Leydig wins person golf trophy Large Sky track and tennis add sturdy showings at state 

By Jack Reaney Employees WRITER 

The Lone Peak Higher College spring season was highlighted by the golf team’s initially ever group-berth at state, an chance which they rode just a single stroke shy of a Class C state title.  

Bolstered by a trio of freshmen, the ladies completed in a second-location tie with Broadus Higher College, just a single stroke more than state champion Manhattan Christian Higher College. Head coach Jenny Wilcynski stated she’s in no way observed a two-round tournament finish so tight among 3 teams at the major. In spite of falling brief of a group win, freshman Cate Leydig completed atop the Class C leaderboard by 3 strokes.   

Involving golf, track and field, tennis and baseball, Large Sky’s spring athletes produced the greatest of the lingering winter and showed improvement and guarantee, a sentiment echoed to EBS by coaches across all sports.  

Leydig stated it was a quite major surprise to win the Class C person category. Wilcynski stated Leydig was shocked when she discovered of her win—she shot 90 and 81 among her two rounds, 3 strokes ahead of Paityn Curtis from Plentywood Higher College, who shot 88 and 86. 

“I come into a tournament with the hope of finishing major 5, and I knew there was some quite stiff competitors,” she stated. Right after day a single, trailing Curtiss by a couple strokes, she didn’t concentrate a lot on her person rank. 

“Knowing Cate was holding her personal, is massive,” coach Wilcynski stated. “She’s a strong golfer and does not let a lot mentally distract her. Which is amazing for a freshman, incredibly competitive.” 

Like her coaches, Leydig focused on the group. She was excited to compete with her fellow freshmen standouts, Dylan Manka and Olivia Kameiniarz, with whom she’s been golfing for years, and senior Myla Hoover, who just began golfing final year and earned a major-25 finish at divisionals—a feat commended by coach Wilcynski.  

Wilcynski knew that Leydig, Manka and Kameiniarz didn’t have a lot practical experience competing as a group, only getting entered person tournaments prior to higher college.  

“I believe it was a terrific practical experience, they discovered a lot, and they have that competitive group edge,” Wilcynski stated. She’s been watching them compete in golf events because grade college, and stated she’s excited to have 3 strong players coming by way of the higher college plan.  

The state tournament took location on May well 16 and 17 at Anaconda Hills Golf Course close to Excellent Falls. Wilcynski stated it is a difficult course, specifically since the front and back nine had been constructed 63 years apart. 

Broadus led by 5 strokes following the initially round, but Wilcynski and assistant coach Marja Sorensen stressed the value of operating with each other, noting that each and every putt would matter on day two.  

“Lo and behold, that is precisely what occurred,” Wilcynski stated. All 3 teams traded positions, on day two, and with the final foursome—featuring Leydig—on the 17th hole, had been knotted in a 3-way tie. 

Wilcynski stated Leydig lipped out a birdie putt on hole 17. On the final hole, each Leydig and her Manhattan Christian opponent had been on the green in two shots, and it came down to placing.   

“In the years that I’ve coached [since 2015], I’ve in no way observed that fascinating of a finish. It was a seriously wild finish,” Wilcynski stated. 

Leydig stated the stress of narrow state tournament didn’t set in till the finish.  

“Up till [the 18th] hole, I hadn’t been also worried about it. But the green was surrounded by individuals, and it was type of nerve-wracking,” Leydig stated. 

She didn’t count on the possibility to putt for person and state Class C titles, thinking about the lingering winter kept the group practicing indoors for weeks. But following the Large Horns completed in second location at divisionals, she stated it boosted their self-assurance, “knowing that we could podium,” Leydig stated.  

And podium they did, just a single stroke more than Manhattan Christian’s 581 and tied with Broadus, all decided by a handful of putts on the 18th green.  

Subsequent year, as the Large Horns move up to Class B, Leydig and Wilcynski are confident they’ll face stiffer competitors.  

“But I nonetheless believe we’re a seriously sturdy group and we’ll have a possibility to have a different outcome like we did this year,” Leydig stated.  

As opposed to Class C which counts the major 3 scores from a group of 4, Class B scores 4 of 5.  With seniors Josie Wilcynski—who missed the state tournament due to school’s IB testing—and Hoover graduating, coach Wilcynski knows the Large Horns will have to have to obtain at least a single much more sturdy golfer to be competitive subsequent spring.  

On the boys side, Isaac Bedway certified individually for state.  

“This was his initially year playing golf on a golf group,” coach Wilcynski stated. “To make state in your initially year—he was competitive with scores in the 90s [on a challenging course]—he’s a heck of a competitor and I believe we’ll see some superior stuff from him in the subsequent couple years.” 

Higher college golf may possibly be wrapping up, but as locals know, golf season is just having began. Wilcynski expects the group to enhance all through the summer time.  

State golfers from Lone Peak Higher College. COURTESY OF JENNY WILCYNSKI

Large Horns on the track  

Lone Peak Higher College track coach James Miranda spoke on the telephone with EBS prior to heading off to the Class C state meet in Laurel on May well 25-26.  

3 Large Horns athletes returned to state: senior Orrin Coleman completed 16th in the 1600-meter (five:00) and 12th in the 3200-meter run (11:11)  junior Astrid McGuire completed sixth in the 800-meter (two:24) and ninth in the 1600-meter (five:41) and senior Ben Saad completed in the middle of the pack for higher jump, clearing 6 feet. 

Miranda stated Coleman and McGuire hold LPHS records in every of these events, and Saad will be higher-jumping in college, “which is quite amazing,” Miranda noted. “[Saad] is an person who just began track a year ago—he was capable to dunk a basketball, and he came out for track and factors just worked out quite swift.” 

Coleman, an seasoned Nordic skier, brough related talent to the track. Miranda stated he’s a sturdy distance runner with the proper internal motor, and benefitted from speed perform because joining final year.  

Miranda described McGuire as “the energizer bunny,” noting that she “burns each ends of the candle” among early morning workouts and following college study hours.  

The Large Horn track group had roughly 16 members this season, though numbers wavered among injuries, scheduling conflicts and club soccer, he stated. A handful of athletes completed a single location shy of state at the divisional meet, he added.   

“Considering it is a modest plan, I’m quite proud of the reality we took our largest-ever group of people to divisionals in Missoula,” he stated, adding that nine or ten athletes reached Missoula.  

Miranda stated he cares significantly less about all round final results and much more about improvement.  

“I do take into consideration it to be a incredibly effective season, I’m incredibly proud of our athletes and the time and work they place into it,” Miranda stated. “Every single athlete had a individual record in their event… As a coach, that is precisely what I appear for in the track plan.” 

The Large Horns have lots of talent to appear forward to, as nicely.  

“Holy cow, yeah,” Miranda stated. “We’ve been out there coaching… I see a handful of eighth graders that appear like they’ll be prepared to start off hot and perhaps make it to that subsequent level—[reaching] divisionals and perhaps state.” 

Ophir track and field sledgehammers the record board 

Coach Tina Albers revived Ophir Middle School’s track group this season following a handful of-year hiatus. In a telephone contact with EBS, she was overjoyed to share much more than a dozen record-breaking performances from a single single meet on Thursday, May well 18. It was the initially-ever property track meet for the Miners or the Large Horns, and it was a co-ed, intra-squad meet.  

The founder of OMS track much more than two decades ago, Albers noted most of the standing records had been from the late 1990s, when races had been held on dirt and sand. Nevertheless, she stated little ones today have gotten “a entire heck of a lot more quickly.” 

Ophir Middle College track group at their initially ever property meet. COURTESY OF TINA ALBERS

Seventh-grader Olive Wolfe broke the one hundred-meter girls record, operating it in 13.78 seconds. Seventh-grader Jack Barzizza claimed the boys record at 14.04 seconds.  

Albers stated the eighth-grade boys “pretty a lot shattered” the 4×100-meter relay record, operating it in 54.84 seconds. On their heels, the seventh-grade girls set their personal record with a 1 minute, eight-second finish.  

Seventh-grader Maeve McRae ran the 200-meter dash in 28.two seconds.  

Seventh-grader Lola Morris ran the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 11.72 seconds. Sixth-grader Owen Edgar ran it in 1:15.72.  

Eighth-grader Liam Baker “crushed” the prior 800-meter record, Albers stated, operating it in two:42.22. Lola Morris managed three:04.47.  

Seventh-grader Nick Hoadley ran the mile in six:03.25.  

Eighth-grader Lucas O’Connor higher-jumped four feet ten inches, and Olive Wolfe lengthy-jumped 14 feet four inches for a girls record. Nick Hoadley place his name on the boys side of the board jumping 14 feet 11 inches. 

Coach Albers plans to start off earlier subsequent year so the group can enter much more than the two meets they competed in this season.  

“The little ones came out and ran really hard, they enjoyed it, and couldn’t wait to get meets in,” she stated.   

She also thanked parent volunteers and coaches like assistant coach Laura Barzizza, who “did a single heck of a terrific job,” Albers stated. 

Tennis duo wins two state matches 

The Lone Peak Higher College tennis group sent two doubles teams to the Class B/C State Tournament in Excellent Falls on May well 25-26.  

Sophomore Addy Malinowski and junior Charlee Sue Dreisbach formed a single duo, and senior Malin Nilsson paired up with sophomore Anna Masonic. Each pairs sophisticated to state from the divisional tournament.  

Malinowski and Dreisbach played tennis final year, but Masonic and Nilsson are new to the plan. Nilsson is an exchange student from Sweden. 

Masonic and Nilsson lost in double elimination to Conrad Higher College and 3 Forks Higher College. 

Malinowski and Dreisbach, seeded No. three in the Class C Southwest Division, won their initially match against Mission Valley Christian Academy, and lost to Simms Higher College. The Large Horns bounced back with a really hard-fought win against Valley Christian College, prior to getting eliminated by Bigfork Higher College.  

“I am incredibly proud of our group and how a lot they have enhanced more than the season,” head coach Libby Grabow wrote to EBS.  

Varsity baseball gets a dub 

The LPHS baseball plan has been featured by EBS as they debuted in Montana’s initially ever higher college baseball league this spring.  

But in spite of a core of young, junior varsity talent, the varsity plan was winless for a lot of the season. Granted, the Large Horns squared off against Class-A-sized powerhouses from Butte and Belgrade and spent weeks practicing indoors, but W’s eluded them.  

That changed on May well 11, when the Large Horns rematched Butte Central Catholic Higher College and scored 3 touchdowns for the varsity program’s initially-ever win.  

The Large Horns weren’t playing football, even though. They won 23-15, like a ten-run third inning. Large Horn bats notched 16 hits, with two-hit games from freshman Ebe Grabow, senior Max Romney and junior Aidan Germain, and 3 hit showings from eighth-grader Sidney Morris and freshman Oliver McGuire. 

McGuire pitched 4 innings for the Large Horns, permitting ten runs on six hits with seven strikeouts, and earned the win.  

Coach John McGuire noted that a double rainbow cast more than the victorious Large Horns.  

The Large Horns did not play any property games in their initially season due to field troubles.  Even so, on Friday, June two at five p.m., they will play an intra-squad exhibition game at the Large Sky Neighborhood Park as aspect of a youth baseball neighborhood occasion.  

The Large Horns celebrate their win beneath a dramatic sky. PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES