Knights win 1A boys state golf title

King’s claim fifth title in school history at Columbia GC

By David Pan

Enterprise sports editor

At the start of the season, King’s boys golf coach Myrle Carner saw that his players had the talent to compete at the highest levels.

So much of the focus during the season was on the mental game.

That focus paid off with spectacular performances at the Class 1A state boys golf championships.

Four Knights finished in the top 15 and five were in the top 20 to lead King’s to the team title May 28 at the Columbia Golf Course in Richland.

“It’s just amazing,” Carner said of his team’s play in the two-day tournament. “We just worked really hard all year. … I knew they had the physical tools. We worked the entire season on mental preparation.”

The Knights finished with 159.5 team points, beating out Ilwaco which scored 147 points.

Calvin McCutcheon, who shot an 18-hole score of 67 to top the leaderboard on the second day of competition, finished third with a two-day total of 139. That was three strokes behind individual winner Zach Wanderscheid of Goldendale who shot a two-day total of 136.

“He was just incredible,” Carner said. “He was in the zone.”

McCutchen’s teammates also proved that they were up for the challenge of the state championships. King’s Spencer Coston-Woods tied for 12th with a two-day total of 146, while Nick Hardy was 14th with a 147 and Ryan Hoff was 15th with a 148.

Price Coshow finished 20th with a score of 152 and Zac Watts was 22nd with a 153.

Ilwaco had three golfers finish in the top five, but King’s depth proved to be the difference.

The title was King’s fifth in school history and its highest point total ever.

Coston-Woods and Watts had not shot in the 70s this season but both upped their game at state.

The key to the Knights’ victory was advancing all six golfers to the second day of the tournament.

“We knew our job was half done,” Carner said. “Day one was an incredible high for everyone just because it was the lowest scores we shot all year. It was a battle right down to the end.”

As usual, King’s had a team meeting later that night and they went over their game plan for the next day.

“All of them were focused on day two doing what we did on day one,” Carner said. “I’ve been here for 10 years. I have never had a team the entire time be so cohesive and balanced.”

On any given day, any of the players had the potential to be a medalist.

“It was an interesting season watching them continually get better,” Carner said. “I was blown away by their consistency at state. The pressure seeps in at that level. They seemed to thrive on that.”