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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Longtime foursome leads Saxon golfers

Mike Boyle Correspondent

Oftentimes in sports, you’ll hear the term “team chemistry” used when describing a squad’s success.

For the Ferris High School boys golf team, team chemistry can be translated to camaraderie, especially among its four senior leaders: Dustin Poe, Ryan Jones, Sean Bulger and Tyler Lynn.

It’s a friendship that started during summers playing at Manito Golf and Country Club that will drive the Saxons’ success this season.

“Tyler, Sean and I have been playing golf up at Manito since we were really little, playing Washington junior golf since we were 11,” said Jones, who will go on to play at Washington State University next year. “We’ve been hanging out during summers at Manito for the last six, seven years.

“Dustin had played in Washington juniors, too, so we knew him from Clarkston. When he moved up here (the summer before eighth grade), he kind of joined the group, and it’s been a lot of fun. All four of us have kind of grown up playing together,” Jones said.

“We’d get up there and play all day,” said Bulger. “We’d play 18 holes, have putting contests on the green, hit range balls and do everything together. Then we’d hang out at night.

“We just went into Ferris, and we already had the experience of playing together. It was nice because we knew a lot of the older guys on the team, so there wasn’t a big transition period,” Buler said. “It just made the transition so much smoother because we knew everybody.

“I think that just helped our success even more. I think it’s a key to our past successes that we are such good friends,” Bulger said.

The closeness the four shared helped Ferris win back-to-back Greater Spokane League titles and consecutive second-place finishes at the state tournament their freshman and sophomore seasons.

Last year, though, the Saxons stumbled, finishing second in the GSL and failing to place at state. One of the reasons could be traced to the team being distracted by the loss of Lynn, who sat out the entire season.

“He had a brain injury, a tumor or growth of some kind, and he didn’t participate a year ago,” said Saxon coach Clarence Hough. “The first two years we had him, he was All-City both years and went to state. He’s a former state champion as a 13-year-old.

Lynn rebounded this year to play guard for the Saxons’ 4A state champion basketball team. Now, he says, he is looking forward to getting back with his friends on the golf course.

“I’m just grateful to be out there playing,” Lynn said. “It used to just be about what score I shot and winning, but now I just enjoy being out there with my friends. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself, but now I’ve kind of learned to just go out there and have fun.”

His teammates – and friends – are glad to have him back as well.

“It helps us immensely,” said Poe, who will join Jones at WSU next year. “We’re back as our unit now.

“Now we can look forward to winning the GSL again and moving on to state, getting all four of us there and having a run at it this year.”

“This year, we have all of our tools back, and I think we feel this is our year,” said Bulger. “We haven’t won the state championship.

“We feel like we’ve had more than enough talent and haven’t put it together. I think we’re taking it a lot more seriously this year and want to make this our year.”