If four years of high school golf taught Jade Gruher anything, it’s perspective.
The first two years didn’t go so well — her freshman year wiped away by the pandemic and the sophomore year shortened.
But things took a turn for the better, starting with Gruher winning the 4A state championship as a junior and just missing out on a repeat last month.
For that, Gruher has been selected as The Columbian’s All-Region girls golfer of the year for a second straight year.
“My junior year, we got to play bi-districts and state, and then winning the state, after that I was like ‘now this is what high school golf is all about,’ ” Gruher said.
Last month in Spokane, Gruher opened the state tournament with a blistering round of 66 and took a three-shot lead into the final round.
But she shot a 76 in the final round and finished fourth, one shot behind the leaders.
Gruher said her struggles happened throughout the final round, but it was cemented on the 17th hole.
“I think getting to the 17th hole and having a double bogey, I could just feel in the moment that I just left the win out on the golf course,” she said. “But I just tried to remind myself that I had a great time. It’s OK. It’s just golf. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Gruher will take her game to Weber State next season. But even that opportunity didn’t play out like she thought it would.
“The summer after my sophomore year, I must have emailed like 30 schools, and I only had a couple contact me back,” Gruher said. “So I started thinking maybe I’m not going to get any offers until my senior year. But then one day, I have a really good friend who plays in Oregon and she went to Weber State. She said ‘why don’t you just contact the coach?’ So I did.”
After that initial contact, Weber State’s coaches would regularly contact Gruher during her junior season with words of encouragement. After Gruher won her 4A state title, the interest became serious.
Gruher made a trip to Ogden, Utah, and committed shortly after, saying she loved the Weber State coaches and especially the other players on the team.
And Gruher has learned that having good teammates is everything.
“Going into my junior year, I’ve had a really great team to move up with,” Gruher said. “I have some great friends on the team who I’ve known since I was younger. So being on that team has been amazing.”
This season, Gruher and other seniors on the team made the goal to qualify for state as a team. The goal looked in jeopardy at the bi-district tournament in Tacoma.
“They were only taking five teams, and where we were, we weren’t so sure that we would make it,” Gruher said. “And then we found out that we did, we just were ecstatic, just jumping up and down. We had a few girls cry out there.”
Gruher called her four years at Union an amazing experience, even if it did have an unusual start.
“Dealing with the virus the first two years, then finally being back to normal, it shows a lot of who you are and who everyone else is,” she said. “And it’s also taught me not to take what’s going to happen and then think it’s going to be the same the next year. Because it’s never the same.
“So just go out there and have fun when you’re with a group of people that you really like.”
Rest of the All-Region team
Jasmine Chen, Camas: Sophomore was a 4A GSHL all-league pick, placed third at the district tournament and 13th at the state tournament.
Susannah Gillespie, Camas: Senior was a first team 4A GSHL all-league pick, placed fourth at district, 16th at the bi-district and 30th at state.
Ella Kim, Camas: Senior was a first team 4A GSHL all-league pick, placed fifth at district tournament and 28th at the state tournament.
Jacinda Lee, Camas: Junior was the 4A district champion, placed third at bi-district and sixth at the 4A state tournament.
Rachel Renick, Camas: Senior was a first team 4A GSHL all-league pick, placed sixth at district, eighth at bi-district and 32nd at state.
Annika Yeh, Mountain View: Junior was the 3A GSHL player of the year, repeated as district champion and placed 13th at the 3A state tournament.
