By Sam Ojeda / Sports Editor

The Hutchinson Community College men’s golf team is gearing up for another spring season, high expectations remain, and the Blue Dragons have been working hard to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.

The team’s roster is made up of a mix of experienced players and talented newcomers. Leading the way for the Blue Dragons is sophomore Dominic Clemons, a sophomore from England, as well as Wellington sophomore Blake Saffell.

Saffell said he is confident about the squad this year, as the Blue Dragons look for a third straight NJCAA Division 1 national championship.

“I feel like we have a really solid group with an unlimited amount of competitiveness,” Saffell said.

The Blue Dragons are setting high expectations for themselves.

“I expect big things,” Saffell said, “I think we have an opportunity to win another national title.”

HutchCC’s golf team have won the last two golf national championships and a threepeat seems to be on the brain. Louis Galvin, who is a freshman from Ireland, said he thinks a threepeat is attainable.

“I 100% think we have the ability to win nationals,” Galvin said.

The Blue Dragons, ranked No. 1, also welcomes several talented freshmen including Galvin, Alex Lindstrom, and Marco Anderson. The Blue Dragons will face tough competition this season, including conference rivals such as Dodge City and Barton. The team is also looking forward to competing in several tournaments, including the Shocker Invitational and the Jayhawk Conference Championship.

The Blue Dragons started their season this last week in the first Jayhawk Conference tournament. After day one HutchCC led by two strokes. At the completion of round two after round two. They ended the final round tied with Dodge City CC after the tournament was over. Blake Saffell won the tournament with a score of 68 in the final round. He entered the last day of the tournament tied for second. After an amazing final round, he finished five strokes ahead of second place. Galvin finished tied for sixth with Lindstrom. Both were at two strokes over par. Clemons finished 11th. 

A three-peat seems achievable for HutchCC golf this year. After a strong start to conference play and a lot of returners from last season’s national championship squad, the Blue Dragons expect to see themselves atop leaderboards all season.

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