State Boys Golf: Stallings places top-25 in just second year of competitive golf

May 20-TUMWATER - Logan Stallings didn't have golf in his life for four years.

He found it again the summer before his junior year at Black Hills High School. His dad and brother took their clubs and went to the range; Stallings tagged along.

"I got addicted," he said.

Golf embraced him that summer day. He never let go.

Stallings capped his high school career with a tie for 21st place on his home course of Tumwater Valley to conclude the Class 2A state championships on Wednesday afternoon. He pocketed a second round score of 79 (7-over par).

When he turned in his card, he embraced his support system and a few friends before leaving his home course. He fought through 36 holes with a left chest strain that forced him to "live on IcyHot and Advil."

"I felt I put out 17 holes of good golf today and that is all I can ask for," Stallings said. "I got some bad breaks, I got some lucky breaks. I feel like I've been given a gift from God. I've been put in a position where I've been able to play so much golf.

"It is incredible for me to look at. I came out here and played really good golf. Just to make the top-25 at state, I cannot express my gratitude."

For much of his childhood, golf played a role in Stallings' life. A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes towards the end of seventh grade rocked his world. He was in the ICU in California for four days and 12 hours in a coma.

What followed was a 13-year old Logan Stallings losing weight, therefore losing distance on his swing. He felt "unmotivated" and decided to put the bag away. Now, he'll eat a granola bar or some candy to get his blood sugar levels at the right amount.

Once he started playing again, everything changed.

"I am truly blessed I picked it back up," Stallings said. "My life the last two years has looked completely different than it did before and I cannot help but attribute that to the game of golf."

Stallings was rusty his junior season for the Wolves, not making it to the second day of the 2A District 4 tournament. There was ample time spent on the course through the summer months and into the fall of 2025.

A lot of the improvement was between the ears.

"When I would have a bad hole, I'd just get in my head about it," Stallings said. "Golf is the game of highs and lows and you just have to deal with the lows."

The right-hander entered the second day tied for 13th after a 77. He birdied the Par-5 second in the middle of bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3. He bogeyed a pair of Par-4s before his second birdie of the day on the Par-3 eighth.

Stallings was three-over par entering the Par-5 14th that was 521-yards long. The round unraveled in the blink of an eye. His 4-iron approach shot went over the green and into a thicker rough, then his chip went into a hazard and he eventually settled for a quadruple bogey.

Glass half-full?

"Man, I'm just glad I didn't make a 10," Stallings joked. "Lately my 4-iron has been off that I overturned it and put me in a weird spot; just a bad swing. (The chip) I was gonna hit a 58 (degree) then I decided to go to 54 because I thought the (rough) would grab it more. It didn't, I came way too steep where I hit it perfectly."

Still, his feelings were apropos by the time his round ended. Those four shots ended up being a significant difference in leaving with a medal. Stallings parred out his final four holes.

"I will be dreaming about that hole all night tonight," Stallings said. "I was still happy after that 9. To still have a chance to place well and fight for 3-to-4 more holes, standing on that 18 tee, I took it all in."

The next step for Stallings is Gonzaga University where he'll major in business and look to join a club team. He's still going to be a member of the men's club at Tumwater Valley when he's home and feels he won't have limitations on the amount of golf at his disposal.

Quite the difference from when Stallings didn't even think golf was in his future a half-decade ago.

"No matter what stage of life you are at, you can play golf and there is always more golf to be found," he said. "The circumstances I've been put in are not coincidences. Me getting diabetes led me to so many different things, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Tumwater's Braeden Konrad finished tied for 28th with a two-day score of 159 (+15) and teammate Baylor Olson carded a 174 (+30) for the championships. W.F. West's Emmett Goodman placed 32nd, firing a 161 (+17) and Black Hills' Kendell Roberson finished with a 172 (+28).

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