Returners Bolster Potential On The Links For Medical Lake Team
West Plains golf
After a somewhat lackluster performance in the Northeast A regular season last year, the Medical Lake boys golf team surprised everyone, including coach Ron Pence, with a second-place finish in its district tournament a year ago.
With several players returning from that team, including a two-time state qualifier, the Cardinals could again be a threat. No girls turned out for the ML team this year.
Both Cheney’s boys and girls finished near the top of the Frontier league last year, with the boys tied for second and the girls third.
Coach Rich Rust said he expects his Blackhawks to do well again, with returners on both sets of tees.
Medical Lake senior Kris Campbell, who qualified for state as both a sophomore and a junior, returns to the Cardinals. In all, six players are back, including senior Nick Stangel, senior Nick DiBartolo, junior Ryan Vance, and a pair of sophomores, Devin Marcus and Josh Stark.
Four freshman - Joey Lawrence, Chris Young, John Sherwood and Jason Gausta - and sophomore Jake Leidal are new to the team this year.
Following a 19th-place finish in the Clarkston Invitational two weeks ago, the Cardinals are working on their short games and preparing for the Newport Invitational on Friday. There, they’ll face Northeast A foes, including Kettle Falls and Freeman, a pair of newcomers to the league who promise to make the season even more interesting, Pence says.
Among the boys returning to Cheney’s team, senior Russell Reser leads a pack of four closely-matched players who include BJ McLuen, a junior who hit 69 last week in practice at the Fairways, senior Skyler Rodolph and freshman Peter Sisich.
Among the 18 boys out for the team, senior Cody Woodruff and junior Joe Goetz have emerged as favorites for the remaining two varsity spots.
“We probably have a real good shot,” coach Rust said of his season expectations.
“If we have everybody together, we can give anybody a run on any given night.”
On the girls’ side, senior Sarah Niccols returns after a trip to the state tournament last year.
Rounding out the team are golfers including senior Heather Darnall; freshman Erica Leslie, who is shooting in the 80s; sophomore Annie McConnell and freshman Beth Boots. Although Boots is in just her first year of the sport, she has dropped her scores from near 150 for 18 holes down to 113 in three weeks.
“If she keeps on improving, she’s going to be a good one,” Rust says.
Both the boys and girls have scored in the middle of the field at preseason tournaments in Moses Lake and Clarkston and open their regular Frontier League season on April 16.