Despite not having any of its members contending for the individual title, the Bellingham HS girls' team won the State Championships at Lake Spanaway Wednesday, finishing the two rounds of competition with a score of 119.5 - 21.5 clear of Burlington-Edison in second. The result came a week after the Red Raiders won the 2A Northwest District Championship at Skagit Valley CC. By finishing the first round inside the top 40 plus ties, five of the team's six players qualified for the second round in which freshman Jenn Paul emerged as the Raiders' star performer, adding an 81 to her opening 82 to wind up in a very creditable fifth place - three shots ahead of teammate Brooke Branigan who was sixth. Madi McNeely and Audrey Orem were part of a four-way tie for 22nd on 183, while senior Mackenzie Ferron was 27th after rounds of 84 and 102.
With two freshmen (Paul, McNeely) and two sophomores (Branigan, Orem) making up Bellingham's top four finishers, experience, or rather a lack of it, might have been an issue, Coach Brad Mackay told the Bellingham Herald. "I knew it was going to be tough," he said. "We had talent but we had a lot of questions that remained unanswered up until even the state tournament. I didn't know if we could all play well at the same time, but they went above and beyond all expectations."
In the Boys 2A event at the Classic GC in Spanaway, Blaine High Scool's Ryan Wallen took individual honors shooting 73, 70 to finish seven clear of Interlake's Andrew Kennedy. Sehome HS finished seventh in the team standings on 48, 54 behind winner Interlake.
And in the Boys 1A event at the Home Course in Dupont, Lynden Christian's Willy Scholten finished second, four shots behind Ridgefield HS's Brett Johnson, after firing a tournament-best 66 in yesterday's second round.
