BUTTE, Mont. – Both Lewis-Clark State College golf teams held on to their leads from day one to finish in first place at the conclusion of the Frontier Conference tournaments on Tuesday. The Warrior men blew away the field on the final day to finish with a 13 stroke cushion, while the Warrior women fought their way to a narrow two stroke victory.
On the men’s side, LCSC, which began the day with a three stroke lead, shot a round-leading 286 on Tuesday to finish at 874 overall. Westminster had a 292 to claim second with an 887, and Carroll shot a 304 to finish third at 900.
The Warrior women’s team, which also began the day with a three stroke lead, shot a 322 to finish the tournament at 943. Westminster gained one stroke by shooting a 321 but fell a little short of the title at 945. Rocky Mountain had the best women’s round of the day with a 319 to take third overall at 953.
“It feels really good,” said LCSC head coach Paul Thompson about having both squads claim titles. “We have a good group of guys and gals. I really think we have more depth than any of the other teams, but it should be pretty competitive all the way through.”
With the wins, the Warrior teams each stand in first place in the conference. The conference standings and regular season titles are based on the cumulative scores of each team at the conference tournaments. Two regular season conference tournaments remain this season, one in Great Falls, Mont., on Oct. 1-2, and then the final one in Salt Lake City on April 15-16.
The Warriors did have a few of its players finish high in the individual standings on Tuesday, but overall it was roster depth that made the difference.
On the men’s side, Jason Molner shot a 70 on the final 18 holes to finish second overall at 217. He was followed closely by teammates Drew Reinland and Rylee Iacolucci. Reinland, who held the lead after day one, had a 74 and finished at 218, and Iacolucci had a 71 to end up at 219. Joel Christensen also shot a 71 on Tuesday.
“Having our No. 4 and No. 5 guys (Iacolucci and Christensen) shoot a 71 is what built the lead,” said Thompson. “It was a team effort—real consistent all the way through. Anytime you can get four players to shoot those kind of numbers you’re going to do well.”
Westminster’s Dan Jensen claimed the men’s medalist honors as he shot a tournament-best 68 on Tuesday and finished at 215.
In the women’s tournament, LCSC’s Idah Whisenant had an 82 on the final day to finish at 231. She shared medalist honors with Westminster’s Mari Hutsi who shot a 77 over the final 18 holes.
Heather Bruce and Brooke Dagner also put up solid scores for LCSC as they both finished at 233.
“When you have a No. 4 player that shoots a 75, that’s pretty good,” Thompson said referencing Dagner. “Our team is full of depth. We struggled a little bit with the cold and wind today, but we were able to eke out the win.”
The Warrior women will compete next at the North Idaho Invite in Spokane on Sept. 23-24. LCSC’s men will play again Saturday against Whitman and Whitworth at the Quail Ridge Golf Course in Clarkston, Wash.
Montana Tech Invite
Men
Team Standings - LEWIS-CLARK STATE (284-304-286--874); WESTMINSTER (293-302-292--887); CARROLL (291-300-304--895); ROCKY MOUNTAIN (305-304-295--904); GREAT FALLS (319-314-308--941); MONTANA TECH (321-310-311--942)
LEWIS-CLARK STATE (284-304-286--874) — Drew Reinland 69-75-74, Jason Molner 71-76-70, James Rooney 72-78-84, Rylee Iacolucci 72-76-71, Joel Christensen 78-77-71, Aiden Clark 81-79-82
WESTMINSTER (293-302-292--887) — Dane Jensen 75-72-68, Matt Bushman 75-79-76, Taylor Judy 77-80-73, Robby McKee 73-73-77, Tanner Koppan 70-78-75
CARROLL (296-300-304--900) — Colin Gunstream 70-77-80, Nick Schull 77-74-75, Taylor Ratliff 76-74-76, Ben Ternes 73-75-74, Connor Hausauer 77-82-79, Zane Clark 82-82-76, Anthony Wood 81-88-83, Michael Lavin 78-79-79
ROCKY MOUNTAIN (305-304-295--904) — Daniel Thompsett 74-73-73, Tyler Westwater 79-84-76, Taylor Noble 79-79-76, Jared Strickland 76-77-79, Cody Scheierman 76-75-70, Brandon Meyer 83-77-77, Justin Arney 88-80-0, Cooper Simpson 80-79-0
GREAT FALLS (319-314-308--941) — Indy Kimura 79-77-78, Nick Jankiewicz 77-84-78 Keithon Walter 82-74-77, Haydan Payan 81-96-84, Grady Stinchfield 84-79-75, Kevin Sullivan 83-79-88, B.B. Burtnyk 91-92-92
MONTANA TECH (321-310-311--942) — Zach Maassen 82-76-73, Dustin Kaste 83-76-81, Casey Diaz 79-79-79, Alec Schull 95-79-83, Derek Colberg 77-86-78
MSU-NORTHERN — Jeremy Jensen 76-78-78, Justin Newton 74-74-77, Mike Whitmore 92-86-101
MILES CITY CC — Luke Baylis 87-78, Vincent Vernier 72-81, Kenny Anderson 88-83
Women
Team Standings - LEWIS-CLARK STATE (309-312-322--943); WESTMINSTER (313-311-321--945); ROCKY MOUNTAIN (313-321-319--953); CARROLL (323-342-334--999); GREAT FALLS (346-353-351--1050); MONTANA TECH (371-364-371--1106); MSU-NORTHERN (412-416-412--1240)
LEWIS-CLARK STATE (309-312-322--943) — Heather Bruce 76-76-81, Karina Vavila 79-83-84, Idah Whisenant 74-75-82, Brooke Dagner 80-78-75, Kelsey Haycock 80-86-91, Morgan Scott 87-79-86
WESTMINSTER (313-311-321--945) — Brandi Bork 79-76-79, Jenteal Jackson 77-78-82, Mari Hutsi 76-78-77, Lauren Okutsu 81-79-83, Amy Krommenhoek 91-98-96
ROCKY MOUNTAIN (313-321-319--953) — Katy Peterson 79-79-78, McKenzie Webinger 74-81-80, Chere Anderson 87-83-81, Margo Salsbery 79-80-80, Allie Sauvageau 81-81-92
CARROLL (323-342-334--999) — Jackie Mee 76-79-80, Julia Gross 75-88-80, Amanda Roberts 100-93-95, Hannah Christian 82-85-83, Cassy Slayton 90-90-91, Sarah Cunningham 92-90-91, Meagan Dooney 104-91-89, Alexandria Shinaut 98-98-105
GREAT FALLS (346-353-351--1050) — Alexa Bell 82-84-89, Taisha Bell 82-90-86, Hayley Rice 92-87-91, Kelsey White 90-92-85, Kelsey Jirells 105-94-0, Andrea Bushly 112-104-108
MONTANA TECH (371-364-371--1106) — Ashleigh Ogolin 90-87-85, Beth McAuley 96-90-95, Danielle McCully 94-91-91, Shelby Fortune 97-98-101, Alex Hareland 91-96-100, Nikki Ferradas 112-103-93
MSU-NORTHERN (412-416-412--1240) — Katie Ross 87-90-90, Taylor Faulkinberry 109-113-101, Ashley Hooper 109-105-101, Kirsten Bense 107-108-120
MILES CITY CC — Sable Kerzmann 86-87-86, Emily Williams 104-97-91, Katie Danielson 116-118-119
