At first, her opponents figured she was a spectator. It was a high school boys golf match, after all.
But when Elizabeth Sherertz exchanged scorecards, it hit them that she was there to play.
Well, actually it would be a minute later when they really knew she was there to play.
An opponent said, “Girls first.”
So Elizabeth Sherertz stepped to the tees, the white tees — same as the boys — and she ripped one down the middle of the fairway.
“I was nervous,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘Don’t shank it.’ ”
As soon as she saw the ball flight, she breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to her competitors.
“Boys next,” she said with a smile.
Her opponents fizzled under that pressure. Their drives, not so good.
Then they found out that they weren’t even playing against a high school girl. Elizabeth Sherertz is an eighth-grader.
Sherertz, who attends King’s Way Christian, is taking advantage of two exceptions allowed by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. The King’s Way high school golf team does not have enough players to field a full squad, so King’s Way, like any Class 1B program, can dip into the eighth-grade talent pool. And because King’s Way does not have a girls team, girls are allowed to play on the boys team during the regular season.
Just so happens one of the best players on the K-12 campus is an eighth-grade girl who goes by “E.”
Class B programs, by the way, have their boys golf seasons in the spring. The Class 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A teams in Southwest Washington have boys golf in the fall.
While playing with the team, Sherertz must play by the same rules, hit from the white tees.
“It’s obviously longer and probably adds a couple strokes to my score,” she said.
Other than that, it’s the same game she has played for years. Her best 18-hole score is a 78 at Camas Meadows last summer. When she is on her game, she is strong.
Still, Sherertz was a little apprehensive prior to that first match — the one that she hit the perfect drive to start the round.
“It was a what-do-I-do kind of thing,” she said. “But then, it’s just golf. I play the course, not the people.”
Her coach, Darren Harlan, said he does not think the extra distance has affected Sherertz all that much.
“I’ve watched many occasions when she outdrives boy after boy after boy,” Harlan said. “She’s played two matches for us and hasn’t lost to anybody.”
This week, she is the No. 3 golfer on the depth chart for the team of seven.
Once the regular season ends, though, she will no longer be part of boys team. She will try to qualify for the girls state tournament at the girls district championship. She will go back to the red tees.
Her goal this season is to just get better. She has a big game, but she is not a big talker.
Her coach believes Sherertz can make it to state this season.
And that would mean there is a chance she could make it to the high school state golf tournament five times, a rare feat indeed. An eighth-grader playing varsity competition does not count against her four years of high school eligibility.
Her ultimate goal would be to earn a college scholarship — “As long as I can go some place warm,” she said.
Spoken like a long-time veteran of golf in the Pacific Northwest. Sherertz has played junior golf for years — she even won the Oregon State Junior Match Play Championships in the pee wee division in 2007.
This year, she is enjoying being part of a team.
“I think it’s really important to be involved in team competition,” said her father, Bill. “Golf can be a very lonely sport. With a team, you develop a lot of friends. Without that, you’re kind of in the middle of nowhere.”
Elizabeth is grateful for this early opportunity to be part of the Knights’ program, even if she had no idea of the WIAA’s exceptions.
“My mom just said, ‘You’re playing with the boys golf team tomorrow. Make sure you bring your rain gear,’ ” Elizabeth recalled.
Now, she is just another member of a boys golf team, a young member who happens to be a girl.
It might be new to be part of a team, but Elizabeth is not new to playing golf with boys, or men.
“All my friends love playing with E,” Bill Sherertz said. “She plays fast, and she plays good. She’s a golfer.”
Paul Valencia covers high school sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4557 or e-mail at paul.valencia@columbian.com.
