RIDGEFIELD — Mountain View’s boys golf team really enjoys team qualification.
Since the WIAA changed the format to allow entire teams to qualify for the state golf tournament in the spring before the start of last season, the Thunder have only gotten closer as a group.
As much as golf is an individual against the course, and Mountain View undoubtedly has some talented individuals, having a team that can help guarantee your spot at the sport’s pinnacle in the high school game is added comfort.
On Thursday at Tri-Mountain Golf Course, the Thunder golfers swept the top three spots and had four golfers in the top 10. It was good enough for a dominating team title in the 3A District 4 Championships.
“I think we just have a really close bond,” Thunder junior Willy Yeh said. “When we’re playing well, you can see us on the course hyping each other up. That positive energy really translates to our scores.”
Graham Moody was the individual champion Thursday, going 72-70-142 to lap the field by 12 strokes. After holding even and playing steady on Wednesday, it was a wild ride for Moody Thursday.
He opened with a bogey on the par-4 first hole, only to follow with a birdie on the par-4 second. It went back and forth like that for most of Moody’s round, before he closed with a pair of birdies on the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th to end his tournament 2-under.
“My swing felt good; I had a lot of confidence going into the week knowing my swing was in a good place,” Moody said. “I probably hit the ball the best I’ve hit it all season, so that’s always nice.”
Behind him was Yeh, who has become one of Moody’s biggest competitors. The two trade shots and barbs in practice daily as they push each other to grow as golfers. Yeh finished with mirror 77s for a second-place finish.
“The way we’re competitive without stepping on each other’s toes is really important,” Yeh said. “We like to trash talk, but we have an understanding that whatever we say will stay on the course. And we don’t take anything personally; that’s really important.”
Those two take so much spotlight, it’s often easy to forget how deep this Thunder team is. When asked for an interview, Tyler Klepec heard his teammates offer a friendly jab: “It’s finally your turn! You’ve made it.”
Klepec held his own with a 79-80-159 for a third-place finish.
“We’re one of the best teams around,” Klepec said. “So I really don’t mind playing No. 3 behind two really great golfers.”
Rounding out the scoring members of the Thunder was Jack Campbell (83-95-178). Also qualifying with the team was Ethan Chidester (96-90-186).
Other top finishers Thursday included fourth-place Russell Fearington, of Evergreen, who carded an 80-81-161 and was part of the final grouping. Prairie’s Isaac Kinsman also featured in the final grouping and finished fifth with an 83-82-165.
Prairie and Kelso qualified for bi-districts in the spring as a team by finishing second and third. The top three teams, which include five golfers each, advance, along with the next six individuals.
The individuals punching their spring ticket to bi-districts included Fearington, Evergreen’s Jared Morser (84-89-173), Prairie’s Hayden Rose (98-91-189), Kelso’s Kjell Guttormsen (99-97-196), Evergreen’s Anthony Tomas (112-98-210) and Fort Vancouver’s Jack Butterfield (114-106-220).
