The guys played some great golf to finish our district play on top. This has been a special year. (EWC) set a team record for low score at the first tournament of the year in the fall, tied it this spring and a week later shattered that record by shooting -21 par (at Torrington on April 13).”

Coach Zach Smith

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The Lancer golf team qualified to compete at the NJCAA National Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico, from May 14-17.

PUEBLO, COLORADO – Kicking the postseason off on a high note, the Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lancers captured the 2024 NJCAA Region IX District Championship at Pueblo, Colorado, on April 25-26.

The Lancers’ performance at the district tourmanet qualified the team to compete at the NJCAA National Championship in Hobbs, New Mexico, from May 16-17.

EWC golfers shot 19-over-par over the during three rounds at the district tournament to net 883 cumulative strokes and garner gold.

Otero College came in a distant second place at 909 (+45), with Central Wyoming College in third at 924 (+60), McCook Community College fourth at 927 (+63), Northeastern Junior College fifth at 946 (+82) and Lamar Community College sixth at 951 (+87).

“The guys played some great golf to finish our district play on top,” coach Zach Smith said. “This has been a special year. (EWC) set a team record for low score at the first tournament of the year in the fall, tied it this spring and a week later shattered that record by shooting -21 par (at Torrington on April 13).”

Smith credited the Lancers’ success to the squad’s depth and his athlete’s work ethic.

“So many guys have stepped up throughout the season to help the team,” Smith added. “You have to have depth on your team if you want to compete at a high level in golf and I feel like we’ve had some great depth all season long. We ended up having five out of the eight players on the first and second all-region teams.”

The opening day of the tournament featured two rounds for a total of 36 holes with an 18-hole round on Friday.

EWC freshman Joshua Chapman, from Redruth, England, snagged the individual championship, advancing to the No. 1 spot on the leaderboard with a three-round score of 217 (one-over-par). Chapman shot 72 in the first round, improving to 68 in the second and tallying 77 in the third.

Freshman Taiki Sugawara, hailing from Aizuwakamatsu, Japan, pulled into third place on the leaderboard following three rounds with a total score of 221. Sugawara went five-over-par with single-round scores of 71, 71 and 79, respectively,

Utah native and freshman Braylon Bingham came in fourth place at 222 strokes (six-over-par). Bingham shot 71 in the first round, followed by 76 in the second and 75 in the third.

“We got off to a very good start on Thursday, which was a 36-hole day,” Smith said. “We jumped out to a big lead going into day two, so there wasn’t a ton of pressure going into Friday. Josh Chapman played well all three rounds, taking home another win this spring season. Taiki Sugawara and Braylon Bingham were close behind.”

Sophomore Ryker Dunkley, from American Fork, Utah, finished 13th on the leaderboard with a three-round total of 233 strokes (+17).

The Lancers now look forward to competing at the national tournament in two weeks.

“It was great to finish the regular season as we prepare for the national championship,” Smith said. “The guys and I are excited to head to New Mexico on May 11 to prepare for the championship. Thank you to all those that have followed and helped out the golf team this year.”