MISSOULA, Mont. – Despite playing in cold and windy conditions, freshman Drew Reinland flirted with the course record before settling for a 5-under-par 67 in the second round on Tuesday to help the Lewis-Clark State College men’s golf team capture the Frontier Conference Tournament title with a 576-604 win over Carroll College at Larchmont Golf Course.
The 36-hole match for the title saw the Warriors shoot even par 288s in both rounds, while Carroll had a 297 and a 307.
The Warrior women claimed third place by defeating Montana Tech 329-375. Westminster defeated Rocky Mountain for the title to mark the first time a women’s team other than LCSC and Rocky Mountain won the FC title.
Both the LCSC men and Westminster women earned automatic berth to their respective NAIA national tournaments. The men’s tournament is set for May 24-27 at Silvis, Ill. It’s the third straight year LCSC has qualified for nationals at Silvis.
Although only the top four individual scores are used for the team score, all 10 scores posted by LCSC during Tuesday’s play were 77 or less. Three scores, including two by Jason Molner, broke par, while Reinland matched par in the opening round and then was 8-under-par at one point during the second 18 before running into a little trouble.
“It was really satisfying to see the kids play as solid as they did in the cold and windy conditions,” LCSC coach Paul Thompson said. “And Drew just played outstanding. In the three rounds he went 71, 72 and 67, which is really solid for our No. 5 golfer.
Reinland, who is from Walla Walla, was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year earlier in the week.
Molner, a junior from Longview, Wash., cared a 71 in the opening 18 on Tuesday and then followed with a 69. Juniors Kyle Gable (72-77) and Tyler Johnson (73-75), both of Hayden, Idaho, also had solid rounds as did senior Connor McCracken of Eagle, Idaho. The three-time conference Player of the Year shot 76 and 77.
On the women’s side, freshman Brooke Dagner had a 78, while fellow freshman Idah Whisenant had an 82 to pace LCSC. Kelsey Haycock had an 84, Alana Norris an 86, and Shanna Herman a 94 to round out LCSC’s scoring.
Thompson said the future looks bright for the women’s team as Herman and Haycock are both sophomores. LCSC also played the season without sophomore Heather Bruce, who was expected to be the team’s No. 1 player but had to sit out after having surgery in the fall.
