CRESWELL — Pendleton put together the lowest score for the second round, thanks to a 76 by Landon Neistadt, and the Bucks finished second at the 4A state golf championships Tuesday at Emerald Valley Golf Club.
It’s the best finish for the Bucks, whose top placement before was third place at the 5A championships in 2016.
“The boys came out fast and maintained quality golf through the entire 18 holes,” Pendleton coach Marc Sokoloski said. “Today, we ended up taking the low round for the day, beating Marist by two strokes. I couldn’t be prouder of the response from these young men.”
Marist Catholic won the team title with a 633, while Pendleton was second with a 662, and Cascade was third at 681.
The Bucks shot a 322 for the second round, with Marist second at 324.
“While we ended up second in the record books, I truly believe if we’re playing on a neutral site that we are the best 4A team in the state,” Sokoloski said. “It was a magical season for the players and coaching staff, which culminated in the best finish for any Pendleton boys golf team.”
Neistadt, who had birdies on holes 9 and 13, shot par on 11 holes and finished sixth overall with a 158.
Garret Reinhart, who shot an 84 for the first round, shot an 81 in the second to finish tied for ninth with a 165. Reinhart had birdies on holes 2 and 3 in the second round.
Also for Pendleton, Cole Sazue tied for 14th overall with a 169, while Sheldon Joseph was 16th with a 170. Joseph took 10 strokes off his game from the first round, shooting an 80 for the second round, including par on 12 holes.
Seaside’s Xanh Quang took medalist honors with a two-day 150, while Baker’s Elias Long was second with a 153, and Tripp Murphy of Marist Catholic was third at 154.
Girls golf
Heppner sophomore Naomi Propheter took 16 strokes off her first round to finish with an 80 for the second round and tie for 11th place with a 176 at the 4A/3A/2A/1A state golf championships at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond.
Propheter was tied for 20th after the first round, but came out determined to better her game in the second round. She had birdies on holes 4, 6 and 13 to finish just out of the top 10.
Pendleton’s Sophie Nelson, who was 13th after the first round with an 89, shot a 91 for the second round and finished tied for 14th with three other players with a 180. Nelson shot par on six holes, but struggled on hole 11, where she carded a nine on a par-5 hole.
“Sophie had a good day today,” Pendleton coach Dave Curtis said. “She started off good, went through a rough spell, but pulled herself together and overall had a great state tournament. I’m very proud of her and it’s a good way to end her high school golf career.”
Chloe Johnston of Salem Academy took medalist honors with a 150 over two rounds. She shot a 75 each day. Vishaka Priyan of Catlin Gabel was second with a 151, and Ellie Gladow of Salem Academy and Emma Wheelock of St. Mary’s tied for third with a 154.
Salem Academy ran away with the team title with a 659, with Henley a distant second (718) and St. Mary’s third (743).
ECHO/STANFIELD 10, PILOT ROCK 7 — The Cougars took an early lead, then had to hold off a furious rally by the Rockets in the seventh inning for a nonleague home win.
Echo (15-7), which has won three in a row to close out the regular season, jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first inning.
Pilot Rock (14-10) scored two runs in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Kashley Golden.
In the bottom of the inning, Gracie Putnam hit a two-run single, Braelyn Perry put a run across the plate with a groundout for a 3-2 lead, and Jacee Greene gave her team a 4-2 lead with an RBI bunt single.
Emerson Spike stretched the lead to 5-2 with a double to left field, and Khloey Fuentes finished the scoring with a groundout that sent Greene across the plate.
Echo would add one run in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth for a 10-2 lead before the Rockets came back to life in the seventh.
Hailey Severe stole home to open the scoring for Pilot Rock, then Golden and Kessa Litfin each hit an RBI double to cut the deficit to 10-5.
Gracee Hemphill and Autumn Severe hit RBI singles to pull the Rockets within 10-7, but that would be all the Cougars would allow.
Brynlyn Allen went 3-for-3 with an RBI for Echo, while Thandi Weems went 2-for-4 with a triple. Allen earned the win, allowing seven runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts and six walks. Golden went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Pilot Rock, while Autumn Severe went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jada Deist took the loss, allowing seven runs on 11 hits while striking out two and walking two.
