SPANAWAY — Joe Barnes finished his magical first year in golf by capturing sixth place at the 2A boys state championship at The Classic Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon.
Barnes’ second-round score of 82 helped Port Angeles place fifth, its highest state finish in school history.
Barnes led the field going into the second day after shooting a 75 on Tuesday.
His teammates Jordan Negus and Garrett Payton also made the cut.
Negus, who tied for 12th the first day, finished ninth in state by shooting an 80 for the second straight day.
Payton scored an 88 on Wednesday for a two-round score of 175.
Sequim’s Ryan O’Mera finished the tournament with a 173, good for 27th place.
Barnes had a magical first day at state by leading everybody with a 75.
The Port Angeles junior just finished his first year of seriously playing golf.
Barnes led three Roughriders into the second round as Port Angeles found itself in the battle for the team title after being in second the first day.
Negus tied for 12th place at the end of the first day while Payton tied for 35th place with Sequim’s O’Mera as the latter two just survived the first-day cut of the top 40 who advanced to the final meet.
In 1A competition, Chimacum sent two golfers into second-day competition.
In girls action, Port Angeles and Sequim each had one golfer qualify for the second day by finishing in the top 40.
2A Boys
The Riders found themselves in a rare position, in striking distance of the golf team championship after all three of their players made the cut for the second day.
The state crown didn’t happen but the Riders still had their best finish ever.
While Barnes was first after the first round, Negus tied for 12th with one other golfer after firing 80, five strokes behind Barnes.
Payton, the sub-district champion, shot 87 to tie for 35th, the final position to make the cut, with five others, including Sequim’s O’Mera.
Going into the second day, the Riders were behind Clarkston for first place by the scores of 239-242, a mere three strokes.
Sequim’s Casey Torres, meanwhile, missed the first-day cut with a 94.
1A Boys
DuPONT — Nathan Browning and Riley Downs both made the first-day cut in the 1A championships at The Home Course.
Browning tied for 20th place with a score of 82 while Downs tied for 26th and just a stroke behind at 83.
Rylee Iacolucci of Cle Elum-Roslyn was in first with a score of 74.
Chimacum teammate Kevin Miller just missed the first-day cut after shooting 86, only one stroke behind the last of the second-day qualifiers.
2A Girls
SPANAWAY — Dana Fox of Port Angeles had the top score of area golfers on the first day with a 94 to tie for 20th at Lake Spanaway Golf Course.
Sequim’s Hailey Estes was close behind with a 96 to tie for 27th and make the cut for the girls final.
Aleana Greenhout of Interlake was in first with a 75 for the 18 holes.
Three area golfers missed the first-day cut as Sequim’s Maddy Fisher scored 104, followed by teammate Elisa Sallee and Sydney Rauch of Port Angeles, who both were one stroke behind at 105 each.
