Top topics at the district golf tournament for South Puget Sound League 4A were the Thomas Jefferson boys team sending three, maybe more, on to state next May, and the Decatur girls’ Amanda Beyke and Stacey Blunt finishing in the top five at the Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton Thursday.

“That is the best the boys have done in my time here,” said Dave Hunter of his coaching golf at TJ. It is a subject he’s taught 10 years now after school.

The TJ boys golf team took second place out of the 18 teams total in the SPSL 4A league. So, that’s a good finish as a team for TJ, going against a lot of teams.

TJ again also had the honor of finishing best of area golfers competing from Todd Beamer, Decatur and Federal Way.

Charles Lee, a senior, took third place overall, losing only to top golfers from Kentwood and Rogers. And, individually behind him not too far were Raiders teammates Keenan Darrow, tied for 10th, and Erik Jarvey, 15th. Those three made the 16-player cut for sure. Brent Brown, too, maybe will make the cut for state. He is on the bubble, at 17th place. The good news there is that Auburn and Auburn-Riverside joined the SPSL 4A league this past season, which means more teams in the league and therefore more players coming from this league means more spots of qualification for state. SPSL 4A is the biggest league in the state, too.

Quinn Hildebrandt for the Raiders may also make the cut. He has an “outside chance” as Hunter put it.

“Three for sure, and, the fourth (Brown) is 99% sure and there is an outside chance that Quinn could go too,” said Hunter.

The girls, unfortunately, have no chance to win the state team title, because two are needed for a team score and only Jayme Carbon qualified, taking sixth place. But the boys do have a shot to win it all in 4A golf. Do they ever, says Lee.

“We are expecting to win state this year,” said Lee, a brazen smile coming over his face then.

Win state?

“Yeah, we should do very well,” said Lee.

The Raiders’ second day was their best day, with players like Brown and Jarvey really stepping it up for their team. Brown shot an 83 the first day but followed it up with a 75, which was only a couple, three strokes off the top golfers’ scores.

Jarvey shot an 82 but followed that up with a 75. That was good improvement as was Darrow going from an 80 in day one’s 18 holes to a 79 day two score. Lee, too, was not only first he was adding to the improving nature of this team as the tournament wore on and scores meant more, shooting a 77 day one and a 72 day two.

“The second day total was a lot better for my golfers,” said Hunter. “We were 16 strokes better the second day, so that’s really good.”

Brown was most improved for the Raiders as he all but makes it to state, barring a very unkind allocation cut, after having played No .6 on the Raiders team all season. Probably not too many team’s sixth best golfer can say they are going to state. But Brown can.

“He struggled the end of this year,” said Hunter. “He worked hard to get his game back.”

Lee played great golf, he said, but for one hole in the tournament.

“No. 2 triple bogey,” said Lee.

A bogey is one shot over par, so a triple bogey is two strokes worse than that.

Lee said he lost his ball on day one after hitting the ball off the tee of the No. 2 hole.

“Lost it in the tall grass after it hit the lip of the bunker and bounced away 10 feet,” said Lee. “I searched for the ball for five minutes and couldn’t find it.”

Did that cost you a good run at getting first at districts?

“Yes,” said Lee. “It held me back. I kept thinking about it. It is hard to come back from that.”

It was hard for Lee to think, literally, about coming back, because the shot Lee hit to get into that unfortunate predicament was actually not bad.

“I hit a good shot, solid, but I couldn’t find the ball,” said Lee.

Jarvey, who went to state last year for TJ, and made it to the second day last May at state, finishing 20th overall, made it in just barely. But barely is enough and finishing high at state last year, with quality teammates Lee and Darrow in there, too, and, Brown, and maybe Hildebrandt makes one think that Lee’s prediction is more fact-based than fiction.

Jarvey shot a ‘82 for a first day score, but stepped it up day two to soften that rough start completely.

Jarvey also believes in his team’s chances to score big at state.

“We should be able to compete at state,” said Jarvey.

It’s a well knit team and that knitting goes beyond the clubs, according to Lee.

“My best friends are my whole varsity,” said Lee.

For Todd Beamer, Brock Johnson, who went to state last May for the Titans and did well, took fourth place overall at districts. He was one shot behind Lee, and Johnson’s Titan teammate, Tyler Collins, tied for 10th, with Darrow with 155 strokes.

Johnson’s first day was good enough to have him playing in the top group for day two, but the day didn’t go as he liked quite, following up his 73 18-hole day one effort, with a couple strokes back of that in day two.

“Yesterday, Brock had six birdies, and today he can’t buy one,” said Jim Nielsen, the Titans’ golf coach. “But that’s golf.”

The Titans sent five golfers to day two but only Johnson and Collins will escape to state for their team. Their consolation can be a tiebreaker dual match win over TJ during the season and having heard of TJ tying Curtis, which gave the Titans the outright SPSL Central Division championship.

Girls side action is definitely worth talking about, especially for Decatur who had the freshman, Beyke, able to play in the first place players pod after her sterling 79 score on day one.

That surprised Gator girls golf coach, Rick Dennison? Kind of.

“I didn’t expect her to be in the top group, but I knew she had a chance,” said Dennison, who coached the Gators boys swim team at state for its state title in 2001. “She has decent credentials. It wasn’t like it was a fluke.”

Beykes plays on the Twin Lakes Golf and Country club’s beautiful greens, and reds, and oranges, now, since it’s fall and leaves are falling off trees. She also plays privately in lessons. Her teammate, junior Stacey Blunt, was likely who Dennison expected to be playing in the No.1 group at districts, based on her more colorful season performance in league competition.

Not only did Blunt take second at districts last year, she was the medalist (top scoring golfer) more times than Beykes this past season.

“I think Stacey won three or four and Amanda won two,” said Dennison.

So it was close between the two. And, speaking of close, the two are close.

“We play golf together,” said Blunt, mentioning the Twin Lakes junior golf program.

“They both are year-round, quality golfers who practice and play a lot,” said Dennison.

So good competition, good battles between the two of them can be expected.

“Yeah, but more of a friendship,” said Beykes.

Blunt put it bluntly about wanting to do her best out there on the greens, and beating her teammate is part of that “best.”

“I know she (Beyke) is not as competitive as I am,” said Blunt. “My competitiveness makes me feel like I have to beat her. But I still want her to do well.”

Beykes has done well, beating the upperclassmen like Blunt. And that will only make these two better.

“We are going to push each other,” said Blunt. “We are members of the same course so we can keep on improving each other.”

Did you expect your younger teammate to beat you?

“No, when I play, I don’t expect anyone to beat me,” said Blunt. “But she beat me today. What can I say?”

Also, for the Gators, doing well was Samantha Zeeb, a sophomore. She took 17th overall, which is missing the cut but the allocation of the expanded SPSL will likely get her in just like Brown for the boys side.

Carbon did well for herself, again. She was sixth this year overall. But her past record at districts is quite impressive, too.

“I’ve made it to state all four years,” said Carbon, who also plays basketball and softball well for the Raiders. “Five girls made it to the second day, which has never happened for us.”

None made it to state but Shayla Doherty, Rachael Lopez, Tammy Chung and Agnes Shin are all seniors who helped the girls team be SPSL Central champs last year and be good again this year. But this is their last hurrah.

“We are going to miss the seniors,” said Blanscet, who competed at districts, too, and is a junior for Raiders golf. “It’s been a good couple of years.”

“We did do really good this year,” said Doherty, who made it to the second day for the Raiders.

Carbon is done now with all this fun after state and she shouldn’t be happier than what she’s done, which is having improved every year at districts. She was 17th as a freshman, not sure what as a sophomore (but not better than sixth), and, then 10th last year as a junior. During the season, too, Carbon tied Blunt for medalist the first time the two met and she beat Blunt the other time and also was medalist in all her other matches.

So this last time will only be a sweet-swinging memory of many for Carbon.

“The event went good,” said Carbon. “I was consistent. I’m happy with how my score was.”

Carbon shot a 41 and 37 for the front and back nine in day one and then was really consistent in day two, shooting a 41 for both the front and back.

Coaching the girls is Jim Von Doehren.

A couple boys for the Gators boys team, Matt Parker and Taylor Roberts, seniors, were close to the cut, which is around 158 for a given high school medalist qualifying district tournament like this. They both shot 160 for boys coach Kevin Olson.

Emily Victor and Pichaya Promisatit of Federal Way also will go to state, likely, just getting in as the last allocated in cuts.

So that was all good by the locals. Time will tell what happens next. The boys play at Canyon Lakes next May and the girls at Sun Willows in the Eastern Washington tri-cities area.