Thunder Ridge’s Anderson wins boys’ state golf title; girls’ comes down to playoff

POCATELLO — Coeur d’Alene’s Ella Wilson stood over a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 and appeared on the surface to be as cool as the other side of the pillow.

But that was only what the freshman allowed the dozens crowded around the final green at Pocatello’s Highland Golf Course to see.

Wilson made the putt to win the Girls 6A State Individual Golf Championship on a sudden-death playoff. After she left the green, Wilson told EastIdahoNews.com that her heart felt like it beat “probably a thousand times” in the 10 seconds it took her to line up the winner.

After firing a 77 to follow her 73 Friday, Wilson was forced into a playoff hole by Timberline’s Ella Arnzen, who shot 78-72 to tie for the the lead among the 40 participants.

Both girls hit perfect drives to start the playoff hole, then matched each other with ice cold approach shots leaving makeable birdie putts. Arnzen burned the edge of the cup with hers. Wilson put hers right in the heart of the hole, confidently walking it in as it rolled toward the state title.

Throughout the two-day tournament, Wilson said, it was her putter that made the difference — even at a course with infamously difficult greens. Though, she added, her putter was not as true early in the second round as it was all day Friday and later in the round Saturday.

“I was just patiently optimistic and waiting for putts to start dropping, and they did at the end of the round,” she said. “I got prepared for the way the greens were rolling before (the tournament) started, and that was the big difference.”

As a freshman, Wilson has set herself up for the incredibly rare opportunity of four-peating as state champ. Asked if she considers that even in the slightest, she said it would take a great deal of work.

“I mean, there’s always a chance. But it’s going to take lots of hard work,” she said.

Boys individual

While Wilson held an advantage through the first round and was forced into a 37th hole to complete the victory, Thunder Ridge’s Justin Anderson entered Saturday’s second round in third place.

Anderson, who shot an even-par 72 Friday, was looking up at groupmates Andy Metzler, of Timberline, who shot 69, and Meridian’s Brayden Johnson, who shot 71.

But he wasted no time overtaking the lead, taking a one-shot advantage among the four members of the lead group — which also included Mountain View’s Mason McGee, who shot 74 Friday — at the turn.

Anderson carded a tourney-best five-under 67 Saturday to win by five shots over Boise’s Jack Bureau, who followed a 73 Friday with a 71 in round two.

The junior said he played “average” for much of the tournament, but found a way to shakes the nerves of leading the field and seal his victory down the homestretch. Having his entire Thunder Ridge team and father there following the lead group, he said, helped a lot.

“Down the back-nine today I was really nervous, just because I knew where I was at,” Anderson said. “I had so many people watching me, so that, kinda, helped me calm down. I found a way to score towards the end — everything was just pretty average all week, until the last three holes when I needed it.”

After parring the tough par-3 16, Anderson finished his round with back-to-back birdies, canning a 60-foot putt from the fringe on 18 to cap off his victory.

Thunder Ridge's Justin Anderson puts an exclamation point on his state individual championship.#IDPreps #HighSchoolGolf pic.twitter.com/v4mmr6gO78

— Kalama Hines (@HINESight_2020) October 12, 2024

Anderson said the putt, his last shot of the tournament, was the best way to cap off the win.

“That was crazy. Literally, everything went dark after I made that,” he said.

While his putter was steady, Anderson said his iron-play was great all weekend. His driver, on the other hand, was not as consistent. The issue, he added, was purely mental, so he kept going back to his father’s advice — to find a target and “fire at it.”

Anderson will be back with the Titans next year and believes he could be a threat to repeat as champion.

“Just gotta stay focused — continue the process, do it everyday,” he said.

Team final

With a 647 final combined score — total scores from their top four of five players — Rocky Mountain earned a girls state championship and a banner to hang at their school.

Led by Wilson, CDA came in second (658), followed by Mountain View (721) then Boise (730).

Highland, led by Megan Merill, who finished in 8th place on the individual leaderboard, finished fifth, with a score of 740.

Boise’s boys team, with a score of 591, narrowly edged out Rocky Mountain, who came 16 strokes from a team sweep finishing with a 607. Mountain View (622) finished in third, just ahead of Madison (628).

Bobcats head coach Arielle Cherry said she was happy with how her team performed.

“I was pretty pleased, they all grinded really hard out there,” she said. “They worked really hard to get here, and they did just fine.

“They all played great. They all had moments — great moments and bad moments.”

To see a complete list of results, visit the Highland Golf Course tournament results page — here.

5A state golf championships

BURLEY – Shelley’s Mallory Higham shot 78 on Saturday to finish with a two-day total of 159 to place fifth at the 5A state championships at River’s Edge Golf Club in Burley.

Other area finishers included Century’s Kambell Richards and Idaho Falls’ Cami Rohrbaugh, who tied for 17th at 180.

Idaho Falls placed fifth in the girls team standings, followed by Century and Shelley.

On the boys side, Noah Salem of Idaho Falls finished 11th with a score of 154. Logan Billings of Hillcrest tied for 12th at 159.

Preston was the top boys team, placing fifth, with Skyline three strokes behind to finish sixth.

5A final results can be found here.