Sophomore Cate Leydig, last year’s individual Class C state champion, wins Class B southeast division
By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
On Monday, the Lone Peak High School boys and girls varsity golf teams competed in the Class B southeast divisional tournament at Lake Hills Golf Course in Billings. It was Lone Peak’s first playoff tournament as a member of Montana Class B.
The boys team finished 10th overall, beyond the top four which qualify for state. Two golfers, freshman Mac Bertelson and junior Isaac Bedway, finished in the top 30, but only the top 15 individuals qualify. The boys’ season came to an end on Monday.
The girls team isn’t done—they won the 18-hole divisional tournament by a 42-stroke margin over Shepherd High School, and all four Big Horns placed in the top 16.
Sophomore Cate Leydig won the tournament individually, shooting a 79, and freshman Dylan Manka finished fourth overall with a 92. Sophomore Olivia Kamieniarz took eighth place with a 100, and sophomore Maddie Wilcynski in 16th with a 109.
Coach Jenny Wilcynski said it was “super exciting” for the girls to nearly crush their goal: for all four Big Horns to finish in the top 15.
Adding excitement to the win and context to their scores, they competed in Montana spring conditions—constant wind between 20 and 30 miles per hour, with gusts in the 40s, and rain.
“The weather on Monday was pretty atrocious, to say the least,” Wilcynski said in a phone call with EBS. “… It wasn’t necessarily the perfect golf day.”
“It was very, very bad,” Leydig said in a separate call.
Wilcynski commended the girls for playing their game despite the weather, especially Leydig, who bounced back from a rough first hole—a seven-stroke triple bogey—and finished two strokes shy of her 77-stroke personal best.
“It’s pretty awesome, she stayed focused and kept her mental game strong,” Wilcynski said.
Leydig said she was excited to win the division, especially after experiencing a mid-season slump. She worked on keeping a strong mindset and was happy to see the mental work pay off with a winning score when it mattered.
She’s also thrilled by the team’s win. Last year, Leydig, Manka and Kamieniarz were freshmen on a team that finished second in both their Class C divisional and state tournaments. It’s especially exciting to win in Class B, she added.
“It felt really rewarding to win this season, it felt like all of our hard work paid off this year,” Leydig said. “And our work from last year paid off.”
Coach Wilcynski said the girls were up by 10 to 12 shots after the front nine.
“That’s not a huge edge… if somebody had some trouble on one hole that could add up pretty quick,” she said. However, they extended their advantage to 20 strokes, 30 strokes, and by the end, more than 40.
The Big Horns shot 380 as a team of four, 92 over par. Shepherd shot 422. Wilcynski said that’s a pretty vast margin of victory for just 18 holes.
In Class B, teams can bring five golfers and use the four best scores. Lone Peak brought only four, and they all performed. Class B also tends to host a higher level of competition, with bigger teams who generally play in more events, Wilcynski said.
But Lone Peak wasn’t intimidated by its divisional rivals. They’ll enter the Class B state tournament with their eyes on the prize.
On to state
The state tournament will be held at Marias Valley Golf & Country Club in Shelby, about an hour northwest of Great Falls. The two-day, 36-hole tournament will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14 and 15.
Parents and supporters can follow the Class B State Tournament through the Golf Genius app.
Leydig looks forward to some nicer weather—the team couldn’t practice this week due to snow in Big Sky and the Gallatin Valley, so they’ll get back in tune during Monday’s practice round on an unfamiliar course.
The Big Horns will need to replicate their performance from divisionals, but for two days straight. They’ll all need to finish in good standing—being a team of four, they lack the security of a non-scoring alternate.
“We’re definitely going to see some new teams that we haven’t seen and don’t know much about,” Wilcynski said. From regional tournaments in the regular season, they’ll see familiar foes in Three Forks, Broadwater, and Jefferson high schools.
“I think we all feel pretty confident,” Leydig said. “I think we all want to go in with the mindset that we can perform well, but I think we need to keep a good mindset. Not go in full of ourselves, but have the mindset that we can get it done.”
Wilcynski said they are in a favorable position, having won every tournament this season. But anything can happen, and they’re visiting a new course with some tricky shots.
If everyone plays their game, “it should be what we need to bring some hardware home,” Wilcynski said.
With a win, it would be significant as the girls first Class B state championship—Lone Peak’s first Class B championship in any sport—but the Big Horn girls have won Class C state before, in 2016. The boys team had some successful years before that, too.
Last year, the girls finished second in Class C by one stroke, and now they’re positioned for redemption.
“It’s a pretty exciting way to start that new era. Class B golf, divisional champions, and hopefully next week, state champions,” Wilcynski said.
Regardless of next week’s outcome, the program took a step forward this year. With upcoming freshmen in addition to the current sophomores, Wilcynski said Lone Peak’s program should stay strong and competitive.
“This program has always had some success, and we hope it continues at this level… It’s exciting to have four top-20 golfers, it’s a really big deal,” she said.
Leydig said they’re friends off the golf course, too. The teammates’ support and camaraderie is an added strength.
“Even if one of us doesn’t have the best round or the whole team doesn’t have the best round, we’re super supportive of each other. We always try to build each other up… I think that helps build our team chemistry and keeps us united and positive,” she said.
In a team sport that combines individual performances, Leydig said the chemistry matters.
