BOYS GOLF: Snohomish repeats as 4A District champs

Published 11:32 pm Thursday, May 15, 2008

OAK HARBOR — There weren’t too many surprises at the 4A District 1 boys golf tournament Thursday, as Snohomish won its second consecutive district title with 174.5 points, beating defending 4A state champion Kamiak, which scored 147.5 points at Gallery Golf Course on Whidbey Island.

“We’ve played (Kamiak) four times and I think we can pretty much call it even,” said Snohomish coach Joe Mutcheson. “I think they have a really good team and we’ve matched up pretty well this year.”

In claiming the district title, the Panthers qualified three golfers for state and added a fourth who will serve as an alternate.

“I think we played really well the first day and some of the kids who didn’t play as well really came out and responded well today,” Mutcheson added.

There weren’t many individual surprises either, as Day 1 leader Ricky McDonald of Edmonds-Woodway shot 1-under 71 to claim the individual district championship.

“Really, I didn’t (expect to win),” said the junior, who shot a 73 in wet conditions on Tuesday to finish with an even par 144 for the tournament. “It was a long winter, so I didn’t get to practice as much as I wanted to. (I was) kind of rusty coming out here today. I expected to qualify for state, but I didn’t expect to win.”

It is McDonald’s second trip to the 4A state tournament. He participated as a freshman in 2006, but didn’t participate last year as he spent his sophomore year attending high school in California. He added that he will likely return to California for his senior season.

The Panthers’ Dylan Stensland shot a 2-over 74 to finish the district tournament 5-over 149 overall which was good enough for second place.

“It feels good,” Stensland said of his team’s second straight district title. “This time we really want to beat (Kamiak) at state.”

Oak Harbor’s Eric McCardle shot 4-over 76 to finish in third place with 6-over 150 for the week to lead a three-man Wildcat contingent to qualify for state.

“I really would have been (disappointed not to qualify),” the senior said. “I was actually hoping to win — I was hoping to shoot around 68 for the win, but I didn’t do that.”

Reid Martin finished fourth and was the top finisher for Kamiak. The junior overcame a tough round of 7-over 79 on Tuesday to shoot 1-under 71 Thursday to finish at 6-over 150. Martin lost a chip-off to Oak Harbor’s McCardle to determine seeding into next week’s state tournament.

“It’s districts — I wanted to do better but it is what it is,” said Martin. “It gives me some momentum (heading into the state tournament).”

Snohomish’s Mike Jaeger rounded out the top five, shooting 5-over 77 to finish 7-over 151 for the tournament.

“I kind of expected to make the cut — I expected to come closer to winning this year, but it’s not too big,” said the junior, who qualified for the second straight year. “I didn’t finish how I wanted to … I need to focus on my second shots a lot more (at state).”

At Gallery Golf Course

36 holes played, par 72

Team scoring, Stableford

Individual scoring, stroke play

Team scores: Snohomish 174.5, Kamiak 147.5, Oak Harbor 113, Jackson 85, Mountlake Terrace 63.5, Edmonds-Woodway 62, Lake Stevens 47.5, Cascade 40, Stanwood 38.5, Monroe 31, Shorewood 20.5, Marysville-Pilchuck 16.

Snohomish: Stensland 45, Jaeger 36, Fjelstad 28, Carlsen 25, Stocker 21, Bennett 19.5.

Kamiak: Martin 39, Strickland 33, Goodwin 33, Carey 28, Price 12, Yun 2.5.

Oak Harbor: McCardle 39, Reedy 33, Ford 30.5, Kenworthy 10.5.

Jackson: Siemer 35, Miele 30.5, McGinnis 19.5.

Mountlake Terrace: Shoemaker 28, Wall 25, Crump 10.5.

Edmonds-Woodway: McDonald 50, Halle 7.5, Roeter 4.5.

Lake Stevens: Gellner 16, Montgomery 13.5, Girard 13.5, Borges 4.5.

Cascade: Shewfelt 25, Chiarelli 7.5, Bachmann 7.5.

Stanwood: Smith 22.5, Solvberg 16.

Monroe: Gorman 22.5, Partridge 7.5, Claybrook 1.

Shorewood: McKinley 18, Khan 2.5.

Marysville-Pilchuck: Caldwell 16.

Top individual scores: McDonald (E-W) 144, Stensland (Sn) 149, McCardle (OH) 150, Martin (K) 150, Jaeger (Sn) 151, Siemer (J) 153, Strickland (K) 156, Reedy (OH) 156, Goodwin (K) 156, Ford (OH) 157, Miele (J) 157, Shoemaker (MT) 159, Fjelstad (Sn) 159, Carey (K) 159, Shewfelt (C) 161, Carlsen (Sn) 161, Wall (MT) 161.