The first high school golf tournament of the season is officially in the books, and the Evanston High School golf teams are off to a solid start, with the Lady Devils winning the team title at the Green River Fall Invite; the Red Devils placed second.

Red Devil senior Ryker Lind won medalist honors, carding a two-day total of 136, eight strokes ahead of the second-place finisher, Cheyenne East’s Daniel Meyer.

Maddi Brown was the top finisher for the Lady Devils, placing third with a two-day total of 167.

“The kids did a nice job for a starter — we felt pretty good about it,” said EHS head coach Jerry Carroll. “It’s the first tournament of the year, and it gives you a barometer of what to look for — hopefully, we’ll have some high expectations. As always, we’ll look to keep getting better and improving as the season goes on.”

For the girls, Evanston finished in the top spot with a 547, followed by Jackson at 557. Star Valley (562), Cheyenne Central (583) and Green River (730) rounded out the top five.

“Our girls are a fantastic group — people may not know it, but we have three All-Conference girls back for us, and two of them are also returning All-State,” Carroll said. “Maddi Brown — who’s a junior — made All-Conference last year, and I think she might be one of the top girls in the state this year. She goes 85-82, and takes third overall, against some really good competition. She did a great job.”

Marlee Torres also finished in the Top 10, carding a 95-93-188, good enough for ninth place. Hailee Ridenour finished 13th, carding a 93-99-192. Both Torres and Ridenour were All-State placers last year, and Carroll expects the pair to be at or near the top of the leaderboard in every tournament.

“Marlee [Torres] comes in and makes the Top 10, and Hailee Ridenour goes 93-99-192 to finish 13th,” Carroll said. “Hailee and Marlee are our two seniors, our two captains, both are All-State. We’re already talking to them about, ‘Hey, we don’t want to see a 9 in front of their score, we want to see an 8 or lower.’”

Emme Fessler (103-104-207, 21st) and Lizzie O’Connell (109-104-213, 23rd) rounded out the Lady Devils’ Top 5; Cami Dennis (118-118-236, 30th) and Olive Woodruff (121-118-239, 31st) completed the Evanston contingent.

“Emme Fessler shot a 103-104, and then the three girls below her are all freshmen,” Carroll said. “It was their first high school tournament, and they all did an excellent job, keeping it under 120. We have four freshman girls out this year — I think that’s the most freshman girls we’ve ever had at one time. And they all come from a golf family, or a strong golf tradition. That looks really good for the future of Evanston girls’ golf.”

The Lady Devils lost some heavy hitters to graduation last year, but Carroll said there seems to be no shortage of golfers willing to pick up where the others left off.

“We lost some very nice golfers last year,” Carroll explained. “So to come out and still be very competitive — and even win the team title — is fantastic. We’re pleased, and like I said earlier — I wasn’t surprised by Maddi Brown. Watching her progression, I’m going to actually expect her to be the best girl in the state next year. She has all the tools.”

On the boys’ side, Cheyenne East finished in the top spot with a 607, followed by Evanston at 633. Laramie (643), Star Valley (657) and Riverton (662) rounded out the top five.

Lind was under par both days, carding a 69 on Day 1 and a 67 on Day 2 to finish with a 136, seven strokes better than runner-up Daniel Meyer, of Cheyenne East.

“Ryker’s a fine golfer — he works very hard at being the best he can be, putting in the time and effort,” Carroll said. “He comes from a family of golfers, but it’s really a credit to him — he works hard and is a very good competitor.”

Carroll attributed Lind’s performance to a busy summer schedule; his hard work has not gone unnoticed, as he recently verbally committed to the University of Wyoming.

“The scores Ryker shot — if you’re a golfer, you know how hard it is to shoot a good score, and when you’re down in the red numbers with a 69-67, that’s just a fantastic tournament for him,” Carroll said. “I think he played in at least 20 tournaments this summer, including the America’s Cup, and soon, he’ll be playing for the University of Wyoming. He has a fantastic future ahead of him.”

Cade Brady had a solid tournament for the Red Devils, placing 10th with a two-day total of 158.

“Cade Brady opened with a great 76 on the first day,” Carroll said. “It got away from him a little bit on the second day — he shot an 82 — but he still made Top 10. He’s a lefty, and he’s put a lot of time in. I think he’ll be a perennial Top 10 in every tournament.”

Brandon Blackwell placed 24th, while Parker Green was 41st (87-85-172).

“Brandon Blackwell came in and shot 79-88-167,” Carroll said. “We need a little more consistency from those guys on that second day, but Brandon is another guy who’s worked really hard this summer. Then you have Parker [Green], who was able to improve on the second day, and he was also putting in the time on the course. So these kids have been working.”

Tyler Peterson rounded out the Evanston contingent, carding an 88-90-178 to finish 48th.

“I’m not surprised we’re doing well — we can do a lot better, and I think they can get better over the next four weeks,” Carroll said. “I’ve been really pleased with our work ethic, and we have a bunch of sophomores and freshmen scoring in the high 80s to low 90s, right in the thick of things, as well. We need to find a No. 5 player, so one of those young kids is gonna have to step up and fill that spot. But it’s wide open.”