Whalen finishes third at state; Olson ends strong
Courtesy photo<br> Othello's Devyn Olson went to task on Wednesday securing a solid second round at the Class 2A state golf tournament. The senior shot a 91 to finish 17th.
YAKIMA — Heading into the second and final round of the Class 2A boys state golf championships, Ephrata’s Andrew Whalen saw himself tied with one other young man at the top of the standings.
When the dust settled on Wednesday and all the golfers had completed their rounds, the Tiger stalwart couldn’t quite overcome a bumpier round and ended up in third place following his 18-hole, 76 score.
Whalen had shot a 68 on Tuesday.
The Ephrata sophomore ended up four shots behind eventual winner, Connor O’Neill of Washougal, who made up a four stroke deficit heading into yesterday’s action.
Whalen improved his state standing following a strong sixth place finish last year when the Tiger was only a freshman.
Ephrata coach Greg Hewitt believes Whalen’s work ethic and ability could pay off down the road.
Whalen was the top Columbia Basin representative finisher at Apple Tree Resort in Yakima but his efforts weren’t enough to put Ephrata on the final team leaderboard, which Othello found itself, finishing 12th.
Jared Kummer shot a 76 on Saturday to finish tied for 21st with a 154 over two days and teammate Sam Para ended up with consecutive rounds of 79 to end up tied for 30th at 158.
Othello scored 27.50 points to end up on the final leaderboard.
“So far it was kind of like how our season went, pretty consistent,” Othello coach Sammy Rocha said. “These guys are juniors and their third time going to the state tournament. Their scores are better and so hopefully we can continue to make positive progress and see what we can do here next year. One thing is they just need to play more competitive golf and get some lessons from a top pro. These guys are at a stage where they need someone to help take their swing to a different level.”
Class 1A boys state
RICHLAND — The Royal Knights, behind the play of Kyle Spartveit and Trevor Iverson, rolled to an eighth-place team finish at the Class 1A state finals at Columbia Point Golf Course on Wednesday.
Spartveit shot a second straight round of 79 to shoot a 158, good for a tie at 29th place. Iverson’s second day wasn’t as successful as his first, following up a 77 round with an 87 to complete his tournament tied for 37th place.
Royal scored 15 team points.
Class 2A girls state
YAKIMA — It may not be better than a brand new car, but ending a high school golfing career on a high note isn’t too bad either.
Othello’s Devyn Olson, shot a 18-hole round of 91 at Apple Tree to wrap up a two-day, 184 score performance, good enough for 17th place in Class 2A.
Despite missing out on a medal by one spot, Olson saw her finish as a solid way to wrap her career as a Lady Huskie.
“I was really glad I was able to have one of my best round today,” Olson said. “I was really happy it was a good day. I wish I hadn’t put two balls in the water at 17 or I would have medaled. But I was able to par the next hole by putting it out of my mind. It was exciting and a good feeling to end that way on my senior year.”
Othello coach Heather McDonald echoed her player’s sentiments.
“She played great today with only one bad hole,” McDonald said. “She was pretty excited about the 91. If she didn’t that extra shot at the apple she may have broke 90.”
Othello also ended up in ninth place as a team, scoring 33.50 points, and curbing some of the disappointment of losing out on regular season and districts titles to Ephrata.
“You never know how the day is going to come out,” McDonald said. “You try to tell the kids that one day you might not have a good day but the next one could be your best day. The mind set is you have to think of the next shot and be positive because you can’t change the past. You have to keep working for the next hole. We wanted to make it to the second day and when we did to just have fun.”
Othello’s Delaney Towle and Ephrata’s Allie Duff finished tied for 30th as each golfer shot a two-day total of 194.
Class 1A girls state
RICHLAND — Lara Crow, the only remaining Columbia Basin representative to make it to day two of the Class 1A girls finals, finished her tournament with a 19th place finish on Wednesday.
The Lady Cougar shot an 18-hole round of 97 to finish with a tournament total of 189, good enough to finish in 19th place.
Warden came into the state tournament with all four of their scoring golfers having qualified from their district championship run last week.
Class 1B/2B girls state
KENNEWICK — With three years left to show off her skills, Moses Lake Christian Academy’s Ame McPhetridge wrapped up what she hopes is the first of many trips to the Class 1B/2B State Girls Golf tournament on Wednesday.
The Lady Lion followed up her 102 round on Tuesday with a 101 on day two to end up with a combined score of 203 and an 18th place finish for her first appearance at the state finals, held at Tri-City Country Club.
On day one Columbia Basin Secondary golfers Mariah Rippy (117) and Felicia Walker (139) completed their first trip to the state finals as well but neither made the cut — 102 — to compete on Wednesday.
Become a Subscriber!
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
