Polson boys and girls claim Divisional golf titles

The Polson boys and girls won Western A Divisional golf titles on Thursday, Sept. 21, at Whitefish Lake Golf Course. Christian Lund shot a one-over 72 to win the individual division title for Polson, edging out Libby's Reece Malyevac and Corvallis' Tate Jessop, who both shot 73s.

"I always feel that our depth is what sets us apart from other teams," Polson Head Coach Cameron Milton said. "On both teams, any player has the ability to have a high finish each week. We had a little adversity in the middle of the round at Divisionals on both sides, so it was nice to see the boys and girls come out of it and lead us to convincing victories.”

Ashley Maki was the top finisher for the Polson girls, placing fourth with a 76.

"Christian Lund and Ashley Maki both have played at a high level all year, so it was nice to see them have success in the first tournament that really matters," Milton said. "Specifically, Christian had to play four difficult holes in even par to get the win. His play showed some maturity and skill that you would expect out of a top-performing player."

But as it has been all season, the depth of each team shone through in the victory. Three Polson boy golfers placed in the top six of the tournament, while the Polson girls had four golfers in the top 12.

On the boys' side, Carson Hupka placed fourth with a 75 for the Pirates, while Espn Fisher was sixth by carding a 76.

On the girls' side, Kylee Seifert placed fourth with an 85 for Polson, while Clare Konen and Kila Cannon tied for 11th with a 97.

Kate Lewis of Frenchtown won the individual girls championship, carding a 72.

The Polson boys combined to shoot a 304, while Corvallis was second with a 316.

Ronan's Colter Cornwell shot an 81 to tie for 12 with Columbia Falls Winslow Peters and Polson's Hunter Emerson.

Ronan's Cooper Clary was 15th with an 83, while teammate Oliver Rowe tied for 17th with an 86. Ronan finished fourth as a boys team with a 341, beating out eight other teams at Divisionals. Polson's Torrin Ellis placed 20th with an 87.

The Polson girls shot a 355, which was impressively ahead of Hamilton's 375.

Mady Evelo placed 19th for Ronan with 105.

The top four teams from Divisionals and their five players advance to the Class A State Tournament in Sydney. Additionally, the next eight individuals in the tournament also advance.

"The girls are clear favorites in Sidney, the boys still have to get over the Laurel hump," Milton said. "We have never beat Laurel in a stroke play tournament, but this group is full of seniors who have an incredible amount of tournament experience."

Milton added he is hopeful that experience can get the Pirates over the top, but that Laurel has two of the best junior boy golfers in the state

"We have had a lot of success this year, and I think both teams are ready to get over to Sidney to compete," Milton said.

Western A Divisional

Thursday Whitefish Lake GC

Boys’ Team scores – 1, Polson 304; 2, Corvallis 316; 3, Hamilton 333; 4, Ronan 341; Columbia Falls 345; Whitefish 355; Frenchtown 369; Dillon 381; Butte Central 381; Stevensville 401; Libby 409; Bigfork 433.

Top 25 Individual

Christian Lund, Polson 72

Reece Malyevac, Libby 73

Tate Jessop, Corvallis 73

Carson Hupka, Polson 75

Tyce O’Connell, Hamilton 75

Espn Fisher, Polson 76

Brady Powell, Corvallis 77

Tag Jessop, Corvallis 78

Riley Brown, Whitefish 80

Colin Wade, Bigfork 80

Isaac Flamand, Browning 80

Colter Cornwell, Ronan 81

Winslow Peters, Columbia Falls 81

Hunter Emerson, Polson 81

Cooper Clary, Ronan 83

Josh Bender, Hamilton 84

Connor Presnell, Columbia Falls 86

Oliver Rowe, Ronan 86

Hunter Harness, Hamilton 86

Selwyn Hackett, Stevensville 87

Torrin Ellis, Polson 87

Cole Dickemore, Hamilton 88

Otto Klein, Whitefish 88

Will Pickard, Columbia Falls 88

Aden Fisher, Corvallis 88

Girls’ Team scores — 1, Polson 355; 2, Hamilton 375; 3, Frenchtown 400; 4, Dillon 410; Whitefish 411; Bigfork 413; Columbia Falls 494.

Top 25 Individual

Katie Lewis, Frenchtown 72

Keni Wade, Bigfork 76

Ashley Maki, Polson 76

Kylee Seifert, Polson 85

Brookyn Brown, Hamilton 91

Leia Brennan, Whitefish 92

Cameron Burnett, Hamilton 92

Skyler LaPierre, Dillon 94

Emma Hollingsworth, Hamilton 96

Bryn Cianflone, Hamilton 96

Clare Konen, Polson 97

Kila Cannon, Polson 97

Cambree Praast, Stevensville 98

Bridget Anderson, Frenchtown 99

Keegan Campbell, Bigfork 99

Brooke Blue, Browning 100

Briley Albert, Dillon 102

Ryhlee Scott, Whitefish 104

Addy Bowler, Columbia Falls 105

Mady Evelo, Ronan 105

Tatum Nagle, Dillon 106

Karlee Brown, Whitefish 106

Cheyenne Sannar, Stevi 107

Kira Kemph, Dillon 108

Ava Zignego, Whitefish 109