Snohomish boys golf paces District 1 3A field

EVERETT — Consistency and domination. That was the theme for Snohomish boys golf at Legion Memorial Golf Course on Tuesday for the District 1 3A tournament. On the par-71 course, none of the Panthers’ top five golfers had a round over 80 across the two days of play.

As such, Snohomish built on their first-day lead to cruise to victory over the 10-team field with a combined score of 600. Marysville-Getchell (630), Oak Harbor (634) and Everett (641) rounded out the top four state-qualifying teams, while Sedro-Wooley’s Riley Friebel (139; 70, 69) won the individual title at three-under par.

To see not only the four scoring golfers, but a fifth as well, perform across the board, Snohomish coach John Riley hopes it’s a sign of what’s to come.

“It’s the first time this year that that’s happened, so great timing to see that,” Riley said. “We got an interesting group. They’re young, we only have one senior on the team, and this is a group that hasn’t really played to its potential yet this year, so we’re kind of hoping that that’s kind of a sign of some momentum building as we head to Spokane.”

Maverick Stocker (149; 72, 77) and Tully VanAssche (149; 75, 76) led the Panthers by finishing among a three-way tie for sixth in the individual scoring, but Stocker was quick to point out the contributions of Caiden Balas (154; 79, 75) and Gavin Ramirez (155; 76, 79), believing Ramirez shot his best round of the season on Monday before Balas swooped into the fourth spot with his best round on Tuesday.

Despite being a freshman, Stocker has already developed into a leader for the Panthers, both on and off the course. The group did not want to let off the gas pedal after separating itself from the pack on Day 1.

“We were up 20 (strokes after Monday), feeling really good. You know, pretty much feeling like we locked it up for today,” Stocker said. “So today was about putting together five more rounds and (building) our lead. We wanted to win by more, and we did. We did very well today, so very excited.”

Spending time with each of his golfers at different points around the course, Riley could see them push through fatigue in the back end of the course as well as “eliminating blow-up holes,” where settling for a bogey was better than risking further damage going for birdie or par.

Riley hopes the Panthers can build on that progress at the state championship next week.

“At this point, with who we have, if they all put it together, I wouldn’t be surprised with any result,” Riley said. “You don’t want to go out there and say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna win it,’ right? But if they did that, I wouldn’t be shocked. We just got to do our homework (on the course) and get prepared.”

Marysville-Getchell qualifies as a team for the first time

The Chargers may have come closer than any other team to threatening Snohomish, but it still was not close. Yet Tuesday marked a big win for the program.

With its second-place finish, Marysville-Getchell qualified for the state tournament for the first time. With the word “Ohana” printed across their jerseys, the Chargers family grew even closer.

“We worked a lot on our mental game, on just staying positive all year,” Marysville-Getchell coach Travis Marsh said. “That was our biggest focus this year, and then we really worked on pressure. We went to a lot of different tournaments and put ourselves in a lot of pressure situations, so when we got here, this really wasn’t new.”

In his third season leading the varsity program following four years as the JV coach, Marsh has seen the program grow in real time with junior Taylor Kildall, who tied for sixth shooting a 149 (76, 73). Marsh credits Kildall’s work ethic for changing the entire culture of the program.

Kildall, who comes from a golf family, started playing at a young age but quit after losing his love for the game. He picked it back up during the coronavirus pandemic, with part of his inspiration coming from watching his brother, Ronald, play at Fort Lewis College.

Kildall found it difficult to put the clubs down from there, and after stepping onto the Marysville-Getchell team as a freshman and beating the older players, a fire was lit under the rest of the team. They did not take losing to a freshman “fondly,” according to Kildall.

“They kind of realized they had to bring their stuff,” Kildall said. “I think that really elevated the team. And then after that, it was just a snowball effect of the new guys coming in and seeing all the grind that the rest of the team puts on and keep moving forward.”

With the state qualifier box checked off, the team still wants to make the most of its berth. Marsh pointed out another message that the team wears on its uniform, this one on a green bracelet that he made for them: ‘Trust first, swing second.’

“Trust your shot, trust the work that you put in, and then just step up and make a swing,” Marsh explained. “Don’t second-guess it. Just trust it and go. And you got to have kids that buy in, and these kids really have bought in.

“And it’s fun for Getchell, we’re a pretty young school, 15 years, so to have stuff like this happen to us, it’s pretty amazing.”

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Team scores— Snohomish (600), Marysville-Getchell (630), Oak Harbor (634), Everett (641), Shorewood (644), Monroe (648), Meadowdale (655), Shorecrest (663), Ferndale (665), Edmonds-Woodway (703)

Top 10 Golfers— 1. Riley Friebel (Sedro-Wooley) 139 (70-69); 2. Wyatt Sandven (Stanwood) 142 (71, 71); 3. Tobias Wood (Oak Harbor) 143 (72, 71); t-4. Travis Brockie III (Ferndale) 148 (75, 73); t-4. Floyd Villanueva (Meadowdale) 148 (74, 74); t-6. Tully VanAssche (Snohomish) 149 (74, 75); t-6. Maverick Stocker (Sno) 149 (72, 77); t-6. Taylor Kildall (Marysville-Getchell) 149 (76, 73); t-9. Jackson Dammann (Sno) 151 (75, 76); t-9. Henry Schuller (Oak Harbor) 151 (76, 75).

Snohomish, Marysville-Getchell, Oak Harbor and Everett qualify as the top four teams in District 1 3A. The remaining top eight golfers qualify as individuals. Those who qualified but did not place in the Top 10 are: Jack Kuntz (Monroe), Chase Hanby (Shorewood), Gavin Anable (Ferndale) and Blake Puetz (Shorewood). The two alternates are Jason Davis (Lynnwood) and Wyatt Burnham (Shorecrest).