Winning on the Prairie: Blue Pony golfers headed to state

With perfect weather, and a perfect home course, the Havre High golf teams were looking to take full advantage of their chance to play the Central A Divisional at Prairie Farms Golf Course. And in so many ways, the Blue Ponies did just that.

Friday at Prairie Farms, the Havre girls placed second as a team, with Teagan Fee winning the Central A girls championship, while the HHS boys came in a close third in the team race, but still qualified all five of their boys for this weekend’s state tournament in Hamilton. So, with the mission to get all nine Havre players to state, first-year head coach Walynn Burgess was more than pleased with how the tournament went.

“Overall, we did well,” Burgess said. “We’re taking all nine kids to state, and the girls took second. So you can’t be disappointed about that. Overall, it was a good day and a good tournament for us.”

Good indeed.

Fee, in her final high school tournament at Prairie Farms, fired a solid round of 91 to win the girls tourney by 10 strokes. It was her third win of the season, and her seventh Top 10 of her last year of high school golf.

“Teagan, all year, she’s been consistently at the top,” Burgess said. “She put in the work on her game over the summer, she really has been dedicated to this season, and it’s paying off for her now. She’s playing great golf.”

Fellow senior Kinzee Peterson added a 105 to place fifth and Jocelyn Staples carded a 116 to finish eighth as Havre scored a 485 to finish behind only Lewistown. Freshman Sophia Kirkpatrick had a tough first divisional tournament, but, with the Ponies placing second, all four of Havre’s girls will make the trip to state.

Meanwhile, the young Havre boys battled all day for a spot in the top two, but, the Ponies came up just short. Lewistown and Belgrade tied atop the team standings with scores of 372, while the Ponies scored 378 to take a close third. Still, all five of Havre’s boys easily made it into the Top 15, led by junior Tyrel Kjersem, who has a strong 89 to place fourth. Sophomore Nolan Lotton shot 94 to finish eighth, while sophomore Josh Warp added a 95 to place 10th. Clint Owens and Caleb Chambliss, two more sophomores, finished 11th and 12th, respectively, and will also be headed to the state tournament.

“Our boys, they battled all day,” Burgess said. “And if you look at what we shot when we played here back in August, we improved quite a bit. I thought our Number’s three through five really battled and played well, and that gave us a chance. We were right in it to the end, so that shows how much our boys have improved throughout the season.”

Now, all nine Blue Pony golfers will get on the bus Thursday for the long trip to Hamilton, where theyll play in the Class A state tournament Friday and Saturday at the Hamilton Country Club.

Central A Golf

At Prairie Farms

BOYS

Team Scores: Belgrade 372, Lewistown 372, Havre 378, Livingston 413.

To 15 Individuals

1. Caleb Myers, LEW, 81; 2. Brock Blake, BEL, 85; 3. Braxton Butler, BEL, 86; 4. Tyrel Kjersem, HAV, 89; 5. Bryce Hayes, LIV, 90; 6. Ben Kolar, LEW, 92; 7. Anthony Madison, BEL, 94; 8. Nolan Lotton, HAV, 94; 9. Jake Hendersen, LEW, 94; 10. Josh Warp, HAV, 95; 11. Clint Owens, HAV, 100; 12. Caleb Chambliss, HAV, 104; 13. Tyler Struff, LIV, 105; 15. Truman Pierce, LEW, 105.

GIRLS

Team Scores: Lewistown 453, Havre 485, Belgrade 508, Livingston 526.

Top 15 Individuals

1. Teagan Fee, HAV, 91; 2. Allison Denton, LEW, 101; 3. Erin Elgas, BEL, 101; 4. Romy Feldtman, LIV, 104; 5. Kinzee Peterson, HAV, 105; 6. Lanie Morgan, BEL, 112; 7. Jacy Ayers, LEW, 113; 8. Jocelyn Staples, HAV, 116; 9. Josie Fiesen, LEW, 117; 10. Morgan Davis, LEW, 122; 11. Kennedy Hader, LIV, 128; 12. Jessi Bolten, LEW, 141; 13. Sophia Flikkema, BEL, 143; 14. Annika Coleman, LIV, 147; 15. Ashlan Mortensen, LIV, 147.