Golf
Decatur: Grace Xu, a junior for the Golden Gators, put on a phenomenal performance last Tuesday and Wednesday in the 4A state championship golf tournament at Meadowwood Golf Course in Liberty Lake. Xu finished seventh overall, with a two-round score of 149.
She had the third best opening-round score behind Davis High School’s Cassie Kim, the eventual tournament winner. Kim shot an opening-round 70, while Xu stayed right behind her shooting 73. She shot 76 on the final day to secure a top-10 finish.
Thomas Jefferson: The Jefferson Raiders’ Sean Yi finished ninth overall with a final score of 145. The senior, who will attend Yale University in the fall, struggled a bit in his first round, shooting 73. He improved on day two with a final round of 72. Jenna Muller finished 33rd with an overall score of 164. Muller shot a respectable 81 on the first day of the tournament, but she was unable to build on the momentum and dropped two shots on the second day for an 83 on the final day.
Todd Beamer: Freshman Kelsey Yi was dominant on the golf course all fall season in 2016, which earned her a spot in the 2017 state championships. She shot a respectable 80 in her opening round, but she struggled during the second round and finished with a 91 for a final score of 171.
Girls Tennis
Federal Way’s Olivia Chong and Beamer’s Avery Liening both competed at the 4A state tennis championships as singles competitors. In the opening round, Liening made quick work of Lake Stevens’ Emily Peterson, 6-2, 6-2. She advanced to face Sumner’s Jade Lancaster in the second round, but Liening fell 6-2, 6-0 and moved to the consolation bracket. Liening’s run in the state tournament ended after falling to Lewis & Clark’s Brooke Fager, 6-1, 6-0.
Chong took on Newport’s Teagan Mack in the opening round, and Mack came away with the 6-2, 6-0 win, sending Chong to the consolation bracket. Chong was eliminated by Union’s McKenzie Schreiner, 6-0, 6-3.
The Thomas Jefferson Raiders sent two doubles teams to the state championships. No. 2-ranked team Makaylie Moore and Michelle Kim were sent to the consolation bracket after falling 7-5, 7-5 to Wenatchee’s Kaylynn Noyd and Anna Davenport. The No. 7 matchup of Erica Dillard and Mia Rosa faced Kjersti Strandness and Brook Goodwin of Ferris, but it was the Ferris team who moved on with a 6-2, 6-0 win.
Moore and Kim bounced back in the consolation bracket after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kelley Castro and Kate Moon of Jackson, but Moore and Kim were eliminated in the next round by Skyview’s Sarah Morgan and Karly Metz by a score of 7-5, 6-4. Dillard and Rosa were eliminated in the first round of their consolation match with Reanne Lee and Kendall Brown of Skyline, 6-2, 6-1.
Track and Field
Federal Way’s Kailynn Hyde had a memorable weekend for the Eagles at the 4A state track and field championships, May 25-27. She secured a state championship in the ambulatory discus with a final throw of 26 feet, 2 inches, and she finished second in the ambulatory shot put with a final throw of 9-09.25. Tony Chan finished seventh in the boys shot put after a throw of 50-08.
Thomas Jefferson’s Jenna Appleton had the best weekend for the Raiders as she took fourth in the state in the pole vault with a final vault of 11 feet. Jeremiah Duckworth finished sixth in the triple jump with a final jump of 44-02.50.
The Todd Beamer Titans had an impressive weekend on both sides. Beamer was led by Claire Hansen’s fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.79 seconds, and its 4×200 relay team of Kinidy Dayley, Madison Heck, Amira Bolaji and Akiya Bell, who also took fourth with a time of 1:42.29. Koby Okezie led the boys as he took fifth in the 300 hurdles and fifth as a member of the Titans’ 4×400 relay team alongside Austin Bass, Avonte Yarbrough and Malik Malutama. Malutama finished sixth in the 400.
