TUMWATER — Last spring, the top 16 2A girls golfers took home medals at the MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake.
Black Hills’ Ellie Johnson, then a sophomore, placed 17th.
That result knawed at her throughout the offseason and through her junior campaign, which saw her win both the league and district title en route to earning a top seed at this spring’s state championship event at Tumwater Valley Golf Course.
Johnson finished seventh and collected her long-awaited state medal Wednesday afternoon. But even though she made up for last year’s disappointing finish, she already elevated her own standard and is aiming for even shinier hardware next year.
“It’s showed how much I’ve put in to improve, and hopefully next year I’ll be better. I had some difficulties with my driver and had some tough breaks with the trees, but I kind of calmed down, figured out what I needed to do and tried to finish strong,” Johnson said.
Johnson has now qualified for state in each of her first three seasons, but she fell short of the cut for day two as a freshman.
“I saw some improvement last year from my freshman year, but I knew I could do more and I still know I can do more,” she said.
Johnson kicked off the two-day state championship this week with an electric first day on the course, recording a 4-over-76 Tuesday to rank second and four strokes behind the leader. She got off to another good start Wednesday with a birdie on her first hole, but she ran into some trouble on holes four and five with a double bogey and a triple bogey, respectively.
“There was definitely more pressure on day two, knowing that you’re in second and you have a chance to be at the top,” Johnson said. “But day one, it’s up in the air. Everyone hasn’t shot yet.”
Her score soured on hole 12 with another triple bogey to put her at 11 over par, but she managed to finish the day with a 12-over-72 in large part due to a birdie on hole 16. After finishing par on hole 18 despite having a tough spot to finish with an overall score of 160, Johnson became emotional as she headed off the course for the last time as a junior.
“I knew that I could do better. You only get one shot per year at this. I realized that it wasn’t my best. I didn’t give it my best, and I wish I could,” she said.
Black Hills head coach Jackson Martin lauded Johnson’s will and determination on the course, one that she and the whole team is very familiar with.
“She didn’t give up. That says a lot about her. That’s what you want as a coach is a player who, no matter what happens, isn’t going to give up to finish the day strong,” Martin said. “She obviously didn’t have the day she wanted, but not having a perfect day and still being a top-10 finisher, you can’t really get mad at that.”
Black Hills sophomore Lila Ariss joined Johnson on day two and finished 40th out of 40 golfers with an overall score of 212.
Tumwater senior Jenna Kalar medaled thanks to a three-way tie for 16th with a 176, while senior Lily Wagner capped her career with a 28th-place finish with a 185. W.F. West senior Madyson Alexander placed 35th as the lone Bearcat to make the cut for day two.
On the boys’ side in Chehalis, Black Hills’ Phoenix Flores finished 35th by carding a 167, and Tumwater’s Braeden Konrad finished 38th with a score of 171.
