The Whitefish girls came close to bringing home some golf hardware last fall.

Now the Bulldogs believe they have the pieces to make another run at it. 

The Bulldogs return two of the golfers from a squad that placed second at both the Western A Divisional and State A tournaments last season. 

Senior Karlee Brown leads the team after finishing fourth it State, and fellow senior Ryhlee Scott was 13th, giving first-year coach Danny Neff an experienced duo at the top of his lineup. 

Neff expects plenty from them. 

“We have a really strong group of girls,” Neff said. “Brown is going to be a standout this year, not just for Whitefish, but for all Class A golf.” 

Brown has spent plenty of time on the course this summer, competing in tournaments both in and outside of Montana. 

Freshman Achilles Wagner gives the Bulldogs another young golfer to watch behind Brown and Scott.  

Bigfork senior Keegan Campbell returns after being All-State last season by finishing 15th. Fellow senior Jocelyn Holton also qualified for State and coach John Hollow notes the Valkyries return five seniors altogether, with Cheyanne Marchinek, Georgia Saner and Amelia Hall. 

Polson is almost the opposite. Three eighth graders are part of the program, with two already cracking the travel roster. Sarah Duchelle has impressed coach Cameron Milton early, while Junior JoHanna Bieber gives Polson an experienced upperclassman to lean on. 

Libby is young too, but coach Dann Rohrer has a couple of golfers who have caught his attention: Lucy DeShazer is the Loggers’ long returning golfer; freshman Quinley Leckrone might be a name to remember by the end of the season. 

“She (Leckrone) hits the ball as good as any girl I’ve had in a while,” Rohrer said. 

Columbia Falls rounds out the local group with senior Sawyer Clark hoping to make her way back to the state tournament. 

The bigger win for coach Josiah Osborne might simply be the numbers. The Wildkats have five girls out to play this season, giving the staff an opportunity to field a full postseason lineup for the first time since he took over the program. 

There are plenty of young faces around Western A this fall, but Whitefish has the experience to make another run at the top. 

Reporter Luke Schmit can be reached at 406-758-4441 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support. 

    Whitefish's Rhylee Scott watches her drive off the first tee during the Kalispell Invitational at Village Greens Golf Course on Wednesday, Sept. 10. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider