One is the state veteran, a senior whose been there and done that on golf’s prep circuit.
The other is a wide-eyed, 14-year-old, a kid who watched the veteran from the sidelines a year ago despite not being on the team.
This fall, the two Kentridge golfers — senior Sean McMullen and freshman Ahren Young — have come together, forming one of the most vaunted 1-2 punches in the South Puget Sound League North Division.
They are, in essence, the perfect teammates.
McMullen, a three-time state placer, is hoping to make one final run at a Class 4A championship. He has enjoyed his share of success at the state level, taking 39th as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and then falling back a few steps last season, when he finished 16th.
“I still haven’t shown what I can do,” McMullen conceded. “I still need to prove myself.”
While McMullen still feels he has something to prove, Young is simply trying to glean all he can from his senior teammate, a friend he readily admits looking up to like an older brother. In just a handful of matches this season, Young already has shown that he has learned plenty from McMullen and that he belongs in the same breath as the elite golfers in the North Division.
Bitter rivals?
Not this pair. More like mentor and able-swinging pupil.
“Sean and Ahren are good rivals. They push each other and have fun with it,” said Kentridge coach Mark Champoux. “They’re good friends on and off the course. They’re rooting for each other.”
That much was evident last week, when Kentridge knocked off two-time defending North Division champion Kentwood at Fairwood Golf and Country Club, 90-87. On the par-35 home course of the Chargers, Young carded a 33 for nine holes and thus earning medalist honors with an impressive 20 points.
Champoux admits being a bit awestruck by Young’s early-season performance.
“When we were practicing last year, he’d hang out on the fringe,” the coach explained. “He’d watch, come up and introduce himself. He’s really got it together. It has been a little bit of a surprise. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to shoot this well.”
During that nine-hole run, a match in which Young was teamed up with McMullen and playing side-by-side with Kentwood state veterans Kent Hagen and Tom Zavada, Young showed he belonged, pocketing five birdies.
Butterflies?
Young admits he had a few.
“I was pretty nervous because I was up against Kent Hagen,” said Young, who has earned medalist honors twice already this season.
McMullen wasn’t far behind, carding a 38, good for 15 points. Afterward, the mentor couldn’t help but praise his pupil, the kid he has taken under his wing during the early season.
“I didn’t play to my potential, but Ahren carried us around with his 2-under,” a pleased McMullen said. “Now, we have to go play them on their home turf (Oct. 8 at Meridian Valley Country Club). There’s going to be some tough matches in between, but we have all the momentum.”
The momentum McMullen is referring to is that for the SPSL North crown. Kentwood has won the last two division titles, and behind Hagen and Zavada, entered the fall season as the favorites to win a third. Kentridge’s best finish during the past decade has second place in 2006.
This season’s Kentridge team, however, has a decidedly different feel. With McMullen and Young at the helm, a North crown clearly is a possibility. But the Chargers also possess enough depth not only to challenge for league supremacy but, if all breaks right, bring home a state trophy. While McMullen is the only one of the group who has state experience, Champoux believes Young, Dustin Kask and Nick Bruksos, among others, have a better-than-average chance at qualifying for the tournament, which takes place next May.
“I would say Sean and Ahren should make it to state for sure,” Champoux said. “Dustin has a good chance, so does Nick. It will be interesting.”
For the time being, however, the Chargers have a league title in mind.
And if that’s going to happen, they will need their seasoned veteran and the wide-eyed freshman to continue at their current clip.
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