LIBERTY LAKE — After placing in the top four in each of her first three appearances at the 1A state golf tournament, Hannah Roh of King’s ended her prep career on top.
Roh, the clubhouse leader with a round of 80 after day 1 on Tuesday, fired a 69 on Wednesday to top South Whidbey’s Kolby Heggenes by five strokes, finishing the tournament with a 149.
Roh’s efforts, combined with sophomore Emily Burdett’s 12th-place finish, gave the Knights their second consecutive team title, edging conference foe South Whidbey by a single point.
The King’s boys, playing the same par-70* course at Liberty Lake, had four golfers make the cut and rode JackRyan O’Neil’s eighth-place finish to a team title of their own, topping Seattle Academy.
Roh said that in each of her first three state appearances, she felt that she hadn’t put two rounds together that met her standards. That continued in her senior year, but her final round made up for it.
“I haven’t played well in one round each year,” she said. “This year I didn’t play well in the first round, but I was pretty happy with today. It was the best score I’ve hit in a tournament, so I was pretty happy about that. My whole team won state by one point, so I was pretty happy about that also.”
Roh said she wasn’t hitting well on the practice range before Wednesday’s final round, but a quick word from King’s coach Simonette Sancho centered her.
“She told me to focus on having fun, and I think that led me to playing well,” said Roh, who will play collegiately at Whitman next year.
Heggenes finished second on the girls’ side despite bettering her first round performance by nine strokes. Tarra Moore placed eighth for the Falcons.
On the boys’ side, O’Neil, Grayson Giboney (14th), Karson Dreher (18th) and Oscar Chen (32nd) combined to help the Knights eke out a team title. Giboney, Dreher and Chen all improved on their opening-round totals to propel King’s to the championship.
Elsewhere, Sultan’s Tyler Aamold finished tied for sixth with a 75 Wednesday after carding a 78 on Tuesday.
4A Boys
RICHLAND — Ethan Casto of Snohomish and Alvin Kwak of Kamiak tied for ninth place with 36-hole totals of 150 after the final round Wednesday at Meadow Springs.
Casto shot 75 on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and Kwak bettered his opening-round total by four strokes to climb into the top 10.
Snohomish finished seventh in the team standings, and Kamiak placed ninth.
“Ethan played really solid today except for one hole, No. 12,” Snohomish coach Joe Mutcheson said. “If not for hole 12, he could have had a chance to win.”
The Panthers’ Ben Gardner tied for 19th after struggling with his short game on Wednesday.
“Ben just couldn’t get any putts to go in, and he’s usually an excellent putter,” Mutcheson said. “He battled and fought, but they just wouldn’t go in for him today.”
Carl Underwood of Richland emerged as the victor after a five-hole playoff which involved four players tied at 145 after 36 holes.
Bellarmine Prep won the team title with a total of 122 points.
4A Girls
PASCO — Kamiak’s Jane Kim tied for 17th with a 36-hole total of 157, and teammate Renee Kwak tied for 32nd with a 165 at Sun Willows on Wednesday as the only local players represented in the final round.
Jalayne Martinez of Pasco led wire-to-wire, finishing with a two-day total of 142.
Bellarmine Prep won the team title handily, as its total of 135 points was 43.5 beyond that of second-place Camas.
3A Boys
SPOKANE — Stanwood’s Quinton Borseth and Arlington’s Austin Faux were two of the four players who finished tied for 17th place with 36-hole totals of 155 on Wednesday at the Creek at Qualchan.
Fort Vancouver’s Spencer Tibbits birdied the first playoff hole to to win the championship, ousting Zach Evens of Mercer Island.
Roosevelt placed four golfers in the top 11 to win the team title.
3A Girls
SPOKANE — Morgan Rood of Meadowdale shaved six strokes off her opening-round total, shooting 85 on Wednesday to finished tied for 22nd at Indian Canyon.
Brittany Kwon of Central Kitsap shot a 77-73-150 to win the individual championship, and Southridge claimed the team title with a total of 86.5 points.
2A Boys
RICHLAND — Jack McClincy tied for eighth to lead a trio of Archbishop Murphy golfers in the final round on Wednesday at Horn Rapids.
McClincy shot 79 after carding 75 in his opening round on Tuesday.
Matthew Pabisz finished tied for 13th with a two-round total of 157, and Steve Shih was tied for 34th at 167.
Nick Nolan of Bellingham won the individual title with a 145, including a 70 on Wednesday. Liberty won the team title with two players in the top four.
2A Girls
RICHLAND — Shorecrest’s Jac Longstreth fired an 80 in Wednesday’s final round at Columbia Point, cutting 15 strokes off her opening round score to finish tied for 13th.
East Valley Yakima’s Morgan Baum surged ahead of clubhouse leader Kenedee Peters of Ephrata with a final-round 69 to claim the individual title by a single stroke, and help the Red Devils win the team championship.
*—Correction, May 31, 2016: The 18-hole par for Liberty Lake was incorrect in the original article.
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