Yup, the boys did it again.
The South Whidbey golf team has been named Cascade Conference champions, beating King’s at the Snohomish Golf Course for the accumulated league point total of 42.
This is the third league championship in the past four seasons for the Falcons.
“Our second-place finish on Monday — 417 to their 400 — narrowly secured the league championship by giving us a total of 42 league points; King’s finished with 41 points,” said Falcon coach Steve Jones.
Falcon Shane Thompson led the team with 81 points, followed by Harrison Price with 82, Connor Mock, 83, Josh Yingling, 85, Ben Saari, 86 (his personal best round ever), and Jesse Portillo with 87.
Thompson and Price were named to the all-conference first team as well, by finishing in the top six individual point rankings.
Jones said that this season, Cascade Conference coaches abandoned the old-style dual meets and adopted a tournament format.
“Before now, the dual-meet concept didn’t help to determine which team or individuals would qualify for districts or state,” he said. “It wasn’t until the final round on Monday that we knew how well we were doing. With each school hosting a league tournament, we’ve been able to track our progress, especially as regards our main rival, King’s.”
Jones noted that balanced team scoring throughout the season made the difference for South Whidbey.
“We never finished lower than second place in any of the weekly league tournaments,” he said. “Shane, Harrison, Josh, Connor, Jesse and Ben worked cohesively all year and got the job done.
“This championship is a true testament of their dedication and work ethic. They push each other every day; they take golf seriously, they talk and think about the game all the time,” Jones added.
The coach said that in the final analysis, there’s no substitute for talent.
“If they take care of their individual games, the whole team benefits,” he said.
On Monday, May 17, the team travels to Skagit Golf & Country Club for District 1 championships.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@whidbeynewsgroup.com.
