Havre High golfers shine in the rain

Normally, this time of year, high school golfers don't have to worry about difficult weather conditions. But difficult conditions is exactly what the Havre High boys and girls golf teams faced at the annual Havre Golf Tournament.

Rain was the big story at Thursday's tournament held at Prairie Farms Golf Course. Heavy downpours in the late morning forced the Havre tourney to be shortened to a nine-hole tournament, as the Blue Ponies squared off against teams from Lewistown, Browning, Great Falls High and CMR.

And even though the weather was difficult, there some excellent results from the Havre High players who braved the elements.

The Blue Pony boys varsity team finished in first place with a team score of 161, while sophomore Dustin Haas fired a career-best, even-par 36 on the front nine to take medalist honors. On the girls side, the young, inexperienced HHS girls finished with a team score of 260, with junior Randi Gabrielsen leading the way. She shot a round of 51 to finish in third place overall. The Great Falls High girls won the team title with a 227, while Lewistown was second and Havre was third. Browning's Summer Kennerly was the medalist on the girls side, after she shot a 42. Lewistown was second in the boys' race as well, while CMR was third and Great Falls High was fourth.

Individually, it was a standout day for plenty of Blue Pony boys. While Haas led the pace, sophomore Aden Passon wasn't far behind, finishing in third place with a 41. Juniors Jeff Miller and Jerod Boles and senior Wyatt Lindbloom all shot 42, while sophomore Kane Gabrielsen fired a 43, sophomore Trey Hanson shot 46 and sophomore Kyle Kirkpatrick finished with a 48.

But while the HHS boys triumphed Thursday, the round was a learning experience for the rest of the Blue Pony girls' lineup. Aside from Randi Gabrielsen, no Pony golfer had ever played in a varsity tournament before. Newcomers Jordan Keith and Regan Lammers each shot 69, while Grace Litzinger finished with a 71.

Though it was a tough day, and Havre competitors didn't get the 18 holes in they were hoping to, Blue Pony head coach Brett Gilman was pleased with what he saw, and is happy with the how the first full week of the 2014 season went.

"I think most of the kids are ahead of where I thought they'd be right now," Gilman said. "Dustin Haas is playing very well right now, and all of the other guys have had their good moments too. So I'm really pleased with how all of our players are progressing."

Havre will get back into the swing of things next week. The Pony junior varsity team travels to Lewistown in Monday, while the varsity teams are back in action next Thursday when they travel to the Browning Invitational.

Havre Golf Tournament

At Prairie Farms Golf Course

(Tournament shortened to nine holes)

GIRLS

Team Scores: Great Falls High 227, Lewistown 244, Havre 260, CMR 266, Browning, NS.

Havre – Randi Gabrielsen – 51; Jordan Keith – 69; Regan Lammers – 69; Grace Litzinger – 71.

GFH – Izzy Brown 54, LynDee Fiestamel 55, Hannah Rutherford 57, Blake Remy 61, Pressly Birdrattler 62.

Lewistown – Kensey Irvin 58, Dani Bridwell 59, Madison Lewis 63, Kayla Irish 64, Karlie Southworth 68.

CMR – Gillian Kitchell 57, Blair Hebnes 60, Mariah Williamson 74, McKenna Ostenowski 75, Becca Bergman 78.

Browning – Summer Kennerly 42, Tiara Gilham 49, Shalbilyn Tallwhiteman 59.

BOYS

Team Scores: Havre 161, Lewistown 171, CMR 177, Great Falls High 215, Browning NS.

Havre – Dustin Haas 36, Aden Passon 41, Jerod Boles 42, Jeff Miller 42, Wyatt Lindbloom 42.

Lewistown – Tyrel Walter 39, Zach Hould 42, Carl Wright 44, Jace Davis 46, Bryson Behl 47.

CMR – Duncan Hollar 43, Tyler Powell 43, Tucker Thomas 45, Connor Nelson 46, Ben Kaul 49.

GFH – Jake Wetzel 48, Josh Cawley 49, Cole Hendrickson 56, Hunter Thiesen 62, Brad Goodell 62.

Browning – Chase Smith 48, Trae Kennerly 49, Landon Magee 59.

Havre JV's

Kane Gabrielsen – 43; Trey Hanson – 46; Kyle Kirkpatrick – 48; Ryan Bakke – 51; Brad Bender – 53; Tanner Hentschel – 55; Gavin Mosbrucker – 56; Hondo Owens – 56; Tucker Carlson – 57; Cody Rennick – 61; Michael Bakke – 63; Nic Tanner – 64.