December 2004

February 6, 2004 -- Ashley K. Meine of Dillon has signed an NAIA/Frontier Conference letter of intent to play golf for the University of Montana-Western, according to head coach Mark Durham. She will graduate this Spring from Beaverhead County High School.

Meine earned All-State honors in golf four straight years. She played on two Divisional Championship teams and in the Spring of 2002, was a member of the Class A State Championship team. In addition to golf, Meine was also a varsity cheerleader for three years.

"Ashley is a great signing for our program," said Durham. "She really likes to play and spends a lot of time on the course. Ashley will compete for one of our top spots right away. With the experience of our returning players and the addition of Ashley, our team is going to be much stronger."

From the classroom, she maintains a 3.8 GPA and earned Academic All-State honors all four years. Meine is a member of the National Honor Society. She participated in Thespians, Teen Tones, Yearbook and was a member of the BCHS Peer Mediation Group.

She is the daughter of Rich and Linda Meine of Dillon and is undecided on her major.

May 9, 2003 -- Kacee Tash, a 5-5 guard from Dillon's Beaverhead County High School, has signed NAIA/Frontier Conference letters of intent to play basketball and golf for the University of Montana-Western, according to women's basketball coach Kevin Engellant and golf coach Mark Durham.

Tash earned 1st team All-Conference honors for the 2003 Class A State Champion Lady Beavers. She was named MVP of both the Central A tournament and the Class A State Tournament. Tash was selected to play in the Treasure State Class Tournament and was her teams Most Valuable Player and Most Inspirational Player. She averaged 7.9 points, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 4.3 rebounds per game.

"Kacee is a great signee for our program," said Engellant. "She comes from one of the best programs in the state and knows how to win. Kacee is a tremendous defender with great quickness and is very fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game. We are excited that she is a UM-Western Lady Bulldog!"

In golf, Tash was a member of the 2002 State Championship team. She placed in the Top Ten at the state meet. In 2000, she placed third at state and second in 2001.

"Kacee is a great addition to our team," said Durham. "She has the talent and potential to be a very good golfer at Western and the Frontier Conference."

In addition to basketball and golf, Tash also competed in volleyball for the Lady Beavers. She is the daughter of Bill and Judy Tash. Tash will graduate this Spring from Beaverhead County High school and is undecided on her major at Western.

May 2, 2003 -- Allison J. Bethel, who will graduate this Spring from Stevensville High School, has signed an NAIA/Frontier Conference letter of intent to play golf for the University of Montana-Western, according to head coach Mark Durham.

Bethel finished 10th at the Divisional golf tournament her junior year and fourth this past season. She was named her team's Most Improved Golfer her sophomore season and most Valuable Golfer her junior season. "We are excited to have Allie join our program," said Durham. "She is a good student and has the talent and potential to contribute to the success of our program."

In addition to golf, Bethel also participated basketball and volleyball. In basketball, she was named her team's Most Inspirational Player and was the recipient of the Stephanie Gonzales Memorial Sportsmanship Award. In volleyball, she was selected MVP of her her team.

From the classroom, she mainted a 3.3 GPA to earn Academic All-State honors in golf, basketball and volleyball. Bethel is he daughter of Martha Birkeneder and Russ Bethel. She plans to major in elementary education at Western.