Wynne, Wolfpack boys eying State AA hardware

Flathead golf coach Roy Antley has five solid players on his girls team as it heads to the State AA tournament beginning today in Bozeman.

He regrets that he has just one Jillian Wynne.

“Overall we’re not super experienced,” Antley said of his Bravettes. “I don’t think we’re ready to compete with the best teams in the state quite yet, but if we play like we’re capable of we could get as high as fifth.

“And obviously, Jillian has her eyes on winning the thing.”

The two-day tournament will be played at Cottonwood Hills Golf Club, and Wynne is among the favorites to be medalist a year after finishing 12th at the 2020 State AA. Antley admits to being a little surprised.

“Pleasantly so,” he said. “She’s always been really solid, but she spent a lot of time this summer working on her game. She’s gotten really consistent. Her first round at divisionals she didn’t have any birdies, but I think she had 13 pars.

“If you can stay away from the big numbers, play steady golf and make a few putts, you can score. That’s Jillian’s game. I expect her to have a good tournament.”

The Glacier boys spent a good part of the 2021 season pulling out tight tournament wins before last week’s Western AA Divisional, when the Wolfpack slipped to third behind Helena Capital and Missoula Sentinel.

The good news is the Pack can sort of lay in the weeds this week. There is precedent: Sentinel was second by 20 strokes at divisionals a year ago and then surged to the 2020 AA championship.

“I think overall we were a little disappointed with how we played,” Glacier coach Doug Manaker said. “We didn’t put together two complete days.

“But all year long we’ve talked about the goal of not being our best on any days other than Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.”

Cottonwood Hills has a lot of old growth, which differs quite a bit from Glacier’s home course, Northern Pines. On the Pack’s resume are wins at the Helena and Kalispell tournaments, the latter being at Buffalo Hill.

On the minus side are the Gallatin Raptors, playing at home and coming off a 46-stroke win at divisionals. Jordan Verge led the Raptors with a second-day 64 — tying Billing West’s Jake Hedge for the lowest score ever by a Montana high schooler — and a two-day total of 134, 8-under par.

“With what they shot at the Eastern AA, they are the favorites,” Manaker said. “We’re just kind of going in with the attitude to play our best and put some pressure on those teams that are expecting to win.”

The Glacier girls have had solid team success this season and a pair of leaders in Chloe Tanner and Stella Claridge.

“Chloe and Stella have been playing really well,” said Manaker, whose Pack was second to Capital at last week’s divisional. “I expect that will continue.”

Flathead’s boys had a goal of reaching state as a team, and got it done not by placing in the top four at the Western AA, but having all five individuals in the Top 30 golfers not on those qualified squads.

Drew Lowry and Joston Cripe have led the Braves most of the season.

“We were really excited to get all of them to state,” Antley said. “Four of them are seniors, and that was a goal we set.

“They’re all capable of shooting a couple rounds in the 70s, and if they do that they’ll be in the hunt for that Top-15 (All-State) spot.”