Golfers Place At State

The Broadus Golf team played at the State Tournament in Sidney last week. Weather for the first day of the two day event was wonderful, according to Broadus Head Golf Coach Chad Gatlin. The second day, on the other hand, was rather abysmal, with cold conditions and a steady 20-25 mph wind gusting to 35. The difference in weather was reflected in the scores, as by and large the bulk of the teams shot far better on day 1 compared to day 2.

Emma Isaacs, Broadus Sophomore, placed third at State by shooting a 91 in the first round and a 98 on day two for a 189 total. Isaacs continues to perform well at State Golf; in her freshman year she shot a 207 in Bozeman for 14th place at State.

Also placing for Broadus in Sidney were Graci Barbero in 10th, and Lauryn Billing in 13th. Graci shot a 102 and a 100 for a 202 total, and Lauryn shot a 105 and a 107 for a 212 total.

The Broadus Girls team placed third overall with a 603, narrowly missing second place Plentywood's 598, and first place Manhattan Christian's 589.

Casha Corder of Fort Benton placed first individually, shooting an 82 in the first round and a 92 in the second round for a 174 total. Mia Nicholas of Seeley Swan placed second with a 181.

Lea Aye of Broadus shot a 220 total score, with a 105 the first day and a 115 the second.

The third place state trophy will pair well in the high school trophy case with the divisional first place trophy won the week before, also in Sidney.

When comparing daily scores, the Broadus girls proved they could play in the tough conditions by putting up the lowest score in the second day of the tournament, as Broadus shot a 305 to Manhattan Christian's 307 and Plentywood's 308. Unfortunately, the gap from the first day was not enough to overcome the other teams.

For the boys, Wyatt Gee shot a 191 total for 14th out of 15 placers in the individual scores, with daily scores of 93 and a 98. Cooper Zimmer narrowly missed out on placing by shooting a 195, shooting an 85 on the first day and a 110 on day 2. Colton Biesheuvel shot a 105 and a 115 for a 218, giving Broadus a 603 team total, and placing Broadus in 7th place overall as a team. The top three teams were Manhattan Christian with a 540, MonDak with a 549, and Seeley Swan with a 572.

Solomon Bradley rounded out the Broadus golfers, shooting a 111 and 114 for a 225 total.

With the season now over, Coach Gatlin is looking towards next year, and with only three Seniors graduating from the team, Broadus Golf looks to be in good shape in coming years.

"It's always tough to lose the Seniors; they tend to play with a high level of confidence," Gatlin commented. Graduating this year from the team are Lea Aye, who will go on to play golf at Dickinson State University, Wyatt Gee, and Lacey Robinson.

For the other members of the team, they have all summer to use their skills learned on the course to improve their game for next year.

Gatlin reminisced on the season: "We had a great year, and saw a lot of improvement in the team. There were golfers on the team who improved 30 strokes in their game.

If they put in the time on the course this summer, their game will continue to improve."

Chad wanted to thank the parents and fans who came to watch the players in Sidney, mentioning how nice it was that the rules had been changed to allow fans on the course in recent years, as in the past fans were not able to walk the course with their players.

He also thanked his assistant coaches, Hattie Arithson and Rick Gatlin, commenting "Without their help this wouldn't have been doable. They are much appreciated."