Glacier's Grande in hunt at Class AA state golf

Golfing the same course he’s played since he was 4 years old, Glacier senior A.J. Grande put himself into contention for the title at the Class AA state golf meet on Tuesday at Buffalo Hill Golf Club.

Grande played his front nine 2-under par, hitting birdie on each of the par 5s, and made a birdie and an eagle to counter two bogeys in the back nine to card a first-round 3-under-par 69. He is two shots back of defending champion Joey Moore of Billings West, who had three birdies and an eagle in his back nine to enter the clubhouse at 5-under 67.

“I careered it today, it was really nice to play at my best,” Grande said.

“I know how the course plays. I know that the first six (holes) on this course are just a different kind of golf. I knew I could make up on holes that most people wouldn’t. I had a great comfort out there.

“I played really good. I had some three putts, which was unfortunate. At the same time, I played really good and to the best of my ability. I can’t be happier about it.”

The Great Falls C.M. Russell boys carded all four scoring golfers in the top nine and enter the final day with an 11 stroke lead on Great Falls High. CMR’s Duncan Hollar is in third place after scoring five birdies and no bogeys in his last nine holes, sitting tied with Great Falls’ Rylan Periman at 1-under 71.

Glacier’s Brayden Aurich is in a tie for 11th after carding 78 and Flathead’s Sam Elliott is in a tie for 13th with a 79. The Glacier boys are in ninth as a team and Flathead is in 10th.

The Bozeman girls are dominating the competition, holding three of the top four spots. The Hawks have all four scorers in the top six and all five golfers in the top 10.

Bozeman’s Laurel Ward shot a 4-over 76 to take a four-stroke lead on Billings West’s Carrie Carpenter.

Bozeman’s Annika Danenhauer is in third place with an 81 and the Hawks’ Kameryn Basye is in fourth with an 82. The two golfers are the top returners at the meet, finishing tied for second last season.

Flathead’s Cassidy Lavin is in a tie for 13th after carding a career-best 94 and teammate Marcella Mercer is in shooting distance of all-state honors with a first-round 98. The Glacier girls are in 11th and Flathead in 12th as a team.

The greens played fast the first day, after being cut and rolled before the round. A bout of rain could slow down conditions on the course for the final round.

“The mistakes they made today they’re not going to make tomorrow,” Flathead coach Kyle Dunfee said of his team. “The big issue today was the fast greens. Keeping it in play, they know you have to do that to score here.

“It might rain tonight, it might slow the greens down. They’ve been putted on one day. If they don’t do anything with them in the morning they’re going to be slower. They’re going to have to adjust. Hopefully for the better.”

The final round is scheduled to start today at 10 a.m. with champions crowned in the afternoon.

Class AA State Golf Tournament

at Buffalo Hill Golf Club

Par: 72; Yardage: B-6199, G-5279

First Round

BOYS

Team Scores — C.M. Russell 298, Great Falls 309, West 316, Sentinel 329, Bozeman 330, Butte 333, Senior 340, Hellgate 344, Glacier 344, Flathead 353, Skyview 356, Big Sky 357, Helena 359, Capital 367

Individual Top 15 — 1, Joey Moore, West, 67; 2, A.J. Grande, Glacier, 69; T3, Rylan Periman, GFH, 71; T3, Duncan Hollar, CMR, 71; 5, Jack Johnston, Sentinel, 73; T6, Ben Kaul, CMR, 75; T6, Tucker Pietrykowski, CMR, 75; 8, J.R. Small, Bozeman, 76; T9, Will Hoagland, Butte, 77; T9, Tucker Thomas, CMR, 77; T11, Thain Johnson, GFH, 78; T11, Brayden Aurich, Glacier, 78; T13, Braxton Humphrey, Senior, 79; T13, Keaton Sunchild, GFH, 79; T13, Sam Elliott, Flathead, 79.

Scores by Team

CMR (298) — Duncan Hollar 40-31—71; Ben Kaul 37-38—75; Tucker Thomas 37-40—77; Tucker Pietrykowsi 38-37—75; Zane Potratz 45-45—90

GREAT FALLS (309) — Connor Mora 42-39—81; Keaton Sunchild 37-42—79; Rylan Periman 36-35—71; Thain Johnson 39-39—78; Tyson St. John 51-46—97

WEST (316) — Joey Moore 35-32—67; Jace Rhodes 44-39—83; Blake Loberg 45-38—83; Peyton Streiff 40-43—83; Mason Johnson 51-47—98

SENTINEL (329) — Jack Johnston 39-34—73; Blake Hasquet 40-41—81; Shawn Ryan 49-44—93; Sam Miland 42-49—91; Jaden Dennis 45-39—84

BOZEMAN (330) — J.R. Small 36-40—76; Jack Thorsen 40-42—82; Garrett Neilson 44-40—84; Bradley DeMartino 44-44—88; Jack Bright 48-42—90

BUTTE (333) — Will Hoagland 40-37—77; Isaiah Weldon 37-43—80; Kaven Noctor 43-39—82; Carsten Quam 48-46—94; Riley Walsh 48-46—94

SENIOR (340) — Braxton Humphrey 38-41—79; Brady Cady 41-43—84; Tyler Hall 48-42—90; Connor Kieckbusch 44-43—87; Nico Micheletti 48-44—92

HELLGATE (344) — River Duce 43-39—82; Ryan Domako 45-42—87; Ben Huguet 45-40—85; Soren Rasmussen 45-45—90; Kade McCulloch 50-50—100

GLACIER (344) — A.J. Grande 34-35—69; Brayden Aurich 39-39—78; Hunter Watterud 49-54—103; Ethan Purdy 49-49—98; Caden Willis 50-49—99

FLATHEAD (353) — Sam Elliott 40-39—79; Ezra Epperly 45-45—90; Keaden Morisaki 42-50—92; Spencer Christy 46-46—92; Ryan Thomsen 50-54—104

SKYVIEW (356) — Cody Brunner 46-41—87; Adam Nedens 42-42—84; Ben Pope 477-43—90; Caden Freeman 53-42—95; Ben Ebel 54-53—107

BIG SKY (357) — Zach Harvey 44-44—88; Blake Heintzelman 47-47—94; Hanke Mesen 48-41—89; Ryan Harvey 44-47—91; Jackson Susott 48-41—89

HELENA (359) — Austin Murphy 44-45—89; Tucker Hauer 58-47—105; Gavin Anderson 47-40—87; Luke Thomson 43-45—88; Caleb Binfet 48-47—95

CAPITAL (367) — Simon Clark 43-49—92; Trevor Swanson 48-49—97; Holden Gehringer 47-43—90; Cal Irvine 47-49—96; Gabe Witham 47-42—89

GIRLS

Team Scores — Bozeman 329, West 355, Skyview 383, Butte 388, Sentinel 392, Helena 406, Senior 407, Capital 439, Great Falls 442, Big Sky 453, Glacier 459, Flathead 473

Individual Top 15 — 1, Laurel Ward, Bozeman, 76; 2, Carrie Carpenter, West, 80; 3, Annika Danenhauer, Bozeman, 81; 4, Kameryn Basye, Bozeman, 82; 5, Emily Garden, Sentinel, 85; T6, Peyton Kimmel, West, 90; T6, Cora Rosanova, Bozeman, 90; 8, Nevin Larsen, West, 91; 9, Cierra Sundheim, Skyview, 92; T10, Ellie Jackson, Bozeman, 93; T10, Sadie Starcevich, Butte, 93; T10, Kielar Jones, Capital, 93; T13, Alivia Skeslien-Jenkins, West, 94; T13, Cassidy Lavin, Flathead, 94; T13, Sev Armstrong, Hellgate, 94; T13, Lauren Peterson, Sentinel, 94.

Scores by Team

BOZEMAN (329) — Kameryn Basye, 40-42—82; Annika Danenhauer 44-37—81; Laurel Ward 39-37—76; Cora Rosanova 49-41—90; Ellie Jackson 49-44—93

WEST (355) — Carrie Carpenter 39-41—80; Peyton Kimmel 47-43—90; Nevin Larsen 49-42—91; Alivia Skeslien-Jenkins 45-49—94; Raelynn Bruyere 50-50—100

SKYVIEW (383) — Kyra Brockhausen 48-51—99; Kyra Hart 47-50—97; Aliyah Morrow 47-48—95; Amanda King 55-52—107; Cierra Sundheim 48-44—92

BUTTE (388) — Sadie Starcevich 49-44—93; Grace Luoma 52-47—99; Ella Prigge 52-46—98; Kelliann Neary 53-51—104; Kennedy Lean 48-50—98

SENTINEL (392) — Emily Garden 47-38—85; Lauren Peterson 50-44—94; Andrea Porch 50-58—108; Marissa Breum 53-52—105; Olivia Boehm 62-57—119

HELENA (406) — Reyla Williams 50-49—99; Grace Jones 54-51—105; Ginny Kerr 48-53—101; Lauren Williams 51-50—101; Pilar Santos 59-53—112

SENIOR (407) — Jalen Wagner 50-46—96; Virginia Montague 56-44—100; Sarah Qualls 58-55—113; Sidney Overby 57-46—103; Cassidy Venner 54-54—108

CAPITAL (439) — Kielar Jones 48-45—93; Marrin Chapman 61-60—121; Lexi McNew 55-54—109; Makayla Lawrence 56-60

GREAT FALLS (442) — Kelly Jones 57-58—115; Morgan Sunchild 52-57—109; Hannah Fehres 55-57—112; Katrina Adkins 50-56—106; Presley Birdrattler 72-60—132

BIG SKY (453) —Alexis Knight 52-45—97; Maddy Morris 64-61—125; Sabryn Knight 54-64—118; Ava Heintzelman 61-58—119; Erin Murphy 57-62—119

GLACIER (459) — Kate Truckle 51-50—101; Hailey Iverson 60-51—111; Hannah Iverson 69-63—132; Avery Anderson 55-60—115; Reide Barkis 73-63—136

FLATHEAD (473) — Marcella Mercer 53-45—98; Cassidy Lavin 47-47—94; Maisi Hanson 63-72—135; Sheridan Stroop 82-64—146

CMR (NS) — Blair Hebnes 49-57—106; Bailee Potratz 51-54—105; Morgan Zuidema 63-58—121

HELLGATE (NS) — Sev Armstrong 48-46—94; Lane Mannix 73-66—139