GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The Lewis-Clark State College men’s golf team cooled off a bit in the final round but still captured the title in the second Frontier Conference regular season tournament, which wrapped up Tuesday at the par-71 Eagle Falls Golf Course.
The Warriors had a team score of 3-under-par 565 after Monday’s opening 36 holes, but windy conditions and tougher pin placements saw the Warriors take a 305 team score on the final 18 for an 870 total.
Rocky Mountain, which trailed the Warriors by 23 strokes after the opening day, shot the best team score on Tuesday with a 293, but finished third overall at 881. Carroll managed to finish second in the tournament at 879.
“The wind really blew today and we just weren’t hitting the ball that solid,” LCSC coach Paul Thompson said. “They did make the pins a lot tougher today and with the wind, that made it pretty tough out there.”
The conference holds three regular season 54-hole tournaments during the year and the team scores are combined together to determine an overall champion. LCSC currently leads Rocky Mountain by 36 strokes heading into the final tournament, which will be held in the spring in Butte, Mont.
Junior Kyler Gable, who had consecutive rounds of 68 to hold the 36-hole lead, fired a 78 on Tuesday to finish at 214, which is 1-over-par. He finished tied for second overall behind medalist Connor Rakowski, who fired a 73 for Rocky Mountain on Tuesday.
On the women's side, the Warriors came up just short in their bid to overtake Carroll for third place. The Warriors shot a final round of 351 to finish at 1052, three shots behind Carroll, which shot a 350 on Tuesday.
Rocky Mountain won the women's title with a 996 total, 11 shots ahead of Westminster. Westminster, however, has a three-shot lead over RMC in the total standings heading into the spring tournament. LCSC is 95 shots behind Westminster.
LCSC senior Alana Norris had the second-best round among the women on Tuesday with a 79 to leave her at 258. Teammate Idah Whisenant, a freshman, continued her strong play with a 263.
The Warriors will be back in action for the 36-hole North Idaho College Invitational at Avondale in Coeur d’Alene on Sunday and Monday. The tournament will feature both Frontier Conference schools along with some junior colleges.
MEN
Team scores – 1, Lewis-Clark State 305-870. 2, Carroll 297-879. 3, Rocky Mountain 293-881. 4, Lethbridge 316-913. 5, Westminster 321-940. 6, Montana Tech 328-964. 7, Great Falls 333-966. 8, Montana Western 1006.
Medalist – Connor Rakowski 73-213.
LCSC – Kyler Gable 78-214, Jason Molner 75-218, Tyler Johnson 79-221, Connor McCracken 75-222, Drew Reinland 77-224.
Other LCSC scores - Dillon Williams 74-224, Kyler Nilsson 80-236, James Rooney 84-239.
WOMEN
Team scores – 1, Rocky Mountain 340-996. 2, Westminster 341-1007. 3, Carroll 350-1049. 4, Lewis-Clark State 351-1052. 5, Montana Tech 381-1107. 6, Montana State-Northern 404-1169. 7, Great Falls 451-1303.
Medalist - Rachel Hosterman, Rocky Mountain, 238.
LCSC – Alana Norris 78-258, Idah Whisenant 87-263, Brooke Dagner 97-265, Shanna Herman 91-273, Kelsey Haycock 94-277.
Other LCSC scores - Jennifer Sorensen 89-269, Jordan Knapp 94-279.
