Powder River Examiner -

On Monday, May 17th, the Broadus golf team left early for the State Golf Meet, to be held at Riverside Country Club, along the Gallatin River on the north side of Bozeman.

The private club features an 18 hole course, dining, raquet sports, and a pool for its members. At the state meet, the high school golfers from around the state were treated with the rare opportunity to play at a club not open to the public.

Broadus Head Golf Coach Chad Gatlin told us that instead of the shotgun start held in other meets, the State Meet featured tee times, with each golfer's start being announced – adding pressure to golfers more used to a relaxed atmosphere. Chad said that the first nine holes on the course were tricky for everyone playing the course, with the second half of the course being a tad easier.

The first day of golf on Tuesday featured nice weather, while Wednesday was cool and windy, but a forecasted storm for Wednesday did not materialize until after the golfers were off the course.

Individually for the Hawks, Emma Isaacs stood out by golfing a 105 the first day and a 102 on Wednesday for a 207, bringing home a medal in 14th place. Joziah Brost led the boys with a 92 and a 94, placing 17th and missing a medal by one point. Other scores for Broadus golfers, with their placing in parentheses include (Tied 41) Lauryn Billing - 121, 122 - 243; (47) Graci Barbero - 122, 125 - 247; (60) Lea Aye - 135, 138 - 273; (24) Kortny Cathey - 90, 108 - 198; (32) Wyatt Gee - 102, 101 - 203; and (Tied 38) Cooper Zimmer - 107, 101 - 208. Lacey Robinson was an alternate.

When it came to the team scores, after the first round the Broadus girls were lumped together with several other teams, with only 10 points separating the fourth through 12th place teams. Following the second round of play on Wednesday, the girls would place 8th, golfing a 347 on day one and a 349 on day two for 696 combined points.

The Broadus boys placed fourth overall, missing a medal, which are given out for first through third place, by 33 points. Gatlin said that setting the team's sights on a medal would be very doable in the future if the team stays committed to winning. "If they want it, it's there for the taking," he said.

Manhattan Christian swept the team trophies, taking their third consecutive boys championship with a score of 460, which beat the previous state record held by Lone Peak of 481. The Manhattan Christian girls team won their fourth straight state tournament by golfing a 576.

Coach Gatlin said he was proud of how the team performed at State, and will miss the graduating seniors – two of which, Joziah Brost and Kortny Cathey, golfed at State. Gatlin is optimistic about the future, with a strong crop of younger golfers poised to take the golf program to the next level, if they stay dedicated to the sport and continue to practice in league play and tournaments over the summer.

Gatlin wanted to thank his assistant coaches Rick Gatlin and Hattie Arithson for all their help this season, as well as all the volunteers who helped out with the home tournaments.

Next year, golf will look a little different, with two Divisional tournaments serving to narrow the field going into State. Chad tells us the top 25 golfers at each of those tournaments will move on, with an automatic qualifying score available for golfers throughout the season, similar to what is seen in track and cross country. The top five teams from the Divisional tournaments will also move on to State as a team.