Steve Hullet Invitational Bigfork girls 4th, boys 5th
Bigfork’s Augie Emslie hits his second shot on hole No. 2 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Bigfork’s Isabella Santistevan chips from a greenside bunker on hole No. 2 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Eureka’s Kaden Benford putts on the 14th green at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Shelby’s T.J. Reynolds plays his third shot on hole No. 2 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Bigfork’s Augie Emslie chips from a greenside bunker on hole No. 2 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Eureka’s Kaden Benford tees off on the 14th hole at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Bigfork’s Isabella Santistevan plays her second shot on hole No. 1 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Bigfork’s Augie Emslie hits his second shot on hole No. 2 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Eureka’s Kaden Benford leaves his putt just short of the cup on No. 14 at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork on Thursday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
BIGFORK — The Bigfork girls just missed out on a top three finish at the Steve Hullet Invitational golf tournament on Thursday at Eagle Bend Golf Club.
The Valkyries, led by Isabella Santistevan, Melissa Paulsen and Carly Stodghill, finished with a 446 total. Anaconda, 445, was third.
Santistevan, Paulsen and Stodghill all shot 108. The trio just missed out on a top-10 finish by three strokes.
Missoula Loyola, led by medalist Kylie Esh with a 75, had four girls in the top 10 and claimed the team title with a 338 total. Shelby, 392, was second.
The Bigfork boys tied Florence for fifth place, both netting 401 scores and finishing four shots behind fourth-place Anaconda.
Loyola, led by medalist Bucky Crippen with a 73, had five individuals in the top 10 and posted a 332 team total.
Thompson Falls, 340, was second and Shelby, 347, third.
Augie Emslie had the best showing for the Bigfork boys, posting a 91 score. He missed a top-10 individual showing by two shots.
Bigfork and Eureka play at the Thompson Falls Invitational on Saturday at Rivers Bend Golf Course at 10 a.m.
“We have a lot of young kids coming up through the program,” Bigfork coach Brett Damaskos said.
“Tournament experience is very beneficial to them.”
He said Emslie, a senior, is just starting to find his stride.
“This spring has been tough for everybody,” Damaskos said of the weather conditions and late course openings.
“I expect his (Emslie’s) scores and everyone else’s to really improve over the next few weeks. We’re just getting some work in now (outside). Seeing the balls fly in the air has changed the game for them.”
Steve Hullet Invitational
Thursday At Bigfork
Eagle Bend Golf Club
BOYS
Team Totals
Missoula Loyola 332; Thompson Falls 340, Shelby 347, Anaconda 397, Bigfork 401, Florence 401, Superior 435, Deer Lodge 587
Top 10 Individuals
Bucky Crippen (Loyola) 73
Dylan Beckman (Thompson Falls) 80
Kade Pardee (Thompson Falls) 82
Aaron White (Shelby) 84
Dylan Beck (Loyola) 86
Sean Kaleva (Loyola) 86
Brock Whitted (Shelby) 86
Joseph Kendrick (Loyola) 87
Wyatt Bruvsen (Shelby) 88
Reed Noyd (Loyola) 89
TJ Reynolds (Shelby) 89
Ethan Brown (Thompson Falls) 89
Michael Johnson (Thompson Falls) 89
Area Teams
Bigfork — Augie Emslie 91, Brandon Hopkins 100, Jimmy Abney 105, Alec Taylor 105, Asher VanCampen 105
Eureka — Kaden Benford 146
GIRLS
Team Totals
Missoula Loyola 338, Shelby 392, Anaconda 445, Bigfork 446
Top 10 Individuals
Kylie Esh (Loyola) 75
Katie Fagg (Loyola) 79
Isadora Tomazeli (Loyola) 81
Skyler Martin (Shelby) 93
Elsie Brown (Thompson Falls) 98
Kendall Anderson (Shelby) 99
Reese Whitted (Shelby) 100
Bailey Johnson (Shelby) 100
Kelsey Esh (Loyola) 103
Annie Alexander (Florence) 105
Area Teams
Bigfork — Isabella Santistevan 108, Melissa Paulsen 108, Carly Stodghill 108, Hattie Emslie 122, Ashley Anderson 151
Eureka — Peyton Benson 112