Friday Harbor High School golf team coach Jack Rice has his hands full this year with over twenty golfers between the boys and girls teams. With a large number of returning players and new talent already showing Rice is feeling good about the upcoming season.

“We’ve got what I call the Four Horsemen, Jess Hargrove, Cole Thomas, Jesse Kowolitz and Keegan Herbert, all seniors who have played together all four years,” said Rice. “Plus all five of our returning senior boys made it to tri-districts last year.”

Currently the boy’s team has 19 players including two eighth graders who are allowed to play due to the team’s 2B district status.

Rice is also keeping his eye on Dylan Posenjack who made it to tri-districts last year as a freshman and spent this past summer improving his game while working at the golf course and Joe Stewart who is returning after playing soccer the past few spring seasons.

Eighth grader Levi Doenges has also so far shown a lot of potential.

The ladies golf team has three players this year, sophomores Laura Willows and Tenley Nelsen and Senior Llaria Verri who is an Italian exchange student. Rice notes that Verri, who has shown quite a bit of natural ability, joined the team in the hopes of keeping up with her parents on the golf course upon her return home to Italy later this year. Both Nelsen and Willows show great potential and Rice is looking forward to their contribution to the team over the next few years.

The team began practices the last week of February and their first game was March 15 at home against Mount Vernon Christian and La Conner. On April 29 the team will host the Second Annual Friday Harbor Invitational, inviting four other teams to play 18 hole matches against Friday Harbor in preparation for League Districts. “The kids love it,” said Rice of the invitational matches, “They get to play 18 holes instead of the usual 9, we hand out medals, it’s really great.”

The team practices and competes at home at the San Juan Island Golf and Country Club who has consistenly supported the team by providing equipment, balls and free course time. “The support from our local golf course in phenomenal,” said Rice. “We see these other teams around Seattle and they have to fight for course time and here ours opens their arms to these kids and let’s them play for free.”

The golf team season schedule can be found at www.nw1a2bathletics.com.