Lake County golf teams make up ground against divisional rivals

RONAN - The Polson girls' golf team closed the gap on divisional rivals Whitefish and Anaconda, finishing in third place with a score of 399 in the Ronan Invitational last Friday at the Mission Mountain Golf Course in Ronan.

"I think our girls have a strong chance to finish at least second in the conference," Polson golf head coach Bill Owen said. "I'm hoping they also make a run at Whitefish."

After getting outpaced by both teams quite handily in the Anaconda Invitational last week, Owen said he was happy with the way the team has caught up. Polson finished just eight strokes behind Anaconda, which scored a 391, while Whitefish finished in first with a score of 368.

They shaved 22 strokes off their team score from last week, as senior Amy Williamson placed fifth with a 93 and sophomore Anna Digiallonardo finished ninth with a 98.

Right behind them in fourth place was the Ronan girls' team on its home course with a score of 436.

"It helps a little bit, familiarity is great," Ronan coach Rupe Paulson said of his team.

Senior Alex Dulmes finished third with a 92. Junior Payge Delaurente shaved 22 strokes off her score from last week in Anaconda for a 112.

The Ronan boys finished outside of the top ten but junior Riley Dennis did finish sixth in boys with a score of 78. The team was missing two starters.

"We're still a very young team," Paulson said. "The kids attitude is promising. Everyone of my kids had personal best scores in this tournament."

The Polson boys' team bounced back from being non-existstent last week because Owen didn't feel like he had enough players ready for the competition to placing fourth in the tournament with a team score 345.

While none placed in the top ten, most of them sat just outside of it with their scores.

Sophomore Hayden Congden led all Pirates with an 82, senior Dakotah Jenson has an 83, sophomore Cody Fischer had an 84 and junior Austin Van Tom had a 96 despite playing in his first competitive golf tournament.

"That's a good thing. I think that the top three, if they work at it, got to be in the seventies," Owen said. "I've got to get the other three players in the eighties. They're very capable of doing that."

Both Polson golf teams will play on Friday at East Glacier. The Ronan teams will play on Monday and Tuesday at Whitefish and Eureka.

Ronan Invitational

Aug. 20

Boys Standings

1. Hamilton (303)

2. Whitefish (310)

3. Glacier (327)

4. Polson (345)

5. Sentinel (350)

6. Anaconda (357)

7. Stevensville (360)

8. Columbia Falls (363)

9. Flathead (368)

10. Frenchtown (369)

Girls Standings

1. Whitefish (368)

2. Anaconda (391)

3. Polson (399)

4. Ronan (436)

5. Glacier (455)

6. Frenchtown (459)

7. Flathead (486)

8. Browning (563)