Dexter Simonds was the Patriots’ top finisher, ending up tied for sixth with an overall score of 143. Chase McIntosh finished right behind him at 145, followed by Ben Graham at 146.

Collin Fletcher finished tied for 31st, while Alex Wilsey and Luke Hall did not advance past the first round.

In girls play, Liberty sent three golfers to the 2A state tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course near Spokane, and all three finished in the top 40.

Sami Galluzzo had the top finish, tying for 31st with an overall score of 189. Taylor Woo and Hanna Hanson rounded out the Patriots’ qualifiers, shooting 194 and 196, respectively.

Hazen

Nick Yee was Hazen’s lone state representative. He did not make the cut after the first day of the 3A boys state championship in Kennewick.

By Greg Farrar
Ben Graham, Liberty High School sophomore, watches his tee shot fly on the 309 yard, par 4 eighth hole Sept. 17 at Maplewood Golf Course on the way to a 4-under, 32 round over nine holes for medalist honors. Also under par for the Patriots was senior Dexter Simonds with a 35. The nonleague golf match against Issaquah was won by the Eagles, 181 to 189 strokes. The sophomore won WIAA Athlete of the Week for his efforts.

Hazen golf coach Teresa Caluori expects a lot from her players and issued the following list of guidelines for players to follow when she took over the program four years ago:

1. Grades — Homework has priority.

By Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times
Teresa Caluori, Hazen High School golf coach, holds the pin flag and looks on during a team practice round at Auburn Golf Course. Putting is senior Ethan Morris (center), as senior David Hu watches.

2. Safety — Be aware of others.

3. Etiquette — Kind, courteous always

4. On time — Two-stroke penalty or DQ

5. Organized — Uniform, clubs, balls, etc.

6. Good citizen — On and off golf course

7. Knowledge — Of the rules of golf

8. Nutrition and fitness — You are an athlete; 9 holes is 2.5 miles.

9. Sportsmanship — Good winners, good losers

10. Fun! — We can find good in anything.

Teresa Caluori saw a group of golfers from Hazen High School in need of more structure.

During late summer, before the 2010 fall season, the Hazen golf team was losing its golf coach. When Caluori, an LPGA teaching pro at Renton’s Maplewood Golf Course, saw the team aimless, coachless and without focus at the Maplewood driving range that summer, she knew she had to step in.

“This kind of happened on a mistake,” Caluori said. “The kids didn’t have a coach. Their coach resigned. And working here, I saw them practicing. So, I asked them, ‘Where’s your coach?’ And, they said, ‘We don’t have one.’?”

Caluori applied for the job and, almost instantly, the program gained credibility. The lost looks quickly turned into drive and direction, thanks to Caluori demanding more accountability and a more professional approach from her players.

Four years later, the Highlanders boys team is making school history.

Even with Oct. 10’s 97-90 loss to Seamount League power Kennedy Catholic, Hazen (9-1) had already wrapped up at least a share of the school’s first regular-season league championship in golf.

Hazen defeated JFK (8-1) Oct. 1, which was believed to be the Highlanders’ first win over the Lancers since 2003.

“Beating Kennedy was huge,” said Caluori, a 1982 graduate of Juanita High School who never played high school or college golf. “This 2013 Hazen Highlander team of boys is the best team I have had in the four years I have been coaching them.”

Caluori, who started playing golf at age 20 to spend more time with her cancer-stricken grandmother, takes pride in teaching her Hazen players about the game, but just as much about life.

“When I came in, I had my rules,” said Caluori, who aspires to be a college coach. “I laid out my 10 Golden Rules.”

It all boils down to respecting others, being passionate and learning from a patient teacher of the game.

“We want to try to set a standard for other students, so they wish they were on the golf team,” she said. “I want all of my players to be respectful.”

The Highlanders possess the kind of depth to do well at the Seamount League tournament on Oct. 26 at Auburn Golf Course. Sophomore Nick Yee, who has been medalist in seven matches, leads a tight pack of talented golfers.

Seniors Ethan Morris, David Hu and Shae Slater and sophomores Tyler Learn and Cooper Page round out a strong top six. Hu has been medalist twice and Morris, who tied for 36th at state Class 2A last year, has been medalist once this season. Morris, Hu and Yee have all shot season-low scores of 35. Eleven of 15 team members have qualified for the league tournament.

A lot of the team’s success has come down to better preparation and higher expectations.

That preparation has led to the milestone regular-season crown already, but the Highlanders have their sights on hanging a banner at Hazen with a strong showing in the league tournament.

“There’s not a single banner in the gym for golf,” Hu said. “Every single sport has one, just not golf yet. It’s significant, because all the other banners for sports are in 1984 and 1983 and this will be recent.”

And for that, Hazen has Caluori and her attention to detail to thank.

“She expects better out of us than any other coach has,” Morris said. “She expects us to get better. She does keep it fun and relaxed. She has a good time with it, and everyone likes her. Everyone plays better for her.”

The Highlanders ultimately fell short in the tournament, missing the league championship by 18 points Oct. 26. Hu was Hazen’s top finisher in third place, followed by Page in sixth, Morris in seventh, Ryan Gayte in ninth, and Learn and Spencer Meade finished tied for tenth.

Slater and Yee finished just outside the top 10, at 11th and 12th, respectively.

Last year, the top three finishers went to state, while the next three went to a state qualifier. Caluori said the team wouldn’t know the actual players moving on until April.

Reporter Christina Corrales-Toy contributed to this story.

Coaching the Seahawks

Through a chance meeting recently at the Maplewood driving range, Caluori recently starting giving golf lessons to Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. She had no idea who Sherman and Browner were when she admonished them for pulling out their drivers right away instead of warming up properly.

As the fall sports season comes to a close, athletes from Hazen and Liberty high schools are being honored for their athletic achievements as all-league teams are announced. Players and coaches select all-league teams annually. Email additional all-league honors to newcastle@isspress.com.

Hazen boys tennis

The following Hazen High School tennis players were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

FIRST TEAM: Gregg Furumasu.

SECONT TEAM: Jon Le.

HONORABLE MENTION: Jason Lui.

Hazen cross-country

The following Hazen High School cross-country runners were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

BOYS: Daniel Karpman, Sr.; Marshall Melrose, Sr.; Keith Beasley, Sr.

GIRLS: Kristin Ericksen, So.

Hazen girls soccer

The following Hazen High School soccer players were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

FIRST TEAM: Chelsea Delgado, Jr.; Gabby Brower, Jr.; Cindy Hanson, Jr.; Courtney Kiteley, Jr.

SECOND TEAM: Brianne Sherin, Jr.; Dee Dee Green, Sr.; Melissa Carney, Jr.; Erin Zetterberg, Fr.

HONORABLE MENTION: Cameron Devereaux, Nicole Anderson, Korbyn Walls, Kristina Holm, Jenifer Bourbonnais

Hazen swim and dive

The following Hazen High School swimmers were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

FIRST TEAM: Amy LeBar, Sr.; Talisa Wibmer, Jr.; Kourtney Brunings, So.

SECOND TEAM: Anna Collons, So.; Kristin LeBar, Fr.

Hazen golf:

The following Hazen High School golfers were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

Boys

FIRST TEAM: David Hu, Nick Yee.

SECOND TEAM: Brody Graybeal.

HONORABLE MENTION: Ethan Morris.

Girls

SECOND TEAM: Samantha Kelly

Coach Teresa Caluori was selected as the league’s coach of the year.

Hazen volleyball

The following Hazen High School volleyball players were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

FIRST TEAM: Kelsey Allen, Jr.; Marcela Macias, So.

SECOND TEAM: Shelby Sturman, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION: Sarah Sherrod.

Liberty volleyball

The following Liberty High School volleyball players were named to the KingCo 3A/2A all-league team:

HONORABLE MENTION: Shea O’Brien, Jessica Pickering.

Liberty football

The following Liberty High School football players were named to the KingCo 3A/2A all-league team:

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE: WR Tynan Gilmore, Sr.; WR Scott Dean, Sr.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE: LB Scott Dean, Sr.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE: DT/NG Max Hill, Sr.; DE Nick Short, Sr.; S Tynan Gilmore, Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION: Russell Boston, Di Wang, Nate Jarvis, Sam Dodt

Hazen football

The following Hazen High School football players were named to the Seamount League all-league team:

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Cody Moorhead, Sr.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE: OG Cody Moorhead, Sr.; P Kyle Nelson, Sr.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE: DT Tyler Wicks, Sr.; DE Cody Moorhead, Sr.; LB Zach Cable, Sr.; DB Kyle Nelson, Sr.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE: RB Joe Glaefke, Jr.; C Bryce Sowder, Sr.; OT Tyler Wicks, Sr.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE: DB Marquise Lee, So.

HONORABLE MENTION: Jordan Abdullah, Isaiah Davis, Jeremy Hazlet, Mason Jacobs, Drew Kelly, Tony Nipert, Dominic Orsillo.

Liberty girls soccer

The following Liberty High School soccer players were named to the KingCo 3A/2A all-league team:

FIRST TEAM: F Kailiana Johnson, Sr.; MF Kiana Hafferty, Sr.

SECOND TEAM: D Taylor Sekyra, So.; D Katie Noonan, Sr.; MF Tara Johnson, Jr.; MF Nicolle Marlow, Sr.; F Kali Youngdahl, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION: Mollie Cooke, Amy Ellenberg, Leah Grefthen, Jacquelyn Anderson.

Coach Tami Nguyen, in her first year at the helm for the Patriots, was selected as the league’s coach of the year.

New grass grows on an L-shaped strip of land surrounding the southwest end of Snoqualmie’s Cascade View Elementary School, and so does the hope of a community to see children play baseball and soccer on it next fall.

Scott Phelps, a Cascade View parent and the superintendent at The Golf Club at Newcastle, offered a helping hand to help make the dream of the field a reality.

The field is owned by the Snoqualmie Valley School District and Little League organizations have been helping out with the work, Phelps said.

By Sebastian Moraga
A onetime rough spot near Cascade View Elementary School in Snoqualmie is becoming a real ball field thanks to people like The Golf Club at Newcastle Superintendent Scott Phelps.

“We want to help create some field space for them and they are helping finance the remodel work out there,” he said.

Ray Wilson, principal of Cascade View Elementary School, sees the little blades of grass covering the once-bumpy, weedy dirt and smiles.

“It’s the best I’ve seen this field since I’ve been here,” Wilson said, who has been the principal of Cascade View for three years.

The field is almost entirely covered in green. While not pool-table smooth, it looks fresh, alive and well-tended. Wilson said there’s a reason for that — a big-time collaboration of members of community like Phelps, the school and the Snoqualmie Valley Youth Soccer Association.

He also credited the Falls Little League of Snoqualmie and Fall City for their involvement.

“We re-seeded it, tried to fill out some of the holes,” Phelps said, “started adding some fertilizer, repaired the irrigation system where it needed to be repaired.”

The key for the field’s survival, Phelps and Wilson agreed, will be to get a continuous maintenance program in place so the field won’t fall into disrepair again.

“The PTSA is talking to some private contractors to do the maintenance on it, rather than have the school district do it,” Phelps said.

The group has received bids but has yet to pick one, he added.

The field is roped off right now, off-limits to the children in the school while the grass grows in.

It will double as a playground for the school and the community, Phelps said. Baseball and soccer may crowd the schedule, but kickball and Frisbee will also have a place.

“I understand there’s a field shortage here in the Snoqualmie Valley,” Phelps said. “So it will be good to have another field for all the kids to play on.”

Liberty High School junior Krysta Dawson finished 20th in the 3A state golf tournament in May with a two-day score of 175. By Greg Farrar

At the state track and field championships at Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School on May 28, Hazen senior Kyle Martin took third in the pole vault with a jump of 14 feet. In the girls 100-meter dash preliminaries, senior Starr Williams took ninth with a time of 12.82 seconds.

Williams did not advance to the finals, finishing .05 seconds behind the eighth place finisher.

Liberty golfers Krysta Dawson, Alex DuVall and Molly Culwell took to the state golf tournament at Liberty Lake Golf Course in Spokane May 24 and 25.

Dawson shot an 86 on the par-70 course, taking 18th place the first day and advancing to the second round. DuVall and Culwell shot 96 and 97 to finish 50th and 52nd, respectively. DuVall and Culwell did not advance to the second round.

In the second round, Dawson shot an 89, bringing her two-day score to 175 for a 20th-place finish.

 never golfed, nor did he own any equipment.

With nothing to lose, and only one week of practice under his belt, Mark set out with his mother’s golf clubs. He barely made the team that year — but he has been on it ever since.

Four years later, he’s now the Seamount League golf champion. He was also named Seamount League golfer of the year. 

Mark topped the field Oct. 16 at the Elk Run Golf Course in Maple Valley, which hosted this year’s Seamount League Golf Tournament. He shot a 2-over-par 73 in the first round, and finished with a 79 for a grand total of 152.

“I was not surprised at all with Kekoa’s finish,” said Jeff Wood, Hazen golf coach. “He had a real solid season, and had been relatively consistent all year in his play.” 

Mark said he knew he had the skills to put him on top, and believed that it was just a matter of keeping it all together while on the course.

“I tried to just focus on my own game and not worry about any of the other competitors,” Mark said. “I wanted to stay strong mentally, and that’s what I did.”

By winning the league title, Mark automatically qualified for a spot at the 3A State Golf Championships. The 2009 contest is May 27-28 at the Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland.

“I’ve been told the wind is always blowing into your face at Meadow Springs during the spring season,” he said. “I know that there’s also a lot of water there.”

Mark has yet to play the course, but said he plans to work in some practice rounds prior to state.

Wood, who was named Seamount League Coach of the Year, said “putting the ball on the right part of the green based on pin location” will be a huge factor for Mark’s success on the Meadow Springs course.

While Mark looks ahead to improving on last season’s disappointing 58th place showing at state, one of his teammates must wait a few more months to see if he gets to go.

Tanner Bartlein, a sophomore, finished eight strokes behind Mark at the league tournament and wound up in a three-way tie for third place. He’ll need to finish in the top five at a state qualifier event in May at the Eagles Pride Golf Course in Fort Lewis.

“Both of the players are just outstanding young men,” Wood said. 

Mark said he’s exploring the possibility of golfing at the collegiate level, and has his sights set on eventually qualifying for the Nationwide or Nike tours. 

But for now, his main focus is to place in the top 10 at state. It’s an attainable goal, considering how much he has already accomplished in such a short amount of time.

“Golf is my true passion,” he said. “I’m lucky I found it.”

Chris Nguyen is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.