Marysville, Arlington girls get early round of 18

Both the Marysville-Pilchuck and Arlington girls golf squads got a taste of the marathon that is postseason golf.

By Danielle Szulczewski • April 21, 2009 1:13 pm
Arlington golfer Aarika Montanez chips the ball on the front nine at Cedarcrest Golf Course as a pair of ducks go about their business near the water trap just behind her.
Arlington golfer Aarika Montanez chips the ball on the front nine at Cedarcrest Golf Course as a pair of ducks go about their business near the water trap just behind her.

MARYSVILLE — Both the Marysville-Pilchuck and Arlington girls golf squads got a taste of the marathon that is postseason golf.

The teams met on Cedarcrest Golf Course April 14 in a non-league contest. It was a rare chance for the teams to play 18 holes, the norm for league and district golf championships.

Both teams did things well, according to their coaches.

“Everytime we get to play 18 holes, it prepares us for divisionals, districts and state,” said M-P coach Jaci Legore Hodgins, whose team produced the top four golfers. M-P won, 208 Stableford points to 74.

Senior Sara Rott was the medalist for the meet, finishing with 48 points, while fellow senior Brielle Saunders took second place with 45 points. Junior Stasia Ashley placed third with 44 points and sophomore Abby Beauchamp took fourth with 39 points. Arlington junior Tiffany Daggett led the Eagles and took fifth place with 34 points over the 18 holes.

“This was a solid match for Sara and her second time in a row being medalist in a match,” Legore Hodgins added.

While the match was a refresher for the veteran Tomahawk golfing team, many of the young golfers on the Arlington team saw their first 18 holes of competition.

“It was really important at this point in the year to get in 18 holes. That’s a whole different beast from when you play nine,” said Arlington coach Jack Greaves, who is back coaching golf after several years off. Five freshmen have picked up the sport this year, with no previous experience. “I just got to see improvement on every girl’s scorecard on the back nine, so it showed me they learned something on every hole.”

With 32 points, Taylor Ashton was the fifth golfer to score points for Marysville. For Arlington, Aarika Montanez and Mackenzie Bennett each had 14 points, while Cassie VanLoo had 12 and Jensen Evans had 10.