Havre High golf off to a hot start

The 2013 Havre High golf season got off to a hot start, literally.

The Blue Ponies opened their golf season by hosting the Havre High Golf Tournament Tuesday at a warm and blustery Prairie Farms Golf Course. Teams from Browning and Lewistown were in attendance, and the conditions were tough for a season-opener, with high temperatures and strong winds testing even the most seasoned golfers in the field.

Conditions aside, the day was a good one for many Havre boys and girls, with Blue Pony senior Katie Beck shooting a 97 to finish in a first-place tie in the girls tournament, while sophomores Jerod Boles and Jeff Miller finished third and fifth, respectively on the boys side.

In the varsity team competition, the Havre girls ran away with the tournament, scoring a 406. Lewistown came in at 556 and Browning didn’t have enough players to score, though the Indians’ Summer Kennerly shot a 97 to finish with medalist honors. On the boys side, HHS was second with a 371, while Lewistown was first at 343 and Browning was third with a 452.

“I thought the day went OK,” first-year HHS head coach Brett Gilman said. “I thought the girls played about as well as I expected them too. Some of them shot a little better than they had qualified, so that’s always good. Some of the boys showed their inexperience, maybe some nervousness that affected their scores. But all in all, it was a good learning process, and a lot of our kids found out what it takes to play a varsity event.”

The Pony girls were consistent, led by Beck, who was one of just three players to break 100 Tuesday. Beck shot 47 on the front nine and 50 on the back, and said a lot of things went well for her in the first tournament of the season. Beck tied Kennerly, but finished second via a tiebreaker on the scorecard.

“I feel today was really good, I played really good,” Beck said. “I did really good on my driving, chipping and putting. I had worked really hard in practice, and so I’m glad I was able to play really good.”

Sophomore Peyton Howard tied Lewistown’s Sydne Smith for third place with a 98, while HHS also got a 105 from Randi Gabrielson, a 106 by senior Boston Swensen and a 107 from senior Nikki Gabrielson as the HHS girls easily ran away with the team title on their home course.

Meanwhile, Boles paced the Blue Pony boys with a consistent 85, shooting 42 on the front and 43 on the back. He tied Lewistown’s Zach Hould for third. Miller, who along with Boles are Havre’s only two returning varsity players this season, shot 87, including a solid 42 on the back nine. Havre also got a ninth-place finish by Wyatt Lindbloom at 98, a 10th-place finish from Aden Passon at 101, while Trey Hanson shot a 113. The latter three golfers were playing in their first varsity tournament. Junior varsity golfers Dustin Haas and Kane Gabrielson would have also placed in the top 10. Both freshmen, Haas shot a solid 89 and Gabrielson posted a 92.

Lewistown’s top four golfers all placed in the top 10 with Trip Crouse earning medalist honors with an 82 and Tyrell Walter finishing second with an 84.

And though some Blue Ponies felt the scoring could have been better, especially playing on their home course, the season is young, and Gilman said Tuesday was a great way to get things going.

“I’m very pleased with how everything went,” Gilman said. “We have a lot of kids out for golf. Us and Lewistown both have a ton of kids and they all got to get out and play today. It was good for everybody to get a round under their belt and play a real tournament. I think all the coaches were happy with how everything came out, and it was a really good first day.”

The Pony varsity teams will be back in action Monday and Tuesday when they travel to the Great Falls Invitational. Havre will be back at home Sept. 14 to host the Havre Invitational at Beaver Creek Golf Course.

Havre High Golf Tournament

BOYS

Varsity Team Scores

Lewistown 343, Havre 371, Browning 452.

Lewistown – Trip Crouse 41-41-82; Tyrell Walter 45-39-84; Kyle Mhrye 46-46-92; Jace Davis 48-46-94; Zach Hould 85.

Havre – Jerod Boles 42-43-85; Jeff Miller 45-42-87; Wyatt Lindbloom 45-53-98; Aden Passon 51-50-101; Trey Hanson 56-57-113.

Browning – Trace Kennerly 48-40-88; Chjase Smith 66-51-117; Landon Magee 57-59-116; Merlin Sinclair 64-67-131; Tommy Iron Pipe 90-86-176.

Havre Junior Varsity Scores

Kane Gabrielson 92; Gavin Mosbrucker 119; Dustin Haas 89; Jon Faber 122; Jared Laux 118; Michael Bakke 106; Garrett Hentschel 142; Tucker Carlson 129; Cody Rennick 135; Brad Bender 117; Hondo Owens 119; Kyle Kirkpatrick 124.

GIRLS

Varsity Team Scores

Havre 406; Lewistown 556; Browning N/S.

Havre – Katie Beck 47-50-97; Peyton Howard 50-48-98; Randi Gabrielson 56-49-105; Boston Swensen 50-56-106; Nikki Gabrielson 51-56-107; Danielle Freide (JV) 57-62-119.

Lewistown – Sydne Smith 50-48-98; Kayla Irish 81-75-156; Maddie Lewis 89-81-170; Katie Domingez 81-95-176.

Browning – Summer Kennerly 46-51-97; Cyan Old Chief 61-60-121.