Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA - On a hot, windless day when four players broke par and a fifth matched even par-72, Clarkston's Michael Baldeck came out on top during the final round of the 19th annual Banner Bank Junior Invitational golf tournament that finished up Friday at the Walla Walla Country Club.

Baldeck, who went into the second day of the 36-hole event three shots off the pace after firing a first-round 74 on Thursday, roared back with a 4-under-par 68 Friday for a 142 total and a one-shot victory over Samson Martinez of Pasco and Jack Eiden of Richland in the boys 15-17 age division.

Martinez and Eiden, who matched 1-under-par 143 totals for the tournament, also made up significant ground during Friday's round.

Martinez fired a 3-under-par 69 after opening the tournament on Thursday with a 2-over 74. And Eiden, who opened play Thursday with a 76, turned in the best round of the tournament on Friday with a 5-under-par 67 to secure his share of second place.

First-round leaders Eric Ansett of Spokane and Jeff Marcum of West Richland weren't able to duplicate the 1-under-par 71s they shot on Thursday.

Ansett carded a 2-over-par 74 Friday and fell back into a tie for fourth place with Tanner Martin of Richland, both at 1-over 145 for two trips around the lush country club course. Martin turned in a 1-under-par 71 Friday, improving by three shots over Thursday's score of 74.

Marcum had an even more difficult time than Ansett on Friday as he shot a 78 and saw his 36-hole score balloon to 149. That left him alone in eighth place in the 34-player field.

Rylee Iacolucci of South Cle Elum, Wash., matched even-par 72 Friday and finished the tournament at 150, tied for ninth place with Hunter Thompson of Richland, who was one shot over par at 73 Friday. Iacolucci was six shots better on the second day of play while Thompson improved by three strokes.

Walla Walla's Ryan Baumgart and Richland's Lorenzo Cole, who shot even-par 72s and were just one shot in back of the co-leaders going into the second round of play, deadlocked again Thursday, each shooting 74 to finish tied for sixth place at 146.

Walla Walla's Nick Atwood shot 76 Friday, a two-shot improvement over Thursday's round, and tied for 16th place at 154. Another Walla Wallan, Dean Atkinson, also carded 76 Friday, four strokes better than his first round, and finished 20th at 156.

Ryan Ness of Tualatin, Ore., the grandson of Walla Wallans Don and Jean Parker, finished with an 81 and was in a three-way tie for 23rd place at 158. And Pomeroy's Joel Meyers carded an 82 and earned a share of 28th place at 163.

In the girls 15-17 age division, Kristin Strankman of Richland recorded her second straight 3-over-par 75 to finish at 150, good for a one-shot victory over Kaceelyn Pouttu of Kellogg, Idaho. Pouttu shot 74 on Friday, the best round of the tournament in her division, after opening play on Thursday with a 77.

Kristen Hansen of Spokane, who shared the lead with Strankman after 18 holes, shot 80 on Friday and fell back into third place at 155. She was one shot better than Pasco's Kelsey Aiello, who finished 79-77-156.

It was another stroke back to Taylor Anderson of Moscow, Idaho, who scored 77 Friday after opening play Thursday with an 80.

Jessica Huntsman, the only Walla Walla player in the division, shot her second straight 84, and her 168 was good for seventh place in the field of 16.

In the girls 12-14 age group, Walla Walla's Emily Baumgart held on for the victory despite seeing her score jump by five strokes and her first-round lead whittled from 12 shots to six. Baumgart scored 88 during the second round.

Meanwhile, Pasco's Jalayne Martinez fired an 82, the best score of the tournament in her division and 13 strokes better than her opening-round 95, as she finished second at 177 and closed to within six strokes of Baumgart at the finish line.

Teresa Meyers of Pomeroy shot 118 Friday and was at 228 for the tournament, finishing seventh in the seven-girl field.

And in the boys 12-14 division, first place went to Michael Brutocao of Spoken, and finished at 151 and was six shots in front of a trio of rivals. Brutocao held a two-shot advantage after shooting 75 on Thursday and followed with a 76 on Friday.

Benjamin Gleason of Lewiston matched even-par 72 on Friday, easily the best score of the tournament in his division, and was one of three players at 157. However, Gleason's opening-round 85 proved to be more than he could overcome.

Blake Ellingsen of Spokane and Quinton Parnell of Richland matched 79s on Friday after each shot 78 Thursday as they also finished the 36-hole event at 157.

Walla Walla's Scott Kimball placed eighth in the 12-player field by shooting an 82 Friday, which was three strokes better than his first-round 85 and left him at 167 for the tournament.

Banner Bank Invitational

Final Results

At Walla Walla Country Club

Boys 15-17 Division

Par 72, 6,476 Yards

Michael Baldeck, Clarkston 74-68-142

Jack Eiden, Richland 76-67-143

Samson Martinez, Pasco 74-68-143

Eric Ansett, Spokane 71-74-145

Tanner Martin, Richland 74-71-145

Ryan Baumgart, Walla Walla 72-74-146

Cole Lorenzo, Richland 72-74-146

Jeff Marcum, West Richland 71-78-149

Hunter Thompson, Richland 77-73-150

Rylee Iacolucci, South Cle Elum 78-72-150

Austin Billeter, Mead 74-77-151

Drew McCullough, Richland 74-78-152

Kyle Kaufman, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 76-76-152

Tyler McQuilkin, Colbert 75-78-153

Andrew Raab, Yakima 76-77-153

Nick Atwood, Walla Walla 78-76-154

Andrew Dodge, Lewiston 80-74-154

Tye Morrison, Mead 77-78-155

Evan Dyar, Spokane 79-76-155

Dean Atkinson, Walla Walla 80-76-156

John Duffin, Hayden Lake, Idaho 81-76-157

Daniel Cruzen, Kennewick 83-74-157

Corey Beaver, KPost Falls, Idaho 73-85-158

Alec White, West Richland 76-82-158

Drew Ness, Tualatin, Ore. 77-81-158

Dakota Pearce, Liberty Lake 80-78-158

Ryan Newcomb, Nine Mile Falls 77-84-161

Joel Meyers, Pomeroy 81-82-163

Garrett Adair, Moscow, Idaho 83-80-163

Cole Risley, West Richland 81-83-164

Eric Dahl, Richland 84-81-165

Andrew Hatton, Richland 86-80-166

Danny Marchese, Richland 84-84-168

Josh Garza, West Richland 87-82-169

Girls 15-17 Division

Par 72, 5,367 Yards

Kristin Strankman, Richland 75-75-150

Kaceelyn Pouttu, Kellogg, Idaho 77-74-151

Kristen Hansen, Spokane 75-80-155

Kelsey Aiello, Pasco 79-77-156

Taylor Anderson, Moscow, Idaho 80-77-157

Yvonne LaCoursiere, Hermiston 81-85-166

Jessica Huntsman, Walla Walla 84-84-168

Kelci Robertson, Richland 79-90-169

Neydeen Martinez, Pasco 84-88-172

Katie Stephens, Richland 85-88-173

Nicole Berg, Spokane 86-88-174

Hope Neidhold, Richland 88-88-176

Molly David, Richland 92-98-190

Vanessa Goodwin, Moses Lake 98-92-190

Miranda Swanson, Yakima 100-94-194

Faith Williams, Pullman 108-99-207

Boys 12-14 Division

Par 72, 5,682 Yards

Michael Brutacao, Spokane 75-76-151

Benjamin Gleason, Lewiston 85-72-157

Blake Ellingsen, Spokane 78-79-157

Quinton Parnell, Richland 78-79-157

Holden Backes, Yakima 78-81-159

Aaron Seabeck, East Wenatchee 77-87-164

Mathew Heckel, Spokane 80-84-164

Scott Kimball, Walla Walla 85-82-167

Austin Brown, Kennewick 81-88-169

Nathan Nulliner, Yakima 82-87-169

Joseph Fench, Yakima 88-89-177

Cody Culletto, Clarkston 93-84-177

Girls 12-14 Division

Par 72, 5,367 Yards

Emily Baumgart, Walla Walla 83-88-171

Jalayne Martinez, Pasco 95-82-177

Danika Palm, Richland 99-92-191

Megan Billeter, Mead 103-96-199

Allison Duffin, Hayden Lake, Idaho 105-105-210

Mikayla Morse, Spokane 105-111-216

Teresa Meyers, Pomeroy 110-118-228