By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE - The Dufur High Rangers continued their tremendous success in OSAA Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 6 girls golf, finishing second last week at district.
The Rangers, led by senior Tygh Timinsky, shot 809 to take second place to the Trinity Lutheran High Saints (802) in the 12-team SD6 championship tournament May 11-12 at Buffalo Peak Golf Course in Union. The Class 2A Saints and the 1A Rangers qualified for the two-day state tourney at Eagle Crest Resort Golf Course in Redmond, which concluded May 19.
Timinsky shot a 36-hole score of 152 to win the SD6 individual district championship in the 44-player event. Timinsky, a four-time state qualifier, shot a season-best 74 in the first round of district May 11; it was her ninth individual tourney win this year and her fourth consecutive district championship.
“We’re hoping that we can accomplish our goal of having our team finish in the top five at the state tournament,” said Timinsky, who was fifth at state last year. “I’m hoping to achieve my goal of getting a top-three individual finish. It would be good to conclude my Dufur High School golf career with a good finish at the state tournament.
“We had a little slump at the middle of the season, but we worked through it and I was really happy that we had a solid team performance at districts.”
Timinsky had the flu a day prior to the district tourney and she was unable to participate in a practice round. After a lot of water and Gatorade, Timinsky was able to shoot her best score of the season in the first round with a 74.
“I felt like I was not really playing my best in the first round and I was more in a survival mode, but I made due with what I had,” she said.
Senior teammates Cynthia Medina (224), Kaylee Wiles (213) and Makaila Collins (223) and junior Piper Murders (226) rounded out the top-four scorers for Coach Bill Timinsky’s Rangers. Junior Piper Murders shot a non-counting score of 226 for Dufur.
The Rangers’ two-member boys squad of juniors Luke Radford and Gavin Anderson also competed in the 12-team district tourney. Radford shot a 36-hole score of 280 and Anderson shot a first-round score of 108.
The Dalles
The Dalles High Riverhawks competed in the OSAA Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 2 eight-team girls golf tournament May 11-12 at Arrowhead Golf Club in Molalla and they took third place in team scoring at 959.
The Dalles senior Elliot Winwood, who is the Riverhawks’ No. 1 player on Coach Nate Timmons’ squad, just missed qualifying for state. She was sixth (top five qualify) with a two-day, 36-hole score of 212.
“I am so proud of the girls for what they have done this season and for how much they have grown on and off the course,” said Timmons. “They are a fantastic group of kids and I am lucky to be their coach.”
The Dalles junior Riley Elliot took 11th place individually at 229 out of a 31-player field. Sophomores Athena Lepinski (253) and Hailey Cain (271) rounded out the Riverhawks’ top-four scorers. Freshman Rozlyn Elliot shot a non-counting score of 275 for The Dalles.
Winwood will continue her golf career at Sweet Briar College in Virginia in the fall and play on the Vixens’ women’s golf team.
The Dalles boys golf team competed in the Tri-Valley Conference District Tournament May 11-12 at Arrowhead Golf Course in Molalla. The top two teams qualified for the state tourney May 18-19 at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell and the top five individuals advanced to state. The Riverhawks took fifth place in the five-team event with a score of 814.
The Dalles High senior Andrew Westin capped his career with a 184 to take fifth place individually and qualify for state for the first time ever. Riverhawk freshman Adrian Schultz (195), freshman Jaxson Howe (208) and sophomore Nautis Kerr (237) rounded out their top-four scoring players. Schultz took 12th place individually out of a 25-player field and Howe took 19th place. Sophomore Caden Ribby shot a non-counting score of 240 for The Dalles.
Hood River Valley
The Hood River Valley High Eagles boys and girls golf teams both competed in the OSAA Class 5A Northwest Oregon Conference/Intermountain Conference Regional Tournament May 11-12 at Meadow Lakes Golf Club in Prineville.
The Eagles boys squad, led by two-time state qualifier Aksel Betz, took sixth place in the 10-team event with a score of 691. Betz finished in 22nd place in the 37-player field. Betz, a sophomore, earlier qualified for the state tournament in the Northwest Oregon Conference district tourney May 4 in Hood River when he took second place individually at 77.
The Eagle trio of junior Max Kellner (82), sophomores Wyatt Bahn (164) and Ren Sandahl (173), and junior Max Kellner (181) rounded out the team’s top four scorers. HRV senior Josh McLaughlin shot a non-counting score of 196 in the final event of his Hood River Valley High School golf career. Betz qualified for the two-day state tournament at Tokatee Golf Course in McKenzie that concluded on May 19.
The Eagle girls golf team also competed at the nine-team, 37-player regional tourney May 11-12 in Prineville, and they took sixth place with a score of 908. Junior Kailee Klindt led the Eagles’ quartet with a score of 210 for a 20th place individual finish. HRV’s trio of junior Rayla Yasui (216), senior Bella Howe (217), and freshman Sadee Mason (265) rounded out the Eagles’ four-player squad.
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