LACEY — The Kamiak boys golf team erased the memory of a rough first round by claiming a Class 4A fifth-place finish during Wednesday’s state tournament second round at The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie — The Links.
The Knights came into the tournament with a stated expectation of finishing top five, according to Kamiak freshman Tristen Kim (142; 73, 69).
Sitting in ninth after the first round simply wasn’t going to cut it for the four-time champs.
The team hit the links on Tuesday night after the rough showing and loaded into a car to talk about their mentality going into day two.
“The conclusion we came up to was that if we just go for pars every hole, then we’ll ultimately end up shooting a better score,” sophomore Lewis Yoon (156; 80, 76), who finished tied for 32nd overall, said. “We really pursued that heavily today, and I think it worked out pretty well for us.”
Despite the less-than-ideal start to the tournament, all five Knights, including senior Luke Wyrick (160; 82, 78), senior Aaron Choi (162; 82, 80) and sophomore Brayden Van Hook (167; 83, 84) qualified for day two.
Kim’s 69-stroke day two catapulted him to third place in his first state action and tied for the best showing of the round. But the hole he’ll remember came on day one. On hole eight, Kim launched a shot 54 yards, perfectly aligning the shot to bounce off the flagstick and position Kim for a tap-in and huge birdie.
Like Yoon, Kim will remember this tournament for how the team came together around their upperclassmen in what is a mostly individual sport.
“This past season we had great memories with our two captains (Wyrick and Choi)… it was really fun practicing with them and playing with them,” Kim said when asked about his favorite memory of the season.
Watching his underclassmen lead the team in such a high-stakes environment was heartening for Kamiak coach Vic Alinen. Alinen coined the term “The Kamiak Flip” after watching his squad stage a comeback to win districts last week and a four-spot surge at state between rounds.
“Our future is bright because of (Kim and Yoon),” Alinen said of the quiet-mannered young stars. “They understand who they are as golfers, but even more important, who they are as men.”
Jackson, the other area 4A team to make the tournament, saw two of its five golfers make the second day cut in senior ninth-place finisher Henry Kippenhan (147; 74, 73) and senior district champion and 15th-place finisher Jacob Kang (150; 77, 73). Jackson did not place at the tournament, but Kippenhan and Kang dug deep to move up the leaderboard on day two.
Like the Knights, both Timberwolves went to the driving range after day one to find their rhythm. Each shot 1-over-73 on as both golfers certainly found something on day two. Kippenhan’s late run was powered by a nine-par streak to end day two, while Kang buried a 40-footer for a birdie.
“I definitely wanted to place, so I’m happy with a top-10 finish,” Kippenhan said. “After the first day, I just wanted to be in contention, and I think I put myself in a spot where I had an opportunity.”
The remaining four individual area golfers in Lake Stevens’ Hugo Ramires (149; 76, 73) and Joshua Ament (162; 79, 83), Glacier Peak’s Kason Swanson (160; 81, 79) and Arlington’s Cameron Miller (166; 80, 86) all made the cut for day two, but did not place.
Ramires missed the top 10 by just two strokes, finishing 13th.
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