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For the Three Forks girls' golf team, the past week marked the end of a decade that saw the team win an astounding EIGHT Class B State Titles. Four of them in a row. However, it did not mark the end of an era.

Not with a two-time individual state champion among a talented group of youngsters that will still swing the wrenches for the school next year.

On Thursday, the team of two seniors and three juniors received the celebratory glamour of a fire truck ride through town to take in the appreciation of their accomplishment, which came by way of a 54 stroke lead over second place Red Lodge.

A large part of that result is due to the phenomenal talent of junior Haylee Folkvord, who claimed her second consecutive spot as the top medalist at the state B tournament by shooting a 148 over 2 days. With the performance, the possibility for a three-peat in her senior year lies directly on 2010-2011's doorstep.

Folkvord says her second individual title is something she's obviously excited about but the team title means much more.

"The team is definitely the best part because you can celebrate with your teammates and share the glory with everyone," she said Thursday at Three Forks High School.

Being the most dominant player on the most dominant sports team possibly in all of Montana, Folkvord's secret to success is the same as the rest of the girls on her team: Practice hard, and just play.

"You just have to be calm and play the game like you know how to play it. The short game is always the key and just having the right mindset that you're going to win," said Folkvord, who outlasted Missoula Loyola's Kelsey Crippen by eight shots to finish atop the leaderboard.

"I would've been very disappointed if I didn't win," she admitted. "But I knew there was a chance that I could if I played consistently well."

She was, in fact, the model of consistency, and she certainly played well, shooting a 74 in the first round and a 74 in the second.

Three Forks Girls Golf Coach Jeff Strickland, who the team credits with pushing each player to be better and practice often, says Folkvord's talent is only matched by her character.

"She's awesome. She's got a great work ethic and she's a very positive person. She loves the members of her team and I think that helps her focus individually and do what she does," Strickland said of Folkvord.

He extended the sentiment to every one of the Lady Wolves who has contributed to a legacy that is gaining momentum with each team and individual title. But while every golf program in Montana almost knows the answer to who will end up with the Class B crown before it's actually earned, it is the question that lasts throughout each year: How do you win 8 state titles in 10 years?

"It's the kids in this town," said Strickland. They're good kids, good athletes, good people. And I think that's the secret."

As much as the girls are expected to be good people, there are other expectations. And one in particular, that can be directly traced to each title and a perfect record during the season with 9 victories in 9 tournaments.

"To win. That's the expectation," said Strickland through a smile suggesting the next decade may be even more dominant than the last, which saw the team inducted into the high school's Hall of Fame. "It's to have fun, and it's to compete and it's for the love of the game, but it's to win. I think that's the expectation that they have for themselves."

If no such expectation exists, you'll be hard pressed to find another reason the girls say they played 9 holes just about every day, often putting a white ball into a white hole, through white greens glazed over with snow.

"Yeah, I think our dedication is what brought us to where we are," said junior Cassie Darlinton, who finished tied for 13^th at State. "It's just great to be a part of the legacy and we're making our own legacy adding years to it. It's just amazing to be a part of this program."

"People come up to us all the time and just congratulate us and I don't really know what to say because it's already happened before. But it is so awesome. I can't even describe it," said senior Cierra Meyers, who ends her golf career on the highest note with fellow senior and Three Forks all-around athlete Allie Sauvageau, who shot a 169 for sixth place. Meyers tied for ninth with a 174.

Sauvageau will attend Rocky Mountain College on a basketball scholarship.

Junior Eden Ford, the team's No. 5 golfer, will assumingly join Folkvord and Darlinton in next year's campaign to defend the last 4 team titles.

Folkvord, who will again champion Class B for the next year and will lead her team into next season, will also lead her entire school beginning in the fall. She was elected Student Body President by her classmates on Thursday.

And you can bet her teammates voted for her.

Shane Ewing can be reached at sewing@kbzk.com or sewing @kxlf.com.