'Now the pressure is on'

By Dean Wong

In girl's golf, the Ballard Beavers have become a force in KingCo and will be defending their third place finish from last season.

Ballard was 6 and 4 in 2007. Two girls, seniors Emily Shiels and Kristine Yeasting were All-KingCo golfers and represented the Beavers at the state championships.

Six golfers qualified for districts and four advanced to the second day of districts.

When it was time for postseason honors, Stan Geddes was named Coach of the Year in KingCo for his program's remarkable turn around.

"We had a good year last year. Because the kids did well, I was Coach of the Year. I had nothing to do with it, I just show up and talk to you (News-Tribune,)" said Geddes, dismissing his achievements as coach.

Geddes sets high goals for his Beavers. Ideally he would like to be 10 and 0 when the season is over.

But Redmond is a tough team to beat. In fact, they have not last a meet in seven years. Eastlake is right behind them in terms of talent.

"They are head and shoulders above everyone," said Geddes.

The Beavers have all season to prepare for Redmond and Eastlake. They are the last two matches on the schedule.

Co-Captain Emily Shiels, who is the team's No. 1 player by a slim margin over Yeasting, says the Beavers are hoping to go 8 and 2 this spring.

"We are doing real good. We won our first two matches," said Shiels. The Beavers have defeated Inglemoor and Franklin.

Ballard's success has surprised many people in KingCo golf circles. Seattle schools have traditionally played second fiddle to the eastsiders with golfers having access to upscale private courses and their professional staffs.

"We have kids who have worked for four years and their game shows it. Kristine and Emily were all league last year. I don't think they ever thought they would go to state as juniors," said Geddes.

Ballard is no longer in a position to surprise other teams.

"Now the pressure is on," said Geddes. "Repeating is harder than making it. To get there a second time might be more pressure than the first time."

During pre-season practices, the Beavers have trained with the Washington Huskies women's golf team and have played at the tough Inglewood Golf Course at the invitation of a Ballard alumnus.

Ballard Beaver's boys coach Casey Mcmullin has been helping with the team.

The other co-captains are Yeasting and senior Ellie Shane. The other golfers are senior Emily Eddy, sophomores Amy Johannsen, Kayla Wenger, Sofie Phillips and Blair Morgan, junior Caitie Scott, and freshman Kristina Graef.

Morgan is the sister of Cole Morgan, quarterback of the Beavers football team that played for the 4A state title in 2003. He is now a junior at Washington State University and is the second string quarterback.

Dean Wong may be reached at 783.1244 or deanw@robinsonnews.com