Lansing boys prepare to defend sectional title

As the spring season gets underway in Lansing, two varsity teams are set to defend their sectional titles: baseball and boys golf. While both teams were the top teams in Class C last season, boys golf had an utterly dominant run to the championship.

Lansing is coming off an undefeated regular season in the IAC, going 10-0. While they fell to the combined Spencer-Van Etten/Candor team in the IAC Championship, the Bobcats got their revenge against the Eagles in the Section IV Class C Championship, winning by just nine strokes. Head coach Matt Loveless explained how the Bobcats were able to earn hardware last time out.

“I always give credit to the kids,” Loveless said. “It was a big senior class, so [having] kids that had a lot of experience and put a lot of time into the program was a big part of it. Their play throughout the season was consistent. They put in the time in terms of practicing. They were focused, and that translates, a lot of times. When they’re able to get on the course, they’re not behind. They’re just kind of picking up where they left off—with the short-game stuff especially—and it carried through the season.”

The driving force behind the Bobcats’ road to a sectional title was no doubt Hunter Baughan. As a sophomore, he finished in second place individually at both IACs and sectionals, participated at the NYSPHSAA State Championships, and was on the all-state and IAC All-Star teams. It’s no surprise to see Baughan excel on the course. After all, the golf genes run strong in his family, as his father Matt is the head golf coach at Cornell University and his mother Kelly is the head coach for Lansing’s girls golf team.

“He has the genes, but it’s also hard work and time that he’s put in,” Loveless said. “He’s got the skill. He’s always on the course. He’s really grown this past year, so I’m excited to see what that translates to overall in terms of his game.”

Another key returner for the Bobcats is Austin Crandall. The junior was also an IAC First Team All-Star alongside Baughan and three of his other teammates. Crandall is a familiar sight in the Lansing athletics scene as part of the football and basketball teams, and that work ethic translates over to the links.

“He’s a leader,” Loveless said. “He understands what golf is about in terms of our program in Lansing. I think one of his greatest assets is that he’s always willing to listen. When you’re giving him feedback or constructive criticism, whatever it is, he’s always willing to accept that. There’s no hesitation or resistance, and he’s willing to take that information and try to improve from it. That’s something that I appreciate from Austin along with other student-athletes that I have on the team, and I think it’s important to have.”

Baughan and Crandall are the only remaining IAC All-Stars from last season’s team. In fact, the program has shrunk from 15 players to just eight due to a big senior class graduating. Loveless talked about the pros and cons of coaching a smaller squad.

“The challenge as a golf coach is that I only can be in one place at one time,” Loveless said. “So if I’m with a group working or playing on a hole, I have other groups that are out there and they’re not with me. From a coaching standpoint, it’s a little more manageable with eight as opposed to 15. But we’re going to have to go through some growing pains. Hunter and Austin are going to be the two experienced golfers that we have coming back in our top six, but we’re going to have a lot of inexperience, too. We’re gonna have eighth graders that are going to be asked to play on a regular basis.”

With such an individual sport like golf, it can be difficult to cultivate a team environment. With 15 years at the helm, Loveless knows that the key to achieving this starts with the returning athletes.

“Getting players to buy in and getting players on your team to watch and kind of mirror what the older, experienced players are doing from a practice standpoint, it’s not uncommon to see, especially with somebody like Hunter,” Loveless said. “As soon as the round’s over, it doesn’t matter if he had a good round or a bad round, he’s right out there on the putting green. It’s things like that that the younger players pick up from the experienced players.”

In terms of team goals, the focus remains the same: be competitive at IACs and sectionals. Along the way, Loveless hopes to see lots of learning from the newcomers so that Lansing golf can remain the team to beat in Section IV.

“Especially for my eighth graders, It’s [about] them really just going day-by-day and also the mental part,” Loveless said. “The mental piece is very important in the game of golf, and just moving on to the next shot is what my goal for them is to be.”

The Bobcats open up the campaign against Whitney Point April 18.