Girls tennis, boys and girls golf and track and field districts are concluding this week, and Whatcom County athletes in each sport have begun qualifying for state.
Here’s what you may have missed from district tournaments around the county.
Golf: Local schools sending 19 golfers to state
Ferndale’s Baylor Larrabee, Lynden Christian’s Thomas Den Hartog and Lynden’s Kinsley Rector all won district or bi-district individual championships in the final tournaments before state May 13–14.
All state tournaments run May 21–22 at various locations.
Larrabee, the reigning 3A state champion, won the 3A District 1 tournament with his two-round score of 136 at Loomis Trail Golf Course. He and Travis Brockie (sixth; 155) helped Ferndale finish fifth as a team to qualify as a group.
The Golden Eagles will also send Gavin Anable, Andrews Edwards and Jack Krutsinger to the 3A boys state tournament at Hawks Prairie Golf Course in Lacey, Thurston County.
Ferndale’s Emily O’Tool will be the Golden Eagles’ lone representative in the 3A state tournament at Eagles Pride Golf Course in DuPont, Pierce County.
Rector earned the 2A District 1 girls title at Lake Padden Golf Course with her two-round score of 173 (86-87). She was six strokes ahead of Cedarcrest’s Hadley McDonough, who finished second.
Sehome’s Cassie Hogan finished third with a score of 184 (94-90) and Rector’s Lynden teammate Lucy Jones (207; 103-104) finished 10th. All three golfers advanced to the 2A girls state tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake, Spokane County.
Den Hartog captured the 1A Bi-District championship on the boys side (exact scores not available) at North Bellingham Golf Course, while Meridian’s Daniel Blankenburg finished fourth.
Also heading to the 1A boys state tournament at Riverside Golf Club in Chehalis are Meridian’s Matthew Blankenburg (eighth) and Blaine players Uno Nevarez (T-11th) and Ellis Griffen (12th).
The 1A Bi-District girls tournament was at the same location as the boys, and two Whatcom County players qualified for state: Lynden Christian’s Madeleine Engels (third) and Meridian’s Jovi Jensen (13th). The 1A girls state tournament will also be at Riverside Golf Club.
Four local players qualified for the 2A boys state tournament following the 2A District 1 tourney at Skagit Golf and Country Club. Sehome’s John Kummer led the pack with his fourth-place finish and 156 two-round score (79-77).
Lynden’s Jack Stapleton took seventh (159; 78-81) while his teammate, Crew Price, finished 11th (167; 82-85). Sehome’s Gabe Quick also qualified with his 10th-place finish and score of 166 (84-82).
The 2A boys state tournament is at Liberty Lake Golf Course in Liberty Lake, Spokane County.
Girls tennis: Six Whatcom County tennis players advance to state
Bellingham’s undefeated pair of Ella Morrow and Kira Carlson (12-0) won the 2A District 1 doubles championship, while Lynden’s Anna Samoukovic (17-1) took home the singles title on Monday, May 13 at Sehome High School.
The tournament concluded with matches for alternates on Tuesday, May 14.
All three earned automatic state berths. Morrow and Carlson bested Lynden’s previously undefeated duo of Rilanna and Kalanie Newcomb (17-1) by a three-set score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Samoukovic beat Bellingham’s Malia Hanks (18-2) in two sets: 6-2, 6-2.
The Newcomb sisters bounced back to beat Lynden teammates Grace Rice and Mya VanderYacht (16-2) in two sets (6-4, 6-1) to earn the second 2A state doubles berth.
Hanks also earned a state berth, beating Sehome’s Claire Stodola (11-5) in a two-set match (6-4, 6-0).
Stodola will be the singles state alternate, while Rice and Vanderyacht will be doubles alternates.
A previous version of this story misidentified Rilanna and Kalanie Newcomb in a photo caption. The story was updated to correct this at 9:55 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
