A 26-stroke margin of victory. Three golfers in the top five. And the Highland High School girls golf team left with a fourth consecutive Class 6A District IV-V-VI title Thursday at Rigby’s Jefferson Hill Golf Course.

The Rams shot a 345 to outdistance runner-up Canyon Ridge, dominating the individual leaderboard with senior Megan Merrill leading the way with her second straight runner-up performance. Merrill shot a 79, finishing two strokes behind Canyon Ridge’s Danika Humphries. Behkah Maughan, last year’s district champion, took third with an 84, while Charlotte Quick tied for fifth with an 89.

Reece Ward (89) and Maya Jeppesen (102) also qualified for state as part of the championship team.

The district title sends Highland to next week’s 6A State Tournament at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa, where the Rams will look to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish — one spot short of bringing home their first trophy in six years. Highland was tied for second as a team after Day 1 but shot 14 strokes worse on Day 2 to fall out of contention. Merrill, who placed eighth overall, was tied for second individually after the opening round.

On the boys’ side, Highland placed second for the second straight year with a 319 — well behind winner Thunder Ridge, which carded a 290. Boston McCulloch led the Rams by tying for fifth with a 76, while Thunder Ridge’s Garrett Stenquist took medalist honors with a 70.

Tanner Borgholthaus (78), Michael McCormick (81), Tyler Frost (84) and Tom Stringfellow (85) will join McCulloch at state.

At the 5A District VI Tournament at Pinecrest Golf Course in Idaho Falls, Blackfoot junior Kyle Steidley earned his second consecutive runner-up finish, placing two strokes behind Skyline’s Ryan Tocheri to qualify for state.

VOLLEYBALL

BEAR LAKE 3, MARSH VALLEY 0

The Bears (26-3 overall, 4-0 4A South East Idaho Conference) dominated Thursday night’s road match, sweeping Marsh Valley 25-7, 25-12, 25-13 in league play.

Emmie Sharp led with 33 assists and five kills, while Halle Wells paced the attack with 15 kills. KortLyn Skinner added nine kills and 11 digs, Londyn Lufkin contributed seven kills and seven digs, and Avery Hunter chipped in six kills and five digs. Paisley Lloyd had three aces and six digs, and Sharli Lufkin tallied eight digs and two aces.

GRACE LUTHERAN SPLITS ROAD DOUBLEHEADER

The Royals (9-8, 6-4 1A Rocky Mountain Conference) dropped their opener to Aberdeen 12-25, 25-22, 12-15 before rallying for a 21-25, 25-13, 15-11 victory in the nightcap Thursday at Aberdeen High School.

Maleah Iverson paced Grace Lutheran with six aces, eight kills, 25 assists and five digs across both matches, while Rebekah Miller added three aces, two kills and a block.

WEST SIDE WINS HOME DOUBLEHEADER

The Pirates (16-10, 5-2 3A South East Idaho Conference) extended their winning streak to five Thursday, sweeping a nonconference home doubleheader with a 24-26, 25-21, 15-12 victory over Rockland and a 25-14, 25-16 win against Grace.

ABERDEEN SWEEPS HOME DOUBLEHEADER

The Tigers (3-20-1, 0-7 3A South East Idaho Conference) snapped a nine-game losing streak by sweeping a nonconference home doubleheader Thursday.

Aberdeen downed Watersprings 25-20, 25-11 before rallying past Grace Lutheran 25-12, 22-25, 15-12. Jasmynn Driscoll had three kills, Emily Shackelford added seven aces and Kimberly Tinoco contributed five kills.

BLACKFOOT 3, BONNEVILLE 2

The Broncos (5-12, 2-4 5A High Country Conference) rallied from a two-set deficit for a thrilling 22-25, 16-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-8 comeback victory Thursday on the road in league play.

SNAKE RIVER 3, AMERICAN FALLS 0

The Panthers (17-10, 4-1 4A South East Idaho Conference) swept American Falls 25-11, 25-17, 25-13 Thursday at home in league play.

Mayleigh Carter led Snake River with eight kills and three blocks, while Aydyn Anderson had seven kills, 13 digs and 13 assists. Grace Gilbert added 14 digs and London Lee had 12 assists.

RIGBY 3, HIGHLAND 0

The Rams (9-13, 1-4 6A High Country Conference) saw their losing streak reach seven games after getting swept 25-18, 25-10, 25-18 Thursday on the road in league play.

Arianna Williams led Highland with six kills, while Kennedi Winder added five kills and nine digs. Jaycie Homer had nine assists, Britt Reno tallied six assists, and Alivia Blad had one ace and 10 digs.

WEST SIDE 3, SODA SPRINGS 1

The Pirates rallied after dropping the opening set, winning the next three for a 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-12 road victory Wednesday in 3A South East Idaho Conference play.

GRACE LUTHERAN 3, TAYLOR’S CROSSING 0

The Royals swept Taylor’s Crossing 25-16, 26-24, 25-15 on the road Tuesday in 1A Rocky Mountain Conference play.

Sarah Krause led the way with four aces, seven kills and seven digs, while Rebekah Miller added two aces, seven kills and seven digs.

SNAKE RIVER 3, PRESTON 1

The Panthers rallied after dropping the opening set for a 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-13 victory Tuesday at home in conference play.

Aydyn Anderson led Snake River with 12 kills, four aces, 13 digs and 12 assists, while Mayleigh Carter added five kills and seven blocks. Grace Gilbert had six kills, four aces, three blocks and 15 digs, Emma Cook tallied two aces and 16 digs, and London Lee had 11 assists.

MADISON 3, HIGHLAND 0

The Rams were swept 25-11, 25-9, 25-13 Tuesday on the road in conference play.

Jane Christensen led Highland with five kills, while Arianna Williams and Brinley Homer each added four kills. Alivia Blad had 24 digs and one ace, Jaycie Homer tallied nine assists, one ace and five digs, and Britt Reno had six assists.

BOYS SOCCER

BLACKFOOT 5, HILLCREST 1

Josiah Ballesteros had a hand in all but one goal with two goals and two assists as the Broncos (5-2-4, 4-1-3 5A High Country Conference) cruised to a league victory Thursday at home.

Gio Labra added a pair of goals and Didier Perez rounded out the scoring for Blackfoot.

POCATELLO 4, PRESTON 1

Landon Rasmussen, Emmitt Huff, Jayson Boyle and Scott Porter each scored as the Thunder (5-5-3, 3-0-1 5A South East Idaho Conference) clinched the regular-season league title with a road victory Tuesday.

GIRLS SOCCER

HIGHLAND 8, THUNDER RIDGE 1

The Rams (11-3-1, 7-0 6A High Country Conference) clinched their sixth consecutive regular-season league title Thursday at home.

Lexi Vawdrey led the way with a hat trick and two assists, while Sunny Moysh added three assists. Peyton Looney (assist from Devree Bell), Ashlynn Hale (assist from Moysh), Lauren Flores (assist from Vawdrey) and Taryn Roth (assist from Vawdrey) also scored for Highland. Bell added a penalty kick goal in the second half.

POCATELLO 3, PRESTON

1Adelynn Shuler, Brynlee Pool and Leah Fisher all found the back of the net as the Thunder (6-8, 4-0 5A South East Idaho Conference) captured their fifth consecutive regular-season league championship Tuesday on senior night.

CROSS COUNTRY

Highland swept both team titles at the Bob Conley Invitational on Thursday at Portneuf Wellness Complex.

The Rams’ boys won with 66 points, led by senior Spencer Smith’s sixth-place finish (16:13.9). Century juniors Ethan Hansen and Ammon Bitton went 1-2 in the individual race, with Hansen winning in 15:35.1 and Bitton taking second in 15:45.2. The girls captured their championship with 84 points, paced by junior Makenzie Tucker’s third-place showing (19:12.6). Ogden’s Avery Barton won the girls race in 17:41.2.

Pocatello senior Katie Boyle finished second overall in the girls race (19:06.7).

In the boys Varsity B race, Malad won the team title with 107 points behind senior Boston Burbidge’s third-place finish (16:28.3). Fruitland’s Landon Hillam took the individual title in 16:09.4.

Soda Springs’ Ellie Wood placed third in the girls Varsity B race (20:09.5), leading her team to a third-place finish with 121 points. Ririe’s Lucy Boone won the race in 19:23.4.