One thing was certain following the 2024 version of the Plains Invitational high school golf tournament this past Friday in Plains: there are some pretty good young golfers in St. Regis and Florence.

St. Regis had a team total +43 to claim the boys team crown, while Florence’s girls placed first with a team total +166.

It also showed there are some pretty good golfers in Sanders and Mineral Counties.

Mia Nichols was the top finisher among the ladies, shooting an 18-hole total of 96, while Brady Duchien was the boys individual winner, carding an impressive 79 on the Wild Horse Plains Golf Course.

St. Regis golf Jack Connolly fired an 80 over the 18-hole layout, good for a second-place tie with Rollie Fisher.

Connolly, a state golf finals linkster from last year as a junior, helped the Tigers finish first in the team standings at 43 team strokes over par.

Next best among the local boys (Sanders/Mineral) golfers was Thompson Falls senior Cael Thilmony, who shot a 93 to finish ninth among the top 40 golfers from nine teams who entered the tournament.

Not far back from Thilmony was Superior’s Phin Cataldo, who like Thilmony is a multi-sport standout for their school.

T Falls’ Theo Nygaard was also a top 40 golfer, shooting a 96 over the rolling hills course, good for 14th place, on a day with a mixed bag of weather conditions. Right behind Nygaard was Plains senior Drew Carey (15th), who checked in with a 97, one stroke better than St. Regis junior Kaleb Park.

Plains golfer Brandt Snead was 18th among the boys with a 101. Other local golfers with good rounds were: T Falls’ Chase Helvey (112); Superior’s Owen Doyle (112); Braxton Dorscher (T Falls, 115), and eighth grader Weston Block (T Falls, 137).

In the girls competition, Mia Nichols was the individual champ with an 18-hole score of 95.

Thompson Falls got a tie for fourth place finish from Sophie Chou (105), while teammate Aubrey Baxter was sixth with a score of 109. That was two strokes better than fellow Lady Hawk Solveig Nygaard, who finished seventh with a 111 total.

Two other Lady Hawks, Olivia Nacarini (144) and Jaden Bewick (163) were part of the team’s second place finish.

Tops among the Plains girls contingent was Cheyenne Little Whirlwind who was 19th in the field with a score of 140. Trotters teammate Eleanor Bebb was 23rd with a 161 score.

The strong play by the T Falls girls helped them claim second in the team chase with a plus 181 score. Thompson Falls boys team placed fifth (+128), Superior took sixth (+144) and host Plains was eighth with a +192 team total.

Golfers from nine schools participated in the event.

Thompson Falls head coach Doree Thilmony was pleased with the efforts of both her boys and girls players.

“The boys are getting better and better each day,” Thilmony said. “Our girls finished second out of five teams. We have some strong girls on the team this season.”

Thilmony was happy with the play of several of the boys golfers as well.

“If is fun to see Cael (Thilmony) and Theo (Nygaard) push toward the top 10 every week,” she said. “Nygaard had two pars on the day and lowered his putts for the day with only 35”.

Thilmony also had praise for Chou and Baxter in the girls’ competition.

“Sophie struggled a bit off the tee box, but rebounded well. Aubrey had two pars on the day. She will be looking to bring her putts down this week in Eureka”.

Many of the golfers who took part in the Plains Invitational will next participate in the Eureka Invitational. Then they will journey to Rivers Bend Golf Course just west of Thompson Falls for the Gary Thompson Invitational this Saturday (April 20).

    Thompson Falls' Chase Helvey whacks an approach shot during this past Friday's Plains Invitational Golf tournament at WildHorse Golf Course in Plains. (Photo by Doree Thilmony)