HAMILTON — Ryggs Johnston walked off the course at Hamilton Golf Club with his fourth consecutive state championship on Saturday.
After an opening-round 5-under-par 67, the Libby High School phenom fired a 2-under 70 to clinch the 2018 Class A state golf championship. Johnston went out in 36 but was able to shoot a 2-under 34 coming in. His two-day total of 137 was eight strokes better than Laurel’s Carson Hackmann, Whitefish’s Cameron Kahle, Polson’s Matt Hobbs and Tristan Hanson of Hamilton.
While Hackmann finished tied for second, he was the leader for Laurel, which claimed the team title with a total of 597. Nick Pasquarello, after an opening-round 71, struggled on Day 2 but finished with a 79 for a total of 150, good for sixth place. Cash Golden finished tied for seventh with a 151 and Paul O’Neil finished ninth with a 152.
Hamilton (625) finished 28 shots behind Laurel to claim second. Hanson’s Day 2 70 tied Johnston for the low score of the day.
On the girls side, Butte Central’s Tricia Joyce claimed her first state title. After finishing fourth last year, Joyce shot a two-day total of 152 to win by five strokes over Corvallis freshman Macee Greenwood.
Joyce shot a 75 on Day 1 to open up a three-shot lead on Greenwood. Leading the rest of the field by double digits, it was a two-horse race on Day 2. Joyce went out in 38 and Greenwood in 41, giving Joyce a six-shot lead on the final nine holes. Joyce came in in 39 for a 5-over-par 77 and total of 8-over for the tournament.
Laurel’s girls team completed the Locomotives’ sweep of the Class A team titles. Haylee and Hannah Adams, who finished in a tie for fourth, each shot 176 to lead Laurel. Elise Shovar shot 184 to finish ninth and gain all-state honors, too. Laurel shot 726, finishing 36 strokes ahead of runner-up Whitefish.
2018 Class A Invitational
Hamilton Golf Club
Boys Individual Results
| Day 1 | Day 2 | ||||||||
| Place | Player Name | School | Out | In | Total | Out | In | Total | Final Score |
| 1 | Ryggs Johnston | Libby | 33 | 34 | 67 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 137 |
| 2 | Carson Hackmann | Laurel | 37 | 35 | 72 | 38 | 35 | 73 | 145 |
| 2 | Cameron Kahle | Whitefish | 39 | 34 | 73 | 35 | 37 | 72 | 145 |
| 2 | Matt Hobbs | Polson | 40 | 34 | 74 | 36 | 35 | 71 | 145 |
| 2 | Tristan Hanson | Hamilton | 37 | 38 | 75 | 33 | 37 | 70 | 145 |
| 6 | Nick Pasquarello | Laurel | 35 | 36 | 71 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 150 |
| 7 | Zach Taylor | Hamilton | 34 | 37 | 71 | 39 | 41 | 80 | 151 |
| 7 | Cash Golden | Laurel | 38 | 36 | 74 | 38 | 39 | 77 | 151 |
| 9 | Paul O’Neil | Laurel | 35 | 37 | 72 | 41 | 39 | 80 | 152 |
| 10 | Derek Wolff | Frenchtown | 37 | 39 | 76 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 154 |
| 11 | Zel Frost | Stevensville | 42 | 36 | 78 | 37 | 43 | 80 | 158 |
| 12 | Luke Schlimgen | Corvallis | 38 | 38 | 76 | 44 | 39 | 83 | 159 |
| 12 | Kade Ewalt | Laurel | 42 | 38 | 80 | 43 | 36 | 79 | 159 |
| 14 | Mason Pyron | Frenchtown | 44 | 40 | 84 | 40 | 36 | 76 | 160 |
| 15 | Ryan Adolph | Billings Central | 42 | 38 | 80 | 40 | 41 | 81 | 161 |
| 15 | Ivan Yazvac | Stevensville | 43 | 40 | 83 | 40 | 38 | 78 | 161 |
Boys Team Results
| Summary | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| Laurel | 289 | 308 | 597 |
| Hamilton | 309 | 316 | 625 |
| Stevensville | 328 | 331 | 659 |
| Frenchtown | 337 | 323 | 660 |
| Billings Central | 337 | 325 | 662 |
| Whitefish | 338 | 336 | 674 |
| Polson | 352 | 333 | 685 |
| Belgrade | 363 | 356 | 719 |
| Fergus | 364 | 368 | 732 |
| Havre | 393 | 377 | 770 |
Girls Individual Results
| Day 1 | Day 2 | ||||||||
| Place | Player Name | School | Out | In | Total | Out | In | Total | Final Score |
| 1 | Tricia Joyce | Butte Central | 39 | 36 | 75 | 38 | 39 | 77 | 152 |
| 2 | Macee Greenwood | Corvallis | 39 | 39 | 78 | 41 | 38 | 79 | 157 |
| 3 | Ella Shaw | Whitefish | 45 | 43 | 88 | 42 | 43 | 85 | 173 |
| 4 | Hannah Adams | Laurel | 45 | 44 | 89 | 42 | 45 | 87 | 176 |
| 5 | Haylee Adams | Laurel | 46 | 46 | 92 | 43 | 41 | 84 | 176 |
| 6 | Ashtyn Swigart | Custer County | 42 | 44 | 86 | 44 | 49 | 93 | 179 |
| 7 | Megan Archibald | Whitefish | 47 | 42 | 89 | 46 | 44 | 90 | 179 |
| 8 | Keelee Storrud | Corvallis | 46 | 47 | 93 | 45 | 45 | 90 | 183 |
| 9 | Elise Shovar | Laurel | 44 | 46 | 90 | 50 | 44 | 94 | 184 |
| 10 | Perry Widdicombe | Billings Central | 45 | 46 | 91 | 47 | 46 | 93 | 184 |
| 11 | Cali Cannon | Polson | 48 | 44 | 92 | 45 | 49 | 94 | 186 |
| 12 | Karly Volk | Sidney | 47 | 48 | 95 | 48 | 43 | 91 | 186 |
| 13 | Lindsey Huber | Dillon | 48 | 48 | 96 | 43 | 48 | 91 | 187 |
| 14 | Aly Rose | Hamilton | 44 | 50 | 94 | 46 | 48 | 94 | 188 |
| 15 | Sammee Bradeen | Libby | 50 | 45 | 95 | 50 | 43 | 93 | 188 |
Girls Team Results
| Summary | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| Laurel | 367 | 359 | 726 |
| Whitefish | 378 | 382 | 760 |
| Corvallis | 386 | 396 | 782 |
| Sidney | 412 | 399 | 811 |
| Polson | 412 | 410 | 822 |
| Hamilton | 405 | 421 | 826 |
| Custer County | 406 | 421 | 827 |
| Havre | 441 | 465 | 906 |
| Fergus | 462 | 450 | 912 |
Full results can be found here.
