SEQUIM — Jordan Negus and Emily Cook were the medalists to spark Port Angeles to the unofficial Class 3A Olympic League championship Monday at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course.
Negus, just a sophomore, won the boys title with an 18-hole score of 77 while Cook earned the girls individual championship with a 90.
The league tournament is an individual affair but if scores of the top five counted toward team scores, the Roughrider boys nudged out powerful Olympic by one stroke, 440-441, while the Riders dominated the girls competition with a team score of 507, 60 strokes better than runner-up Olympic with 567.
The Port Angeles girls won three of the top four spots and will send three outright to the 3A state tournament, which is set for May 25-26 at Horn Rapids Golf Club in Richland.
“That’s outstanding to get all three back to state,” Port Angeles girls coach Mike DuPuis said.
Cook won it all with 90 while Tracie DuPuis was third with 93 and Ev Grier fourth with 101.
The top four receive automatic state berths.
Cook, who missed the first few weeks of the season because of a knee injury suffered during the basketball season, came on strong in the last part of the season to win the 3A league title.
“I’m really proud of Emily,” DuPuis said. “All of her hard work has paid off.”
Cook nosed out Olympic’s Tiffany Strafford for first place.
Despite a hole-in-one on the 105-yard No. 11, Strafford had to settle for runner-up honors with 92, two strokes behind.
“The hole-in-one was exciting,” DuPuis said. “That is so hard to do. I have only one hole-in-one in 30 years of play.”
That feat helped push Strafford past Tracie DuPuis, who has been the Riders’ top golfer for most of the year.
“Tracie was disappointed she didn’t get first, but what is more important is making it to the second day of the state tournament,” DuPuis, her father, said.
The goal of all three state golfers is to score well enough on the first day of state to advance to the finals.
The three, all state veterans, have missed the second-day cut.
It helps that they played on the same course, Horn Rapids, last year.
“It’s a tough course but now they all have experience on it,” DuPuis said.
The three may not be the only Port Angeles golfers at state.
Lauren Coventon and Analis Pena both qualified for the district championships and have one more shot to advance to state.
Pena scored 110 for seventh place while Coventon was right behind with 113 for eighth.
Golfers who finished fifth through 10th qualified for the West Central District tournament, set for Monday at Eagle Pride Golf Course at Fort Lewis.
Just missing the cut for district play was Madison Baumann, who took 11th place with 130.
Negus leads boys
Negus nipped Olympic ace Mike Noyes by a stroke to win top honors, 77-78.
Two Riders qualified for state as freshman Garrett Payton took third with an 80.
For the boys, only the top three earned state berths, and just the top eight claimed district berths.
The 3A state boys tourney is scheduled for May 25-26 at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland.
“Jordan is improving every day,” coach Mark Mitrovich said. “He’s definitely peaking at the right time.”
Negus was medalist four times during the regular season, and now is medalist for a fifth time.
“That’s quite an honor for a sophomore,” Mitrovich said.
Payton, meanwhile, has done something no other Roughrider has done in recent history.
“I don’t remember ever having a freshman qualify for state,” said Mitrovich, who is coaching his 24th year at Port Angeles.
“Both Jordan and Garrett are very hard workers.”
Another Rider still has a shot for state as freshman Terrence Stevenson qualified for the district championships this coming Monday at Eagle Pride.
Stevenson tied with John Fry of Olympic for fifth place, each with an 84.
Ben Wetzler just missed a district berth, taking ninth place with 93.
Baseball Chimacum 6, Cas. Christian 5, 8 innings
TACOMA — It took four days and eight innings but the Cowboys are officially the Nisqually League champions.
In the league title game, which was suspended because of darkness after seven innings Friday at Charles Wright High School, Chimacum scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to nip Cascade Christian 6-5 on Monday.
“We went all the way to Tacoma for one inning,” Chimacum coach Loren Bishop said.
Oh, but what an inning it was.
Bishop put his ace, Landon Cray, back on the mound and Cray — who pitched the first six innings in Friday’s game — came through by not allowing any runs to Cascade in the top of the eighth.
Cray threw 90 pitches on Friday and iced up his arm afterward. On Monday, he struck out the first batter, got the second out and then allowed a single and gave up a walk.
“I was getting a little worried after the walk,” Bishop said. “I took a chance putting Landon in there because we have some big games ahead of us.”
But Cray got the next batter to fly out, and then it was the Cowboys’ turn to bat.
The first two batters went down quietly but that’s when Chimacum got serious.
Devin Manix walked on an eight-pitch count and promptly stole second base.
Dillon Dukek came up, and on an 0-2 count, hit a single to left center field, scoring Manix with the winning run.
The Cowboys, the Nisqually League champions in the regular season, had to earn the league’s No. 1 seed to tri-district play by beating second-place Cascade.
And that they did.
The victory gave them an automatic berth in the regional tournament. They play for seeding at regionals Saturday at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham at the tri-district playoffs.
In the first game the Cowboys take on Meridian. The loser earns the tri-district No. 3 seed at regionals in Anacortes.
The winner plays later Saturday for the tri-district No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The winner of that game goes to Anacortes as No. 1 and the loser heads to the Castle Rock regional as a No. 2.
Chimacum 6, Cascade Christian 5, 8 innings, suspended game
Cascade 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 – 5 8 2
Chimacum 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 — 6 8 0
WP- Landon Cray (6-0)
Pitching Statistics
Chimacum: Cray 6 IP (7K); Austin McConnell 1 IP.
Hitting Statistics
Chimacum: Dillon Dukek 2-5 (2B, 2RBIs); Tyson Eldridge 2-4; Egan Cornachione 2-4 (RBI).
Girls Tennis Port Angeles 4, Bremerton 3
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders won the Class 3A Olympic League championship with Monday’s victory.
Port Angeles swept the doubles competition to nip the Knights.
Sam Manwell and Grace VanRossen lost no games in winning at No. 1 6-0, 6-0 while Mallory Hoch and Chantel La won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2.
La was named as the palyer of the match.
“Chantel played her best match of the season, hands down,” coach Brian Gundersen said.
Also winning were Caylie Cook and Laney Boyd, and Danielle Rutherford and Paige Witherow.
The Riders next host the Olympic League tourney on Friday and Saturday. North Kitsap, Bremerton and Olympic will vie with Port Angeles for two singles and two doubles spots to the West Central District tournament.
“I’m excited because our girls are playing at a high level right now, and with 44 girls competing for six spots, they’ll need to be on top of their game,” Gundersen said.
Sequim 6, Chimacum/Port Townsend 1
SEQUIM — The Wolves improved to 5-6 on the year by winning two singles matches and sweeping doubles.
Ace Kyla Hall won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles while Anna Prorok took NO. 3 singles.
Olivia Garten won 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 2 singles for Chimacum/Port Townsend’s only win.
Doubles winners for Sequim were Stacy Hanson/Katrina Chan, Serena Okamoto/Hillary Smith, Elizabeth Shore/Hannah Smith and Sarah Marble/Alice Hastings.
Boys Soccer Sequim 6, North Mason 1
SEQUIM — The Wolves weren’t playing around in their final regular-season game Monday.
They ripped the Bulldogs to improve to 7-5 in the Olympic League and 10-5 overall.
Sequim is two wins away from state.
“We’re trying to get back to state,” coach Dave Brasher said.
The Wolves have a loser-out West Central District game Thursday at Civic Field in Port Angeles against either Washington or Interlake.
It’s a home game for the Wolves.
“Our field is pretty beat up right now, that’s why we will be playing at Civic,” Brasher said.
The game starts at 6:45 p.m.
The winner advances to a meeting against 14-2 Steilacoom at Fife High School on Saturday.
Daniel Servin had two goals for Sequim on Monday while John Textor, Michael Okamoto, Nick Camporini and Saul Flores all had a goal each.
Servin also had two assists while Camporini had one assist.