Ryan Howe’s shot at the Creek at Qualchan’s 204-yard par-3 11th got better and better the longer his ball stayed in the air.
It landed about an inch from the hole and settled three inches away. Howe’s first hole-in-one wasn’t in the cards, but he made a tap-in birdie and battled through a few bumpy holes coming in for a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s opening round of the boys’ 3A state golf tournament.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that close,” the Cheney High sophomore said. “I thought it was like 15 feet left but it just kept cutting. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it might go in.’ “
Howe and his teammates easily completed their first objective – finishing in the top eight to make the cut for Wednesday’s second round after coming up short a year ago at state with a freshmen-laden team – and they’re very much in the title chase. The Blackhawks navigated a breezy day with a 17-over 305, three strokes behind Bellevue. Cheney is one ahead of defending champion Mountain View and five in front of Mercer Island. Seventeen shots separate Bellevue and eighth-place Eastside Catholic. Ridgeline (323, ninth) missed the cut.
“What I told them going into this tournament and really all season is if we play good and how we’ve played consistently all year, we can win any tournament we go to,” Cheney coach Justin Fayant said.
Added Howe: “I think we’re in a great spot. Our whole team, none of us played really well. We all played solid enough to put up a decent score as a team.”
Howe’s round mirrored his teammates in that all five Blackhawks had better scores on the front nine than the back. Cheney’s counting scores included sophomores Brayden Anderson (76), Justin Krasselt (77) and Blake Kernen (79).
“The front nine was smooth,” Howe said of his even-par 36. “I hit about every fairway, every green and two-putted except one one-putt and one three-putt. The second nine was the exact opposite, missing almost all the fairways and greens, but my short game saved me a few times.”
Howe was 1-under after driving the 340-yard 15th for a two-putt birdie, but he double-bogeyed No. 16 when his second shot found the water on the par 5. After a bogey on No. 17, Howe launched an 8-iron to 8 feet and two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th.
“The boys came out firing and played really well to start,” Fayant said. “The front side is the easier side so once we got to the back we knew it was going to be a dogfight. There were a couple of mistakes, a couple of bad shots, but golf is how you respond to that and we finished well.”
Mountain View’s Grady Millar (71) holds the lead with the day’s only under-par score. Ballard’s Lucas Williams is at 72 while Howe shares third with Gig Harbor’s Theo Snyder and North Central’s Teigen Brill. Central Valley’s Chase Sturgis (74) is in a seven-way tie for sixth.
Bellevue’s girls (323) lead by five over Gig Harbor at Indian Canyon. Ridgeline (374) finished 11th and didn’t make the cut. Mountain View’s Alyssa Rigby shot a 3-under 69, one in front of Bellevue’s Tatum Otto.
4A: Lewis and Clark junior Jack Brigham fired a 2-under 70 at Hawks Prairie in Lacey. He shares second with Skyline’s Ethan Schwan, one behind Newport freshman Aaron Yu.
Brigham was at 4 under following birdies on Nos. 12-13 before a double-bogey on No. 16.
Bryce Johnson shot a 75 for LC, which shares second with Skyline at 304, 11 behind Newport. Gonzaga Prep, led by a pair of 76s by Matthew Hughes and John Malsam, is sixth at 312.
The Gonzaga Prep girls (366) finished 12th at Eagle’s Pride in DuPont. Lisette Durkin advanced individually with an 81.
Lewis and Clark senior Amanda Nguyen, a three-time Greater Spokane League player of the year, withdrew from the tournament.
“Amanda has officially withdrawn from the tournament due to personal reasons and in preparation for her upcoming military commitment,” LC athletic director Marcus Scott said in an email to The Spokesman-Review. “While she won’t be competing at state, we’re incredibly proud of all she’s achieved and excited for her future.”
2A: Parker Lee shot a 4-over 75 at Riverside Golf Club in Chehalis, helping the Pullman boys (311) take the first-day lead. Trae Fredrickson added a 76, Parker Legreid shot a 78 and Karson Dunlap added an 82.
Bainbridge (327) is second and Columbia River (329) is third. Washougal’s Mason Acker (71) holds a one-shot lead.
West Valley’s Melia Cerenzia is tied for ninth after opening with a 10-over 82 in the girls’ event at Tumwater Valley. Cerenzia, the defending state champion, trails Mark Morris senior Jana Knapp by 10 shots.
1A: The Medical Lake girls lead Overlake by six strokes after the first round at Liberty Lake. Kali Rowe paced the Cardinals with an 8-over 78, Madison Griffis added an 83 and Madi Spring chipped in an 88.
Overlake’s Kendria Wang is atop the leaderboard with a 72.
Cascade Christian’s Zeke Prociw leads the way after a 1-under 71 at Liberty Lake. Riverside’s Cole Waldron led area boys with a 91.
1B/2B girls: Lily Knight’s 84 at MeadowWood led Freeman to the top of the team standings. Kassie Broers added an 89 and Ashlynn Meenach contributed a 90.
Knight shares first with Cle Elum-Roslyn’s Riley Wilfong. Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s Naomi Molitor, the defending champion, is in fifth after an 86.
1B boys: DeSales freshman Jake Warwick grabbed the first-day lead with a 2-under 70 at MeadowWood. Wilbur-Creston’s Kallen Maioho (76) trails by six.
2B boys: Saint George’s Matthew Longstreth made birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 en route to an even-par 72 at MeadowWood, one shot in front of Orcas Island’s Joe Anderson and three ahead of Manson’s Wyatt Minters.
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