MSU-Northern spring sports underway

Getting out on the golf course during early spring is never easy in Montana, but with the Montana State University-Northern men’s and women’s golf teams resuming action this month, the Lights and Skylights have still been hard at work in their preparations.

Before the break in action, Northern competed at three meets and invitationals through September and October. And while the final results were up and down, Northern does have standout golfers returning as well as potential for a good run during the final month of competition.

April 14-15 Northern will be in Lewiston, Idaho for the Lewis and Clark Conference Meet at the Lewiston Country Club. And April 27-29, Northern will compete at the Frontier Conference Championship at the Larchmont Golf Course in Missoula. MSU-N already turned in outings at the Carroll College Conference Meet, Rocky Mountain College Conference Meet, and the University of Great Falls Invitational.

Some of the most notable finishes came from returning golfer Justin Newton.

Newton placed No. 10 overall and first for the Northern men at the Meadow Lark Country Club in Great Falls in October. And in September, the first meet of the year, Newton finished No. 9 overall at the Green Meadow Country Club in Helena. Newton is the top golfer for MSU-N and is expected to continue to carry the load for head coach Dave Boles. Newton has the skills to hit in the low 70s, and could also be a standout in his season debut at the Frontier Conference Championship.

“Justin is still our No. 1 golfer,” Boles said. “But it should also be very competitive for those guys trying to settle into our second and third spots. But Justin also stands the chance of placing individually in the conference championship, he has the ability to get those low scores he needs to do so.”

Jon Crow is missing from the Northern lineup this spring, but the Lights do return Stephen Carlson, Nate Durocher and Tanner Shanks. Carlson and Durocher are very competitive as they battle for the second and third spot in the lineup.

Kaydee Aurich is gone from the women’s team, though Boles welcomes back Ashley Hooper and Kristen Bense. Both Aurich and Bense should be the top two golfers for MSU-N, but Boles is also excited about his three new additions in Molly Kreycik, Taylor Cummings and Mikenda Seymour. Kreycik and Cummings are MSU-N basketball players, while Seymour is a former Class B-C standout for Chinook.

“We should have a good team and be competitive,” Boles said. “Ashley and Kirsten are still our main girls, but I really believe the other three girls can be just as good. They have all played golf competitively in the past.”

But with the next meet rapidly approaching, the weather has not been conducive to getting out and getting work in on the course. Both MSU-N squads have done some hitting inside, and some of the men’s team got blown off Prairie Creek Golf Course in Billings last weekend while trying to get some extra work in outdoors.

“It has been tough not getting any course time,” Boles said. “We have been hitting in the cage underneath the gym, but we haven’t been getting any course time at all. They are all excited and really want to get out there and play and get some time in. It is just a matter of waiting on the weather. We really need the weather to keep warming up the next couple of days so that we can get some hitting in before we compete again.”

April 14-15 Northern will be in Lewiston, Idaho, for the Lewis and Clark Conference Meet at the Lewiston Country Club. And April 27-29, Northern will compete at the Frontier Conference Championship at the Larchmont Golf Course in Missoula.

Rodeo Time

The college rodeo season isn’t over just yet, and while the weather continues to heat up, the Montana State University-Northern men’s and women’s rodeo teams prepare for the second half of the 2013-2014 season.

In his second year at the helm, head coach Doug Kallenberger has a talented group of competitors ready to get back to action in the Big Sky Region schedule.

And MSU-N has four more opportunities to compete this season. Thursday through Sunday Northern will compete at the Montana State University rodeo in Bozeman. April 25-27 Northern will be in Glendive for the Dawson Community College rodeo, followed by two more competition opportunities in May. May 1-3 Northern will compete in Great Falls at the University of Great Falls rodeo, and May 9-11 MSU-N will compete at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Kassy Brough (barrel racing), Malia Vandenbos (barrel racing), Sierra Collins (breakaway, barrel racing, goat tying and team roping), Hanna Heckman (barrel racing goat tying, breakaway and team roping), Lexi Eirdam (barrel racing), Amy Nordahl (breakaway and goat tying), Sarah Peterson and Laramie Pursley (barrel racing) will compete for the women this spring. And for the men’s team, it will be Charlie Mack (bareback and bull riding), Jordan Lewis (team roping), Nick Owens (bareback and bull riding), Austin Wagner (bull riding), Canyon Reibein (bull riding), Brandon Toren (saddle bronc), Andrew Leo (team roping), Cody Ulsh saddle bronc), Adam Mummau (saddle bronc) and Gus Anderson.

With a deep and talented team for both the men and women, a couple standouts are set to lead the way.

Mack is sitting in third place overall in the Big Sky Region standings in bareback, and Brough is sitting in eleventh in barrel racing. Both are poised to lead the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, and should continue to find success down the home stretch.

“We are looking to those two seniors to step up and have a big spring rodeo run, and to lead both the men's and women's teams,” coach Kallenberger said. “We have the talent, they just need to put it together and get some good runs and rides put down. We have been practicing and attending clinics, and I feel our teams are ready to show they are ready to compete.”

This weekend Northern will compete at the Montana State University rodeo in Bozeman.