Johnston grabs first prep win

Libby freshman Ryggs Johnston took advantage of sterling course conditions at Eagle Bend Golf Club to earn his first prep victory, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to win the Steve Hullett Invitational by four strokes on Thursday.

Johnston had two birdies and an eagle on the front nine to pull out to the lead with a 33 at the turn. He closed strong as well, despite what he condsidered a poor putting performance.

“I hit the ball the best I’ve hit in a while,” said Johnston, who finished second in each of Libby’s first two meets of the season.

“It could’ve been a lot better if I would’ve putted decent. Today was great weather. Nice and warm, not too windy.”

Potkonjak carded an even par 72 in his round, to lead the Bigfork boys to a second-place team finish with a combined score of 343. Vikings teammate Colton Stodghill finished tied for sixth with a round of 81.

“I did everything pretty well,” Potkonjak said. “It was a little bit of a rough finish, but I played pretty good.”

Shelby won the boys team title by five strokes, placing three golfers in the top 10.

Anaconda senior Caleb Stetzner finished in third place and Libby senior Jonny Cielak, medalist in his first two meets of the season, was fourth with a 78.

Shelby freshman Skyler Martin skated past the girls field to win by six strokes, carding a 16-over 88.

“I hit the green a lot,” Martin said. “That helped. My putting was pretty good.

“I started off not doing very well, but I ended strong.”

Thompson Falls’ Brooke Jacobs and Elsie Brown both shot 94 to tie for second and lead the Blue Hawks to the girls team title.

Eureka’s Popla Sawangsawai was the top Northwest finisher, shooting a 97 to finish in fifth place. Libby’s Lily Feeback tied for ninth at 102.

The tournament got a new title this week, renamed for longtime Bigfork golf coach Steve Hullett, who is currently battling cancer. Players wore blue ribbons at the tournament to recognize Hullett, who made an appearance.

Hullett has been the golf coach at Bigfork since the school began offering the sport to students.

“We wanted to change the name of this tournament to honor Coach Hullett’s contribution to Bigfork golf and Bigfork schools in general,” Bigfork activities director Dave Creamer said in an email.

“We know Coach is a fighter and will be back to see many more of these tournaments in the future, but we felt like this recognition of his contributions to Bigfork golf were long overdue.”

Steve Hullett Invitational

Thursday

Eagle Bend Golf Club, Bigfork

Par 72

BOYS

Team Scores

Shelby 338, Bigfork 343, Ronan 354, Thompson Falls 362, Anaconda 365, Libby 372, Seeley Swan 376, Eureka 481, Darby 493

Individual Top 10

1, Ryggs Johnston, Libby, 68; 2, Joseph Potkonjak, Bigfork, 72; 3, Caleb Stetzner, Anaconda, 74; 4, Jonny Cielak, Libby, 78; 5, Dylan Beckman, Thompson Falls, 80; T6, Colton Stodghill, Bigfork, 81; T6, Fisher Niemeyer, Ronan, 81; 8, Bridger Martin, Shelby, 82; T9, Brock Whitted, Shelby, 83; T9, Aaron White, Shelby, 83.

By Team

SHELBY (338) — B. Martin 82, B. Whitted 83, A. White 83, T.J. Reynolds 90, J. Anderson 108.

BIGFORK (343) — J. Potkonjak 72, C. Stodghill 81, J. Landon 91, A. Emslie 99, J. Haberlock 109.

RONAN (354) — F. Niemeyer 81, V. Bird-Webster 87, T. Olson 89, A. Camel 97, M. McGuyer 121.

THOMPSON FALLS (362) — D. Beckman 80, C. Bates 84, K. Kenison, M. Johnson 107, J. Frields 125.

ANACONDA (365) — C. Stetzner 74, B. Napier 92, D. Gervais 97, E. Peterson 102, C. Morley 105.

LIBBY (372) — R. Johnston 68, J. Cielak 78, A. Freese 102, Z. Petersen 124.

SEELEY SWAN (376) — M. Nicholas 85, J. Haley 91, J. Cahoon 93, B. Jungers 107, S. Linford 123.

EUREKA (481) — E. Croucher 104, J. Tullis 117, C. Raso 129, S. Stramer 131.

DARBY (493) — C. Valenzano 93, Z. Kline 118, B. Fisher 138, T. Brewer 144, A. Smith 168.

MISSOULA LOYOLA (NS) — S. Bryan 97, S. Gendron-Newbary 106, C. Waters 130.

PLAINS (NS) —C. Benson 91, A. Cole 99, A. Ihms 121.

SUPERIOR (NS) — T. Ververis 121.

GIRLS

Team Scores

Thompson Falls 413, Ronan 424, Shelby 429, Missoula Loyola 457, Eureka 459, Anaconda 492.

Individual Top 10

1, Skyler Martin, Shelby, 88; T2, Brooke Jacobs, Thompson Falls, 94; T2, Elsie Brown, Thompson Falls, 94; 4, Katie Fagg, Loyola, 96; 5, Popla Sawangsawai, Eureka, 97; 6, Jessica Bronner, Thompson Falls, 98; T7, Jade LaDeaux, Plains, 100; T7, Kaitlyn Woirhaye, Ronan, 100; T9, Brooklyn Olson, Ronan, 102; T9, Lily Feeback, Libby, 102.

By Team

THOMPSON FALLS (413) — B. Jacobs 94, E. Brown 94, J. Bronner 98, J. Vanicek 127, W. Micklon 147.

RONAN (424) — K. Woirhaye 100, B. Olson 102, T. Ulutoa 106, L. Hales 116, H Popishil 154.

SHELBY (429) — S. Martin 88, M. Hellinger 109, J. Stevens 113, A Aklestad 119.

MISSOULA LOYOLA (457) — K. Fagg 96, E. Burt 117, Ma. Purdy 118, J. Huffman 126, H. Burt 148.

EUREKA (459) — P. Sawangsawai 97, D. Truman 108, P. Benson 118, L. Marquardt 136.

ANACONDA (492) — L. Stoppler 103, H. Davis 112, B. Conrady 120, B. Worl 151.

LIBBY (NS) — Lily Feeback 102, I. Croucher 138.

BIGFORK (NS) — R. Whitney 164.

PLAINS (NS) — J. LaDeaux 100.

SEELEY SWAN (NS) — J. Hood 136.