Marye Fuqua only Blackhawk to advance from regionals to state
By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Half a point was what kept the Cheney girls' golf team from a first-place trophy at the District 7 2A championship tournament at Deer Park Golf Course last Thursday. The Blackhawks' girls 147 points fell just short of Pullman's 147.5, giving the Greyhounds their title.
Four Cheney girls made the cut of 18 for the Region 5/6/7 tournament this week at Pullman's Palouse Ridge course, taking on golfers from the Central Washington Athletic Association. Marye Fuqua's round of 94 tied her with Clarkston's Jessi Hund and East Valley's Erin Wallman for third place while Marina Wilbur and Shyann Morton shot rounds of 106 for 11th and 12th and Allie Brown's 111 snuck her in under the wire at 18th. Also competing at Deer Park were Steffi Cunningham and Kaitlyn Hohrman.
The Cheney boys finished fourth overall with 98.5 points, well back of third-place West Valley (147) and district champ Clarkston (213). Tyler Mauer shot an 80, his lowest score of the season head coach Jeff Pike said, to advance to regional action Monday in Pullman.
The boys had an opportunity to send a couple more, however, as both Keaton Tanzer and Nick Hilzendager fired rounds of 84 to put them in a five-way tie for 18th and force a playoff. In the playoffs the duo couldn't keep pace as EV's Taylor Hanson captured the final slot to regionals. Also competing at districts were Matt Chapman, Cutter Kuwada and Cole Gerard.
Fuqua was the only Cheney golfer moving on to state from regional play, shooting a 97 to finish in a three-way tie for third with Medical Lake's Megan Lageunesse and Othello's Katelyn Andrews. Morton shot a 116 (T-30), Brown a 199 (35) and Wilbur a 124 (40) as Cheney finished team play tied with Ephrata for seventh. Pullman's Paige Whidbee emerged as regional champion with a round of 81 while Othello beat Pullman for the regional team title.
In boys' play Maurer shot a round of 90, missing the state cut by five strokes.
Both Cheney teams wrapped up their regular Great Northern League schedules in match play at The Links course in Post Falls, Idaho on May 5. The boys tied Pullman for fifth with 449 points, no individual scores were reported, while Cunningham's round of 107 was good enough for 10th overall to lead the girls to a third-place finish with 578 points. No other individual girls' scores were reported.
Pullman's 518 led the boys overall while Clarkston's 388 gave them the match in girls' action.
The Cheney boys also got in a final invitation tournament, traveling to Cle Elum's Suncadia Golf Course for the Ellensburg Invitational May 3. Cheney finished 19 out of 24 teams from around the state.
Tanzer led the Blackhawks, shaving five strokes off his front nine score of 47 on the inbound leg to finish with a round of 89. Chapman shot a 92, Maurer a 93, Kuwada a 96 and Hilzendeger a 99 to fill out the Blackhawks card.
Girls 2A state play runs May 24-25 at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Spanaway, Wash.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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