PINEDALE – Beautiful bluebird skies, temperatures in the 70s and a light breeze made for perfect golfing conditions on the first day of the Pinedale Invitational at Rendezvous Meadows Golf Course on Thursday, Aug. 31.

The competition continued on Friday, as clouds and the wind both began to build. Fortunately, golfers from Pinedale High School and five opposing teams from across the region completed the second round before any storms moved in. In addition to battling the competition on Friday, Lady Wrangler and Wrangler golfers also contended with two bull moose hanging around the willows south of the Club House and a wandering family of ducks.

The Wrangler boys fielded eight athletes in the varsity division with Pinedale snagging second place. The Wranglers tallied a two-day score of 652 to beat Evanston, Kemmerer, Green River and Lyman.

Freshman Braxton Costello battled his way to the top of the leaderboard to win the varsity boys division upon completion of the second round on Friday. The first round on Thursday ended with Costello and Rock Springs’ Payton Jenkins tied at 76.

Maintaining his momentum, Costello shot a solid 74 on Friday to post a cumulative total of 150 and capture gold.

Junior Elyn Bowers represented the Lady Wranglers in the varsity girls division and snapped up second place with a two-day score of 180. Bowers improved from 92 on day one of competition to shoot 88 on the second day and secure silver.

Senior Brody Hamby broke into the top 10 to secure sixth place overall in varsity boys with a combined score of 159. Hamby played a consistent game, tallying 78 on the first day and 81 on the second.

Coming within one stroke of the top 10, senior Owen McMillen advanced on the leaderboard from 87 in the first round to 84 in the second for a total of 171.

Sophomore Decker Normington also finished close to the top 10 with a two-day score of 172, improving from 88 strokes on Thursday to 84 on Saturday.

Fellow sophomore Dune Mecartney posted a two-day tally of 177, moving up from 91 on the first day to 86 in the second.

Rounding out boys varsity, junior Alex Gosar shot 180 (92-88), with sophomore Grant Carter totaling 189 (97-92) and freshman Matthew Gosar at 194 (94-100).

The Pinedale Invitational wrapped up the regular season for the golf team, with the 3A West Conference Golf Tournament taking place in Green River on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9.