By Mike Macke
Coach Ty Razo returns for his second year at the helm of a Bellmont team that went 9 – 2 last season and brought home a Sectional Championship. Gone from that team are Ike Ruble and Ben Razo, and they will be big shoes to fill. However, there are three returning starters and four seniors on the 2023 edition of the Braves who look to continue the winning tradition. Alex Ainsworth and Mike Macke return as assistant coaches this year.
Leading coach Razo’s squad will be one of the best players in Northeast Indiana in Senior Winston Brown. A four-year starter for the Braves, Brown has been the number one player since his sophomore season where he qualified for the State Tournament. He has signed to play golf at Tiffin University and looks to cap his high school career with another team Sectional trophy and a trip to the State Finals. Playing number two behind Brown will be Sophomore Owen Minnick. Following a stellar freshman year, Minnick will be counted on even more to provide Bellmont with an outstanding one-two punch this season. The third returning starter is Senior Gage Bressler who provided several quality rounds last season and will need to be a consistent scorer for this year’s squad.
The other two varsity starters for Bellmont will likely be the other two Seniors on the team. Jayden Haines and Bryce Rickord both showed signs of taking that next step last year on the JV and have worked on their games in anticipation of filling the void left by the graduation of two starters from last season. The other player that will challenge for varsity time is Junior Brady Malone. He also had some solid scores at JV last year and should be in the mix competing for a spot.
The rest of the team consists of Juniors Rylen Mihm and Adam Simon, Sophomores Collin Mihm, Landon Strickler, Devon Hillery, and Freshmen Ben Binegar, Zayden Lamons, Luke Heyerly, and Carson Manley giving the Braves good numbers for the future.
“I think we will have another solid season this year. With Winston, Owen and Gage coming back, I look for them to give us steady leadership. If we can get a solid score from our fourth and fifth guys, we can challenge for another Sectional title and even more.” stated coach Razo. “As for conference, Leo and Columbia City are always tough and we will see how we compare to them this year. This group gets along well and pushes each other, so we’ll see just how far that takes us.”
The Braves will be on the road for most of their matches this season as only three will be played on their home course at Cross Creek G.C. Look for Bellmont to have another excellent year!
