Girls take 3rd, boys 5th at state golf tourney

The Whitefish High School girls golf team managed to capture third place at this year’s state tournament in Laurel. Kiley McConnell capped her excellent Lady Bulldog golf career with a fifth-place finish and rounds of 78-90 at the Laurel Country Club. She held a share of the lead after the first round but ran into some difficulty on day two.

“Kiley is a truly focused player and maintained a high level of determination all the way through the season, and her medalist honors in seven tournaments, including divisional, speak to that success,” coach Terry Nelson said.

McConnell won the Class A Northwestern Divisional as a freshman to go along with her 2010 win.

Danielle McCully, another of the three seniors on the girls team, finished in the top-15 and also achieved All-State honors at the tournament. She has been a four-year varsity player and member of two state champion teams, along with McConnell.

“The seniors will be tough to replace next year as the 2011 version of the Lady Bulldog team develops,” Nelson said.

Freshman Erin Tabish completed her first season as a competitive golfer, finishing in the top-15 as well and honored as an All-State player. Klaire Taylor finished 26th, and Emma Dowaliby was 35th. Haley Craven, a newcomer to the girls team, attended as the sixth player and she will definitely be one of the top players in 2011.

“Haley just needs to keep playing and refining her naturally gifted swing,” Nelson said.

The boys just could get it going as a team, finishing in fifth place, Nelson said, but Reed Platke continued his excellent play by finishing second. Platke had a lead going into the final nine that vanished thanks to an incredible bad bounce on hole 15. After hitting his tee shot 300 yards, it struck the 100-yard tile marker and caromed dead left into a tree well, resulting in a double-bogie six on the long par four.

“As difficult as the situation was to swallow, Reed, being the gentleman that he is, was the first to congratulate Colstrip’s Zack Stowell on his come-from-behind victory,” Nelson said. “On the last hole, Stowell’s birdie putt hung on the edge and tumbled in while Platke’s lipped out. It’s tough to see the season end for Reed in that fashion, but that’s golf.”

Expectations for the boys team was high, based on their tournament scores leading up to state, Nelson said, but sometimes the timing just doesn’t work out. The boys had posted rounds of 311 and 301 in their last two events.

“I was confident we could play with the eventual champion, Hamilton Broncos, but it just didn’t happen,” Nelson said.

Camp Kenyon, recovering from a strained knee, managed to play each day but at less than his usual performance level. Dylan Parr had a good ball-striking tournament but couldn’t get enough putts to fall when he had the opportunities. Kyler Blades had some good spurts, but he also couldn’t manage to keep it together for the whole round.

Freshman Arthur Doorn had a great first year, but he also had difficulty with the Laurel course, especially the greens. The boys had been averaging close to 316 shots per day as a team going into the state tournament, but posted 342-340 and finished in fifth place, one shot behind Sidney.    

“It’s hard to know what happened to the boys team. Knowing how well they’ve played in other tournaments and then to have the bottom fall out was disappointing for all of them,” Nelson said. “They’re a great bunch of young men and are not defined by their success at the state tournament. I would still bet we could keep up with Hamilton and Laurel on another day.”

Next year’s boys team could be even better, with top-three players Platke, Kenyon and Doorn returning and with Iaian Cameron and Kyle Barron waiting for their shot next year. Nelson also expects to see Brandon Maassen, Scott Kahle, Trevor Turgeon and Holden Roberts improve enough to contribute next year.

The girls team will be young next year, with Taylor the only senior currently on next year’s roster. But a strong group of underclassmen, including Erin Tabish, Simone Craft, Haley Craven and Daley Powell, are all poised to take over the top spots. Lexie Cassidy, Allyssa McArthur and Jayde Eason are also expected to see playing time if they continue to work during the off season, Nelson said.