GOLF
Gulls enter rebuilding year with young team
By Gary Henley
Seaside Signal
The state 4A champions
of 2014 and 2015 are in
full-on rebuilding mode in
2017.
Seaside boys golf coach
Jim Poetsch can proclaim
one thing: He has one of
the youngest teams in the
region.
That fact was evident in
the first two tournaments
of the new season for the
Gulls.
Just two years af-
ter winning their second
straight state champion-
ship, Seaside has youth up
and down the roster, with
no seniors and just one
junior.
Seaside’s second outing
of the current season was
a 43-stroke loss to Cowapa
League rival, on Seaside’s
home course at Gearhart.
“We got a chance to see
where we need to be if we
want to compete at sea-
son’s end this year,” Po-
etsch said after the match.
“Valley Catholic returns
five players from a team
that led the state tourna-
ment after the first day
last year, and they should
have a shot at the title this
year.
“We have a bunch of
young guys that don’t have
a lot of experience, but they
are getting a little better
every day,” he said. “Jack-
son (Kunde) showed some
flashes of good golf today,
as he birdied two of the
last three holes on the front
side.”
Seaside opened the sea-
son by finishing seventh out
of 10 teams at The Dalles
Invitational — a tough tour-
nament for a young team to
make its debut.
Sophomore
Connor
Merrell led the Gulls with
a 93, followed by another
sophomore, Samson Sibo-
ny, with a 96. Kunde —
Seaside’s most-experienced
player as the lone junior
— shot 100 followed by
two more sophomores, Ma-
son Shamion and Mason
Crawford.
The Dalles Invite “was
a good test for our young
guys,” Poetsch said. “Be-
sides the home team, only
five players were able to
break 90. Connor was only
a few strokes off joining that
elite group. He has worked
hard during the off-season,
and I expect him to get a lit-
tle better each week as the
season progresses.
“This course points out
any flaws in your game,
and it showed us we have
some work to do,” he said.
“But for as young as we are,
we only scored a few high-
er than last year. I’m hoping
this group sees their poten-
tial to be a good team and
works to reach that goal this
year.”
Scappoose is the defend-
ing district regional cham-
pion, as the Indians took
the team title last season
over Crook County, Valley
Catholic and Seaside.
All four teams were
within 16 strokes of each
other.
Kunde was Seaside’s
second-highest scorer in
the regional meet, behind
the graduated Aaron Rich-
ardson.
GARY HENLEY/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Jackson Kunde is Seaside’s most experienced golfer.
Verhulst takes over as head coach for Lady Gulls golf
By Gary Henley
Seaside Signal
GARY HENLEY/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Caroline Kotson is back for another season of golf for the Lady Gulls.
6 • Seaside Signal/Cannon Beach Gazette • Spring 2017 • Seagull Pride
The Seaside girls golf program
is under new management, as
Mike Verhulst takes over as head
coach for the Lady Gulls.
And the good news for Ver-
hulst — the Gulls have a good
mix of returners and new golfers.
A good turnout is half the battle in
4A girls golf, as Seaside finished
the district tournament with just
four golfers, the minimum num-
ber to qualify in team-scoring.
Of the 12 schools that took part
in last year’s district champion-
ships, only seven had complete
teams.
Seaside finished sixth among
the scoring teams, and the Gulls
have three of their four golfers re-
turning.
Caroline Kotson and Diana
Tinoco are seniors, while Mad-
dy Brown is back for her soph-
omore season.
In addition to the returners,
Seaside has four freshmen in
the lineup: Xcaret Bello, Tianna
Chen, Emma Harvey and Caitlin
Hillman.
“Caroline, Diana and Maddy
were varsity members last year,”
Verhulst said. “I’m very excited
to have a full squad and a few JV
players this year. It is great to see
interest building with the younger
ladies.”
Kotson “looks to be one of the
strongest golfers in the league,”
he said. “I look forward to seeing
how the season goes for the girls.”
Kotson was Seaside’s top golfer
in both the Cowapa League meet
and the district championships.
The District 1/4A champion in
2016 was Crook County, which
went on to a second-place team
finish at state.