Malyevac leads the pack at Polson Invitational
Reece Malyevac stands in front of the scoreboard at the Polson Bay Invitational on Sept. 13. Malyevac placed first at the event, carding a 1 under 71. (Photo courtesy of Dann Rohrer)
Reece Malyevac stands in front of the scoreboard at the Polson Bay Invitational on Sept. 13. Malyevac placed first at the event, carding a 1 under 71. (Photo courtesy of Dann Rohrer)
Libby sophomore Reece Malyevac led the Logger golf team, and the rest of the 120 player field at the Sept. 13 Polson Invitational, firing a 1 under 71 to take first place.
“That’s an excellent score on a good golf course,” said coach Dann Rohrer in a statement.
Overall, the boys team secured third place out of 14 teams at the invitational. Mason Gotham and Dylan Buckner tied for 15th with scores of 84. Landon Haddock shot 93 and Thomas Roark carded 114.
Rohrer noted in his statement that former Libby golfers, trained with the support of Cabinet View Golf Club and the community junior golf program, are seeing success at the collegiate levels and beyond.
Jimmy Mee recently took fifth place at the Montana Open. Ryggs Johnston, who plays for Arizona State University, finished third in the nation last year and was featured on the Golf Channel last week. Jonny Cielak saw success as a college golfer in the Frontier Conference.
Rohrer thanked Jeff Dooley, Jerad Dill, Joe Cielak, Mark Managhan, Dean Thompson and others for helping to develop Libby golfers.
The Loggers faced a challenging tournament last weekend in Hamilton. With winds upwards of 40 miles per hour, difficult pin placements and dry greens, the Loggers still managed to secure sixth with a total of 380.
“We all played the same course at the same time and it was a good time to practice a knockdown shot and lag putting,” said Rohrer in a Sept. 20 statement.
Ten teams and 75 boys turned out for the invitational. Only two golfers shot in the 70s. Malyevac again led the Loggers with a score of 83. Gotham followed close behind, carding 91. Haddock and Roark continued to improve, shooting 101 and 105 respectively.
The Loggers will head back to Hamilton on Sept. 23 for a practice round before their divisional tournament the following day.
“It’s difficult to put into words how much fun and feeling of accomplishment this season has brought,” said Rohrer. “All the kids have shown a strong sense of dedication to becoming better, putting in the time and effort.”