On Friday, Zach Wanderscheid of Goldendale capped his remarkable season of golf with a 1-up victory at the 55th Pacific Northwest Golf Association Junior Boys Amateur in Moscow, Idaho.
He edged James Feutz of University Place by rolling in a 5-footer on the 36th hole after Feutz's 20-foot chip for birdie caromed off the back of the cup. And now, Wanderscheid joins Fred Couples, Alex Prugh and Andrew Yun as past PNGA Junior Boys champions.
Wanderscheid, a senior-to-be at Goldendale High School, earned the top seed into the match play portion as medalist of the stroke play qualifying at the University of Idaho course.
Earlier this summer, he was co-medalist at the U.S. Open local qualifier in Dupont (69), medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier in Spokane, won the sectional qualifier at Canyon Lakes for the World Junior Championships and tied for second at the Washington Junior Golf Association state tournament.
He began his season by winning the boys 1A state championship at Columbia Point in Richland, which helped him win the Yakima Valley Sports Award for boys golf.
My big question is how Wanderscheid manages to compete at such a high level by living/practicing in Goldendale?
I will admit that I've never played at Goldendale Country Club and I know nothing about it other than what I read on the Web. The 9-hole course covers 2,850 yards, was built in 1923 that would make it among the oldest in Eastern Washington. I also found it interesting that Goldendale CC appears to be managed by Jodi Bellamy, who has coached Goldendale High volleyball to six consecutive league titles.
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WSGA announces its top golfers of 2011
WSGA announces its top golfers of 2011
FEDERAL WAY -- The Washington State Golf Association announced Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho (top men), Erynne Lee of Silverdale (top woman) Andrew Whalen of Ephrata (junior boys), Jordan Ferreira of University Place (junior girls), Tom Brandes of Bellevue (senior men) and Ginny Burkey of Fircrest (senior women) as its top players of 2011.
For Williams, he earned U.S. Open qualifying medalist honors at Gold Mountain Golf Club. His stellar play would lead to his selection to play for the U.S. team at the Palmer Cup where his undefeated record helped the U.S. beat the European team at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn.
Williams would also win a pair of major amateur championships with back to back victories at the 18th Sahalee Players Championship and the 45th Pacific Coast Amateur in July. He would shoot a 16-under par, 268 to earn medalist honors at the 109th Western Amateur, where he would end up finishing as a quarterfinalist. Williams' outstanding summer culminated in August with his selection
Armstrong, Kamiakin lead talented pool of runners
Armstrong, Kamiakin lead talented pool of runners
RICHLAND -- The sport of running will never rival the likes of football for attention.
Tonight's football game between Kennewick and Kamiakin high schools figures to fill up the 6,800-seat Lampson Stadium.
The Richland Invite -- the area's biggest regular-season cross country meet -- likely will draw several hundred spectators, mostly family and friends. And even the all-classes state event at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco can't compete with a regular-season showdown between city rivals.
Family Affair
Family Affair
The Kamiakin Braves figure to play a key role in several story lines when the state cross country races take over Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Saturday.
Matt and Stephanie Rexus are key players for the Braves -- Matt is the longtime coach of the boys team expected to challenge five-time defending 3A champion North Central, Stephanie a senior and top runner for the girls team looking to repeat as state trophy winners.
But for a twist of fate, the father and daughter might never have gotten into running the first place.
Fire moves River View-Goldendale game to Prosser
Fire moves River View-Goldendale game to Prosser
GOLDENDALE -- A forest fire near Goldendale forced officials to move today's River View-Goldendale high school football game to Prosser's Art Fiker Stadium.
The Satus Pass fire burning along Highway 97 has charred more than 2,000 acres, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. About 300 people were evacuated and nine homes have burned. The fire was 0 percent contained when the decision to move the game was made.
Tonight's 7 p.m. kickoff was first scheduled to be played at Goldendale, but smoke from the forest fire is hanging over Goldendale which prompted officials to move the nonleague game to Prosser.
Girls' sports
Girls' sports
As a member of my high school pep band I go to my school's basketball games. I have observed that more people go to the boys' game than the girls' game. Why is that? And why do boys' sports get more coverage than girls' sports?
The boys sports, regardless of whether they win, always have a two-page article featured on the front page of the sports section. However girls only get a tiny back-page article. In the girls' games I have attended, the gym is virtually empty, but the boys' game is packed to the brim. While I am at it, what about some other girls' sports? Gymnastics, volleyball, softball and golf are girls' sports that get almost no coverage. Kamiakin's gymnastic team took the state title in 3A division last year, but I didn't hear about it until I read it in my yearbook.
In my opinion this implies that boys are better at sports than girls therefore girls don't need as much coverage. I find this to be very sexist. Girls can play sports just as well as boys. So why can't they get the same amount
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