In his 30th season as Oak Harbor High School boys coach, John Matzen said he has 14 players out for the team, including four of his top six golfers from 2008.

The Wildcats finished second in the WesCo North division last season, had two players earn all-league honors and qualify for the state tournament.

Phil Reedy is back for his senior season and has his sights set on going to the Class 4A state tournament for the third straight year.

Joining Reedy are juniors Brandon Kenworthy and Matt Fikse, along with sophomore Judd Ford.

“Those are my top four and right now, we are trying to determine who the other two players on the varsity team are going to be,” Matzen said.

Matzen has several new players to choose from, in addition to a number of sophomores and juniors who were on the junior varsity team last year.

The former JV players aiming for a varsity spot are juniors Lucas Flekner, Andrew Koorn, Erik Wheat, who is a student at Coupeville, and Chris Holbrook.

Sophomores Logan White and Greg Martin honed their skills on the junior varsity in 2008. Senior Bryan Dych didn’t play last year and Coupeville junior Tim Walstad out for the team for the first time.

The lone freshman on the team is Elias Whitefoot.

“We have a bunch of new kids and all of them are good golfers,” Matzen said.

The Oak Harbor boys varsity team hosts Lake Stevens, Kamiak and Snohomish at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at the Whidbey Golf and Country Club.

On the girls half of the Wildcat scorecard, Andy Wesley begins his seventh season as head coach with an even more talented team.

Last year Oak Harbor won the WesCo district championship, while the junior varsity earned the WesCo district and league titles.

Three players represented the Wildcats at the state tournament.

“Unfortunately, they were all seniors,” Wesley said.

However, Oak Harbor has a number of top-notch players returning and 2009 should be another successful season.

Shelbey Hamming is the lone returning senior, and is joined by juniors Tiffany Earnhart, Melany Cone, Ashley Johnson and Kara Stratton.

Sophomores Sasha Olson and Mara Cortez also saw action in 2008 on the junior varsity team.

New players out for the team are Millie Goebel and Sheri Piaze, and freshman Kelsey Johnson is the lone ninth-grader on the girls squad.

“I have a lot of kids returning to the team and a lot of dedicated golfers,” Wesley said. ‘We are looking to have another great season this year.”

The Wildcat girls host the Whidbey Shootout at Whidbey Golf and Country Club Monday, March 16, beginning at noon.