A tightly bunched field in Lander had some Panther golfers posting personal best scores, earning Gunnar Erickson and Trey Scott All-Conference selections following the 3A West Conference Tournament.

Erickson got things started strong for the Panthers on Thursday, finishing with a career best 80 through the first round — which had him sitting in fourth place.

Two difficult holes on Friday caused Erickson to drop strokes, dropping his score to 91 on day two to finish in a tie for eighth place.

Tying with Erickson was his teammate Scott, who also posted a career best round on Thursday with an 85.

He followed that up with another consistent round of 86, rounding his score to 171 to tie with Erickson.

“That was a really nice accomplishment for those two individually and our team in general,” Panther golf coach Troy Hildebrand said.

In third for the Panther team was Jackson Hill, who continued his steady play to finish with a 96 on Thursday and a 92 on Friday to finish with a 188.

Fourth for Powell was Will Jackson, who struggled with wind on Thursday and carded a 100, but bounced back on Friday with an 89.

“Will [Jackson] has really improved from last fall and he has earned his first trip to the state tournament with his solid play,” Hildebrand said.

Behind Jackson was Andrew Jones, who finished with a 97 and a 96 over the two days to tie for fifth for the Panthers, along with Isaiah Woyak. He played strong on Thursday finishing with a 91, but battled on Friday to a difficult 102. 

Seth Siebert finished seventh for the Panthers, finishing out his senior season with a 112 and a 98 over both days.

“Seth [Siebert] has been a solid contributor for us the past two years and I have appreciated his attitude, honesty and work ethic over the past four years,” Hildebrand said. “Seth has been a player that other players enjoy being around and playing with and I am glad he had a positive finish to his season.”

Parker Williams finished out the Panther team, ending his sophomore year with a 104 and a 113 over both days.

For the girls, Coy Erickson did not compete due to illness but will compete at the state meet in Buffalo this weekend.

Attending for the boys team on Friday and Saturday for the 3A State Golf Championship in Buffalo will be Erickson, Scott, Hill, Jackson and Woyak.

“I hope that we continue the improvement that we showed this week and play our best golf on a great and challenging Buffalo course,” Hildebrand said.