RICHLAND — Alex McMenamin is chasing her third straight top-10 state finish. Jack Shea is going for his second straight.
The two Sequim golfers tee off at their respective Class 2A state tournaments this morning at 7:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, Port Townsend and Chimacum players are at Liberty Lake Golf Course in Liberty Lake for the boys 1A state tournament.
Today is the first round for the state tournaments. The top 40 scores out of the 80 in each tournament advance to the final round Wednesday.
McMenamin is one of three North Olympic Peninsula golfers competing at the 2A girls tournament at Columbia Point Golf Course.
The junior will be part of the first threesome of golfers that tee off, joining Ephrata’s Kenedee Peters and Clarkston’s Grace Frazier.
Peters won last year’s state championship, by a whopping 19 strokes, and Frazier tied for second.
McMenamin is accustomed to being part of the stat’s elite. She placed third at state her freshman season and ninth last year.
Wolves sophomore Sarah Shea is making her first state appearance, as is Port Angeles senior Maddie Boe. Shea tees off at 8:34 a.m., and Boe starts at 10:10 a.m.
Jack Shea, a senior who will play golf at Montana State University in Billings next year, is competing in his third boys 2A state tournament.
Like McMenamin, he will be part of the first threesome, joining Lynden’s Ezra Arneson, last year’s fifth-place finisher, and Sammamish’s Aidan Thain, who took 20th in 2015.
After missing the cut in 2014, Shea placed 10th as a junior last year.
Sequim freshman Blake Wiker is the only other area golfer who qualified for the 2A tournament. He starts at 8:24 a.m.
The boys 1A state tournament in Liberty Lake, which is near Spokane, will be loaded with seven area players.
Port Townsend’s Patrick Morton will be the first to tee off, starting at 7:57 a.m. Morton is back at state after missing out last year. He placed 31st in 2014.
Chimacum’s Chris Bainbridge is making his third state appearance. He missed the cut in 2014, but helped the Cowboys tie for fourth last year by placing 36th.
Bainbridge’s teammates James Porter and Marcus Bufford tied four 24th at the 2015 state tournament. They tee off today at 9:54 a.m. and 10:03 a.m., respectively.
Morton will be one of four members of the district-champion Redhawks competing at state. Jacob Ralls tees off at 9:09 a.m., Austin Khile at 10:12 and Keegan Khile at 11:06 a.m.
Ralls and the Khile twins are playing in their first state tournaments.
