Faulkton went home with all the major hardware following the Lake Region Conference golf tournament at Rolling Hills Golf Course on Thursday.

The Trojans swept the team titles and also both medalist honors during the event.

The Faulkton boys tied with Ipswich in team points before winning a one-hole playoff.

Medalists were Bennett Cassens and Gabby Kast. Both individuals needed to rally to win their respective divisions.

“On that back nine, I really started off bad,” Kast said. “I hit a few in the water, but I really battled back those last few holes and made up for it.”

Kast, who finished with a 97 to edge teammate Trisha Cramer by one stroke, said the key is to stay focused on the next shot at hand.

“My coach always tells me that you can’t think about the bad hole,” Kast said. “You just have to think about your next shot and how you can fix it, so that’s how I mentally prepare myself.”

The tournament victory was the first one for the junior, who finished second at regions last year.

Cassens, who fired a 75, outdueled his friend Luke Peterson of Ipswich to grab the boys’ title by one stroke. Cassens knew he had a little ground to make up on the final holes.

“I was down one after lipping out on 16,” Cassens said. “I just had to stay focused, take it one shot a time, just hope someone would make a mistake and just keep going.”

Cassens and Peterson know each other well and face one another often throughout the course of the season.

“We’re great friends. We play a lot together in the summer and on the tour and in other tournaments,” Cassens said. “We’ve been battling for two years now, and it’s always fun.”

It’s a friendly battle to be sure. The duo made a bit of pact before the season started.

“Me and him decided at the beginning of the year that we wanted to go 1-2 at pretty much every meet and we’ve done that for the most part so far,” Cassens said.

Cassens, who finished runner-up at last year’s State B tournament, said he tries not to think about his totals too much.

“When you start thinking about what you want to shoot, that’s when you get those big numbers,” he said.
“That’s what I’m trying to stay away from.”

Aberdeen Christian’s Ellis Russell finished 10th individually.

“I thought the midrange game was nice today,” Russell said, “but I kind of struggled with putting and driving a bit.”

The freshman said the goal is to keep getting better each time he steps on the course.

“I’m just trying to get better and improve each round,” Russell said.

Russell has been the Knights top finisher in both of their meets so far this season.

“Ellis Russell played good again today,” said Christian coach Tyler Pridey.

The coach also pointed out the efforts of eighth-grader Jett Johnson who shot a 56 in the JV portion of the meet.

Pridey said it was just good to have his golfers out on the course gaining experience.

“This is just really good and positive for them mentally, just to get out and play golf today,” Pridey said.

BOYS’ DIVISION

Team Points: Faulkton 246 (won playoff), Ipswich 246.

Individual Results

1, Bennett Cassens, Faulkton, 75; 2, Luke Peterson, Ipswich, 76; 3, Chet Peterson, Ipswich, 82; 4, Drake Mueller, Faulkton, 83; 5, Tucker Kadlec, Ipswich, 88; 6, Parker Geditz, Faulkton, 88; 7, Layne Cotton, Faulkton, 90; 8, Matthew Janeisch, Ipswich, 95; 9, McKinley Kosters, Frederick, 102; 10, Ellis Russell, Aberdeen Christian, 103; 11, Mason Hinz, Frederick, 131; 12, Micah Leslie, Aberdeen Christian, 135.

GIRLS’ DIVISION

Team Points: Faulkton 305.

Individual Results

1, Gabby Kast, Faulkton, 97; 2, Trisha Cramer, Faulkton, 98; 3, Sydney Campbell, Faulkton, 110; 4, Molly Simon, Ipswich, 116; 5, Camryn Deiter, Faulkton, 117; 6, Rylee Kleffman, Ipswich, 122; 7, Jocelynn Ellwein, Frederick, 147; 8, Eliana Darling, Langford Area, 162.