TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College golf team wrapped up the regular season at home last Thursday and Friday.
On their home course, the Lancers were able to wrap up their fourth straight Region IX championship on Friday afternoon.
Sophomore Brendan Thomas led the Lancers with a pair of 69s to finish in a three-way tie for first place. Sophomore Russel Sprecher finished fourth with two rounds of 71, while sophomore Owen Walsh finished sixth with rounds of 73 and 74. Freshman Simon Carlgren fired rounds of 71 and 77 to finish tied for seventh, while sophomore Johannes Lindstrom and freshman Oscar Behle tied for ninth. Both golfers shot 76 on day one and 73 on day two.
“It was great to get one last Region IX win with this group, especially the sophomores. We had an all sophomore line up for our starting six players that count towards the team scores and they delivered,” coach Zach Smith said. “This has been the toughest competition in Region IX golf since I started coaching about eight years ago, so to win the regional title feels great.”
The Lancers also ended up with four players on the All-Region first and second teams, which are comprised of the top eight golfers in the region.
Thomas won the individual regional standings, while Sprecher was third. Freshman Joshua Wiese and Lindstrom placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
Now the Lancers turn their attention to the NJCAA National Tournament next week in Odessa, Texas.
It’s a course which EWC has already seen this season while playing in the NJCAA National Championship Preview Tournament back on Nov. 4-5.
“We went down there in November. It was huge. It’ll give us a lot of confidence. All the guys we are taking to the national championship was a part of that,” Smith said. “They all have seen it and played pretty well. We’ll see it in different conditions. When we went down there, it was crazy cold.”
A year ago, the Lancers recorded the best finish in school history at the national tournament with a 12th-place finish. This year the team is eyeing a top 10 finish at the Odessa Country Club.
“That’s the goal. We talk every year we want to win the region and to crack the top 10,” Smith said. “It’s going to be tough. Between COVID and the extra years of eligibility, there are a lot of third-year sophomores.”
The team had a nine-day qualifier, including two golf tournaments to decided who’s going to go to Texas. Thomas, Sprecher, Lindstrom, Remington Newell and Wiese are the five players who will represent the Lancers at the NJCAA National Championship.
The team leaves for Texas on Saturday with play beginning on Tuesday, May 10 and coming to an end on Friday, May 13.
