Bulldogs finish 1, 2 at Flatfish tourney

The Lady Bulldogs won this year's version of the Flatfish Invitational golf tournament by an 11-shot margin over CMR of Great Falls. CMR may well be the best Class AA girls teams in the state this year, Whitefish coach Terry Nelson said, and should be contenders for the title at their state tournament next week.

Eight teams competed in this year's Flatfish, with schools from Missoula, Great Falls, Polson and Columbia Falls along with host schools Whitefish, Flathead and Glacier, playing rounds at Whitefish Lake, Buffalo Hill and Village Greens golf courses.

Kiley McConnell led the girls once again and was medallist with rounds of 80 at Whitefish Lake and 81 at Buffalo Hill.

"Kiley had a great weekend, especially given the windy conditions on Saturday," Nelson said. "It's fantastic to see her playing her best golf as we get closer to the state tournament."

This was McConnell's fifth medallist honors of the season. The girls team total of 347 was their best of the year and compares favorably with teams around the state.

BreAnna Cameron, after winning the divisional tournament, finished in third for the two-day tournament with rounds of 81-90.

"The windy conditions would affect BreAnna's high ball flight more than most players," Nelson said.

Danielle McCully's 92-97 placed her just out of the top-10 but helped her team to victory. Tayler Johnson had her season-best round with a 93 on Friday at Whitefish Lake. Klaire Taylor had two good days with scores of 101-103. Emma Dowaliby had a personal-best nine-hole score of 51 on the back nine at Buffalo Hills on Saturday.

"Emma's work ethic is phenomenal, and she's going to become a very good golfer," Nelson said.

On the boys' side, Reed Platke once again led the team with a low round of 69 at Village Greens on the first day of the tournament. Platke slipped a little in the wind on Saturday afternoon but still managed to tie for second place in the tournament.

The windy conditions created havoc with the boys leader group as they went 13 over par on the 10th hole of Whitefish Lake's south course, with seven tee shots going out-of-bounds left. The eventual winner, Graham Schmaltz, hit three consecutive tee shots out from the tee and took a 10 on the hole, but he still managed to shoot a 74 for the day.

The Whitefish boys team score of 301 at Village Greens, their lowest of the year, was aided by Joel Mallams at 74, Zach Maassen at 76 and Joe Blakemore at 82. Mallams finished fourth and Maassen captured eighth. Carl Talsma, playing the fifth spot, finished with a two-day total of 171, with both days in the 80s.

The boys varsity team finished in second place behind the talented Glacier squad but outdistanced third-place Missoula Hellgate by 20 shots.

Playing on the Whitefish second team, Dylan Parr recorded an impressive 78 at Village Greens and followed with 88 at Whitefish.

"Dylan played his way back to the varsity spot with his rounds this weekend," Nelson said.

Cole Havens posted good rounds of 80-86 for the two days to help the JV team. Tyler Schiff had an off day at Village Greens but came back to post an 85 at Whitefish on Saturday in tough conditions.

Alex Feuhrer also had an impressive tournament with rounds of 87-93. Max Lamb fired a low round of 83 at Village Greens on Friday but was unable to play on Saturday. Playing on the freshman team both days were Iaian Cameron, Kyle Barron and Tristen Walsh.

Bulldogs sweep golf divisionals

The Whitefish boys and girls golf teams easily won the Northwest Class A golf divisional last week at Meadow Lake Golf Course. The boys score of 330 was 43 shots ahead of second-place Columbia Falls and 56 over third-place Polson. The girls score of 377, while not their best, was 34 strokes ahead of second-place Polson.

"Meadow Lake is a visually tough course with lots of potential hazards to steal your focus if you do not stay centered on the target," coach Terry Nelson said.

BreAnna Cameron and Reed Platke were medallists by large margins in the field of all Northwestern Class A schools. Both Platke and Cameron have a history of playing Meadow Lake quite well, and it showed at the Divisional Tournament.

Platke fired a 73 to outdistance his closest competitor by 12 shots on a cold and windy day at Meadow Lake. BreAnna Cameron's 83 was eight strokes ahead of Polson's Natalia Arlint, who finished in second place.

"BreAnna is hitting the ball exceptionally well right now with great length and accuracy," Nelson said. "She hit a phenomenal shot out of the fairway bunker, over the water and close to the pin on number 18."

The team effort for both boys and girls was apparent in the final results, with all five boys finishing in the top-seven spots. Joe Blakemore was tied for second with 85 followed by Zach Maassen and Joel Mallams at 86. Carl Talsma shot a 90 and was still in seventh overall.

Kiley McConnell came back from a tough front-nine to shoot 93 and finish in third. At fourth place with 97 was junior Danielle McCully. Tayler Johnson's 104 placed her in a tie for fifth. Klaire Taylor managed to finish in 11th.

"McCully continues to hit the ball better than her scores reflect, but I expect it all to come together at the state tournament," Nelson said.

Both teams are now preparing for the State Tournament which will be held at Village Greens in Kalispell on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 12-13.