Lady Pirates golfers claim divisional title
<p class="p1">The Polson golf team will be sending seven players to the State Tournament in Anaconda on Sept. 28, including boys Hayden Congdon and Ryan Thurman, as well as the entire girls varsity squad of Anna DiGiallonardo, Jaylin Kenney, Nicole Clairmont, Lauren Dupuis, and Peyton Anderson. All five of the girls placed in the top 15 at the divisional tournament last Thursday.</p>
<p class="p1">From left to right, Jaylin Kenney, Nicole Clairmont, Anna DiGiallonardo, Lauren Dupuis and Peyton Anderson pose with their divisional championship plaque on Thursday.</p>
LIBBY — The Polson girls golf team left last Thursday’s trip to Libby with the Northwestern A divisional title and a State Tournament berth, while the boys failed to qualify as a team for the second-straight year with a fourth-place finish in Libby.
The teams also competed in the two-day Flatfish Invitational on Friday and Saturday, with the girls taking third and the boys finishing ninth.
In the divisional tournament, held at Libby’s Cabinet View Golf Course, the Lady Pirates turned in a team score of 383, 27 strokes ahead of Whitefish, which finished just one stroke shy in the teams’ last meeting in Libby.
“I felt real positive about their performance in terms of putting it together towards the end of the season,” Polson head coach Bill Owen said.
Owen called Cabinet View the “hardest course we play,” which made the girls’ performance all the more impressive.
The Lady Pirates swept the top three spots, with Anna DiGiallonardo claiming first place with an 87 on the day.
Owen said he believes DiGiallonardo’s stellar outing should provide her with a nice boost heading into the State Tournament.
“I think she’ll go into state with a lot of confidence,” Owen said. “An 87 at Libby is a heck of a score.”
Jaylin Kenney took second in the tournament with an 89, while Nicole Clairmont finished in third with a 93.
Peyton Anderson and Lauren Dupuis placed among the top 15 finishers as well, with Anderson taking 12th with a score of 114 and Dupuis coming in 14th place with a score of 119.
As for the boys, Owen said “they might have let the pressure get to them” during the divisional tournament, as the Pirates placed fourth with a team score of 395.
Though Polson finished just one stroke shy of Libby, Whitefish (339) and Frenchtown (368) were well ahead of both teams.
However, Hayden Congdon looked impressive again for the Pirates, tying for fifth place with a score of 84.
Ryan Thurman also put on a strong showing for Polson, coming in tied for 11th place with a score of 100.
As top 15 finishers, both Congdon and Thurman qualified individually for the State Tournament.
It will be Congdon’s fourth state appearance, but a first for Thurman, who Owen hopes will be able to “relax” and play the way he knows he can.
“He’s got nothing to lose and should be playing pretty loose and just see what happens,” Owen said. “I’m hoping that Ryan can have his best score of the year at the State Tournament. I think he’s about ready to make that little breakthrough.”
Art Doorn of Whitefish came away with the top score in the boys divisional, a remarkable 74.
Polson’s Reno Lindesmith scored a 105 at the event, while Dalton Noyes, who qualified for state last season, and Curtis Capdeville both scored a 106.
While these players won’t be headed to state this year, Owen believes the team will have a legitimate shot next season of doing so.
“I think we’ve got a chance, if we work at it, to make a little more noise next year,” Owen said. “I really felt that we did improve throughout the season.”
Both teams also competed in the two-day Flatfish Invitational over the weekend, which took place at Whitefish Lake’s North Course on Friday and the Buffalo Hill Golf Club in Kalispell on Saturday.
The girls looked strong yet again, taking home third place with a score of 749 in what was a tournament stacked with tough competition.
Glacier took first with a 684, led by Teigan Avery’s first-place score of 161.
Kenney was the top Lady Pirates finisher, coming in seventh with a two-day total of 177.
Clairmont was the next-best, tying for 10th place with a score of 184. DiGiallonardo was right behind her with a score of 186 and an 13th-place finish.
Anderson just missed the top 20 with a score of 202 and Dupuis finished with a 213.
The boys finished with their best scores of the season en route to a ninth-place score of 717.
Congdon showed his coach yet again the potential to come up big at state this year with a solid score of 159 and a 13th-place finish.
“I thought Hayden put together three pretty good days of golf [including divisionals],” Owen said. “I feel like he’s got the capability to place [at state] this year.”
Thurman (185), Noyes (188), Lindesmith (188) and Capdeville (190) also performed well at the event.
The girls team, as well as Congdon and Thurman will now prepare to hit the Old Works Country Club golf course in Anaconda on Sept. 28 and 29 for the State Tournament.
The key for each player, according to Owen, will be to get into the right mindset.
“I think they’ll be a little more settled this year, that’s my hope,” Owen said. “I try to play it up with the kids that it’s just another tournament, and that’s what it is...if they play it that way, they’ll have success.”
The Lady Pirates took home the state title last season and Owen believes they will be in the running again this year.
“If they can put two good days together, we’re definitely going to be in contention for a trophy,” Owen said. “We’ve been a steady force all season and we’re not taking anything for granted. We know we’ve got to go out and perform.”
Northwestern A Divisional Results
Top 15 Boys
1. Art Doorn - Whitefish - 74
2. Chris Delaney - Frenchtown - 80
T-3. Cooper Donahue - Whitefish - 83
T-3. Kyle Barron - Whitefish - 83
T-5. Troy Wolff - Frenchtown - 84
T-5. Hayden Congdon - Polson - 84
7. Derek Jones - Frenchtown - 85
8. Morgan Wilkins - Libby - 87
9. Jonny Cielak - Libby - 91
10. Cody Olson - Whitefish - 99
T-11. Gabe Love - C. Falls - 100
T-11. Cooper Olson - Whitefish - 100
T-11. Quinn Sullivan - Libby - 100
T-11. Ryan Thurman - Polson - 100
15. Henry Chisholm - C. Falls - 101
Team Scores
Whitefish 339, Frenchtown 368,
Libby 394, Polson 395, C. Falls 452.
Top 15 Girls
1. Anna DiGiallonardo - Polson - 87
2. Jaylin Kenney - Polson - 89
3. Nicole Clairmont - Polson - 93
4. Erin Tabish - Whitefish - 94
5. Katie Fyall - Whitefish - 97
6. Madison Blass - Frenchtown - 98
T-7. Darby McNally - Frenchtown - 107
T-7. Malia Morris - Whitefish - 107
9. McKenna Emmerich - C. Falls -111
10. Simone Craft - Whitefish - 112
11. Morgan Love - C. Falls - 113
12. Peyton Anderson - Polson - 114
13. Jamie McNally - Frenchtown - 115
14. Lauren Dupuis - Polson - 119
15. Britney Cotton - C. Falls - 120
Team Scores
Polson 383, Whitefish 410, Frenchtown 452, C. Falls 471, Libby 544.
Flatfish Invitational Results
Top 10 Boys
1. Ryan Keenan, Flathead 71-73-144
2. Art Doorn, Frenchtown 72-75-147
3. Logan Iverson, Glacier 72-76-148
4. Ryan Porch, Glacier 79-71-150
5. Cody Babinecz, Great Falls 76-75-151
6. Tom Mann, Glacier 78-76-154
T7. Britt Walton, Glacier 77-79-156
T7. Kyle Barron, Whitefish 79-77-156
T9. Max Applegate, Flathead 73-84-157
T9. Kevin Talcott, Glacier 77-80-157
T9. Taylor Kuntz, CMR 80-77-157
13. Hayden Congdon, Polson 80-79-159
Top 10 Girls
1. Teigan Avery, Glacier 83-78-161
2. Kailey Prosser, Great Falls 85-82-167
3. Hannah Davis, Glacier 84-85-169
4. Shea Stevens, Glacier 86-84-170
5. Erin Tabish, Whitefish 87-85-172
6. Katie Wills, Hellgate 89-84-173
7. Jaylin Kenney, Polson 88-89-177
8. Maddie Trent, Hellgate 89-90-179
9. Morgan Knutson, Flathead 91-89-180
T10. Kaydee Aurich, Glacier 90-94-184
T10. Katie Fyall, Whitefish 93-91-184
T10. Nicole Clairmont, Polson 90-94-184