Superior, St. Regis golf teams face-off at invite

ST. REGIS - Three high school golf teams competed at the Trestle Creek Golf Course April 17.

Superior finished first with 465 strokes, followed by St. Regis with 472 and Mullan at third with 524.

Ashley Cheesman of St. Regis swung a 133, also chipping in the first par of her high school career on two holes, improving from last week’s 146 at Bigfork. Elias King of St. Regis finished the day with a 109 and Courtney Cheesman had a 184.

Other notable players from St. Regis were Keenan Clute with a 111, Dakota Wickham had a 119 and Bryce Dellinger with a 133.

All of Superior’s players averages have been on par with other invitationals they have competed in this season.

Superior’s Josh Benda had a solid 83 and finished in first place out of any other competing player, Luke Boyce shot a 96 and Sierra Brunning had a 128 to finish the day. Taryn Ververis also finished with a 138.

Both local teams, St. Regis and Superior, dueled the whole day. However, Superior was able to upend the home team, squeaking by with a seven stroke advantage.

“Even though nobody qualified, we had a better day overall,” said Dan Park, head coach for St. Regis High School Golf. “Other kids are getting a lot closer to being where they need to be and are hitting the ball better.”

Both coaches report that the rain, which was moving in that day didn’t affect any of the game, nor did it cancel any portion of the game. However, it was extremely windy.

“That’s western Montana for you,” said Seth Kuhl, head coach for Superior High School Golf, commenting on the weather.

Park said there is always room for improvement, and he would like to see more from a particular area of his team’s game.

“The short game is critical, and a couple kids were missing by a couple of strokes again,” Park said. “It usually just comes down to a mental error, that’s just part of golf but it magnifies on our level.”

All in all, Park was pleased by his team’s progress, but would like for everyone to start hitting the ball more consistently.

“I think I can get most of these guys to get a qualifying score,” Park said.

On the other side of the ball, Kuhl felt confident with his team’s performance.

“Sierra got closer to qualifying, while Taryn and Craig had some rough rounds but shot higher than their averages,” Kuhl said.

Both teams will meet up again next week as they head to Plains.

On May 1, St. Regis will host another golf invitational at home, followed by the two final meets on the schedule for the season when they go back on the road and head to Seeley Swan and Deer Lodge.

After meeting back in St. Regis on May 1, Superior has three more meets on their schedule to round out the season starting May 21 when they take on Thompson Falls, Seeley Swan and Deer Lodge.