SEQUIM — Four Roughriders shot career-best scores as Port Angeles defeated archrival Sequim to earn the Olympic League boys golf dual-meet championship.
Garrett Payton captured match medalist honors and joined three teammates for personal-best scores as the Riders beat the Wolves 396-431 at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course on Tuesday in perfect spring weather.
Port Angeles, 7-0 with one match left, was the first league team to score under 400 this season.
“We had a very tough match today against the undefeated PA team,” Sequim coach Bill Shea said.
“They proved why they are so good this year with a team score of 396. Several Sequim players did well, but we were just outplayed by the powerhouse PA squad.”
The Wolves, who earlier lost to Olympic, dropped to 5-2 on the year.
“I’m extremely proud of how we performed,” Port Angeles coach Mark Mitrovich said.
“Sequim always is a quality opponent as well as our neighborhood rivals.”
The Riders avenged losing to the Olympic League champion Wolves last season. A year ago Sequim took top honors at 8-0 while Port Angeles was right behind at 7-1.
Payton, who earned medalist honors for the third time this year, had one birdie and 14 pars while shooting a low score of 74 for 18 holes, 38 on the front nine and 36 on the back nine.
“Payton, who is becoming our leader on the course, was very consistent, shooting only three bogeys,” Mitrovich said.
“Making only three mistakes is superb play.”
Strong team victory
Overall, the Riders had a solid team win with the four career bests, three shooting below 80 and the top five beating all but one of Sequim’s top five.
The 396 team score was 15 strokes better than the Riders’ previous best score.
“We performed like champions [on Tuesday],” Mitrovich said.
“We responded to the challenge and demonstrated control, consistency and confidence in our combined score.”
Joining Payton with career best scores for the Riders were sophomore Alex Atwell, Austin Underwood and Micah Needham.
Atwell tied for third place with teammate Joe Barnes with 79.
Atwell shot 39 on the front nine and 40 on the back nine and had one birdie and 10 pars.
“Alex is showing solid playing right now, and is learning how to score with greater consistency and accuracy, which is benefitting him,” Mitrovich said.
Barnes, who has been medalist in four matches this year, started out slow with a 43 on the front nine but rebounded with 79 on the back nine with three birdies and nine pars.
“Joe’s going through a little dip in his play, which happens sometimes,” Mitrovich said.
“You can’t always play at a high level every time on the course.”
Underwood, meanwhile, shot an 81 for fifth place with two birdies and eight pars.
Like Barnes, he also finished strong after opening with a 42, and then concluding play with 39 on the back nine.
Needham shot 83 for sixth place with six pars. It was his lowest score of the year by two strokes.
Sequim also had a career-best round as Travis Priest shot 78 for runner-up honors.
Jesse Francis and Anthony Pinza shot below 90 for the Wolves with scores of 84 and 85, respectively.
Jack Shea was next with 91 while Alex McCracken had 93.
“Both teams showed great sportsmanship,” Mitrovich said.
The Riders and Wolves next play at the 47th annual Tim Higgins Memorial Tournament at Kitsap Golf & Country Club in Bremerton today starting at noon.
Chimacum wins Nisqually Classic
PORT LUDLOW — The Cowboys took control of the Nisqually League by winning the six-team Nisqually Classic at Port Ludlow Golf Club.
Chimacum’s balance came through by scoring 323 strokes in the match for a 16-shot win.
“This is a really special group of guys,” Chimacum coach Mitch Black said about his team.
“They are good students, outstanding athletes and are a lot of fun to coach.”
Life Christian’s Nick Friend was medalist with a 76 on the par 72 layout, followed by Chimacum’s Nathan Browning with a 77.
The Cowboys also won their final two-way with undefeated Seattle Christian as the dual-meet was played within the tournament, and Chimacum out shot Seattle Christian 163-175 on the Timber nine.
Kevin Miller and Browning both shot 39 to lead the Cowboys to a perfect 7-0 record in league matches and the Nisqually championship
Final league competition will wrap on May 9 at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton in the sub-district tournament.
Seven players from the Nisqually Classic qualified for the field at the Bill Egbers Tournament on May 3 at Skagit Valley Golf & Country Club in Mount Vernon, which is one of the strongest fields in Washington state golf.
The 36-hole tournament features most of the best high school players in the state regardless of classification.
Kevin Miller, Browning and Riley Downs qualified for Chimacum.
Other team scores at the Nisqually Classic were Life Christian in second at 339, followed by Seattle Christian 344, Bellevue Christian 363, Cascade Christian 377 and Vashon Island 437.
Individual scores for the Cowboys in the Nisqually Classic were Browning, 77; Miller and Downs, 80 each; Jack Hilt and Cole Lovekamp, 86 each; and James Porter, 90.
In Chimacum’s nine-hole dual meet with Seattle Christian, Miller and Bronwing shared medalist honors with 39 each while Downs took fourth with 42.
Other scores were Jack Hilt 43, and Cole Lovekamp and James Porter 46 each.
Alex Hay of Seattle Christian was third with 40.
Girls Golf
North Kitsap 264, Port Angeles 315
KINGSTON — The Vikings remained undefeated in Olympic League action with the victory at White Horse Golf Club.
Kylee Jeffers led the Roughriders with a season-best score of 57.
Also playing for the Riders were Kate Haworth 61, Brittany McBride 64, Taylor Rutz 66, Maddie Boe 67, and Greta Gieseke 68.
Boys Soccer
Sequim 4,
Port Townsend 0
PORT TOWNSEND — Mason Barrett scored two goals to spark the Wolves to the Olympic League victory.
“We played really well,” Sequim coach Dave Brasher said.
“It was an important win for us because it kept us ahead of Port Townsend in the standings.”
The Wolves sit in third place at 8-5-0 and 26 points, just four points behind league-leading Kingston and North Kitsap, 30 points and 10-2-0 each.
The Redskins are two positions behind the Wolves at 6-6-0 and 19 points.
Sequim led just 1-0 at halftime but finally broke the match open in the second half.
“It was a tough, physical game,” Brasher said. “We tackled well, and won the ball in good situations.”
Junior midfielder Brandon Payne opened the scoring with an unassisted long shot from the right for a goal at 7 minutes.
Freshman goalkeeper Austin Wagner kept the Redskins from tying the game with an outstanding save after pushing away a hard shot at 26 minutes.
Donovan Lee made the insurance goal 2 minutes into the second half for his first goal of the year.
Barrett followed with goals in the 64th and 78th minutes to put the game out of reach.
In the first goal, he was assisted by Payne and Tyler Ebert while Will Bittner assisted with the final goal.
Brasher named junior defender Lijah Sanford the player of the match.
“Lijah kept things tight in the back,” Brasher said.
“We played good defense in the game.”
Wagner ended up with three saves while the Wolves outshot the Redskins 12-5.
“Port Townsend had a backup goalie in the game, and we took advantage of that,” Brasher said.
“Their starter was ineligible for the game.”
Sequim has a bye today and won’t play again until Tuesday when it will host North Mason.
The Wolves have some small injuries, and Brasher said he hopes the time off will help his players.
“Omar Flores is dinged up a bit, and so is Mason Barrett.
“This gives us time to get our health back and to make a [end of season] push.”
North Kitsap 6, Port Angeles 1
PORT ANGELES — Brady Sparrow had a hat trick and the Vikings scored four times in the first half to take control of the Olympic League match at Civic Field.
“North Kitsap’s first touch, soccer sense, passing accuracy and finishing ability were exemplary throughout the match,” Port Angeles coach Chris Saari said.
The Roughriders scored first in the second half on a great individual effort from leading scorer Miki Andrus, who has six goals and two assists on the year.
Andrus tackled the ball at the North Kitsap keeper’s feet, won it and scored.
The Vikings then added a couple insurance goals late in the match to seal the victory.
With the loss, the Riders were mathematically eliminated from the postseason while the Vikings moved into a tie for first place with Kingston at 10-2-0 and 30 points each.
Saari named Andrus the Port Angeles offensive player, Tristan Isett and Jack Doryland co-defensive players and Tim Schneider the transition player of the match.
North Kitsap won the JV game 8-0.
The Riders, 1-12-0 in league, next travel to Kingston today.
Baseball
Montesano 4, Forks 2
MONTESANO — The Spartans lost a close one to No. 1-ranked 1A team Montesano on Tuesday.
Forks was held to one hit by Montesano ace Layne Bruner, who has committed to Washington State.
Troy Johnson of Forks worked a complete game, keeping the Bulldogs down until they scored one in the fifth and three in the sixth.
“It was a great outing for Troy, he competed with a great team,” Forks coach Wayne Daman said.
The Spartans took the lead first in the fifth when Brett Pederson scored on an error.
Pederson led off the inning with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
“Brett did a great job moving himself up and putting pressure on them,” Daman said.
The Spartans were able to score one more off Bruner when Reis Lawson led off with the Spartans’ only hit in the seventh.
Lawson later scored on a fielder’s choice.
“I am very proud of my team. They came out and played right with the best team in the state,” Daman said.
“We only had one hit off Bruner but we squared up a lot of balls of a kid who attracted upwards of 20 professional scouts.”
Kingston 14, Sequim 0
SEQUIM — Ethan Syverson threw a two-hit shutout against the Wolves in Olympic League action.
The Buccaneers erupted for 10 runs in the sixth inning to put the game away.
Softball
Sequim 11, Kingston 4
SEQUIM — The Wolves remained dominant and undefeated by pounding the Buccaneers.
Leadoff hitter Bailey Rhodefer went 4 for 4 at the plate for Sequim, scoring three runs, stealing two bases and driving in a run.
MaryLu Clift and Columbia Haupt also had nice hitting performances for the Wolves.
Clift had two hits and drove in four runs, while Haupt doubled twice and had three RBI.
Makayla Bentz and Melissa Lewis combined to toss a four-hitter.
With the loss, Kingston (7-3) fell to fourth place in the Olympic League, a half-game behind Olympic (8-3, 8-6).
Sequim (10-0, 11-0) hosts the Trojans on Friday.
Sequim 11, Kingston 4
Kingston 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — 4 4 1
Sequim 3 3 2 2 1 0 x — 11 12 4
WP- Bentz; LP- Hilse
Pitching Statistics
Kingston: Hilse 6IP, 12H, 9ER, 13BB, 5K.
Sequim: Ma. Bentz 3IP, 0H, 0R, 4K; Lewis 4IP, 4H, 3ER, BB, K.
Hitting Statistics
Kingston: Hilse 1-4; Mullin 1-3, R; Rhitan 0-3, 2RBI.
Sequim: Rhodefer 4-4, 3R, RBI, 2SB; Clift 2-4, R, 4RBI, SB; Haupt 2-3, 2 2B, R, 3RBI; Besand 1-1, 2B, 3R, RBI.
Chimacum 19,
Bellevue Christian 1, 5 innings
CHIMACUM — The surging Cowboys won for the fifth time in six games, with all five wins coming by at least 10 runs.
Chimacum improves to 4-3 in Nisqually League play (5-4 overall).
The Cowboys bats started early, plating eight runs in the first inning.
Cydney Nelson, Bailey Castillo, Mallori Cossell, Ashley Kelly and Erin Bainbridge each drove in two runs for Chimacum.
Nelson also earned the win by striking out six and allowing just one hit.
She also played solid defense, making two outs from the pitcher position and another at shortstop.
First baseman Krista Hathaway made nice play, catching a hard line drive hit her way.
Chimacum next hosts Cedar Park Christian on Friday.
Chimacum 19, Bellevue Christian 1 (5 innings)
Bellevue Christian 1 0 0 0 0 — 1 2
Chimacum 8 3 2 6 x — 19 13
WP- Nelson; LP- Hoffman
Pitching Statistics
Bellevue Christian: Hoffman 4IP, 2K, 13H, 2BB.
Chimacum: Nelson 3IP, 6K, H, BB; Eldridge 2IP, 4K, H, 2BB.
Hitting Statistics
Bellevue Christian: Holmes 1-2; Hoffman 1-2.
Chimacum: Nelson 2-4, 2RBI; Castillo 2-4, 2RBI; McKinlay 2-4, RBI; Cossell 1-3, 3B, 2RBI; Kelly 2B, 2RBI; Bainbridge 1-4, 2B, 2RBI; Eldridge 1-3, 2B, RBI.
Girls Tennis
Port Angeles 6, Klahowya 1
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders also beat the Eagles 5-2 in nonleague action at the Port Angeles courts Tuesday.
Port Angeles now is 3-4 in the Olympic League.
The Riders No. 1 doubles team of Hannah Little and McKenna Thompson lost in three sets to their opponents but played one of their best matches of the season.
They came into Tuesday’s match behind 1-6 in the first set and 1-4 in the second because of a rainout.
The Riders rallied and won the second set 6-4. Unfortunately, they lost the third set 3-6 but were chosen as players of the match for their positive teamwork on the court.
Winning matches for the Riders were singles players Callie Peet, Kyrie Reyes and Krissy Marvelle as well as doubles teams Lydia Cornelson and Audra Perrizo, Emily Basden and Khaya Elliott and Jessica Zhu and Carter Juskevich.
The last league match for the Riders will be against North Kitsap today.