Superior's Cataldo cards low score at Gary Thompson Invite

On a mostly sunny skies day, albeit a chilly morning start, the Gary Thompson Invitational high school golf event at River’s Bend Golf Course near T Falls crowned a pair of team and individual champions this past Saturday.

Hosted by Thompson Falls High, Florence emerged as the girls’ team champion in a field of just two teams with enough players to qualify for the team title. 

And the boys crown also went to golfers from Florence, who edged runner-up Seeley-Swan by five strokes over the 18-hole course. 

Seeley’s Mia Nicholas won her second local meet in a row, shooting a +14 over par, 14 strokes better than event runner-up Solveig Nygaard, who was +28. 

In the boys’ competition, Superior High junior Phin Cataldo fired a two-over par 74 to win the individual title, six strokes fewer than second-place Brody Duchein of Florence (80). 

Cataldo’s win was enough to propel the Bobcats to a third-place team finish (+98), while T Falls boys were sixth with a +149 score for the day. 

Local golfers (Sanders/Mineral schools) fared well on the scenic course along the banks of the Clark Fork River.  Plains Jarrett Weeks, the only golfer for the Plains men's team, took fourth with an 83.  He was followed by a St. Regis golfer Dillon Thomas, who placed fifth with a score of 84. 

Two other local golfers finished in the top 10, St. Regis’ Denver Thomas (tied for seventh, 88) and Superior’s Bryden Drey, who tied for tenth (93). 

St. Regis also got a 15th place finish from senior Kaleb Park (96), but the Tigers did not have enough golfers to qualify for the team title. 

In addition to Cataldo’s top finish, Superior got team points from Henry Hanson (24th, 109) and Dalton Boyce (25th, 110). 

Thompson Falls boys were topped by Tristan Kelly, who tied for 18th with a 102.  Senior Blake Shusterman tied for 20th (103), Nathan Baxter (T27, 114), Easton Helvey (T30, 118), Weston Block (T34, 121), Billy Detlaff (37, 128) and Jakob Molina (40, 144). 

Nicholas was the only Seeley golfer in the Top 10 in the girls’ competition, while St. Regis had three.  Leading the way for the Lady Tigers, was Kyla Teeters, who was seventh with a 114, and Avery Burnham, who tied for eighth with teammate Shelby Simkins, both of whom carded 116 on the day. The Lady Tigers also got 18th place from Jaycee Pruitt (149). 

Plains’ girls were led by Eleanor Bebb (11th, 119) and Cheyenne Little Whirlwind (12th, 127). Trotters’ golfer Grace Subatch was 17th with a 147. 

Next on the schedule for local golfers is the St. Regis Invitational this Tuesday (April 29) at Trestle Creek Golf Course just east of St. Regis.