BUTTE – The Bozeman boys and girls golf teams swept the team titles at the Butte Invitational on Thursday.
The Bozeman boys took home the title by 36 strokes with a team total of 605. Billings West took second with 641. The Hawks were paced by freshman Justus Verge who shot a 72, tied for the lowest round of the day, to win the individual title by four strokes at 146.
Laurel Ward, the defending Class AA state champion, led Bozeman on the girls side with a third-place finish, shooting a two-day total of 159. The girls team was just as dominant as the boys team, winning by 18 strokes (671) and edging out the Golden Bears who again placed second (689).
In total, Bozeman placed four golfers in the top 10 on both the boys and girls side.
Butte Central’s Tricia Joyce and Billings West’s Carrie Carpenter took home a share of first place. Both posted scores of 83 on Day 1 and followed up with 75s in the second round to claim a share of first place by one stroke (158).
Boys Team Scores: 1. Bozeman (605), 2. Billings West (641), 3. Billings Senior (661), 4. Butte High (685), 5. Billings Skyview (688), 6. Great Falls High (704), 7. Great Falls CMR (732), 8. Belgrade (747), 9. Butte Central (752), 10. Dillon (835).
Girls Team Scores: 1. Bozeman (671), 2. Billings West (689), 3. Butte High (735), 4. Billings Senior (756), 5. Billings Skyview (765), 6. Great Falls High (819), 7. Belgrade (945), 8. Dillon (975), 9. Butte Central (N/A), 10. Dillon (N/A).
Boys Individual Leaderboard: 1. Justus Verge – 146 (Bozeman), 2. Brady Cady (Senior)/J.R. Small (Bozeman) – 150, 4. Jordan Verge – 152 (Bozeman), 5. Blake Loberg (West)/Tyler Hall (Senior) – 154, 7. Jace Rhodes (West), Jack Thorsen (Bozeman) – 157, 9. Tucker Pietrykowski (CMR) – 158, 10. Connor Mora (Great Falls) – 159.
Girls Individual Leaderboard: 1. Tricia Joyce (Butte Central)/Carrie Carpenter (West) – 158, 3. Laurel Ward (Bozeman) – 159, 4. Annika Danenhauer (Bozeman) – 165, 5. Kadence Fischer (West) – 168, 6. Cora Rosanova (Bozeman) – 171, 7. Kodie Hoagland (Butte) – 174, 8. Ella Prigge (Butte) – 175, 9. Sami Yates (Bozeman) – 176, 10. Nevin Larsen (West) – 183.