Bluehawk golfers win State Championship

BILLINGS – The county’s Class B golf teams were active in state tournament competition last week.

The boys traveled to Billings where they competed at Eaglerock Golf Course, while the girls competed for the last time in 2015 at Pryor Creek Golf Course in Huntley.

In Billings, it was the Thompson Falls Bluehawks who came out on top and earned the 2015 state championship title for Class B.

The State Championship for golf was the first Thompson Falls title in  the sport in the school’s history.

Thompson Falls Head Coach Gary Thompson was pleased with how his team performed at the tournament.

“They knew we could do it and they just went out there and shot well,” Thompson said.

The Thompson Falls boys shot the low round of the tournament, a combined score of 641 over two days of competition to slip by the Manhattan Tigers, who finished second at the state tournament with a two day total of 649 strokes.

The Bluehawks shot a 326 on the first day of competition, Tuesday May 12, and made a marked improvement to their team score on the second and final day of competition, ending 18 with a combined score of 315.

“We started day two nine behind and ended up eight ahead,” Thompson said.

Thompson noted the team worked on their putting after the first round but it was the team’s golfers who delivered the championship.

“They had a goal and stuck to it,” Thompson said.

Leading the Bluehawks on the way to their state championship performance were Caleb Bates and Dalton Hooten.

Bates finished third in the tournament with a two-day score of 150, Bates shot a 79 on the first day and a 71 on the second day of competition to help Thompson Falls overtake Manhattan for the state title.

Ending his round right behind Bates, was Hooten, who ended the tournament with a score of 151.

Hooten shot 73 on the first day and a 78 on the second day of competition, tying for fourth with Bryce Mocabee of Huntley Project and Keagan Lindsoe of Three Forks.

Also competing for Thompson Falls in Billings were Dylan Beckman, Greg Wadsworth and Xander Crichton.

Beckman shot a 163 for the tournament, Wadsworth a 179 and Crichton ended the two days of competition with a final score of 198.

The Girls State B Tournament in Huntley featured golfers from both Thompson Falls and Plains.

Jade LaDeaux of Plains and Brooke Jacobs of Thompson Falls both competed in Huntley during this year’s State Tournament.

LaDeaux finished the two day tournament with a score of 198, shooting a 98 on the first day of competition and ending the second day with a round of 100.

Jacobs finished just behind LaDeaux, ending her tournament with a final tally of 199.

Jacobs shot a 106 on the first day of competition and completed the second round with a score of 93.

Reflecting on the season Thompson noted his team’s work ethic was exceptional.

“I was really pleased with the kids dedication to practice,” Thompson said.

Thompson added the athletes committed a lot of time to the sport putting in additional time outside of the required practice hours, which paid notable dividends when it came time to compete.