McConnell signs with Saints
Whitefish stand-out golfer Kiley
McConnell has committed to join Carroll College’s golf team next
year. The Lady Bulldog won the Northwestern A divisional tournament
as a freshman and again this season as a senior. She took fifth at
the Class A state tournament.
“Carroll is going to be a great match
for her,” Whitefish golf coach Terry Nelson said. “She’s a great
student, and Carroll is one of the best academic schools.”
McConnell is a 3.7 GPA student.
“Golf wise, it’s a good match, too,”
Nelson said. “She’ll be able to play for them right away.”
Nelson says college recruiters looks at
a player’s performance over their past few seasons but focus on the
most recent results. McConnell consistently posted rounds in the
70s and low 80s her senior season, including a first-round 78 at
the Class A state tournament.
“She won eight of 10 tournaments this
year,” Nelson noted. “Kiley is a determined individual. I’m really
proud of her. She knew what she wanted, and she went after it.”
Carroll golf coach Bennett MacIntyre
noted Whitefish’s outstanding reputation for junior golf and called
recruiting McConnell a “coup.”
“Whitefish has a reputation for
developing and encouraging junior golf,” MacIntyre said. “It’s one
of the best programs in the state.”
MacIntyre expects McConnell to start on
the varsity team as a freshman if she can adjust to the extended
length of courses at the collegiate level.
“Kiley has demonstrated the ability to
compete and regularly be at the top of the scoreboard,” he
said.
Carroll College’s women’s golf team
finished third in the Frontier Conference Championships in 2010.
The golf season is split between fall and spring.
MacIntyre noted that 2010 graduate Joel
Mallams has transferred from Concordia University in Portland, Ore.
to play golf for Carroll College next year. Mallams took sixth
overall at the Class A state tournament in 2009.