A Cascade Conference title could return to the halls of South Whidbey High School once again, if the girls golf team continues to play as it has through the first half of the season.
The Falcons, who won the Cascade Conference in 2016 and finished second in the state, continued their tear through the league with two wins over Cedar Park Christian and Sultan this week at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club to remain undefeated. South Whidbey also beat the returning state champions and league foe King’s 83-60 in its season-opener on March 16. The Falcons’ win over the Knights was their closest margin of victory this season; they beat Cedar Park Christian 87-22 on Tuesday and Sultan 86-25 on Thursday.
The girls played Cedar Park Christian in Stableford format, where points are based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. Falcon junior Kolby Heggenes, the returning class 1A state runner-up, led all scorers with 33 points. Senior Riley Yale was second with 19, while Emily Turpin and Emma Leggett finished third on the team with 14.
Heggenes was level-headed with her round, which was the equivalent of shooting 39 in stroke play. She was also aware of her flaws on Tuesday.
“You can always play better, but you can always play worse,” Heggenes said. “My drives were pretty rough. I was kind of angry and I just couldn’t get it straight. It was just kind of all over the place and I didn’t really know what was going to happen.”
Despite the rough showing from the tee box, Heggenes said her biggest strength was her putting.
Yale said she also experienced some woes prior to the match that hurt her confidence entering the round.
“Yesterday was kind of a miracle honestly,” Yale said. “I went out to the driving range and I couldn’t hit anything. The last couple of days I haven’t been able to hit anything.”
Fortunately for Yale, she found a groove with her 6-iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge.
“Those were the only things that worked for me and I ended up doing pretty good,” Yale said. “My short game was really good yesterday. I had some really good chips.”
Against Sultan, Heggenes again led all scorers with 32 points, while Yale was also second again with 20. Senior Emily Turpin finished third on the team with 18.
The Falcons will compete in the Burlington Invite on April 17, followed by the Suncadia Invite on April 25. Their final home match is at 3 p.m. on April 25 against Cedarcrest.
