Golf: Sequim’s boys place second at state 2A tournament

For the second consecutive season, Sequim’s boys golf capped a banner campaign with a second place finish at the class 2A state tournament.

Sequim’s Blake Wiker tied for sixth place, Paul Jacobsen tied for 10th and Ben Sweet tied for 21st as the Wolves racked up 83.5 points behind state champ Ridgefield at the state finals, held at Liberty Lake Golf Course in Liberty Lake, near Spokane.

Jacobsen held a share of the lead after the first day with eventual state champ Jordan Medcalf of Lynden, after both shot 73s. Jacobsen closed with a 2-under-par 33 on the back nine.

“He played the back nine extremely well and had four birdies,” Sequim coach Bill Shea said.

But the Sequim junior shot an 85 on the second day to slip back of the lead pack while Medcalf shot a 74 to edge Conrad Brown of Burlington-Edison by two shots (147-149).

Wiker, a senior, shot rounds of 79 and 77 to finish in a three-way tie in sixth, nine shots back of Medcalf.

On day one, Wiker shot a 38 on the front nine holes but a rules decision led to a triple bogey on a back-nine hole and Wiker struggled a bit, Shea said. The Sequim 12th-grader rebounded to play the final four holes in 2-under-par.

“I really feel that (tournament) went great, all things concerned,” Wiker said. “It was a difficult course (but) to medal in my senior year was amazing.”

Wiker said a highlight came on the first day when he found the green on the ninth hole from 200 yards out, coming within six feet of the hole and sinking his birdie putt.

Sweet, a freshman, shot rounds of 79 and 85, also finishing in a three-way tie at 21st. His first day score was his lowest high school round.

“He’s been working really hard and practicing,” Shea said. “He’s striking the ball really well. His low tournament round of the year was 81, so we are super pleased with his performance.”

Senior Liam Payne missed the second day cut after shooting an 89 — four shots from the cutoff.

“Liam broke through and finally made it to state as a senior,” Shea said. “He struggled on the front nine and shot 50 but he really closed well and had a 39 on the back nine.”

Led by fourth-place finisher Kellen Bringhurst, Ridgefield saw six players make the second day cut and finished with 128 team points to outpace Sequim (83.5), Ephrata (63.5) and Burlington-Edison (62). Defending state 2A champ Liberty (Issaquah) was fifth with 54.5 points.

In 2018, Sequim’s boys placed second behind Liberty.

“It’s crazy to finish second two years in a row,” Wiker said. “You always want to get first but … teams lost to both years were amazing. (Ridgefield was) great; we did all we could have done.”

On the girls’ side, Sequim High senior Brittany Gale tied for 60th overall after shooting a 101, six shots off the second day cut.