Blackhawks State Golfers (L-R): Bethany Hoag, Trista Wendel, Cora Stone, Ava Thornsberry, Tegan Mauldin, Kase Anderson, Ben Haley and Coach Kellen Palmer.
BOZEMAN – Seven Seeley-Swan golfers headed to Bozeman last week for the State Golf Tournament, May 18-19. While hoping for a top five finish, the girls team finished seventh. Head Coach Kellen Palmer said almost everyone shot at least one round that was his or her best of the year.
"I was proud of our kids," Palmer wrote in an email. "The biggest success, from my point of view, is I think we have some kids that are hooked on this game! Lots of fun memories were made going to tournaments and making friends with kids from other towns."
Overall, Palmer said he was really happy with the season. He noted the improvement in each of the players at the end of the season. Even though the weather was a challenge, he appreciated Double Arrow and Canyon River allowing them to use their courses.
Even though five girls qualified for state, the Montana High School Association only allows four golfers per team in the State tournament. Trista Wendel attended the State meet and played the practice round on Monday but did not compete.
"[Trista] was a first timer and had some really strong rounds throughout the year," Palmer wrote. "She did a great job to qualify for state."
Tegan Mauldin came out swinging and shot her best rounds of the year with a card of 116 and 113 tying for 26th place. Palmer said while she started strong, she had some middle of the year struggles.
"She was able to peak at the right time and shoot her best rounds at state which is awesome!" Palmer wrote.
Bethany Hoag was consistent both days scoring 116 and 121 for 32nd place.
"Bethany did a great job this season of being our senior leader," Palmer wrote. "She was very consistent and improved all year."
Ava Thornsberry and Cora Stone were both first time golfers. They finished state within one stroke of each other with 244 and 245. Thornsberry tied for 43 and Stone placed 45.
Palmer said Thornsberry is a natural athlete.
"She has a nice swing and worked her tail off to get better. This was evident in her scores from the beginning of the year until the end," Palmer wrote. "She played great at state and I can't wait to see her continue to improve this summer and next spring."
Palmer called Stone "a student of the game" who put in the time to improve.
"She finished her year with her best round to date [shooting a 108 day 2] and I know she will keep improving moving into next year," Palmer wrote.
While only two boys qualified for state, Ben Haley and Kase Anderson represented the Blackhawks. Haley shot a 202 for 29th place and Anderson took 57th with a card of 223.
Palmer said Haley struggled to meet the State Meet qualifying score.
"He loves the game and continued to improve until he not only qualified but shot his best round at state [95 on Day 2]," Palmer wrote. "He will be a big contributor to the golf team the next two years."
Despite using more clubs from Palmer's bag than his own, Palmer said Anderson did a tremendous job of working during the year and broke the century mark to qualify for state.
"If he keeps playing, he has a bright future in front of him," Palmer wrote.
"It's good for those kids to get to experience the pressure of playing in an individual event like state. It will make them better in pressure situations in every aspect of life moving forward." Palmer wrote, "It was such a fun year to get to work on golf with these athletes. They made it so much fun, every one of them. I hope they all keep playing this summer and go out again next year!"
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