The Lancaster Gales boys golf team placed third in the Ohio Capital Conference this season. The Varsity team, consisting of Bryson Branham, Gabe Betts, Jacob Miller, Zane Brengman and Ben Richardson, forced a tie between Teays Valley and Reynoldsburg with both teams going 25-3 and Lancaster going 20-8. LHS Gabe Betts earned First Place All League Honors with an 80 average.

Jacob Miller earned Second Team All League, and senior Zane Brengman and junior Bryson Branham earned Third Team All League Honors. 

Coach Luke Truex described the highlights of the season.

“I would say coming second in our last league match came down to our fifth man score and Bryson Branham had to hit a big putt on the last hole for us to come second,” he said. 

Branham, one of the leaders of the team, said he is pleased with their success.

“When it came down the wire, I did well in pressure situations and secured us second in our last OCC and third overall,” he said.  

LHS sophomore Ben Richardson added that the best part of the season for him was achieving his career low and enjoying the camaraderie of the team.

“The top highlight of the season for me was when I shot my career low 82 on 18 holes at Vernon View Golf Course. Another highlight that comes to mind was another time we were at Vernon View and we played a five man scramble which was a ton of fun,” he said.

 In addition to the highlights, the golf team also experienced some challenges.  Coach 

 “Early on we had some expectations that maybe we didn’t reach just because we were battling some mental things. We will have everyone back next year and maybe we can improve on our record that we had this year and continue to grow and develop as golfers,” said Truex. 

Branham said that he struggled with his mental game.  

“Personally it was my mentality. Always having my head down but then the coach coming to help me out and get my head back up,” said Branham. 

Richardson said that there were ups and downs for him.

“The most challenging part of the season for the team and I was when everyone would have a bad day. On those days we would just have to recognize what went wrong and move on.”

Betts added that the team didn’t take enough time during some competition to utilize their training.

“The most challenging thing for me and the team this season was playing each round shot by shot. I know that most everyone on the team this year has great potential, but it was easy to get ahead of ourselves,” he said.

Truex, who has been coaching golf for about eight years, said that the team’s future goal is to make progress.

“Continue to grow and improve as golfers and hopefully win a league title next year,” he said.