On Wednesday, October 25th the Metro League Girls Golf championship took place at West Seattle Golf Course. Tensions were high as the Roosevelt Rough Riders looked to continue their championship reign. Eastside Catholic and Roosevelt exited the regular season 9-1, the only losses were to one another. As the rounds concluded and the sun was setting, Roosevelt came away victorious. With a combined score of 364, the Rough Riders edged out the Lady Crusaders of Eastside Catholic by a mere seven shots to become back-to-back Metro League Champions.
Standout players on Roosevelt included Reese Jenkins, who shot 81, and Mia Cluff, who scored 83.
But Roosevelt weren’t the only ones looking to repeat past successes on the links. Eastside Catholic’s Nicole Koong was defending her back-to-back Metro Player of the Year awards, going for a three-peat.
Koong faced off against Cleveland’s Sophia Tounalom, entering a playoff round for the individual championship. Consolations are one-hole matches, usually the hardest holes of the course where players had the lowest averages.
Koong (EC) vs. Tounalom (Cleveland)
Koong was up by one leading into the short game but missed a key putt to bogey the hole. Despite the miss, Koong was saved when Tounalom also came away scoring one shot over — sending them to a secondary playoff hole.
Koong drilled the green from the fairway and only had a three-foot putt stood in between her and the championship. She missed the hole by a matter of inches, leaving Tounalom next up. In the end, Tounalom was unable to convert her putts in order to push the reigning Metro-League champ to the next hole. Despite the heart-breaking conclusion for Tounalom, the two golfers walked off the course hugging and laughing together. Koong ended the day in first place overall, Metro League Player of the Year, and finishing second overall in the team category.
What was it like for Koong at the end of another long campaign and finishing the season in tough conditions?
“It was a grind playing through the wind and rain, but I was able to power through and get the job done. Most importantly, I am super grateful to my teammates and Coach Brian Morse for all their support, and I am so glad I was able to celebrate my win and finish second with the team as well.”
In the spring the top seven teams including Roosevelt and Eastside Catholic will all face off again for the State Championship.
