By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Jason Johnstone fired a 74 to finish in first place and lead the Havre Blue Pony boys' golf team to a title at the Shelby Invitational Golf Tournament held on Friday at the Marias Valley Golf Club.
The Blue Ponies finished with 322 points.
Johnstone, a sophomore, shot a 38-36 to finish two-over par at the tournament. It was the first competition of the season for the golf team.
"Jason Johnstone just did an outstanding job. Waiting around that long, the polished sophomore did a great job," Evenson said.
The meet, although slated to begin at 9 a.m., did not get under way until almost noon, while the teams waited for the snow to melt off the course.
Kyle Lammerding, a sophomore, shot a surprising 82 and finished fifth at the invite.
Freshman Josh Knudson finished seventh with an 83, while sophomore Kyle Sheppard shot an 83 and finished eighth.
"I was very pleased with the boys," head coach Keith Evenson said.
Knudson and Lammerding were both in their first varsity competition.
"I was very pleased with the underclassmen," Evenson said. "You don't win with just one medalist, you have to have several players shoot well and consistently and they did that."
Due to district music festival, the Blue Ponies were not competing with a full varsity team.
Sophomore Matt Felt shot an 86, sophomore JR Morse shot a 93, sophomore Dallas Crossley shot a 101, sophomore Jacob Szudera shot a 104, and Jill McLain, the lone girl competing at the invite, shot a 133.
McLain was also competing in her first-ever tournament.
"The kids were really well-behaved and were anxious to get out and have a first tournament somewhere," Evenson said.
The varsity will face the Chinook Sugarbeeters in dual action at Beaver Creek Golf Course, beginning at 4 p.m. tonight. The junior varsity will be competing at the Chinook Golf and Country Club at the same time.
"This will really be more of a fun dual," Evenson said.
Lammerding, Johnstone, Sheppard, Kevin Harada, Nick Obie, Troy Toner, and Knudson will compete for the boys.
Lisa Wagner, Jessica Sande, and Jenni Solomon will compete for the girls.
Girls Team Scores
Conrad 399, Fort Benton 426, Cut Bank 437, Choteau 451
Top 10
1. Jennifer Orcutt, Conrad 44-4488; 2. Ashley Bell, Cut Bank, 45-44-89; 3. Kelsey Judisch, Conrad, 45-48-91; 4. Sarah Ritland, Fort Benton, 48-49-97; 5. Dana Westermark, Shelby, 52-51-103; 6. Katie Wilson, Choteau, 57-47-104; 7. Jessie Luther, Cut Bank, 53-53-106; 8. Sarah Hermance, Shelby, 51-56-107; 9. Lindsey Somers, Fort Benton, 49-59-108; 10. Kyle Cook, Fort Benton, 53-56-109.
Boys Team Scores
Havre 322, Fort Benton 341, Shelby 345, Conrad 345, Choteau 397, Valier 433
Top 10
1. Jason Johnstone, Havre, 38-36-74; 2. Brian Larson, Cut Bank, 39-39-78; 3. Craig Ross, Fort Benton, 40-39-79; Andrew Olson, Shelby, 38-41-79; 5. Kyle Lammerding, Havre, 40-42-82; Mike Russo, Cut Bank, 38-44-82; 7. Josh Knutson, Havre, 45-38-83; Kyle Sheppard, Havre, 40-43-83; 9. Jake Parchen, Fort Benton, 41-43-84; Kyle Squires, Fort Benton, 38-46-84.
