Superior, St. Regis golf compete in Loyola

LOYOLA - The Loyola Invitational in Missoula was a success for Superior High School, as one of their own placed in the top ten where over 100 players from other area schools also participated in the event.

Josh Benda placed seventh, shooting 82 on the first day of the invitational and 84 the following day.

“His swing is looking great and I am very excited about what he will be doing for Superior golf the rest of the season,” said Head Coach Seth Kuhl. “The best thing is that he is only a junior so we will get him again next year.”

Taryn Ververis also played well for Superior in his first tournament, improving 12 strokes compared to the first day of competition.

“I expect good things out of him in the future,” he said.

Other notable players for Superior were either unavailable because of the district’s spring break this week or because they are participating in other school sporting events.

“Luke Boyce was unable to attend as he is also in shooting sports and he was attending nationals this week,” he said. “Anthony Parkin was on spring break with his family in sunny San Antonio.”

Kuhl expects many of the younger players will continue to improve.

“Golf is a confidence sport and with maturity and experience comes the confidence,” he said. “I call it the six inch game. If you can control the six inch game you will continue to improve. The six inches of golf is the space between your ears. If you can keep your head and work through it you will be a much better golfer.”

St. Regis golf coach Dan Park was glad it didn’t rain in Loyola this past week, but he wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance of the golfers who attended the event.

It was a long drive from St. Regis, literally.

St. Regis was short on help for the already small team, and those who did make the trip struggled compared to other teams in the area.

Only Keenan Clute who shot 119-110-229 and Dakota Wickham, 136-132-268 was able to attend the invitational this past week. Park noted this was the case because of the St. Regis school district’s spring break.

“They both had their struggles,” Park said. “Clute has a few more things to work out.”

However, Park said both golfers improved some, but they still have to hit the ball straighter.

St. Regis should be able to work out the kinks as the spring schedule progresses as the Loyola Invitational typically marks the beginning of the golf season for many area schools.

The weather will get warmer, and the grass will certainly get greener, more so if St. Regis golf can progress to that other side of the lawn.

“All in all, I’m not too unhappy with the progress of the players, but a lot of bad shots caused a lot of extra strokes,” Park said.

In the upcoming tournament this week in Bigfork, Park is hoping to have five boys and one girl attend.

The team has a significant amount of work to do to improve a better shooting record before the season wraps up next month at the Deer Lodge Invitational.