Pony golf ready to tee it up

Fall always seems to feel like it should be the end of golf season but for the Havre High golf teams, it actually means the start of the season, which officially comes this week for both Blue Pony squads.

In high school sports there is always turnover and there will be with the Ponies, too. The biggest change comes in leadership, as Walynn Burgess has taken over the reins as head coach. The previous head coach was Brett Gillman. In addition to a new coach, the Ponies also have some new players, with 24 total going out, including a slew of returners on both the boys and girls teams.

"We have about 24 kids out and a lot of them are younger," Burgess said. "So that's exciting. I think that we have some talent. We definitely have some things to learn and need to get some experience, but I think that we have some potential to be a pretty good team down the road."

The boys team failed to make the Class A state tournament in 2017, however, the Pony boys are not without state experience as both Caleb Chambliss and Nolan Lotton return after competing at state a season ago. The girls team did in fact qualify for the state tournament and the Ponies wound up finishing sixth. A big part of that effort was Teagan Fee, who shot 91 and 101, giving her ninth place overall, earning her Class A All-State honors.

While having an All-State golfer in the lineup will be a luxury for coach Burgess, the girls team, which currently has just four players, also has some others who return with state-tournament experience, such as senior Kinzee Peterson, who is also an All-State softball player and Jocelyn Staples. The other member of the girls team will be Sophie Kirkpatrick.

The boys team will have less experience overall than the girls squad, but there will also be more competition for a spot on the varsity roster each week. Burgess said it would be decided on a weekly basis but that as of right now Chambliss is considered his No. 1. Other contenders are Josh Warp, Tyrell Kjersem, Tavish McLean, Lotton, Eli Cloninger and Clint Owens.

"We are really young," Burgess said. "I think of the 24 kids that we have, only five or so are juniors or above. So we are going to be young but we have some talent."

Practice started Aug. 9 for the Ponies and the season starts even sooner, as the teams will each take part in their first meet starting today in Great Falls at the Great Falls Invitational. On Monday, the players will play at Meadowlark Country Club followed by Eagles Falls on Tuesday, which concludes the 36-hole meet that features plenty of Class AA competition.

Havre will turn around and host the Havre Invitational Thursday at Prairie Farms Golf Club. The Ponies will have a second home meet Aug. 28 at Beaver Creek Golf Course. Both teams are scheduled to compete in 10 tournaments leading up to the Eastern A Divisional which will be Sept. 21 in Laurel. The Class A state tournament will be Sept. 28-29 in Hamilton.