Boys golf preseason coaches reports

Union's Eddie Abellar tees off at the Jeff Hudson Invitational high school golf tournament at Tri-Mountain Golf Course, Tuesday, September 10, 2013. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

Union’s Eddie Abellar tees off at the Jeff Hudson Invitational high school golf tournament at Tri-Mountain Golf Course, Tuesday, September 10, 2013. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

Preseason reports from high school boys golf coaches

4A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE

BATTLE GROUND

Coach: Eric Liljedahl

Key players: Alex Grymko, so.; Jed McBride, sr.; Waylon Kasberg, jr.; Kyle Pfister, so.; Serge Hannson, so.; Casey Spencer, fr.; Brent Spencer, fr.; Trevor Reese, fr.

Outlook: After losing a couple key players to graduation, the Tigers are rebuilding with a lot of young players.

CAMAS

Coach: Ed Givens

Key players: Brian Humphreys, so.; Braeden Campbell, sr.; Brett Ball, so.

Outlook: The Papermakers look loaded with defending 4A individual champion Humphreys leading the way.

EVERGREEN

No report submitted

HERITAGE

Coach: Dwight Patterson

Key players: Gabe Brye, jr.; Jackson Wagner, jr.; Vaschon Dills, so.; Austin Cornell, so.; Avery Bailey, so.

Outlook: The Timberwolves return a young program: no seniors and seven freshmen and sophomores.

SKYVIEW

Coach: Eric Estes

Key players: Brady Nash, jr.; Brandon Zilles, sr.; Jackson Guffey, so.; Jacob Jones, sr.

UNION

Coach: Gary Mills

Key players: Eddie Abellar, jr.; Ben Gruher, jr.

Outlook: Abellar steps into the role as team leader after placing third at 4A state tournament last year.

3A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE

COLUMBIA RIVER

Coach: David Long

Key players: Brandon Barnes; Sam Walker.

Outlook: River has six returning players led by all-leaguer Barnes.

FORT VANCOUVER

Coach: Mike Witkowski

Key players: Trent Standard, sr., Fort Vancouver; Spencer Tibbits, fr.

Outook: Tibbits, an experienced junior tournament player, joins defending 3A district champion Standard to form a potent 1-2 punch for the Trappers.

HUDSON’S BAY

No report submitted

KELSO

No report submitted

MOUNTAIN VIEW

Coaches: John McCausland, James Peterson

Key players: Zach Ng, sr.; Austin Chang, sr.; Peter Lu, jr.; Jared Berg, jr.; Christian Maddox, so.

Outlook: The Thunder graduated eight seniors off last year’s league championship squad. Ng placed fifth at district last season.

PRAIRIE

Coach: Paul Shapard

Key players: Jace VavRosky, sr.; Tucker Reilly, sr.; Steven Whitlock, sr.; Weston Parks, jr.; Reid Maahs, jr.; David Harring, so.

Outlook: The Falcons return a solid group of juniors and seniors. But other team have also improved as Prairie looks to challenge for the league title.

2A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE

HOCKINSON

Coach: Bruce Tedder

Key players: Diego De La Torre, jr.; Casey Turner, sr.; Tanner Christensen, sr.; Taylor Rennaker, sr.; Michael Phillips, jr.,; Jack Bloss, jr.

Outlook: The Hawks return three key players from last year’s state championship team and remain hopeful for improvement with some underclassmen improvement to make another for state.

MARK MORRIS

No report submitted

RA LONG

No report submitted

RIDGEFIELD

No report submitted

WASHOUGAL

Coach: Brian Anderson

Key players: Bryce Samwel, jr.; Jacob Weis, sr.

Outlook: The Panthers had 17 golfers turn out for the program, including eight first-time players. Samwel qualified for state last season.

1A TEAMS

LA CENTER

Coach: Rusty Kigginger

Key player: Keaton Wilbanks, sr.

Outlook: Wilbanks is a returning state qualifier, leading the Wildcats to challenge Woodland for league title.

WOODLAND

Coach: Aaron Blackwelder

Key players: Tanner Huddleston, sr.; Ryan Sturdivan, jr.; Dalton Burnett, sr.; Hayden Huddleston, so.; Jon Watts, jr.

Outlook: The Beavers return four players who qualified for state last year, including Tanner Huddleston who place eighth at state. The Beavers won the 1A league title and placed second in district.

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