GIRLS PREP GOLF
Mylaina Parker and Montesano wins districts
Rain may have slowed down the greens, but it didn’t slow the Montesano Bulldogs.
Led by Mylaina Parker’s district-title winning two-day score of 164, the Bulldogs won the team championship at the Southwest Washington 1A District Golf Tournament at the Tumwater Valley Golf Course on Tuesday.
Parker shot an 80 in Monday’s 18-hole round and followed that up with an 84 to finish atop the leaderboard and lead the Bulldogs to the lowest team score as well.
In sharp contrast to the calm winds and sunny weather on the first day of the tournament, golfers were subjected to sporadic rains and wind gusts that played havoc on tee shots, especially for the front nine.
Parker said she went to some different clubs than she normally would have to compensate for the conditions.
“Since it was raining when we first got here, the air was a little heavier and the ball wasn’t traveling as far,” she said. “I was having some issues getting my distance right and figuring out which club to use at which time early on.”
Parker had pressure on her for the entire round as she worked to protect a slim lead over second-place finisher Madison Hull from Life Christian, who shot 167 for the tournament.
Parker had a chance to go up four strokes with a eight-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, but slow greens didn’t do her any favors as the putt was short and Parker had to settle for par.
Parker said she tried her best to put any negative feelings from the previous hole behind her by the time she walked to the 17th tee box.
“When I would have a bad hole, I told myself that I had 10 steps to be mad about it. Then I had to get over it and move on and like it didn’t happen after that,” she said.
Parker’s low score highlighted a strong effort from the Bulldogs, but she wasn’t alone in shooting a low score for Monte.
After shooting 92 on Tuesday, Montesano senior Glory Grubb ended her tournament with a score of 178, earning third-place in the district to help the defending state champions win the district title.
Montesano’s Glory Grubb chips out of a bunker on the fourth hole of the SWW1A District Golf Tournament on Tuesday in Tumwater. Grubb finished third overall. (Hasani Grayson |Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano head coach Doug Galloway said he is confident in Grubb and expects her to post lower scores when she sees this course again during the state tournament.
“She’s a very good golfer and she ran into some poor luck in a couple places. She ran into a sand trap that hurt her a little bit and got a big score on that,” he said. “She’s a really good golfer and I’m excited for her to have another opportunity at this course.”
Montesano wasn’t the only local team to send players to state.
Hoquiam’s Bailey Smith finished fourth with a 189 and Brooke Bogdanovich came in fifth with a score of 193.
“Bailey and Brooke did exactly what they set out to do at the beginning of the season,” Hoquiam head coach Patty Sundstrom said. “They wanted to end their high school golf careers at state and they earned it. I’m so excited and proud of them.”
Hoquiam’s Bailey Smith putts from the edge of the rough during the second day of competition of the SWW1A District Golf Tournament on Tuesday in Tumwater. Smith finished fourth in the tournament and qualified for state. (Hasani Grayson |Grays Harbor News Group)
The four state qualifiers from the Harbor will now prepare for the state tournament on May 21 at Tumwater Valley Golf Club.
It isn’t their home course but Galloway said there will be an advantage for his golfers, who will be competing at state on familiar grounds that aren’t too far from home as Monte looks to win state in back-to-back years.
“I like it because we can come and practice to get familiar with it,” he said. “We played this course a few times so I think it is an advantage and I think it’s an advantage to sleep in our own beds. I’m excited about next week.”
Team Standings: 1, Montesano 50.5. 2, Hoquiam 46.5. 3, King’s Way Chr. 36. 4, Life Christian 35. 5, Ilwaco. 30. 6, La Center 12. 7, Elma 8.
Top Scores: 1, Parker, Montesano, 164. 2, Hull, Life Christian, 167. 3, Grubb, Montesano, 178. 4, Smith, Hoquiam, 189. 5, Bogdanovich, Hoquiam 193.
PREP SOFTBALL
Wishkah Valley 4, Pope John Paul 2
Wishkah’s season will continue thanks to a three-run rally in the first inning that propelled the Loggerettes to a 4-2 victory over John Paul II and stamped its ticket to state on Tuesday.
Wishkah (6-2) put up a three-run first inning with consecutive run-scoring at-bats from Mackenzie Roberts, Erica Bomhoff and Kelcey Bernhardty.
Robertson also came up with another RBI in the second inning to give the Loggerettes some breathing room.
Bomhoff was solid in the circle for Wishkah as she pitched through six errors while only surrendering one earned run and striking out six.
Pope John Paul plated a pair of runs in the fourth inning to make it a 4-2 game, but that’s as close as the Eagles would get.
Wishkah will take on Quilcene at home on Thursday at 4:15 p.m in the 1B state semifinal.
Pope John Paul II 000 200 0 – 2 6 1
Wishkah 310 000 x – 4 9 6
WP – Bomhoff (6 H, 6 K, BB); LP – Emily White (9 H, 4 ER, 2 K, BB)
Top Players: Wishkah – Roberston (2 2B, 2 RBI), Bomhoff (2B, RBI), JJ Morris (2 2B); John Paul II – Carly James (2 2B).
