State golf: Gig Harbor sophomore Snyder leads Tides to third-place finish

Gig Harbor High School star sophomore golfer Theo Snyder was ready for the cold. Rain blanketed The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie in Lacey during the Class 3A state boys golf tournament during the opening round on Tuesday, exacerbating a recent wrist injury Snyder suffered.

“I had a wrist injury for six months, so the cold really hurts,” he said.

So he wore layers. He packed his golf bag full of hand warmers. He even had an electric hand warmer to cover his base layer of hand warmers.

“I was just grinding the entire day,” he said. “It was tough conditions.”

Snyder didn’t play his best golf, but still shot a 73. He shot a 72 on Tuesday to combine for 145, which landed him third place overall behind champion Conrad Chisman of Stanwood and second-place Baylor Larrabee of Ferndale.

Snyder hit only five greens in regulation the first day but still shot just one over par. In golf, hitting a green in regulation means landing a shot on the green in two or fewer strokes less than the par for the hole. On a par four hole, for example, a golfer would need to land their second shot on the green.

“His ability to recognize when he’s off and why and get back on track really quickly — he doesn’t stay off track very long,” Gig Harbor golf coach Shane Henderson said of Snyder. “Around the greens, he’s incredible. He’s straight off the tee. … He had some slip ups, some uncharacteristic chips that went long, had a 60-foot putt he hit a ways off, but playing for a team is a lot harder than playing for yourself.

“He played his heart out. He’s passionate, he really brought this team along.”

Snyder put himself in position to win the title with a hot start on Wednesday, when he birdied three of the first four holes. But he shot two over on the back nine and fell just short.

“The putts just didn’t really drop today,” he said. “I had a couple where I needed to make them to push a playoff and they just caught the edges. I’m not disappointed but it’s kind of bittersweet to know that you had good chances and it just didn’t really go in.”

Just a sophomore, Snyder has a promising future and will have a couple more cracks at winning state titles for the Tides in his last two high school seasons.

“I had a really bad iron swing this entire week,” he said. “Having probably a C-game on irons, I was still able to put myself up in the lead. I definitely feel like I have a great chance of winning next year and the next year. I just feel like I could definitely shoot better.”

Gig Harbor finished third overall in the team standings behind first-place Mountain View and second-place Roosevelt. Tides’ senior Rylan Coovert (155) finished in 22nd place, senior Chet West (157) took 30th, junior Liam Dalbec (161) took 54th, junior Timmy Quirk (162) took 58th and junior Davis Dansie (174) placed 73rd.

“They played their hearts out,” Henderson said. “We had a really good chat after Day One. Early, had a few slip ups but they crawled back into it and kept themselves in contention the whole way, which I’m super proud of. I’ve never had a team work this hard before, so regardless of the end result, I’m really proud of this team.”

Other locals who placed in the 3A boys tournament: Capital senior Eli McNelly (151) took eighth overall, Capital senior Parker Sawatzky (152) took 13th, Bonney Lake junior Brendan Doyle (160) and Timberline junior Oliver Vandewark (160) tied for 46th, River Ridge sophomore Jaxon Kim (163) took 62nd, Silas junior Andrew Schilling (165) took 66th and Stadium junior Gavin deMars (171) placed 72nd.

4A BOYS

On the first hole of a four-man playoff, Bellarmine Prep junior JJ Bordeaux hit the shot of his life. He just couldn’t see it.

Bordeaux’s second shot on Indian Canyon’s par-five 18th hole was every bit miraculous. He flushed a 220-yard hybrid uphill to the green and stuffed it to four feet, with a chance for eagle.

Bothell’s Walker Lamb made his birdie, but Bordeaux jarred the title-clinching four-footer, a clutch eagle for glory.

“(JJ) finished second the last two years. I know he wanted to get one, for sure,” Bellarmine Prep coach Steve George said. “It’s pretty amazing how it ended up.”

Four shots behind with three to play, Bordeaux sank a sliding eight-footer for birdie on 17 and made par on 18 before the playoff.

Lamb missed a two-footer that could have won the individual 4A title – but it power-lipped, turned sharply, and rolled 20 feet downhill, away from the hole. Lamb double-bogeyed and opened the door for three playoff challengers.

Others in the four-way playoff that Bordeaux won with an eagle: Sumner’s Tyson Arthur and Mount Si’s Charlie Gaffney. Each shot a two-day 141.

Bordeaux carded the tournament’s best single round on Wednesday, a three-under 68. Including the par-five playoff hole, he was five under.

“(JJ’s) wanted this his last two years,” George said. “I know it’s been his big goal.”

Arthur, along with his Spartans teammates, hoisted Sumner’s first-place team title at Indian Canyon (588).

4A GIRLS

Curtis senior Berkley Ledesma carded a two-under 70 in Wednesday’s final round, surging into a fourth-place finish despite a first-round 81 on Tuesday.

Kentwood freshman Avery Peterson impressed in her first state tournament. Her final-round 79 in Spokane secured a top-10 finish (10th). The Conquerors featured three golfers in the top 20: sophomores Kallie Phon (164) and Zoie Patahmmavong-Sakda (166) grabbed T-14th and 17th, respectively.

Bellarmine Prep’s Rutendo Guzha, a junior, carded consistent rounds of 85-82 to finish 18th.

Sumner freshman Emree Thompson posted a 92-81 tournament and finished 20th.

3A GIRLS

Auburn Mountainview freshman Esther Yu carded one of Wednesday’s lower rounds in DuPont – a two-over 74 at Eagles Pride Golf Course – good for an eighth place finish in the state tournament.

Gig Harbor’s Carly Ikei, a junior, posted identical rounds of 80 to secure T-11th place.

Stadium’s Browyn Byrne (82-79–161) tied for 13th.

Capital sophomore Anna Duerr posted a final-round 80 to finish T-15th, and Silas sophomore Ella Follen fired repeat rounds of 83 for a top-20 finish (19th).

A pair of Silas freshmen neighbored each other on the leaderboard: Kenley Taylor and Opal Herrmann posted two-round totals of 170 and tied for 24th.

2A BOYS

White River senior Kaden Ausen fired impressive, consistent rounds of 71-71 and tied for a runner-up finish at Liberty Lake Golf Course.

He and Burlington-Edison senior Rex Wilson trailed champion Wyatt Brownell (Burlington-Edison) by a staggering seven shots after Brownell carded a 64 in Tuesday’s first round.

Enumclaw’s Tanner Nichols, a senior, fired rounds of 82-83 to finish 25th.

2A GIRLS

The White River Hornets are state champions.

Teammates Lexie Mahler (T-2) and Alle Klemkow (T-4) notched top-five individual placings, and White River hoisted the team title after Wednesday’s final round at MeadowWood Golf Club in Liberty Lake.

Mahler carded 75 on both days, and Klemkow fired 75-78, both helping the Hornets to the first-place trophy.

Fife featured a pair of Trojans in the top 10. Senior Kylie Nguyen fired a final-round 75 that lifted her to sixth place, and freshman Sofia Nguyen’s consistent 79-80 tournament granted eighth.

White River senior Sophie Ross (79-88) placed 11th and Enumclaw senior Emily Alicea (85-84–169) finished 12th.

1A BOYS

Using a trio of top-five individual finishes, Cascade Christian (60) edged Seattle Academy (53) for the overall team championship Wednesday in Chehalis.

Cougars senior Burke McFarland carded a 72-77–149 that secured a runner-up individual finish. Senior Jacob Janho fired a final-round 74 (T-3rd) and sophomore Zeke Prociw tied for fifth.

1A GIRLS

Life Christian Academy’s Makenna Kelpman, a sophomore, carded a final-round 78 and secured a third-place individual finish at Wednesday’s state tournament in Chehalis.

STATE CHAMPIONS

4A Girls – Creek at Qualchan Golf Course, Spokane

Chanyoung Park, Henry M. Jackson (73-73–146)

Team: Camas

4A Boys – Indian Canyon Golf Course, Spokane

JJ Bordeaux, Bellarmine Prep (73-68–141)

Team: Sumner

3A Boys – The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie (Links), Lacey

Conrad Chisman, Stanwood (70-73–143)

Team: Mountain View

3A Girls – Eagles Pride Golf Course (DuPont)

Nicole Tang, Bellevue Individual (71-73–144)

Team: Bellevue

2A Boys – Liberty Lake Golf Course, Liberty Lake

Wyatt Brownell, Burlington-Edison (64-71–135)

Team: Burlington-Edison

2A Girls – MeadowWood Golf Course, Liberty Lake

Melia Cerenzia, West Valley of Spokane (74-72–146)

Team: White River

1A Boys – Riverside Golf Club, Chehalis

Daniel Blankenburg, Meridian (70-72–142)

Team: Cascade Christian

1A Girls – Riverside Golf Club, Chehalis

Kendria Wang, Overlake (77-71–148)

Team: Overlake

1B Boys – Tumwater Valley Golf Club, Tumwater

Joe Anderson, Orcas Island (75-73–148)

Team: Orcas Island

2B Girls – Tumwater Valley Golf Club, Tumwater

Naomi Molitor, Almira Coulee Hartline (88-85–173)

Team: Wahkiakum