The Tillamook High Cheesemakers boys golf team capped a strong season by finishing 10th in the 2024 State Championship Tournament May 13-14 at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.
The Mooks, guided by seventh-year Coach Johnny Begin, had a team score of 779 to get a top-10 placing in the 12-team event. Out of a total of 34 Class 4A teams, only the top-12 qualified for state. The Mooks were led by the quartet of sophomore Triton Faber (182), seniors Tanner Hoskins (188), Seth Wehinger (201) and junior Diego Barragan Lara (208). Mooks freshman Peyton Murphy shot an uncounted score of 237.
“We played pretty well on day one, but they struggled a little on day two with more windy conditions than what there was on the first day,” said Begin. “Everyone was pretty mentally exhausted on the second day too. We have a pretty young team and the kids just didn’t take their time on some shots, so that kind of cost them. Overall, I’m really proud of the boys for finishing tenth in the state. We were in eighth place on day one, but then we dropped a few spots on day two because we had higher scores.”
The Mooks shot their best scores on the first day of the tourney, including Faber’s solid round of 88. Faber was the only player with a score below 90 during the two-day event. On day two, stronger wind conditions made the course a little tougher and all five Mooks players had higher scores.
“We all had a blast, the kids had a great time and we were just happy to be there,” said Begin. “They all competed really well all season long and down the stretch to help us reach the state tournament and be one of 12 teams represented in Class 4A. Triton played pretty decent both days. We’ll have a good group coming back next year with Triton, Diego and Peyton.”
Emerald Valley is the home course for the University of Oregon Ducks men’s and women’s golf teams. The players were able to see the Duck’s practice facility and some of the U of O players were practicing on the course when the high school tourney concluded.
Faber finished tied for 27th place individually with Cole Babcock of Scappoose, out of a field of 64 golfers. Phoenix freshman Jordan Giles earned medalist honors as he won the state championship with his three over par score of 147. For Hoskins and Wehinger, the state tourney marked the conclusion of their Tillamook High School golf career. For Hoskins, 2024 marked his return to the golf course after he played on the Mooks baseball team in 2023. It was his first season since 2022.
“I’m very proud of Seth and Tanner and I wish I could have them back for another year,” said Begin. “Tanner was on the team for three years and he helped us get seventh place in 2021, so this wasn’t his first rodeo. For Seth and Diego, this was their first year ever of competitive golf. Diego had never picked up a club until three months ago and he was shooting in the 90s consistently all season, which is unreal for a first-year golfer.”
The Mooks finished 11 strokes behind the ninth place Pendleton Buckaroos (768). The Marist Catholic Spartans won the state championship at 659, followed by the Baker Bulldogs (663). The North Bend Bulldogs, the Scappoose Indians and the Cascade Cougars finished in a three-way tie for third with (703). Seaside was sixth (707), followed by Crook County (713) and Marshfield (714) in eighth. Mazama (831) and Henley (919) rounded out the final two top-12 squads.
“At the beginning of the season, I had very little expectations that we could even make it to the tournament,” said Begin. “Then we played well at the regional to qualify for state and so the last couple of weeks have really been a lot of fun, that’s for sure.”
The Mooks girls’ squad didn’t qualify for state this year, but they took seventh place at the May 7 regional at Quail Valley Golf Club in Banks with a score of 942. For the trio of seniors Lexie Graves, Annika Norberg and Malli Lewis, that marked the conclusion of their Tillamook High School golf career.
“I was really proud of the seniors on our girls’ team, they played very well at our league events and I had high expectations for them,” said Begin. “Lexie played on the team for four years and she had a great season. She just went out there and competed well in every tournament. For Annika and Malli, this was their first season playing golf, so that was pretty cool. They were taking the game serious, they practiced hard and they put in some extra time out on the course, so that was really exciting to see as a coach.”
In the Class 3A/2A/1A boys tourney May 13-14 at Creswell, Neah-Kah-Nie High Pirates sophomore Clayton Dante had a spectacular performance in taking 11th place individually out of a field of 74 golfers. Dante, a first-year state qualifier, shot a first round score of 81 on day one, followed by an 82 on day two for an overall score of 163.
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