Golfers sweep in Libby, take third in Missoula
The Whitefish High School boys and girls golf teams each finished in third place at the Missoula Invitational last Thursday and Friday. The strong field of teams included teams from Great Falls, Butte, Bozeman, Flathead, Glacier and hosting Missoula schools.
The next day, both Bulldog golf teams left the Libby Invitational with first place honors. The field included all the western Class A teams, along with Flathead and Glacier JV squads and varsity teams from Frenchtown and Browning.
In Missoula, Reed Platke finished third in the field with an excellent two-under-par score of 70 over the Ranch Club course on Friday to go with his 75 at Larchmont on Thursday. Platke's second-day score of 70 was the second-best round of the day, only one shot off winner Larry Iverson's round.
Ryan Zalucky finished second for the boys, with rounds of 76-75, while Joel Mallams was right behind at 75-80. Daniel Markus posted a 77 at Larchmont and 82 over the Ranch Club course. Zach Maassen scored 80-85 over the two-day event.
"The boys team scores of 305-308 were pretty impressive, but I think the boys would agree we left some shots on the course," coach Terry Nelson said. "We're gunning to get under 300 before the season ends".
For the girls, BreAnna Cameron was sixth with excellent rounds of 87-82 over the two days. Kiley McConnell had a good tournament with rounds of 86-89 to finish just out of the top 10.
Quinn Micklewright recorded scores of 87-90 at Larchmont and Ranch Club respectively. Ellen Scheffer had her two best rounds with scores of 95-97. Danielle McCully posted rounds of 100-94 to help the team to the third place finish and team score of 355 both days.
"The girls team had a steady tournament, but they, too, had a few holes that could have been much better, but that's golf." Nelson said. "They're definitely capable of shooting lower than 350 as a team on a consistent basis."
The boys and girls swept the Libby Invitational. The girls beat challenger Polson by eight shots, with McConnell leading the way with medallist honors. The boys were 17-stroke winners over runner-up Glacier JV on the Cabinet View course.
The Whitefish boys captured five of the top-seven individual spots in the field of 10 teams. Mallams fired a 75 to place second to Trey Griffith of Glacier at 74. Markus posted a 77 to tie for third with Polson's Tyler Engebretson. Platke took fifth place with an 80, while Zalucky and Maassen finished tied for sixth with 83s.
While the team score of 315 is higher than normal for the boy's team, the Cabinet View course is fairly tight, with smaller than normal greens.
The Whitefish girls posted a team score of 362, which is higher than their normal score, but respectable on the Libby course. In addition to McConnell's strong finish, Micklewright finished third with an 89.
Scheffer continued to show great improvement and posted a career-best 92 on one of the hardest courses and placed sixth in the field. Cameron struggle to record a 95 to finish in seventh place overall. McCully finished with a 100 for the one-day tournament. Polson also had four girls in the top-10 to hang with the Lady Bulldogs.
This week, the teams travel to Polson on Thursday and Hamilton on Saturday for their respective invitationals. The Hamilton Invite will give the Bulldogs a chance to compete against the Southwestern A teams.
"We're just one week away from our Divisional, Oct. 2, and two weeks away from our state tournament on Oct. 10-11 at the Polson Bay course." Nelson said.