Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Jerod Boles, HHS Golf

The high school golf season in Montana goes quickly. This week, the Havre High golf teams are already preparing for the Central A Divisional Tournament, which will take place in Bozeman Saturday.

And one HHS player who will play a key role in the Ponies' success is junior golfer Jerod Boles.

Boles is in the midst of his third season playing varsity golf and is no stranger to playing in big tournaments. Last year at divisionals, he finished seventh, earning himself an individual spot at the Class A State tournament where he finished at No. 31 overall. His sophomore year wasn't the only time he's made the state tournament either. Boles also achieved All-Conference honors as a freshman and played at the 2012 state tournament at Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda.

Boles, who is the son of Montana State University-Northern head golf coach Dave Boles, is more than just a golfer, too, though golf is certainly in his blood and in his heart. He also plays point guard for the Havre High basketball team and also participates in varsity tennis for HHS, and was one match away from making the Class A state tennis tournament last season.

Also notably, Boles was the starting point guard for the Havre basketball team that made its first appearance in the Class A state basketball tournament in eight seasons last March.

At the moment, though, Boles is focused on helping the Ponies get back to the state golf tournament and, if they can put it all together at one time, he is confident that HHS can place well at both divisonals and state. Boles has been playing golf since a very young age, spending his summers looping around Prairie Farms Golf Course over and over again.

And the practice has paid off.

Boles, who has been the No. 2 golfer for HHS this season, and has a bunch of Top 10s to his credit, including a fifth-place finish at last week's Billings Central Invite, knows the importance of getting everyone to play their best golf at the right time. It's not easy, but that is exactly what the Ponies will try to do as they attempt to qualify for state as a team for the third straight season.

Ahead of the biggest tournament to date for the HHS golfers, the Havre Daily News caught up with the three-sport star and asked him five questions.

HDN: Do you think you will be able to qualify for state golf as an individual again this year?

Boles: "Yes, I think more than likely, we will all make it at an individual level. I think we will be going to state as a team, too. So that will help us out a lot."

HDN: How do you think you and the team will do at the state tournament?

Boles: "I think that we have a pretty strong team for Class A, and I think that we will be in the top four. That is our main goal is to get first at divisionals and place top four at state, hopefully top three to bring home some hardware."

HDN: Who is the better golfer you or your dad?

Boles: "I would say that it's me. We play together quite a bit, and I would say that I beat him probably seven or eight times out of 10."

HDN: What is your favorite sport?

Boles: "I'd say that basketball is my favorite. Tennis Is really close though. I like (basketball) the most because I just like to show people what a 5-10 kid can do on a basketball court."

HDN: Who is a professional athlete that you look up to and model your game after?

Boles: Rory McIlroy and Allen Iverson. In golf, I model myself after Rory because he is about the same height as me. He is about 5-9 or 5-10, but he can hit the ball really far and that's kind of something I'm going for and he hits the ball pretty accurate, so it's something I'd like to do.