Golfers First To Go After State Championships
Golf/Track
Most athletes in spring sports hope to make state this weekend by performing well in district and regional competition.
For golfers, however, the waiting is almost over.
State golf tournaments are Monday and Tuesday. The Ferris and Ritzville girls will be out to defend titles.
Ritzville girls go after their third straight A/B title in Spokane. The A/B golfers are in the Valley, with the boys at MeadowWood and the girls at Liberty Lake. The 36-hole championship includes a round of 18 each day.
The Broncos have a good shot with five qualifiers. Cascade (Leavenworth) won the boys A/B title last year in Yakima.
State AA golfers are in Yakima this year, the boys at Appletree and the girls at Lower Valley in Sunnyside. The Hanford girls and Seattle Prep boys are defending champions.
The AAA finals are in Tacoma, the boys at Fort Lewis and the girls at Meadow Park.
Ferris won last year’s girls title at Downriver in Spokane, with Jennifer Hatley and Hillary Prugh tied for sixth in the individual chase. Hatley, Prugh and Bridget Johnson are back, joined by Laura Hicks.
Mead junior Britney Holt, who dominated the Greater Spokane League after finishing fourth at state last year, is a strong contender for the individual title. Defending champion Kylie Smith of Everett, who beat Mendy Cooper of Tumwater in a playoff, is returning.
The Ferris boys should also be a factor in the team race, led by brothers Andy and Michael Hastings and Zach and Alex Cazier.
Ballermine Prep captured last year’s team title with medalist Dusty Brett. North Central’s Kyle Kelly was second in the tournament at Qualchan. Both are back and should battle Andy Hastings, in particular, for individual honors.
Coach defends athletes
Riverside track coach Cory NeVille stuck up for his athletes after several of them were suspended for being at a party - albeit briefly - where there was alcohol.
“I felt the punishment didn’t fit the crime,” he said. “It was blown out of proportion. We can and ought to clean our own house - and will.”
Melanie Erickson, a senior who qualified for state three times when Riverside was a Class A school, was able to compete in the Frontier League meet Tuesday because her parents sought and received a restraining order.
“As far as the athletic code went, I didn’t break anything,” the honor student and student body president said. “The school took it into their own hands and punished me. It’s been rough. I’ve gone to state every year and now they are trying to take it from me. I think I could have done better (in the preliminaries on Tuesday) if I was allowed to practice. Legally I should have been able to.”
Big bopper
Roger Roesler had three of the 11 best discus throws in Texas history last Saturday, including a record mark of 208 feet, 8 inches for Round Rock High. He also won the shot put at 71-2, the 12th-longest throw in state history.
Roesler’s feat is rated as the second-best weight double in high school history, second to a 1979 day by ex-NFL lineman Michael Carter. Carter set the previous discus mark of 204-8 and broke 70 in the shot 10 times that year.
, DataTimes