TACOMA — The pinnacle of this school year’s golf season is on-tee for a Viking crew of three as NK seniors Miquela Pendleton, Steven Duwe and Alicia Bratlien hang ready in the backswing, poised to follow through.

At this level, it is all about focus. So with heads down and eyes on the ball, North’s state contestants prepare for this year’s state tournament, which will be May 23 at two Spokane area golf courses.

Bratlien and Pendleton will be swinging with the ladies at Hangman Valley while Duwe and the boys’ field will be at the Creek at Qualchan. Both tournaments are set to tee off at 8 a.m.

“The fact that it’s a new course and that it’s that far away,” Duwe noted as the challenges he envisions at state, adding the five-hour drive while holding onto firm confidence in his game.

None of the North golfers bound for the tournament have played at the respective state sites, but all three of them qualified for the honor to compete at Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma last week — the top 14 golfers of each gender made the cut.

Pendleton finished as North’s top placer, earning second place with a two-round total of 161; Bratlien shot 172 for seventh and both North girls earned their third consecutive trips to the state links.

“It’s gonna be really fun to be able to make (our) last year amazing,” Pendleton said of the triple feat. “It’s fun to know that (we’ve) made this accomplishment. I’m really excited to be there my senior year.”

Duwe is equally, if not more, excited that he is on the state track for his final high school season, as it is also his first time to compete at this level. And though it is his initial trip to the state clubhouse, Duwe is carrying his clubs with confidence.

“Nervous? Not really, my game is going good, so I am confident,” he said reflecting on last week’s state qualifier. “It felt great. My game has come together at just the right time.”

Despite what he professed as a sub-par season, Duwe hit a focused stride through the Narrows League finals posting a steady 72-74 score which combined for fourth place at 146. Bellarmine’s Kyle Stanley took the medal honors with a combined round of 133.

NK’s David Dobson found himself in the company with Stanley, who is one of the top junior golfers in the nation, on the second day of the tournament after a phenomenal round of 71 on the first day.

But Dobson faulted with a second-round 85 which knocked him out of contention and ended his season.

“I was concerned when he shot 71 that put him in with the lead group, if he’d shot a 74 or 75 it would’ve put him in another group with a whole different feel,” NK coach Tom Harney said, noting the pressure of golfing next to the No. 3 junior in the nation. “To learn to play and feel the pressure and be able to handle it is something (one) needs to learn to do.”

The pressure of the state stage will be a test for the three Vikings who will represent North Kitsap at the links. And though they will be playing for their team name in a sense of pride, this time, the focus is completely individual.

“I just have to go out there and play my game,” Pendleton said. “I feel like I’ve been playing the best that I’ve every played this year.”