After two days of play at Eagle’s Pride Golf Course at Fort Lewis, the Enumclaw High girls will take four players to the state tournament in May and the Hornet boys three, but neither team is finished yet. The Hornets along with Bonney Lake, Sumner and White River will get a chance in the spring to earn the final spots into May’s state tournament.
The top nine girls at the Oct. 15 and Oct. 20 subdistrict, or state-qualifying, tournament earned a spot in the state tournament, while the top 11 boys advanced to state. The next 14 female and 17 male finishers have another chance. They are invited to play at the West Central District qualifier in May to earn the final allocations into the state tournament.
Enumclaw golfers Tyler Salsbury and Kelly Sweeney were also awarded South Puget Sound League 3A Players of the Year honors.
Salsbury tied with John Jordan for the top spot at the state-qualifier with a two-day total of 143 strokes. After a 2-over par 74 round on Oct. 15, Salsbury came back, firing off a 3-under performance Oct. 20 for the lead. The EHS sophomore lost the No. 1 spot in a playoff.
Teammate Jordan Beals finished at 149 for a tie at third and Jake Erickson was one stroke behind at 150 to round out EHS’s initial state team. Coach Bob Kilmer praised Beals’ composure. Beals, who was No. 2 after Day 1 rallied from a 12-stroke performance on a par-5 hole to shoot 2-under for his spot.
“A lot of kids would have panicked in that situation,” Kilmer said.
Hornets Tim Livermore, Colton McCluskey and Chase Dolliver, along with Sumner’s Brandon Barlow, will return to Eagle’s Pride in May to see if they can join their teammates at for the state tournament. State officials have not set a location for either tournament yet.
Salsbury’s score was a school record for play at Eagle’s Pride. The previous record of 79 was set by Chris Thorton during the 1995-96 season.
On the ladies’ side, Enumclaw’s Sweeney finished second, earning her spot to state with a two-day 180-stroke performance. Teammate Torey Schreiner was one stroke behind. Caitlin Runland and Kaylee Salsbury both made the nine-woman cut with matching 192s.
Bonney Lake’s Tracy Hare also earned another trip to the state tournament, taking the final spot with a 195.
EHS’s Janie Francis and Tiffany Wilkening, Sumner’s Danielle Durham and Rebecca Turcotte, Bonney Lake’s Megan Charron and Courtney Bartlett and White River’s Tia Johnson and Rebecca Norris all earned a tee time at the state spring qualifier in May.
Sumner’s Karleigh Warner will serve as the second alternate.
Sweeney also set an EHS record for play at Eagle’s Pride, topping Francis’ 107-stroke performance from the spring tournament.
Enumclaw Hornets Dylan Kleist and Claire Hinman also qualified for the spring shootout, but cannot participate due to team number restrictions. The most you can qualify for the state tournament is six, already taking four.
“We did fantastic,” said Kilmer, who coached the girls to the 2008 state title. The EHS boys won the state golf title in 1982. “Certainly we’re going to try to push all 12 through to the state tournament. We have high expectations for the spring.”
