The high school spring sports seasons are underway, with the golf team hitting the links in their first meet on Monday, March 28th, and the track team set to run, jump, and throw in Lockwood at their first meet on Tuesday, April 5th.
Track Coach Jerry Coulter returns for his 32nd season of coaching the high school team. Coulter is actively looking for an assistant coach to help out, he told us during a Monday interview. “An assistant coach doesn’t need to have competed in track, I just need a parent or another adult to act as another set of eyes at the meets,” he commented.
The track team consists of five girls: Abigail Martin, returning senior, as well as standout sophomore Zeason Schaffer. Additionally, two juniors, Lyza McMullan and Sophie Irish are on the team, along with freshman Maddie Zimmer.
The five members of the girls team will look towards improving their team performance from last season, where they placed 3rd in the district tournament with only four girls on the team. Schaffer placed first in the long jump and triple jump at that event. Martin and Schaffer both competed at state track last year, with Abigail competing in the javelin and Schaffer qualifying in four events, winning 6th at state in the long jump and 7th in the triple jump as a freshman.
For the boys a strong contingent of returning tracksters are returning this season, including Jaxon Bilbrey, Matt Hansen, Eli Heacock, Josh Rasmussen, Brandon Rogers, and Tytan Hanson, while Riggin Schaffer and Johnny Richards join the team, as well as freshman Zach Jones.
Last season the boys team placed second as a team at districts, with returning tracksters scoring district wins last season in several events including the 1600 meter relay team, Jaxon Bilbrey’s first place in the 400 meter, Eli Heacock’s first in the 800, Tytan Hanson’s first in the discus, and Brandon Rogers’ first in the 3200. Those athletes also competed at state, though none placed last season.
So far this season the dry conditions have allowed the track team to practice on the track, a major change from many other previous seasons when wet conditions turned the dirt surface into a quagmire in the early season.
The first meet at Lockwood next Monday will be a challenge for the Broadus team, as they compete against schools from Class C all the way to AA.
“We have to keep our perspective going into Lockwood,” Coulter commented. “Our goal is to turn in times and distances that are better than our first meet last year.” Coulter has kept records on all his athletes for every one of his 32 seasons, which means he’s able to go back and see the progression of the athletes season by season as they progress through their high school careers.
The Broadus golf team is once again coached by Chad Gatlin, and aided by returning assistant coaches Hattie Franklin and Rick Gatlin.
Last season both girls and boys teams placed in the top 10 at state, with the Broadus team girls team placing 8th overall, and the boys placing 4th, just missing a team medal. Then Freshman Emma Isaacs medaled in the individual girls competition by placing 14th, and Joziah Brost led the boys placing 17th.
This season the competition format has changed from previous years, with two divisional tournaments, one from the east and one from the west, serving to narrow the field of golfers going to state. The top 25 from each division will qualify for state in Sidney, while golfers may also automatically qualify for state throughout the season.
For the boys, returning golfers include Wyatt Gee, Cooper Zimmer, Colton Biesheuvel, and Solomon Bradley. New to the team this year are Jayce Schroeder, Kail Irish, Isaiah McMullan, and Jeff Cahoon, all freshmen, as well as Grayson Arithson, a sophomore.
On the girls team a large contingent of golfers are returning including Oliveah Schaffer, Lea Aye, Graci Barbero, Lacey Robinson, Aspen Krantz, Lauryn Billing, and Emma Isaacs. New to the team this year are Ciara McDowell, sophomore, Shyla Madsen, Kendal Stanley, and Becca Aye, freshmen, and Mercy Brost, junior.
With the large number of golfers on the team and a limit of five golfers able to compete in each tournament, a shootout is held each Monday, with the top five boy and girl golfers going on to compete in the tournaments that week.
So far this year the dry conditions have meant the team has been able to practice at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Broadus with regularity – Coach Gatlin told us that as of Tuesday morning he had only had one practice shortened due to weather.
On Monday the golfers competed at the Absarokee/ Park City Tournament in Columbus, with Wyatt Gee placing as the top Broadus boy at the event, winning 7th place with a score of 90, and beating some class B kids. Colton Biesheuvel golfed a 97, Cooper Zimmer a 99, Solomon Bradley a 103, and Jayce Schroeder had score card issues and was disqualified.
Emma Isaacs led the girls by placing 5th overall with a 96. Lauryn Billing placed 7th with a 103, Lea Aye placed 10th with a 109, Aspen Krantz golfed a 115, and Ciara McDowell golfed a 123.
A JV Meet in Forsyth was scheduled for this Wednesday, followed by a meet in Miles City on April 5th.
Gatlin told us that they planned to hold a JV and Varsity tournament in Broadus this season, which the public is welcome to attend. Additionally, Rolling Hills Golf Course is open for those looking to hit the links, though the clubhouse is not currently scheduled to open until May 1.
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