Competing in their final event in the Gorge this year, on a very windy day, the Hood River Valley High Eagles and The Dalles High Riverhawks both enjoyed success in an Intermountain Conference Class 5A girls golf tourney April 25 at The Dalles Country Club.
The Dalles sophomore Katelyn Vassar had her all-time best performance ever while shooting a personal-best score of 94 on two rounds of the nine-hole course. Vassar took second place overall, behind medalist Elizabeth Richardson of the Redmond High Panthers.
“It was my best day ever, so that was really exciting for me, and I feel like I had a pretty good day,” said Vassar, who had a birdie on the par-four fifth hole. “I was actually surprised that I was doing so good, because I’ve never really had a tournament where I had a long streak of good holes. I had multiple chances to get birdies, but I shot over par on some holes, and I got par on most of the holes.
“It’s always in the back of my mind to think that I’m going to have a good day and you don’t want to have any negative thoughts, because then you will have tough time. I was hoping to get first or second today and my goal is to go to the state tournament. I just need to continue getting low scores and finish in the top-five at each tournament.”
Vassar opened with a 44 on the front nine. The wind picked up later in the day, though, and Vassar said she was a little tired. Those factors contributed to her higher score of 50 on the back nine.
The Dalles sophomore Nellie Wilkinson shot a 108 for a ninth-place tie out of 27 golfers. Riverhawk junior Paige Compton, who is competing in golf for the first time, shot 127.
“It was a little rough for me today with a 108,” said Wilkinson, who had a personal-best 92 at a tournament in Prineville April 5. “My goal is to qualify for state and that would be amazing if I can do that. I’m hoping to break 90 eventually and my goal earlier in the season was to break 100 and I did that, so now I’m hoping to shoot in the 80s.”
“It’s my first year ever in golf, so I’m doing pretty good,” said Compton, whose best score is 120. “I’ve learned a lot from Katelyn, who is a good teacher, and Nate is a great coach who makes golfing a lot of fun. It’s a very hard sport and it’s been a learning experience, but I’m progressively getting better every day. I’m having lots of fun; my teammates are great and they’re the ones who really make this an amazing experience for me.
“It would be a lot more fun if we could have four players and get a team score, but I wouldn’t trade my team for the world.”
The Hawks, guided by first-year Coach Nate Timmons, have three players, so they’re not eligible for a team score which requires four.
“That’s the best score that Katelyn has ever shot; it’s good to see her break 100 and she shattered that mark by getting down to 94,” said Timmons. “It’s good to see her be successful. Getting second place in our league is pretty good. She was able to put together 18 good holes and we’re going to keep trying to shave strokes off. She definitely had a very solid round today and I’m very pleased. She’s hoping to get scores in the 80s and she’s getting close. She has the potential to come out in any tournament and shoot in the 80s. She has a good chance of qualifying for the state tournament and it would be awesome if she does make it.”
HRV’s scoring four players were led by junior Maysie Kern, who shot 118. Kern was followed by Sierra Muenzer (118), Sierra Lavoie (126) and Piper Lawson (129). Juliana Moore shot a non-counting score of 176.
“I kind of struggled, but it was OK, and I know I can do a lot better,” said Kern, whose personal best is 99. “I’ve placed three times this year with two seconds and one third, so that’s really nice. I’ve been golfing all my life and I started when I was age 3. I love golf and it’s hard sometimes, but it’s a lot of fun and I have awesome teammates. I’m hoping that I can go to state; that’s what I would really like to do.”
The Eagles, guided by third-year Coach Jeremiah Lembcke, had team score of 491 for fifth place in the six-team event. The Eagles’ top-four golfers are hoping that their team will improve within the next two weeks and qualify for state, which would be their first time ever for all four golfers.
“We did pretty well even with the very windy weather,” said Lembcke, who has 10 players on the JV and varsity squads. “Sierra Muenzer had a personal best today, so we’re really proud of her. Some of the other kids kind of struggled, but that’s OK, because they’re all just trying to do their best. In our last tournament (April 18), we had three personal bests and we had one more today, so that’s good, because it shows that we’re improving.
“We have some kind of newer golfers who are just starting to find their swings. Most of the kids are going to play at least one varsity match. We have so many kids that are new, all about the same skill level.”
In the first tournament of the year in March, three Eagle golfers were playing for the first time ever in a high school event.
“The first time you play 18 holes, that’s when you really get introduced to the sport,” said Lembcke. “We don’t have time to even play nine holes at practice. We have a great group of kids; we’re having a lot of fun and they’re very supportive of each other. There’s always a chance that we could have a state qualifier. Maysie has been playing awhile and she certainly has the ability to qualify. This is her first opportunity, so she does have a chance. She’s had several rounds going under 100 this year and she’s capable of lowering her scores to near 90.”
Hood River and The Dalles players are shaving strokes off their scores as they prepare to try and achieve their goals of reaching the state tournament May 16-17 at the Emerald Valley Golf Resort in Creswell. The six IMC teams were battling very windy conditions on the course that included gusts of up to 35 mph.
The Dalles and Hood River competed in their final regular season event Monday at Meadow Lakes Golf Course in Prineville (result was after the printed edition deadline). Both squads will participate in the Class 5A regional tourney at Heron Lakes Golf Course in Portland on May 9-10.
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