Out of the fifteen athletes from four area high schools traveled east last week to compete in state golf tournaments, five survived the first-round cut and, in the end, Enumclaw’s Matt Hodgman emerged with a Top 10 finish.

State tournaments are traditionally staged on the sunny side of the state and this year was no different. The Class 4A tourney was in the Spokane area, with boys playing the Liberty Lake course and girls at MeadowWood; the Class 3A tourney was staged in the Tri-Cities, with boys playing Columbia Point in Richland and the girls at Canyon Lakes in Kennewick; and the 2A tournament in Spokane had boys playing The Creek at Qualchan and the girls at Indian Canyon.

State tournaments opened Tuesday, May 23, and the initial 18 holes pared the field roughly in half. In each of the tournaments, both boys and girls, 80 golfers had qualified. The top half, or a bit more, advanced and played a second 18 holes on May 24.

WHITE RIVER

The Hornets had the largest state contingent among local schools, with five girls and three boys playing in Spokane.

The Lavinder sisters, Sofia and Georgia, survived the cut and played both days. Eventually, Georgia placed 35th in the 2A field after opening with a 96 and adding a 94 on the second day. Sofia carded a round of 94 the first day and added a 102, finishing at 196 and in 38th place.

Also earning state tourney berths were Taylee Goethals, who shot 108 on the first day, and Emma McGregor and Taylor Spooner, both shooting 110.

For the White River boys, Cooper Franklin finished at 80 on the first day, good for a tie for 21st place. He added a round of 83 on Day 2, leaving him at 163 and tied for 26th place.

Two other Hornet boys, Joe Flanigan and Brock Keller, played the first day. Flanigan came in at 86, missing the cut by two strokes, and Keller finished at 107.

In the 2A team standings, the White River boys were eighth.

ENUMCLAW

Enumclaw High took three boys to the 4A tournament and two advanced to play the entire 36 holes.

On Day 1, Hodgman shot a round of 72 and Jared Beals was just a step behind at 73. That placed both in the Top 20. On Day 2, Hodgman added a 74 to finish at 146 and tie for 10th place. Beals had a Day 2 total of 78 for a 151 total, good for a tie for 23rd.

Kidder McKee opened with an 81 and was limited to a single round in Spokane.

In the end, the EHS boys placed seventh in the team standings. Bellarmine Prep of the South Puget Sound League took the 4A title

On the girls side, EHS had Lexi DeChon playing at MeadowWood. She shot 84 for the opening round and, by a single stroke, missed the cut.

BONNEY LAKE

The Panther program was represented in Richland by Michael Korum and Bryson Wilhite. Each shot an opening round of 87 and was limited to one day.

SUMNER

The lone Spartan earning a state tourney berth was Alec LaBarge. His opening round of 94 did not allow him to advance to the second day.