SHELBY — The Jefferson boys and Florence girls maintained their first-round leads to capture the team championships Wednesday at the Class B state golf tournament at the Marias Valley Golf & Country Club.
It's the second consecutive state title for Jefferson's boys, who led Choteau by just four strokes after Tuesday's first round. But the Panthers pulled away from the field on Wednesday, finishing with 654 total strokes to outpace second-place Three Forks, which totaled 674 strokes. Malta placed third, finishing five strokes back of Three Forks.
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Jefferson was led by Tyson Lee, who shot a 4-over-par 76 in the second round after opening the tournament with a 71. Lee's two-day score of 147 strokes placed him second, one shot back of individual medalist Zach Munding of Missoula Loyola. Lee and Munding were tied going to the 18th hole, and Munding drilled a par putt to win the championship after Lee bogeyed the hole.
Munding carded the only par round of the day Wednesday, shooting an even-par 72 to overtake Lee for the individual title. Munding had three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars on the day.
Following Munding and Lee on the leaderboard were Choteau's Kellen Meyer, Huntley Project's Griffin Zimmer and Jefferson's Ben Werner, who finished in a three-way tie for third with 154 total shots. Zimmer carded a 3-over-par 75 on Wednesday, while Meyer and Werner both shot 79s.
On the girls side, Florence won the team trophy in lopsided fashion, totaling 760 strokes, well ahead of second-place Shelby, which finished with 804 total shots. Lone Peak, the 2024 state champion, was third with 806 strokes.
It's the first state golf championship in program history for the Florence girls, who placed second last year.
Florence's Kipley Solari had the best girls round of the day, carding a 5-over-par 77 to overcome a four-stroke deficit to win the individual championship. After shooting an 88 in Tuesday's first round, Solari recorded 12 pars on Wednesday. She birdied the par-5 fourth to go along with four bogeys and one double bogey on the day.
Solari finished the two-day tournament with 165 strokes to finish four shots ahead of second-place Logan McKay of Anaconda. McKay led after her first-round 84 but fell behind Solari with a second-round 85.
Elise Munding of Missoula Loyola placed third with 170 strokes, followed by Lone Peak's Dylan Manka in fourth at 173 and Shelby's Penelope Heaton in fifth at 178.
Class B state golf tournament
May 13-14 at Marias Valley Golf & Country Club, Shelby
Final results
Boys
Team scores: Jefferson 330-324—654; Three Forks 340-334—674; Malta 337-342—679; Colstrip 339-342—681; Manhattan 341-344—685; Missoula Loyola 347-338—685; Florence 340-346—686; Choteau 334-356—690; Huntley Project 350-342—692; Big Timber 362-351—713; Shelby 367-347—714; Poplar 371-395—766.
Individual top 10: Zach Munding, Missoula Loyola, 74-72—146; Tyson Lee, Jefferson, 71-76—147; Kellen Meyer, Choteau, 75-79—154; Griffin Zimmer, Huntley Project, 79-75—154; Ben Werner, Jefferson, 75-79-154; Regan Stuart, Malta, 75-80—155; William Conat, Columbus, 73-82—155; Conner McDole, Eureka, 80-76—156; Kael Meyer, Choteau, 76-80—156; Aaron DeFrance, Three Forks, 75-83—158; Blake Bentle, Manhattan, 75-83—158.
Girls
Team scores: Florence 385-375—760; Shelby 397-407—804; Lone Peak 398-408—806; Anaconda 403-413—816; Three Forks 423-416—839; Glasgow 428-434—862; Red Lodge 440-423—863; Malta 446-431—877; Roundup 441-453—894; Missoula Loyola 452-443—895; Fairfield 467-454—921; Shepherd 489-504—993.
Individual top 10: Kipley Solari, Florence, 88-77—165; Logan McKay, Anaconda, 84-85—169; Elise Munding, Missoula Loyola, 86-84—170; Dylan Manka, Lone Peak, 86-87—173; Penelope Heaton, Shelby, 89-89—178; Marisa Snider, Ennis, 88-92—180; Hallie Hofer, Roundup, 91-92—183; Reese Briney, Florence, 97-88—185; Jaz Ragen, Townsend, 94-93—187; Olivia Kamieniarz, Lone Peak, 87-100—187.
For complete results, click here.
