, while shooting 79 on Tuesday.
"Anthony and Brandon both shot pretty well," Bolken said. "They were pretty consistent. We had some 79s which is good for us. I really don't know if we have the players to go into the low 70s."
Matt Hedstrom fired rounds of 79-83 to finish with 162, while Chris Owens shot 166 and Sean Strand came in at 171. Owens rallied after a tough 87 on Monday to shoot 79 on Tuesday.
"Chris had a great second day," Bolken said. "It was his first varsity meet and it was good to see him bounce back on the second day."
The HHS girls team also had a solid showing, despite finishing 14th overall. Havre only suited up four players, so they were forced to use those four scores and didn't have a choice of using the scores of a fifth player.
The Ponies were led by Ali Ward, who finished with a two-day total of 192. However, it was a mildly disappointing finish for Ward. After shooting a first day 89, she was in the tournament top 10. But a second-round 103 knocked her out of individual contention.
Sophomore Stacey Sheppard was consistent, shooting a 102-103 for a two-day total of 205.
"Those are the best scores that Stacey has ever shot in a tournament," Bolken said. "She worked really hard this summer to improve."
Rounding out the Havre scorers were freshman Tabitha Beck with a 115-120 for 235 and sophomore Hailey McLain with a 114-128 for a 242. Bolken was impressed with Beck's performance, considering it was her first varsity meet.
"Tabitha was pretty nervous that first day, but she walked off the course smiling," Bolken said.
The individual scoring for the boys and girls might not have been ideal, but Bolken knew they weren't going to be great in the first meet.
"We struggled with our putting," she said. "It's entirely different putting on those greens than on our course. Those courses also have plenty of trees, which we aren't used to. But it was the first meet of the season. I think it went pretty well."
Havre will be heading to Lewistown on Friday for a one-day tournament at the Judith Shadows golf course.
Great Falls Invitational
GIRLS
Team scores
Whitefish 348-360 - 708, CMR 361-401 - 762, Bozeman 372-397 - 769, Helena Capital 383-402 - 785, Billings West 392-397 - 789, Billings Skyview 386-407 - 793, Billings Senior 392-409 - 801, Missoula Hellgate 399-404 - 803, Butte 387-432 - 819, Great Falls 396-429 - 825, Flathead 409-418 - 827, Lewistown 424-414 - 838, Missoula Sentinel 418-436 - 854, Havre 420-454 - 874, Missoula Big Sky 453-458 - 911.
Top 10
1. Maresa Jenson, WF, 75-85 - 160; 2. (tie) Alexa Bell, CMR, 80-93 - 173; Alex Micklewright, WF, 83-90 - 173; 4. Natalie Beard, CMR, 82-96 - 178; 5. Chelsea Hecht, Boz, 86-95 - 181; 6. Alyssa Biskupiak, HC, 92-90 - 182; 7. (tie) Morgan Lee, GFH, 89-94 - 183; Whitney Lamb, Hellgate, 97-86 - 183; 9. Lindsey Holzwarth, West, 91-94 - 185; 10. Allyson Peterson, West, 91-95 - 186.
All teams
Billings Skyview - Jamie Davis 93-100 - 193, Brittani Jones 93-100 - 193, Kari Hartman 98-103 - 201, Brandi Shipp 102-105 - 207, Samantha Steffanich 106-104 - 210.
Billings Senior - Mackenzie Smith 91-96 - 187, Libby Rutz 100-103 - 203, Kimberly Carlson 97-107 - 204, Kassi Anderson 104-103 - 207, Kenzie Smith 111-113 - 124.
Billings West - Lindsey Holzwarth 91-94 - 185, Allyson Peterson 91-95 - 186, Sarah Leveaux 106-100 - 206, Emily Gates 104-108 - 212.
Butte - Brianna DeWitt 89-103 - 192, Shelby Schrapps 96-109 - 205, Savanah Talbott 102-109 - 211, Andrea Tonc 104-111 - 215, Dannielle Hall 100-119 - 219.
Bozeman - Chelsea Hecht 86-95 - 181, Shelby Hecht 95-98 - 193, Natasha Smith 92-102 - 194, Mikaela Durham 105-102 - 207, Julie Campbell 99-109 - 208.
Helena - Lindsay Erickson 89-99 - 188, Abby Hunthausen 106-102 - 208, Trista Vogl 107-116 - 223.
Helena Capital - Alyssa Biskupiak 92-90 - 182, Whitney McLaughlin 90-100 - 190, Megan Hughes 97-110 - 207, Mikal Chancy 110-102 - 212, Kindra Stenhjem 104-110 - 214
Great Falls - Morgan Lee 89-94 - 183, Kendra Clark 99-110 - 209, Kelsey Martin 101-118 - 219, Brittney Kuntz 109-122 - 231, Charlotte Clausen 107-x, Ashleigh Schell x-107.
CMR - Alexa Bell 80-93 - 173, Natalie Beard 82-96 - 178, Ashley Mahoney 100-101 - 201, Megan Johnson 99-111 - 210, Sara Palagi 110-114 - 224.
Missoula Big Sky - Madison Morris 106-108 - 214, Amanda Ormesher 104-115 - 219, Molly McGrath 116-114 - 230, Kylee Johnson 127-121 - 248, Emily Steinberg 142-123 - 265.
Missoula Sentinel - Kelly Lawson 89-99 - 188, Kayla Schumacher 99-101 - 200, Betsy Demarois 112-104 - 216, Lindsey Galipeau 118-132 - 250, Shelbi Dantic 130-144 - 274.
Missoula Hellgate - Whitney Lamb 97-86 - 183, Kristen Carey 92-96 - 188, Kayla Trump 101-110 - 211, Hamiah Sweeney 112-112 - 224, Ellen Wilson 109-127 - 236.
Flathead - Emily Betthauser 101-91 - 192, Brooke Sampson 99-103 - 202, Betsy Engle 99-114 - 213, Lindsay Filler 110-110 - 220, Shea Clayton 114-119 - 233.
Havre - Ali Ward 89-103 - 192, Stacey Sheppard 102-103 - 205, Tabitha Beck 115-120 - 235, Hailey McLain 114-128 - 242.
Lewistown - Kim Waldner-Reid 98-98 - 196, Colleen Rau 103-97 - 200, Shea Doloney 114-104 - 218, Jordan Butcher 109-115 - 224.
Whitefish - Maresa Jenson 75-85 - 160, Alex Micklewright 83-90 - 173, Porsche Erekson 86-107 - 193, Quinn Micklewright 104-99 - 203, Chelsea Ray x-86.
BOYS
Team scores
Whitefish 296-292 - 588, Billings West 305-302 - 607, Bozeman 307-312 - 619, Flathead 314-316 - 630, Billings Skyview 311-321 - 632, Helena 313-322 - 635, Billings Senior 316-323 - 639, Missoula Hellgate 325-318 - 643, Havre 323-321 - 644, CMR 329-319 - 648, Missoula Big Sky 321-327 - 648, Butte 323-333 - 656, Missoula Sentinel 335-332 - 667, Great Falls 335-339 - 674, CMR JV 339-341 - 680, Helena Capital 342-367 - 709, Lewistown 359-370 - 729.
Top 10
1. Sam Krause, WF, 72-72 - 144; 2. (tie) Nick Richards, CMR, 72-73 - 145; Tyler Holtet, WF, 74-71 - 145; 4. Derek Denning, WF, 74-73 - 147; 5. (tie) Tyson Bickford, West, 74-75 - 149; Alex Erlenbush, Boz, 72-77 - 149; 7. (tie) Cory Hjelm, Sky, 71-79 - 150; Larry Iverson, Flat, 78-72 - 150; 9. Tanner Sutton, West, 77-74 - 151; 10. Matt Krause, WF, 76-76 - 152.
All teams
Billings Skyview - Cory Hjelm 71-79 - 150, Brandon Bone 79-78 - 157, Bryan Sandine 81-83 - 164, Mike Stegman 80-85 - 165, Jase Couture 88-81 - 169.
Billings Senior - Loudan Steffes 77-80 - 157, Adam Rutz 81-77 - 158, David Mutch 79-83 - 162, Andy Rutz 79-83 - 162, Stephen Martens 81-84 - 165.
Billings West - Tyson Bickford 74-75 - 149, Tanner Sutton 77-74 - 151, Travis Gates 77-77 - 154, Austin Dean 79-76 - 155, Cody Swarthout 77-79 - 156.
Butte - Justin Sullivan 79-79 - 158, Jake Amerman 78-86 - 164, Danny Kane 86-81 - 167, Kody McAuley 86-87 - 173, Alex Downey 80-93 - 173.
Bozeman - Alex Erlenbush 72-77 - 149, Reese Milner 77-80 - 157, J.P. McManaman 83-75 - 158, Blake Evanson 81-80 - 161, Kayle Ingram 77-87 - 164.
Helena - Brady Kirkeby 75-78 - 153, Kyle Poore 77-80 - 157, Collin Day 79-80 - 159, Jeff Weber 82-84 - 166, Kyle Blessinger DQ-93.
Helena Capital - Eric Varnado 82-91 - 173, Pat Rivers 81-94 - 175, Chance Petek 90-93 - 183, Cody Berglind 89-96 - 185, Park McKinnon 103-89 - 192.
Great Falls - Ty Moody 77-79 - 156, Ethan Lee 83-80 - 163, Matt Larcombe 82-87 - 169, Tyson Lunn 93-93 - 186, Ryan Marsik 96-94 - 190.
CMR - Nick Richards 72-73 - 145, Garrett Rodger 84-78 - 162, Ryan Myers 85-82 - 167, Brad Dockter 88-86 - 174, Austin Gates 91-DQ.
Missoula Big Sky - Jason Johnson 77-79 - 156, Kevin Cotner 80-78 - 158, Kyle Terrell 78-83 - 161, Mike Beall 86-87 - 173, Brian Beach 87-90 - 177.
Missoula Sentinel - Logan Ward 77-77 - 154, Ben Demarois 84-85 - 169, Mike Halligan 88-84 - 172, Pat Gentilli 86-86 - 172, Clay Mahn 89-86 - 175.
Missoula Hellgate - Sam Brown 76-77 - 153, Conner Van Fossen 77-77 - 154, Alex Burchfield 83-80 - 163, Chris Ness 89-90 - 179, Josh Morrison 96-84 - 180.
Flathead - Larry Iverson 78-72 - 150, Kyle Dunfee 80-78 - 158, Taylor Gardner 78-81 - 159, Connor Tanberg 79-90 - 168, Alex Dachs 86-85 - 171.
Havre - Anthony Wirtzberger 80-79 - 159, Brandon Job 79-80 - 159, Matt Hedstrom 79-83 - 162, Chris Owens 87-79 - 166, Sean Strand 85-86 - 171.
Lewistown - Kyle Whitcraft 81-89 - 170, Matt Gruener 85-86 - 171, Steve Gruener 83-90 - 173, Adam Grensten 110-105 - 215, Randy Hartman 120-128 - 248.
Whitefish - Sam Krause 72-72 - 144, Tyler Holtet 74-71 - 145, Derek Denning 74-73 - 147, Matt Krause 76-76 - 152, Zac Wooten 77-78 - 155.
