Hartford High finished sixth as other Upper Valley golfers hit the links at Ralph Myhre Golf Course in Middlebury, Vt., during the VPA boys golf state final on Thursday amid challenging conditions.
Senior captain Teelin Nowlan (+14) led the Canes (+89) and earned strong praise from his coach, Erin Stevens, after playing through an illness.
“Kid is sick as a dog today, and he went out, and he shot an 85 in some really tough conditions. I could not be more proud of the way that he led the team,” Stevens said in a telephone interview.
Other Canes’ finishers included senior Cody Hathorn and freshman Matthew Bean (+21 each), along with seniors Wyatt Chambers (+33) and Jackson Whitney (+39).
Now that the Hartford boys’ season is in the rearview, Stevens said her squad met her fall goals, including being good sportsmen and qualifying for states.
“I had a lot of coaches and parents on other teams approach me about just what good kids they are, which I think is, you know, a testament to how this crew was raised and their families,” she said.
Adding: “At the start of the season, we had some big numbers, and we stayed the course, and we managed expectations… these kids just bought into what we wanted from them from this season, and they were coachable. They were so much fun.”
Hartford High senior Teelin Nowlan tees off at the VPA Division II boys golf state championship at Ralph Myhre Golf Course in Middlebury, Vt., on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (Courtesy photo)
Elsewhere in the Upper Valley, Windsor High had two athletes compete at the final, junior Jake Smith (+18) and sophomore Daniel Parks (+30).
The Yellow Jackets head coach, Pat Allen, was proud of how his players battled, despite tough conditions.
“Biggest thing I saw was how challenging the greens were for the players. You know, chipping, putting — it was tough for everyone to score around the greens,” Windsor’s coach said in a telephone interview.
Stevens also noted some challenges. “It played tough today for sure; the greens are kind of turtlebacked, and there’s a lot of false fronts,” she said.
Adding: “We stood on 18 for a while and watched, you know, kid after kid leave their approach shot just a little bit short, but on the green, and they’d all roll right back down. So it definitely played hard.”
Going forward, Allen hopes the round will motivate his players to build on this season’s improvements for next fall.
“I’m really proud of both of those guys. The way their games have improved over the years, and just their growth just in this one season, and I think making the states is a huge deal, and having, you know, two individual players make top five at sectionals says a lot about them and their character and how they can grind out rounds,” he said.
Finally, senior Wesley Sellars (+67) of White River Valley High carried the weight of history as the school’s first boys golfer to qualify for states, just a couple of days after junior Alexandria Lumbreras competed at states as the first Wildcats girl golfer to qualify.
Wildcats’ head coach Sam Griffin acknowledged Sellars, “didn’t play the way he would have liked to today,” but added in a text message, “nevertheless, qualifying for states as an individual is a great achievement, and the first in the history of WRVHS golf. I’m very proud of how he handled himself in competition all season, and proud of him for representing our school today.”
