By Bruce Sayler
It’s family tradition.
Butte High senior Keeley Johnston has chosen to attend Dickinson State, and to major in education with intent to be an elementary school teacher.
Her dad, Mark, and her uncle, Cory, both went to Dickinson State, too, and Cory is a teacher and head wrestling coach at Butte High. Mark assists him. Both were state high school champions at Glasgow and wrestled for Dickinson State. Their dad, also named Mark, wrestled for Montana when it had a program and is a school superintendent in Ronan, capping a long coaching and teaching career. Forty-plus years ago, he was a state champion wrestler at Butte Central.
So, naturally, Keegan Johnston, too, has been good at a sport and will compete in it at the college level. It just won’t be wrestling.
She has succeeded as a late-bloomer in golf.
“I’ve been playing golf since my freshman year,” she said Wednesday in a visit at Butte High School. “I wanted to figure out something else to do other than softball. My dad suggested golf.”
She played high school softball for a year, and had also tried, of course, wrestling.
“Probably what I like most about golf is making friends with all the players,” she said. “I love it a lot. We go to great places, like in Great Falls. The Great Falls course (Meadow Lake Country Club) is so pretty.”
Once immersed in the sport, she was in all the way. From snowmelt to snowfall, Johnston said she is on the course nearly everyday. She has seen her scores plummet from the 120s-140s she shot freshman year, to the 80s and 90s this year that carded her the Dickinson State offer.
“Occasionally, I still shoot the 101,” she gave. “But everything seemed to click senior year.”
One tournament in particular, though, was where she thought she jumped onto the college golf radar. In only her fourth year playing golf, Johnston tied for third place, overall, in the high school season-opening Missoula Invitational tournament last month on The Ranch Golf Club course.
“And, the hole in one,” she noted about the tourney.
Using a pitching wedge, Johnston aced the No. 8 hole on The Ranch course. It was a 115-yard shot and helped propel here to the third-place finish.
“I’m looking for my second one,” she said with a smile and confided that The Ranch now ranks as her favorite course.
Johnston’s rapid improvement was almost enough to garner her All-State honors last fall. She placed 19th at state with a 191 that was only two shots out of 15th, the cutoff for All-State status.
Attending Dickinson State, where Johnston said she hopes to break 80, was always a goal, she said.
“I’m following in footsteps,” Johnston said. “I’ve always been pretty set on Dickinson State. I’m going to try to redshirt my freshman year. Dickinson State has a really good program and a super nice facility.
“It’ll be my first time (golfing) out of state and I want to explore.”
She signed with the Bluehawks at Butte High last month with family, coaches, teammates and classmates present. Eric Mankins is head of the Bulldogs’ golf program.
Dickinson State recently became a member of the Frontier Conference and competes as the NAIA level.
