After the first day of the 4A and 3A golf state tournaments Tuesday, five local golfers from four high schools have qualified for day two Wednesday, with all five ranking in the top 12 in their respective leaderboards.
Capital junior Carter Armstrong led all local golfers with a 68 (-3) on day one at the Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane. He earned a birdie on two of his first three holes and recorded three more birdies in the back nine.
Armstrong, a three-time state qualifier, certainly appears primed to improve from his 31st-place finish from 2025. If his top-five ranking holds up, he would be the first Capital male golfer to finish in the top five at state since Ryan Feyrer took second in 2018.
Joining Armstrong at the top of the 3A boys leaderboard is Timberline sophomore Micah Tilley, who finished day one tied for 10th place by carding a 69(-2). He started the day strong by earning an eagle on the second hole and picked up a pair of birdies in the back nine. No Timberline male golfer has finished in the top 10 at state since Cameron Peck finished tied for third back in 2009.
North Thurston junior Jaxon Bouchey also made the cut in the boys 3A tournament, registering a 75 (+4) and tying for 43rd after day one.
In the 4A boys tournament in DuPont, Olympia’s lone state representative Cole Johnson, a senior, made the cut for day two by posting a 74 (+2) to tie for 10th after the first day. His first five holes were made up of either birdies or bogeys, but he settled in to maintain a strong score.
Two locals are moving onto day two in the 3A girls tournament in Deer Park, including Capital senior Anna Duerr, who ranks tied for eighth with a 74 (+2) and North Thurston freshman Nora Huff, who carded a 75 (+3) to sit at 12th.
Duerr, a Gonzaga University commit and four-time state qualifier, is looking for her second straight state medal after finishing seventh last season. She also took 15th in 2024 and 21st in 2023. Her final state trip started with a bang as she knocked in two birdies in her first three holes but had three straight bogeys in the back nine.
No North Thurston female golfer has earned a top-10 state finish since Olivia Lowe took eighth in 2011, but Huff made a strong first impression in her state debut, carding a +3. She earned back-to-back birdies to close out the front nine, including stroking two on a par-3.
Timberline junior Jaden Clark carded a 77 (+6), Timberline freshman Hudson Payne recorded a 78 (+7), and River Ridge senior Jaxon Kim posted a 79 (+8). Capital junior Will Schumacher (11-over 82), Timberline sophomore Phi Lee (13-over 84) and Timberline senior Brayden Narayan (14-over 85) also missed the cut.
The Capital girls team made the cut for day two for the first time in school history. Senior Brianna Morrison carded a 14-over 86, sophomore Kylie Read posted a 15-over 87, and both junior Bronwyn Green and senior Elsa Schreck recorded a 22-over 94.
Two Timberline golfers qualified for state but missed the cut for day two. Junior Kaelie Heminger shot a 90 (+18), and senior Aniela McGregor notched a 99 (+27).
Olympia’s lone girls state representative Leilani Nguyen, a junior, missed the cut in Lacey, carding a 20-over 92 on day one.
