The Whitefish and Polson golf teams could have plenty to contend with at Marias Valley Golf Club, site of the State A tournament, on Friday and Saturday.

Billings Central’s boys. Livingston’s boys. The Lewistown and Glendive girls teams.  

The Shelby wind. 

“I’ve heard it’s in great shape,” Polson golf coach Cameron Milton said of Marias Valley. “It’s a tough golf course. It all depends on how the wind is. If it’s howling, it’s going to be difficult. If the weather is nice, it will be less difficult.” 

Milton is taking two tough teams to Shelby: The Pirates won the Western A Divisional boys team title, and the Lady Pirates took second to the Whitefish girls. The Whitefish boys in turn were runners up to Polson. 

And the Pirates were third at last year’s state tournament, behind the Corvallis and Billings Central boys. Polson is led of course by Max Milton, Cameron’s junior son won and shot a 65 at last week’s Western A.  

“He’s playing great,” Cameron Milton said. “He and Colin (Jensen, of Billings Central) are pretty close. It will be fun to see what happens.” 

Last October in Sidney the younger Milton led after the first day; he finished third while Jensen fired a second-day 66 to become medalist.  

Those two will be in this year’s medalist hunt along with Laurel’s Royce Taylor, Central’s Carson Mangel and Corvallis’ Dylan Wirt, among others.  

The Central Rams won the Eastern A Divisional with an impressive 293 total. Livingston, one team that is used to the wind, was next at 308. 

Out west, Polson’s winning team total was 303; next was Whitefish — led by Mason O’Neil, Ashton Taylor, and Nick and Zach Schmid-Sommer — at 313. The Bulldogs are taking four seniors to Shelby. 

“We’ve been talking about Polson being the team to beat,” Whitefish coach Danny Neff said. “In order to be the best, we have to beat the best. I like how our kids are going in with a little chip on their shoulder.” 

Polson is seeking its first title since the Pirates pulled off a state title sweep in 2023. 

“We don’t have any seniors,” Milton said of his boys squad, which includes Cash Brown and Soren Lund. “They’ve all come up through our juniors program, and they’re playing great. They’re all excited to go compete.” 

Milton added that no question, Whitefish is a great bet to win its first girls title since 2015: “The clear favorite if you compare the scores.” 

Whitefish won the Western A with 371; Lewistown took the Eastern A with a total of 388. 

Polson’s girls, for the record, came in at 377. 

“We kind of gave Whitefish a little run, for like an hour,” said Milton, who is playing two juniors, a sophomore and two eighth-graders. “Our goal was to make State, and they took second. So we’re kind of playing with house money.” 

The Bulldog girls are led by seniors Karlee Brown and Ryhlee Scott. 

“It’s bittersweet,” Neff said. “It’s exciting to see them really prosper but it’s going to be tough to see them leave. 

“The girls have had a great year. We’ve been really into the data, and their average place is 1.2. We’ve had a really solid year.” 

Both Brown and Scott are capable of leading the entire field, though Hamilton’s Cameron Burnett (74 last week) is the medalist favorite. Brown, fourth at state last year, has been Whitefish’s No. 1 for a while. 

“She’s been putting up some really good scores,” Neff said. “She’s always in contention in what tournament we get into. We have some high hopes to see what she can do.” 

Defending team champion Billings Central finished seventh at the Eastern A, though the Rams’ CeCe Fornshell remains; she could end up in the final group.