To say Black Hills High School senior Ellie Johnson had a memorable 18-hole round of golf on Wednesday afternoon would be an understatement.
For good reasons at the start, heading into the final day of the Class 2A District 4 tournament in solo first. Then for some less-than-stellar reasons after the front-nine, when she started to get a migraine.
And finally, with her round nearing completion, Johnson threw up.
“I’ve never experienced a migraine on the course before,” Johnson said. “I had to remind myself that I had a large enough lead, I could make a few mistakes and get through it.”
Somehow, some way, the Wolves star ended up in an all too familiar place.
The Lewis University recruit fired a 36-hole total of 162 to clip Ridgefield’s Evangeline Fulton by four strokes and triumph for her second consecutive individual district title at Riverside Golf Course in Chehalis.
Her second round score of 13-over par featured four double bogeys on the back-nine, four bogeys on the day and a handful of pars to avoid a playoff. As soon as she turned her card in, she gave teammates Megan Dolby and Natalie Buchannan a hug and left with her family.
Nearly 24 hours later, Johnson still is in disbelief she was able to battle through all the negative feelings and leave with a positive one.
“It is definitely good to feel better and reflect back on the tournament,” she said. “It is pretty cool to go back-to-back.”
Black Hills head coach Jackson Martin was far from surprised.
“She is tough and the way she carries herself, nobody would have known what was going on until 18,” he said. “The standard she holds herself to is unlike any golfer I've ever coached. It is just cool to watch.”
It wasn’t just the second straight title for Johnson. Black Hills also hoisted the district trophy inside the clubhouse for the second year in a row. Dolby fired a 208 and Buchanan registered a 210 to place 14th and 16th, respectively.
The Wolves only graduated one senior from their scoring-five last spring. They felt with what they had back in the mix, another piece of hardware was coming back to South Thurston County. Now, the 2A state tournament awaits.
It will be back at Riverside next Tuesday and Wednesday for the girls. Black Hills placed ninth out of 10 teams last season.
“We have an advantage, we know what we need to do,” Martin said. “We got to go out and execute. This course isn’t the monster they think it is anymore. The more rounds they have out here, the more confident they get.”
While Johnson left the first nine with the same score, 40, as she did on Tuesday, she needed a reliable to quickly pick her up to remain in first place on Wednesday.
The Par-5 14th was the one hole in the tourney that Johnson birdied both times. Martin quipped it is her favorite hole on the course.
Johnson agreed.
“It fits my eye and I love playing it,” she said. “I was on a bogey train and my lead was evaporating and I knew I needed to make some pars. That hole really turned my round around.”
A year ago was when Johnson entered the final day of the state tournament in second place on her home course of Tumwater Valley. She carded an 84 on the second day and ended up finishing seventh.
That elusive state championship is the final box to remain blank.
“Reflecting back on last year, I hadn’t been that nervous before. I gave myself a lot of pressure to win and I crumbled,” Johnson said. “My goal is to play my best, stick to my strategy and whatever happens, happens. I'll think about the leaderboard a little bit less and hopefully, it’ll be a top finish. If not, I want to be proud of how I played.”
W.F. West also had three state qualifiers in Anabel Moeckel (10th), Paige Duncan (15th) and Joelie Corey nabbed the 18th and final individual spot. It is a redemption of sorts for Moeckel and Duncan, who both missed being in the state field by a handful of shots last season.
Moeckel was the lone Bearcat to break 200 for the tournament with a 28-over par 198.
“I thought our girls earned it today,” W.F. West head coach Marty Marquez said. “Very happy for them all.”
Centralia junior Corin Meek will be state tournament bound for the first time in her high school career. She placed 12th with a 205 two-day total, a 15-plus spot improvement from her first two years of placing inside the top-35.
Meek had a bounty of double bogeys on day one, but regrouped on day two and cut a shot several times.
“She played her best round she’s played all year today,” Tigers head coach Hal Gronseth said. “Probabaly more than anything else, she didn’t have a blow up hole. Was very consistent and played very steady.”
Tumwater’s highest finisher was freshman Sofia Gustafson, 24th with a 226.
