These Whatcom County players earned top-five finishes at state

Lynden’s Jade Ming is no stranger to high-level finishes at the Class 2A Girls Golf State Tournament.

In fact, with her fifth-place finish Wednesday at the Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane, Ming recorded her third straight top-10 finish and second fifth-place finish.

And she’s still got her senior year.

Ming shot a round of 77 Tuesday, and followed it up with an 81 to give her a total of 158. She was one stroke shy of fourth-place finisher Shelby Baum of East Valley High School, and 12 strokes back of champion Kenedee Peters from Ephrata High School.

“It hurts that I was one stroke away from the next spot, but my overall score was better than I’ve ever done,” Ming said. “My short game saved me today.”

Ming said the course’s conditions were much quicker than what she’s used to playing on in Lynden. She said she had to take into consideration how fast the balls were rolling on the green, but she adjusted well.

Ming dedicated the tournament to former girls golf coach and legendary Lynden football coach coach Curt Kramme, who died April 22 after battling cancer.

“I thought of him the whole time,” Ming said.

With Sophia Schmidt finishing tied for 11th and Jada French tying for 17th, Bellingham sixth as a team (51.5 points) behind champion Yakima East Valley (113.5).

Larson excels in first state performance

Jonathan Larson is probably best known for taking his shots on a basketball court for Bellingham High School. The 6-foot-2 senior guard helped his team reach a winner-to-state game against Lynden in the 2A Bi-District Tournament, but the Red Raiders fell short.

However, Larson got another shot to advance to state and made the most of it, finishing tied for fifth at the Class 2A Boys State Tournament at the Creek at Qualchan Golf Course in Spokane, finishing tied for fifth place with a score of 153.

“It was great meeting some of the best players in the state at the 2A level and being around this group of guys,” Larson said. “I just tried to go out and play my game and I’m really happy with the result.”

Larson shot a 75 on Tuesday, putting him two strokes off the lead. He scrambled to shoot a round of 78 on Wednesday, but Larson said 78 was his goal.

“I didn’t want to have those same expectations going into today,” Larson said.

Larson credited coach Tony Dear for his encouragement and being him with him every step of the way.

“He just told me to play my own game,” Larson said. “He was a big factor.”

Larson and teammate Zach Nolan, who tied for 19th, were two of three golfers selected out of 80 competitors to earn a sportsmanship award for the tournament. Larson said he and Nolan just tried to follow the rules and embody Red Raider pride.

The duo helped Bellingham finish sixth with 55.5 points behind champion Liberty (120.0).

Bergman captures fourth

Mount Baker’s Clara Bergman tied for fourth place after a stellar round of 81 on Wednesday at the Class 1A/2B/1B Girls Golf State Tournament at Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland.

Bergman was in 11th place after her round of 88 on Tuesday and shot up the leader board Wednesday with the second-best round of the day. The best round belonged to champion Kaysa Panke of Davenport High School who shot a 79.

Bergman helped Mount Baker finish with a team score of 42, good enough for fifth place. Teammate Natalie Verry finished 36th. South Whidbey High School took the team title with a score of 61.

On the boys side, Lynden Christian’s Jake De Young finished fourth in the Class 1A Boys State Tournament at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco after shooting a second-round 82.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "These Whatcom County players earned top-five finishes at state."