Crescent Valley lurking in trophy range after first day at OGA course

WOODBURN — Corvallis High sophomore Katie Zajicek is in contention for an individual state title, and Crescent Valley is on pace to reach their preseason goal after the first day of the OSAA 5A girls state golf tournament at the OGA Golf Course.

Zajicek, in her second state tournament, is four shots back of Pendleton’s McKennon Cimmiyotti after carding an 86 on Monday.

She is one shot behind a Mid-Willamette Conference rival, West Albany sophomore Katie Ortman, heading into today’s final round.

The Raiders, who placed fifth in last year’s state tournament, are in fourth after a 400 on Monday.

Bend leads with a 369, with Crook Country in second at 385 and West Albany third at 397.

“At the beginning of the season we set a goal for fourth place because we got fifth place last year,” CV sophomore Caitlyn Doyle said. “So we’ll try to do our best to get that fourth place.”

Doyle led the Raiders with a 91 on Monday. Doyle and her teammates started on the back nine on Monday.

She was five shots better on the front nine, carding a 43 after making the turn with a 48.

She said starting on the back nine didn’t make that much of a difference, but it was helpful as the round wore on.

“It was kind of nice having the goofy holes like four to do after I warmed up a little bit,” she said.

Hayley Brown, who recorded her personal best round of 80 at the district meet last Tuesday on the same course, finished with a 93 on Monday.

“It was OK,” Brown said. “I was trying not to think about (the 80) and it didn’t really work that well.”

She added: “My head was not in it today, let’s put it that way. I don’t know, I had the shots, just couldn’t put it together. Just one of those days.”

While a number of players struggled on Monday, CV’s Shannon Miller improved her score from last week, finishing with a 102 to help the Raiders’ cause.

Brown said the Raiders are hoping to make an improvement today, much like they did last week when they shaved 18 strokes off their first-day performance.

“We have some scores that should be lower (today),” Brown said. “Most of us are pretty good under pressure, so the second day is let’s have fun here. Let’s just pull it together and get some strokes back. I think we can do it.”

And familiarity with the course could help. The Raiders have played their last four competitive rounds at OGA.

“I feel like it’s my home course because I have played here so much,” Doyle said with a laugh.

While the Raiders are in contention for a top-4 finish, CHS’s Zajicek can make some noise in the medalist race.

Zajicek said she was surprised with how close she was to the top of the leaderboard after what she called an “average” day.

“I didn’t have any amazing holes, but I didn’t have any devastating holes,” she said. “I was just glad to get by with only a double bogey as my worst hole, I think.”

Having played in last year’s state tournament helped control her nerves this year, she said.

And while Zajicek is in third, she isn’t thinking too much about a state title.

“Obviously if I win, it would be amazing, but I’m not looking to win my sophomore year,” Zajicek said. “I have two more years that I can improve a lot.

“I am trying to have a good time. It’s been a lot more relaxing. I’m just trying to go out there and have fun.”

Teams scores: Bend 369, Crook County 385, West Albany 397, Crescent Valley 400, Glencoe 407, Thurston 453, Liberty 454, Cleveland 462, Marshfield 463, Crater 528, Ashland 536

Top 10: McKennon Cimmiyotti (Pendleton) 82, Katie Ortman (West Albany) 85, Chelsey Lind (Mountain View) 86, Katie Zajicek (Corvallis) 86, Brittany Bruening (Bend) 87, Jennifer Hilts (Bend) 89, Soojii Namgung (Glencoe) 89, Caitlyn Doyle (Crescent Valley) 91, Amanda Estrada (Glencoe) 91, Kaitlyn Oster (Liberty) 91

Crescent Valley scores: Caitlyn Doyle 42-48—91, Hayley Brown (46-47—93, Shannon Miller 49-53—102, Jessie Willes 58-56—114, Char Grossnicklaus 58-60—118

Corvallis scores: Katie Zajicek 44-42—86, Kayla Laney 52-59—111, Karly Laney 61-57—118

West Albany scores: Katie Ortman 42-43—85, Kara Hartman 50-49—99, Hailey Thomas 50-52—102, Kristine Draper 58-53—111, Sarah Rudzik 60-54—114