Trail team a mix of experience

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NEW PARIS — The National Trail boys golf team is prepped and ready to begin the 2016 season with experienced and new faces this year.

Coach Kurt Bachman is looking forward to seeing what his kids can do.

“We had a relatively good season in 2015 — we had more wins than losses,” said Bachman. “Sometimes we didn’t perform as well as we should have, and we had some problems with putting. So this year, we are hitting the basics on putting and chipping to shore up our overall game.”

The good news is that the Blazers didn’t lose any lettermen from 2015. Five players are back to elevate their game for National Trail. Three seniors: Logan Petitt, Bryten Jones, Isaac Plankenhorn, are back to lead the team. Junior Chris Brubaker, and sophomore Dawson Ward round out the lettermen. These seniors were the three top performers from last year and are eager to achieve new heights in their game.

Joining the team for the first time are seniors Brian Harrison and Clayton Cruze.

On Monday, Aug. 8, the Blazers played their first match of the season at the Preble County Tournament.

“We won this tournament last year,” said Bachman. “We played really well and had a good time. My expectation is that we should have no reason not to give it another run. It’s too soon to tell if we are ready, but the kids have shown progress during practices. We are going to have to play some pretty good golf to compete in the Cross-County Conference. Miami East, Newton, and Franklin are strong programs, but you never know. Sometimes, teams lose some quality kids or just doesn’t push themselves consistently so I think if we can play our best at all times, we could be contenders for the championship.”

The season started with four events in the first week of the regular season for the Blazers. Monday was the Preble County Tournament. Tuesday, Aug. 9, was a home date against SWBL foe Dixie. Wednesday, Aug. 10 took the team on the road against Covington in the first Cross-County Conference match-up of the year. They were to close out the first week of competition with the CCC Preview Tournament at Stillwater Country Club with the rest of the CCC teams.

Coach Kurt Bachman gets ready with seniors Bryten Jones, Isaac Plenkenhorn, and Locan Petitt to lead the Blazers in the 2016 golf season.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2016/08/web1_DSC_0464.jpgCoach Kurt Bachman gets ready with seniors Bryten Jones, Isaac Plenkenhorn, and Locan Petitt to lead the Blazers in the 2016 golf season.

By Oliver Sanders

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Reach Oliver Sanders at 937-683-4062 or on Twitter @osanders_RH

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