Field chasing Glacier, Whitefish
DAVID LESNICK | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 15 years, 1 month AGO
Glacier senior Grahm Schmaltz is right where he wants and needs to be to pick up another medalist honor this fall.
Schmaltz carded a 2-under 68 on Thursday over the 6,311-yard layout at Village Greens Golf Course for a one-shot lead in the Flatfish Invitational golf tournament.
Reed Platke of Whitefish was the only other golfer to break par, shooting a 69. Five players are tied for third with 74s - Justin Newton of Glacier, Joel Mallams of Whitefish, Haydon Congdon and Cody Fischer of Polson, and J.B. Carlson of CMR.
"Within two or one, or have the lead, it doesn't matter either way," Schmaltz said of where he likes to be going into the final 18 holes of tournament play.
"Just as long as I have a chance to win."
Schmaltz has done plenty of that - winning - in his final season, finishing first at the Crosstown Dual and at tournaments in Great Falls and Missoula. He's been second in his other two outings.
His worst round to date is a 74, which he shot on the first day at Great Falls.
"I've been pretty consistent, shooting in the high 60s," he said.
Kiley McConnell and BreAnna Cameron, both of Whitefish, also had impressive opening rounds for the girls in the Flatfish Invitational. McConnell shot an 8-over 80 on the South Course at Whitefish Lake Golf Course to edge Cameron, 81, for the top position on the leader board.
Katie Fish of CMR is third, four shots off the pace, while Karli Aurich of Glacier and Rachel Solomon of CMR are tied for fourth with 87s.
McConnell shot 36 on the front and 44 on the back nine.
"That front round was exceptional," Whitefish coach Terry Nelson said.
"One-over par.
"A great round for her."
The same can be said for Cameron, who shot 43-38.
"She finished really strong with two birdies and four pars on her last six holes," Nelson said.
Nelson said Taylor Johnson shot a personal best 93, which "is a really good score on the South Course. I'm excited for her. That helped us post our best team score of the year at 346."
It also gives Whitefish the first-day lead. CMR (360) is second and Glacier (381) third.
For the boys, Glacier (294) leads with Whitefish (301) second and CMR (309) third.
Schmaltz had his putter working on Thursday, totaling just 28 for his round. He did not 3-putt one green.
"Fifteen feet or so," he said of his longest putt.
"Nothing super long."
Schmaltz shot a 32, which put him 3-under, on the front nine at Village Greens and closed with a 1-over 36 on the back.
"I finished (the front) with an eagle, par, birdie," he said.
"Then I was just marking pars on the back nine."
He did bogey the 12th and 18th holes, but slipped in a birdie at 17.
"It was actually playing a lot harder today with the cold (temperatures), the wind," Schmaltz said of Village Greens.
"You had to hit more knockdown shots so they wouldn't balloon into the wind."
Tournament play winds up today with the boys playing the South Course at Whitefish Lake Golf Club at 9 a.m. That could be a huge advantage for Schmaltz.
"I like the North Course better, but I play better on the South Course," he said.
The girls finish up at Buffalo Hill Golf Club with a 9 a.m. start.
The Flatfish is the final regular-season outing. Billings hosts the Class AA state tournament next week, while Village Greens will be the site for Class A state play.
Flatfish Invitational
Boys
Village Greens Golf Course
Par 70, 6311 yards
Team Totals
Glacier 294, Whitefish 301, C.M. Russell 309, Missoula Hellgate 315, Missoula Sentinel 321, Polson 328, Whitefish No. 2 328, Glacier No. 2 332, Flathead 333, Missoula Big Sky 334, Great Falls High 343, Glacier No. 3 354, Flathead No. 2 362
Top Ten
Grahm Schmaltz, Glacier 68
Reed Platke, Whitefish 69
Justin Newton, Glacier 74
J.B. Carlson, CMR 74
Haydon Congdon, Polson 74
Cody Fischer, Polson 74
Joel Mallams, Whitefish 74
Colin Gunstream, Hellgate 75
Trey Griffith, Glacier 75
Dustin Kaste, CMR 75
By Team
Glacier (294) - Grahm Schmaltz 68, Logan Iverson 79, Justin Newton 74, Trey Griffith 75, Ryan Porch 77
Whitefish (301) - Reed Platke 69, Joel Mallams 74, Zack Maassen 76, Joe Blakemore 82, Carl Talsma 83
C.M. Russell (309) - J.B. Carlson 74, Bryson Turner 81, Matt Levesey 79, Dustin Kaste 75, Dylon Meddock 84
Missoula Hellgate (315) - Colin Gunstream 75, Jeff Madison 78, Evan Schultz 77, Sebastian Rubitaille 87, Anders Nord 85
Missoula Sentinel (321) - Derek Colberg 79, Alec Shull 79, Rory Mill 83, Ian Ray 80, Max TeSoro 88
Polson (328) - Cody Fischer 74, Haydon Congdon 74, Dakotah Jensen 84, Logan Howell 106, John Walk 96
Whitefish No. 2 (328) - Tyler Schift 90, Dylan Parr 78, Cole Havens 80, Max Lamb 83, Alex Feuhrer 87
Glacier No. 2 (332) - Kendrick Lee 85, Andy Boyer 81, Kyle Leduc 85, Quinn Kropp 86, Dillon Eaves 81
Flathead (333) - Michael Lavin 79, Max Applegate 82, Odin Kruse 86, Dylan Nelson 94, Tanner Salois 86
Missoula Big Sky (334) - Jake Cooper 78, Casey Diaz 83, Chase Bloom 80, Hudson Ruiz 93, Aaron Koerner 98
Great Falls High (343) - Kyle Clatter 84, Tony Pulaney 87, Chris Kirkegaard 78, Caleb Taylor 94, Matt Douglas 106
Glacier No. 3 (354) - Austin Hilde 89, Devin Myren 94, Cody Buck 98, Griffin Baker 79, Jan Vavra 92
Flathead No. 2 (362) - Karl Ingram 86, Jake Williams 93, Cole Bauer 94, Ben Tanberg 89, Jon Allen 104
Whitefish No. 3 - Iaian Cameron 94, Kyle Barron 99, Triston Walsh 110
Columbia Falls - Brian Marcille 100
Flathead No. 3 - Cory Felde 95, Erik Karolak 94
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Girls
Whitefish Lake Golf Course
South Course
Par 72, 5,361 yards
Team Totals
Whitefish 346, C.M. Russell 360, Glacier 381, Missoula Sentinel 389, Polson 407, Flathead 429, Missoual Big Sky 430, Glacier JV 479, Great Falls High 484,
Top 10
Kiley McConnell, Whitefish80
BreAnna Cameron, Whitefish 81
Katie Fish, CMR 85
Karli Aurich, Glacier 87
Rachel Solomon, CMR 87
Natalia Arlint, Polson 90
Mari Wolverton, Sentinel 91
Cayley Fish, CMR 91
Elsie Satterfield, Glacier 91
Cali Toth, Flathead 91
By Team
Whitefish (346) - Kiley McConnell 80, Danielle McCully 92, BreAnna Cameron 81, Klaire Taylor 101, Taylor Johnson 93
C.M. Russell (360) - Katie Fish 85, Cayley Fish 91, Rachel Solomon 87, Taisha Bell 97, Ryanne Daily 98
Glacier (381) - Karli Aurich 87, Elsie Satterfield 91, Andrea Spicher 99, Shea Stevens 104, Shelby Ballard 111
Missoula Sentinel (389) - Mori Woverton 91, Tawney Hughes 94, Brooke Bowman 93, Ashton Squires 111
Polson (407) - Natalia Arlint 90, Amy Williamson 97, Tammy Heftved 110, Kat Medland 110
Flathead (429) - Cali Toth 91, Andrea Battello 106, Jourdan McFarland 112, Jaycee Rocha 132, Meghan Loyd 120
Missoula Big Sky (430) - Mackenzie Enich 98, Kelton Enich 101, Jillain Walsh 104, Katelyn Cotner 127
Glacier JV (479) - Mallory Skinn 116, Karlee Omsberg 126, Terri Mattson 115, Kaydee Aurich 146, Hannah Davis 122
Great Falls High (484) - Daniell Kuntz 116, Ali Wahl 125, Anna Cottrill 115, Jessica Keller 128
Columbia Falls - Michele Hagen 113, Maggie Panasuk 148, McKenna Emmerich 157
Whitefish JV - Emma Dowaliby 110