Prep Boys Golf: Toney, Mark Morris mops Kelso in the muck
Fall Sports Roundup: Reports and scores from around the Blast Zone
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
The first day of true autumn did not disappoint as heavy rains and wind battered the area in fits and starts, Wednesday. That didn’t stop the Mark Morris and Kelso boys golf teams from getting in a round at Three Rivers Golf Course, where the Monarchs prevailed 157-176.
“It was wet, so not great. First rainy match of the season,” Mark Morris coach Kim Ulman said.
Broden Toney of Mark Morris was the match medalist with a round of 37 on the best-drained golf course in Southwest Washington. That’s what happens when you stick to the dredge spoils and stay out of the puddles.
Henry Kelly fired off a round of 38 for the Monarchs, while Mark Hendrickson finished on 40. Reilly O’farrell helped MM lockdown the win with a round of 42, and Ethan Kosoris was right on the beat with a card of 43.
As for Kelso, Rex Burt led the way with a round of 40. Owen Toms and Anthon Fabian each finished on 45 for the Scots, while Gavin Eades and Colton Burgoyne both carded a 46 in the loss.
It’s been a season of ups and downs so far for the Hilanders.
On Monday the Hilanders lost to Union 167-198 with nearly everyone having an off day at Camas Meadows. Rex Burt was 16 shots off the pace and 18 shots over par with a round of 54. Owen Toms notched the best score of the day for Kelso by finishing on 43.
Last Thursday, though, the Hilanders played much better when they fell to Camas 162-170 at Three Rivers. Burt was the match medalist against the Papermakers with a round of 37. Gavin Eades was close behind with a tally of 40.
Kelso is slated to host Prairie on Tuesday at Three Rivers for a league match starting at 3 p.m.
Mark Morris is scheduled to play Hudson’s Bay on Thursday at Fairway Village in Vancouver.
Coleman shines bright, leads Jacks over Bay
The Lumberjacks finished 11 strokes ahead of Hudson’s Bay, Tuesday, in a 2A Greater St. Helens League boys golf match at Fairway Village Golf Course. R.A. Long won the day with a score of 193-204.
R.A. Long’s Riley Coleman was the match medalist with an even par round of 34.
The Lumberjacks finished out the win thanks to the contributions of Alex Wooden (49), Kian White (55) and Mac Pedersen (55).
Aside from Coleman, who has his eyes set on a run to the 2A state tournament, this season will be largely about building for the future for the Jacks.
“All three of these guys have shown some promise this year and should have a strong 2025 season,” RAL coach Jesse Ehrlich said.
R.A. Long is scheduled to host Ridgefield on Thursday afternoon at Mint Valley.
Other Scores You Might Care About
Mark Morris 148, Ridgefield 169 (Tuesday)
Columbia River 155, Woodland 181 (Tuesday)
PREP BOYS TENNIS
Martinez, Irwin roll in RAL win over Hawks
The R.A. Long boys tennis team defeated Hockinson 5-1 on the road to open their week behind the near perfect play of Landon Irwin and Alberto Martinez.
Irwin won his No. 2 singles match 6-0, 6-0 over Simon Neve, and Martinez owned his No. 3 singles match with Owen Heil by the same score. In the No. 1 singles match, R.A. Long saw Conner Ward walk away with a dominant win over Aden Hsu (6-0, 6-2).
The Jacks also watched as Kasen Burr and Rhet Young turned in a tangibly flawless effort against Cameron Allmon and Levi Brown in a 6-0, 6-0 win. Aiden Tran and Rylan Burbson kept things rolling for the Jacks with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Oliver Follows and Gavin Matteson.
“A lot of our players are starting to come in right now,” RAL coach Rally Wallace said. “I really liked the play of Landon Irwin in his first ever varsity singles match and I was also happy with Conner Ward and Albert Martinez, who are really swinging their racket with confidence and power.”
Payton Thill and Khang Le were the only disappointed Lumberjacks on the day after a tight three-set loss to Jahlen Miller and Aiden Willis (4-6, 6-2, 6-4).
R.A. Long (4-5, 3-3 league) was rained out at Fort Vancouver on Wednesday. The Lumberjacks will attempt to host Hudson’s Bay on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SWIMMING
Lassies lap Shelton in league meet
The Kelso girls swim team dominated its 3A Greater St. Helens League meet with Shelton on Wednesday, riding nine first-place finishes to a 104-66 team win.
In the 200 medley relay Kelso’s Maverick Morley, Stephanie Gonzalez, Emily Tennant and Mili Whips combined for a first place time of 3:15.19. The 200 individual medley crown went to Kelso’s Natalie Brown (2:44.96), while Whipps won the 50 freestyle with a time of 30.11.
The 100 butterfly gold went to Gonzalez (1:19.25), while it was Brown again finishing first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:05.20.
Whipps won the 500 freestyle with a time of 6:44.60, while Kelso’s team of Brown, Musser, Tennant and Weslie Seimears won the 200 freestyle relay in 2:26.73.
Kelso also sawa Mercedes Musser take top honors in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:36.56, while Whiopps, Gonzalez, Musser and Brown won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:36.12.
Anderson, Wirtz post District qualifiers
With Columbia River, Hudson’s Bay and Fort Vancouver in town to check out Dick Mealy Memorial Pool, Wednesday, the Mark Morris/R.A. Long/Kalama co-op girls swimming team did its best to keep up against a deeper roster of aqua-gals.
Mark Morris was the only team in the bunch to record wins over the Vancouver schools, defeating Hudson’s Bay 115-46 and knocking off Fort Vancouver 123-34, but falling to Columbia River 106-61. Kalama also put up a solid fight, but fell in all three matches by scores of 76-24 (Bay), 61-24 (Fort) and 116-15 (River). The Lumberjills didn’t fare any better, falling to Bay 86-17, Fort 65-20 and River 119-13.
Kalama senior Emma Anderson notched District qualifying times in the 100 butterfly (1:13.10) and the backstroke (1:13.12). Meanwhile, Mark Morris junior Paige Wirtz posted District qualifying times in the 50 freestyle (29.70) and 100 freestyle (1:05.78). Fellow MM junior Annabelle Schellenberg added a District qualifying time in the 200 individual medley with a time of 3:04.84.
Not to be left out, Monarch Kiki Rinker, a senior, knocked 27 seconds off her PR in the 500 freestyle with a time of 8:45.46. And R.A. Long freshman Jaelynne Newman-Hunt placed sixth overall in the 200 freestyle with a mark of 3:11.56.
The Mark Morris/R.A. Long/Kalama co-op team will host a dual meet with Skyview on Wednesday back at The DMMP.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Woodland’s McSmith motors for 5th place
The Woodland girls placed four runners in the Top-20, Tuesday, in a league race with Columbia River and Washougal at home on Dike Road.
Columbia River placed first as a team with 22 points, while Washougal finished with 42 points and Woodland landed on 69.
Kaylynn McSmith ran the fastest race for Woodland when the junior crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 22:32.19.
Woodland freshman Olivia Boman (29:57.91) finished 17th, sophomore Elizabeth Neibler (30:07.31) finished 18th, and sophomore Elizabeth Osorio (31:18.16) crossed the line in 20th place.
Mae Otoupal, a senior from Columbia River, won the race with a time of 21:05.17. Ainsley Morrisey, another Columbia River senior, placed second with a time of 21:47.86, and Gracie Perry was Washougal’s highest placer with a time of 22:03.81 that was good for a bronze finish.
The Woodland boys had a similar run, placing third behind Columbia River (28) and Washougal (36) with a score of 71. The Beavers placed three runners in the Top-20, with sophomore Logan Speranza leading the way in eighth place with a time of 18:07.27.
Woodland freshman Martin Betancourt-Galvan placed 17th with a time of 19:37.81, and junior Luis Santos-Mendoza (19:39.31) was one place behind his teammate.
Jacob McManus, a senior from Columbia River, won the boys race with a time of 16:24.83. Washougal senior John Love placed second with a time of 17:25.67.
Woodland will run in the Jack and Jill Invite at Lake Sacajawea on Saturday starting at noon. The high school portion of that event will include local teams including the hosts from R.A. Long, Castle Rock, Clatskanie, Kalama, Naselle, Rainier (Ore.) and Three Rivers Christian. Middle schools in attendance will include Castle Rock, Clatskanie, Kalama, Kelso, Monticello, Mt. Solo, Naselle, Rainier (Ore.) and Three Rivers Christian.
PREP SLOWPITCH
Lumberjills lash out in win over Evergreen
The R.A. Long slowpitch softball team tallied 20 hits in a 19-2 win over Evergreen, Wednesday.
Grace Bert, Zowie Ramirez, Edie Korpi and Vivian Most all mustard three hits each for the Lumberjills. Bert and Ramirez also logged four RBIs each.
“This team is really scary and has tons of potential to make a deep playoff run,” RAL coach Josh Donaldson said. “It’s great to see the girls when things are really clicking.”
With a little help from her defense, Malia Byrnes needed just 57 pitches (43 strikes) to throw a complete five-inning game.
“Nicole Walker and Korpi were great on defense and the entire team definitely honed in after a sloppy game on Monday,” Donaldson added.
R.A. Long (5-2, 1-1 league) will head across the Cowlitz River to play the undefeated Kelso Hilanders on Thursday.
Monarchs come undone against Camas
Mark Morris fell to Camas by a score of 9-3 in East Clark County, Wednesday, in slowpitch softball action.
“Inclement weather and soft hits were the downfall of the Monarchs today,” MM coach Chris Mejia said. “Costly errors with the rain coming down hard gave up more runs than we could battle back from today.”
Cheyenne Wagner led the Monarchs at the plate today by going 2 for 3 with two doubles.
Mark Morris (5-3, 2-2 league) will attempt to host Prairie at 7th Avenue Park on Thursday afternoon.