Ridgefield golfers Caden Whitsitt, Cade Bringhurst, Kale Suomi, Kellen Bringhurst, Eli Saenz and Nick Radosevich captured the 2A district championship Oct. 17 on the Lewis River course in Woodland. All six Spudders qualified for state in the spring.
Cade Bringhurst tees off on the 16th hole Wednesday at the Lewis River Golf Course in Woodland. The sophomore from Ridgefield shot the best final round in the field to finish tied for second place, just one stroke ahead of the leader.
The Ridgefield High School boys golf team achieved its biggest goal of the season so far: sending all six Spudders to state. Winning districts was just the icing on the cake.
“Through all 18 holes, we’ve been fighting and the results show. We sent all six to state, which is awesome,” said senior Kellen Bringhurst.
“One of our goals is to win state as a team,” he added. “Now that we are sending all six to state, that goal is definitely in reach.”
Ridgefield sophomore Cade Bringhurst shot even par 72 Wednesday on the Lewis River Golf Course in Woodland to tie for second place in the tournament with Columbia River’s Isaiah Lamont. Both competitors earned a two-round score of 151. Tyler Cassel of Black Hills High School in Olympia won districts with a 150.
“I was able to get the ball in the fairway pretty well, I just didn’t putt very well the last couple of days,” Cade Bringhurst said.
“Missing some putts made me pretty angry,” he added. “You can’t play golf when you’re angry. It just doesn’t work. I need to work on staying in the ‘now’ and being positive.”
Kellen Bringhurst finished in fourth place for the Spudders with a 154. Kale Suomi followed in fifth place with a 161, Caden Whitsitt notched ninth place with a 170, Nick Radosevich took 11th place with a 172 and Eli Saenz earned 14th place with a 175.
Cade Bringhurst made four birdies in the finals to improve by seven strokes. Kellen Bringhurst added three birdies to improve by four strokes. Radosevich shaved 12 strokes off his final score with two birdies on the back nine. Saenz improved by nine strokes in the final round.
Three Hockinson golfers qualified for state. Tanner Hough took 13th place with a 174. Jarrett Christensen and John Dorotik tied for 14th place with a 175. Saenz birdied the ninth hole to beat Christensen and Dorotik in a playoff for 14th place.
Ridgefield won the team championship by a 65-point margin. Columbia River came in second place and Hockinson finished in fourth place.
The 2A state boys golf tournament is scheduled for May 21 and 22 on the Liberty Lake Golf Course in Spokane.
“We’ll be in the weight room and on the golf course every day getting ready for this,” Cade Bringhurst said. “To be able to send six guys to state, we have a very good chance. We’re going to make the most of it.”
