LAUREL, Mont. – Led by a tournament record-setting performance from Laurel product Sam Norman, both Rocky golf teams earned dominant team victories at their home tournament.
No. 18 men's golf finishes 17-under in big team win
The Battlin' Bear men claimed the top four individual spots in a landslide team victory, highlighted by a tournament record-setting performance from sophomore Sam Norman. Norman posted a 16-under-par 200 (67-66-67) to capture medalist honors by 15 strokes over his closest teammate and 18 strokes clear of any non-Rocky competitor. Across 54 holes, Norman recorded a tournament-high 21 birdies while limiting mistakes to just five bogeys and zero double bogeys or worse.
Kristjan Burkelca captured runner-up honors, shooting a final-round 71 to finish second at 1-under-par 215 (72-72-71). Braxton McDonald (72-68-77) and Adam Hyde-Lay (B squad; 75-69-73) tied for third overall with a total score of 1-over-par 217. Nathan Piers rounded out the scoring lineup for Rocky's primary team, tying for eighth overall at 5-over-par 221 (79-69-73).
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Rocky's primary squad earned the team title with a 17-under-par 847 (286-275-286), cruising past runner-up Montana Tech by 44 strokes. The Battlin' Bears accounted for three of the only four under-par team rounds recorded in the entire field. Rocky also recorded nearly half the bogeys of the next-best team, finishing with just 44 compared to Montana Tech's second-best mark of 81.
No. 25 Rocky women finish five in the top 10 in victory
The No. 25-ranked Battlin' Bears delivered a dominant team performance to capture a 70-stroke victory. Freshman Natasza Klimko led the charge for the Rocky women, firing an 11-over-par 227 (76-74-77) to finish third overall. Rocky swept four of the next five leaderboard spots, as Kirsten Smith finished fifth at 17-over-par 233 (82-73-78), Alivia Webinger placed sixth at 21-over-par 237 (80-77-80), Anna Lende took seventh at 22-over-par 238 (77-78-82), and Catalina Garcia placed eighth at 28-over-par 244 (83-80-81).
Klimko and Smith tied for the tournament lead with nine birdies each, while Klimko surrendered only one double bogey across all 54 holes.
Rocky secured the team championship with a 69-over-par total of 933 (315-302-316), defeating runner-up Bushnell University by 70 strokes. The Battlin' Bears sank 31 birdies, double the total of any other squad, led the field with 45 more pars than their nearest competitor, and committed nine fewer double bogeys or worse than any other team.
Up next
The Battlin' Bears travel to Helena next week to compete in the Fighting Saints Invite on Monday and Tuesday.
