For the last five years, the Glacier High School boys golf program has never finished lower than third at the Class AA state tournament, producing in that span both individual and team titles. They are a threat to win it all every fall.
Glacier’s girls, on the other hand, have had a number of talented golfers but never a team from top to bottom that could compete at major AA events. That is, until this year.
“This is the best girls team we’ve ever had,” head coach Rob Logsdon said.
At the Missoula Invitational on Aug. 16-17, the Lady Wolfpack won their first invitational in the program’s five-year history. The boys also won to give Glacier a clean sweep.
“They were excited,” Logsdon said of the girls. “We’ve been around long enough that it doesn’t necessarily occur to them there are a lot of ‘firsts,’ but I think they’re starting to get the idea after they won that.”
Then last week at the Flatfish Invitational, held in Kalispell and Whitefish, the girls beat out eight other teams to claim the top prize. Glacier shot a first-round 368 and second-round 364, led by senior Shelby Ballard’s 81-83. Ballard finished second overall.
While Ballard has been consistently posting the team’s top scores, what sets this year’s team apart, Logsdon said, is the depth. Golf teams send five varsity players to tournaments and Logsdon said all five of his girls can shoot solid scores.
At Flatfish, each of Glacier’s golfers shot under 200 combined for the two rounds. Polson was the only other team to achieve that feat, though the Pirates finished 26 strokes behind in third place.
Along with Ballard, rounding out Glacier’s varsity lineup are Hannah Davis, Kaydee Aurich, Shea Stevens and Mallory Skinn. Ballard and Skinn are seniors, while the other three are juniors.
“They’ve been working hard over the past few years,” Logsdon said. “They played hard in the summer and in the offseason.”
Though Glacier has done well in Western AA play, Logsdon points out that “the best schools are in the east.” Butte, Billings West, Billings Senior and Bozeman are all tough.
“They know they have to be even better than they have been to be competitive with those teams,” he said.
There are 13 girls out for Glacier’s program overall, Logsdon said. He hopes this year’s team will pave the way for the more inexperienced girls.
“We reminded them that they’re kind of setting the program on a whole new level,” he said. “They’re pretty grounded kids but they’re really excited.”
Meanwhile, as usual, the boys are positioning themselves to make a run at a Class AA trophy. Glacier has been winning tournaments, including a first-place finish at Flathfish, thanks to strong efforts across the board.
Leading the way are two of the state’s top golfers: Ryan Porch and Logan Iverson. Andy Boyer and freshman Cody Sherrill round out the top four, while several golfers are fighting for the fifth position.
“Ryan and Logan aren’t playing as solid as they want, but they’re still (among the) top four or five boys in the state,” Logsdon said.
Similar to girls, the top boys teams in Class AA may be coming out of the east, Logsdon said. Billings West, Billings Senior and Bozeman “are the three main guys,” he said, though a number of other teams should be competitive at state as well.
At the Great Falls Invitational on Aug. 22-23, Glacier proved it can beat any of those top eastern teams, tying West for the overall title with a two-round total of 606. Senior came in third, followed by Bozeman and then Whitefish.
“We haven’t shot under 300 this year, which is a concern because that’s the magic number with the teams around the state,” Logsdon said. “At state, we’ll have to shoot well under 300 both days to win.”