Clarkston’s Grace Frazier finishes in second-place tie at State 2A while team places third

Facing a seven-stroke deficit entering the final day of the State 2A golf championship, Clarkston’s Grace Frazier needed a monster day on Thursday to catch Ephrata freshman Kenedee Peters.

But Peters extended her lead and won the title by a staggering 19 strokes at MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake.

“My long game was really good and my short game was decent,” said Frazier, a sophomore, who finished tied for second with a two-day score of 158. “But Kenedee, she was really good.”

Peters, who shot 71-68, helped power Ephrata’s team to a first-place finish. Clarkston finished third.

“It feels very good,” said Peters, who hugged her mother and cried after the huge victory. “All my hard work has finally paid off. This is my first big, big win.”

Nicole Welter, a senior from Pullman, shot an 82 on Thursday after opening with an 80 on Wednesday. She finished in seventh place (162).

“It’s not as good as I wanted,” said Welter, a senior who competed in the state championship for the fourth straight year.

Cheyenne Marchand of Cheney and Sami Briney of Clarkston finished tied for 19th with a combined score of 177.

Tournament director Dave Tikker said he couldn’t have asked for better conditions at MeadowWood.

Peters “torched the course,” Tikker said of the winning score that was two strokes off the course record. “It was an outstanding effort.”

But the quote of the day came from Franklin Pierce High School (Tacoma) player Stormie Follen. She finished with a 76 on Thursday, which was the best score of the day at the time, to finish tied for ninth.

As she approached the official scorer’s tent, Follen tossed her ball to the official and said: “You’ll want that. That’s going to be legendary.”