McDonnell, Fitzpatrick punch tickets to state

(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Caroline Hawkins, pictured earlier in the season, finished a solid senior year with a 97 at districts on Monday.

(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Lake Wilks, pictured at the Idaho Club last week, shot an 84 in the final round of the season at The Links.

| May 9, 2017 1:00 AM

(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Lake Wilks, pictured at the Idaho Club last week, shot an 84 in the final round of the season at The Links.

POST FALLS — While there were no team titles on Monday, a pair of golfers did play well enough to earn a spot at the 4A state golf tournament next week, as senior Nina McDonnell and junior Damien Fitzpatrick each finished third on Monday at the 4A Region 1 golf tournament at The Links in Post Falls.

Dylan Knight shot a 1-under-par 72 to lead Lakeland’s boys to the team title, while Moscow won the girls regional title by two strokes over Lakeland.

Only the regional champs and top three individuals qualified for state next Monday and Tuesday at Pinecrest Golf Course in Idaho Falls.

Kenzie Roth of Lakeland qualified by finishing second, as did third-place finishers McDonnell, who shot 94 to get in by one stroke, and Fitzpatrick, who carded an 80 to extend his season.

“There was no wind, sunshine, the course was in excellent condition. Our boys didn’t do too well,” admitted Bulldog head coach Tom Tharp, noting they battled hard nonetheless. “It was a good effort. Even though the scores were high, they didn’t give up. All in all it was a pretty good season.”

Caroline Hawkins shot 97 in her final round, and Lake Wilks once again was steady-Freddy with an 84.

McDonnell and Fitpatrick will now get a week to fine tune their games and make a run at earning a state medal with a top 20 finish starting on Monday in Idaho Falls.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES (winner to state) — 1, Lakeland 327. 2, Moscow 354. 3, Sandpoint 355.

INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Dylan Knight, Lakeland, 72. 2, Kevin Eng, Moscow, 78. 3, Damien Fitzpatrick, Sandpoint, 80.

LAKELAND — Dylan Knight 72, Ashton Waddington 84, Travis Derrick 86, Rhonin Edwards 103, Cole Tingey 85.

MOSCOW — Kevin Eng 78, Tayler Parsons 93, Will Murphy 86, Jake Nielson 97, Garrett Stucki 126.

SANDPOINT — Damien Fitzpatrick 80, Nick Crowley 94, Lake Wilks 84, Jacob Humrich 107, Joel Johnson 97.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES (winner to state) — 1, Moscow 388. 2, Lakeland 390. 3, Sandpoint 415.

INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Makena Rauch, Moscow, 76. 2, Kenzie Roth, Lakeland, 87. 3, Nina McDonnell, Sandpoint, 94.

MOSCOW — Makena Rauch 76, Sarah Thorsteinson 95, Ally Loomis 105, Karson Jensen 112, Libby Loomis 138.

LAKELAND — Kenzie Roth 87, Madeline Neff 99, Monica Higbee 108, Sydney Suko 96, Makayla Higbee 111.

SANDPOINT — Nina McDonnell 94, Caroline Hawkins 97, Hannah Hurst 104, Cheyenne Nicholson 120, Morgan Hogue 121.