Familiar courses should help area teams in Idaho
Area 5A and 4A teams won’t be favored in the Idaho state golf tournaments but they do have a couple of key things in their favor.
They sport solid teams and they’re playing on courses in the backyard. The Lakeland boys and girls will battle for 4A medals at The Links, their home course. In 5A, the Coeur d’Alene girls will compete on their home turf, Avondale, and it’s a familiar track for Lewiston and Lake City.
“The Links, especially with the greens, there’s a lot of contour and a lot of places where a little course knowledge goes a long way,” Lakeland coach Mario Maddy said. “That should help us.”
In 5A boys, Post Falls and Lewiston could be in the mix against another stout southern Idaho contingent, led by five-time defending champion Eagle. Rocky Mountain edged Eagle, which has at least two players committed to NCAA Division I programs, for the district crown earlier this week.
“Avondale is a course that will penalize you if you don’t hit good shots,” said Post Falls coach Maria Kostina, whose team played a practice round Friday at Avondale. “It’s definitely a players’ course and you have to be able to work the ball and be a shot-maker. It’s not one of those courses where you bomb it, find it and short game it.”
The Coeur d’Alene boys thought they qualified for state after winning a playoff Monday against Lake City. However, it was discovered later that a Viking turned in an incorrect scorecard and also failed to sign the scorecard. The player’s score was tossed out and replaced by another player’s score, leaving the Vikings two strokes behind the state-bound Timberwolves.
Lewiston, led by medalist Ben Gleason’s 73, won the regional title with a score of 307 at Avondale. Post Falls was next at 311, paced by Colton Serdahl’s 76.
“We’ve been going back and forth with Lewiston,” Kostina said. “I feel like we’ve been getting progressively better and hopefully we’ll peak at state.”
Lakeland hasn’t earned a trophy (a top-four finish) since joining 4A a decade ago. Maddy believes the girls can challenge behind seniors Haley Rotchford, the regional champion, Sierra Tingey and Megan Cysewski. Rotchford and Cysewski have signed with Community Colleges of Spokane and Tingey committed to North Idaho College.
“We have a really good shot,” said Maddy, noting Lakeland shot a school-record 360 at The Links at regionals.
Preston Roth, who shot a 71 for medalist honors Monday, leads the Hawks boys. Andrew Knight and Tyrel Derrick each carded 75s.
“Preston has been competitive all year long and he’s done a good job of taking that role of a No. 1,” Maddy said.
Defending state champion Twin Falls, with two players shooting 72s and two shooting 73s, captured the District 4 title with a 290 team score.
The 3A tournament will be held at Twin Lakes. Kellogg’s Chase Jerome claimed the district title with an 80. The Wildcats’ Kaitlyn Miller shot a 102 to capture the district crown.
St. Maries, led by district medalist David Burnett’s 75, and Wallace qualified for the 2A boys tournament, to be held at Bryden Canyon in Lewiston. District medalist McKenzie Rose leads the state-bound Lumberjack girls.
GSL winding down
Lewis and Clark has won three of the four GSL girls’ tournaments and holds a two-point lead over Gonzaga Prep. The final GSL match is Tuesday at The Fairways.
“We’re getting close,” Tigers coach Michelle Grafos said. “I think we’re getting better as we’re moving forward.”
LC senior Sierra Kersten carded a sparkling 67 at Indian Canyon on Tuesday to move into first place in the individual standings with a 75.5 scoring average. Mead’s Lydia Kim is second at 76, followed by G-Prep’s Kelly Hooper at 77.75.
Kersten made a slight adjustment to her putting stance and it paid dividends on the greens.
“She’s just the ultimate competitor,” Grafos said. “Her work ethic, she keeps going and going and going until she figures it out.”
Gonzaga Prep is closing in on the boys’ title. The Bullpups have won the first four GSL tournaments, the last three by five, two and three shots, respectively.
The individual title will be settled Tuesday at The Fairways. Ferris’ Tanner Comes leads with a 74.5 scoring average but six players are within 2.5 strokes, including Mead’s Blake Ellingsen (74.75), who fired a 66 for medalist honors at Indian Canyon.