With the local high school sports season starting up, here is a look at some of the Upper Valley golf teams hitting the links in 2026.
For the first time in over a decade, Hartford High will field a full girls golf team — something about which head coach Erin Stevens is excited. While the girls will work on building the program’s foundation, the boys will draw on their experience in hopes of a successful season.
In Windsor, the Yellow Jackets will lean on junior captain Jake Smith and the development of some of its other athletes in hopes of competing. At the same time, Hanover will field an older, experienced team looking for more after finishing third in the NHIAA Division I state tournament a season ago.
Boys
Hanover
Coach: John Donnelly (2).
League: NHIAA Division I.
Last Year: Third at D-I state tournament.
Top Returners: Seniors — Ben Ames, Hayden Clapp, Julian Hart, Jamie Coughlin, Cooper Sobel; Sophomores — Bruce Johnson, Thomas Cramer, Graham Chanyi.
Newcomers: Seniors — Michael Anderson, Ben Pearson; Junior — Desmond Greenway; Sophomore — Corbin Hough; Freshmen — Jaryn Louzier, Bennett Greenway.
Coach’s Analysis: “This senior-laden team has high hopes for the season. If we get support from the younger players, we will post some low team scores.” — John Donnelly.
Hartford
Coach: Erin Stevens (5).
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division II.
Last Year: Won SVL D-II championship; fifth at states.
Top Returners: Seniors — Teelin Nowlan, Cody Hathorn, Jackson Whitney.
Newcomers: Senior — Wyatt Chambers.
Coach’s Analysis: “Our key this year is to play smart, strategic golf while prioritizing our short game. The team, while small in roster numbers, is dedicated and genuinely loves to practice. Beyond the scorecard, we will rely on our senior-heavy group to use their experience and excellent leadership to continue building our culture of integrity and sportsmanship from varsity down to our thriving middle school program.” — Erin Stevens.
Lebanon
Coach: Joshua Flanders (2).
League: NHIAA Division II.
Last Year: We finished the 2025 season eighth overall in D-III. Qualified for team states and brought a very young team of one senior, three juniors and three freshmen. In our regular season, we finished fifth.
Top Returners: Seniors — Nate Crane, Andrew Berndsen, Braedon Rogers, Nate Thorpe; Junior — Matt Thompson; Sophomores — Cooper Davis, Walker Young, Jace Buckwold.
Newcomers: Juniors — Aidan Campbell, Tim Cooper, Jacob Grace, Cameron Freeman; Sophomore — Ethan Holt; Freshmen — Jaxson Flanders, Anthony Hayward, Erikson Lowery.
Coach’s Analysis: “We’re young again this season, with 37 golfers trying out for the team. As a coaching staff, we’ve decided to carry a varsity roster of 16, including eight returning players. Of those 16 golfers, three are freshmen and four are sophomores, so we have an incredible talent pool. Our keys to success will be consistency and course management. The talent on this roster is second to none and, as coaches, we’re excited to help these players learn how to manage the course and their game in order to put themselves in position to score well. Tryouts highlighted a number of very low scores. If we can translate the success we’ve seen at our home course into our away matches, we expect to be highly competitive in Division II. Our top five scores each day of tryouts averaged under 200, which equates to roughly 4 over par per golfer. Based on 2025 scoring statistics, that would have put us in the top five in Division II. We know there’s a lot of work ahead, but we’re excited about this group and what they can accomplish.” — Joshua Flanders
Newport
Coach: Ethan Houde.
League: NHIAA Division IV.
Oxbow
Coach: Shawn French.
Stevens
Coach: Logan Balasa (1).
League: NHIAA Division III.
Last Year: Did not score as a team at states; Owen Wilkinson finished tied for fourth in individuals.
Top Returners: Sophomore — Carson Beeman.
Newcomers: Sophomores — Johnathan Stuart, Hayden Bruso.
Coach’s Analysis: “We are a young team without a lot of experience. My goal for the team this year is to learn and develop our skills while having a whole lot of fun.” — Logan Balasa.
White River Valley
Coach: Sam Griffin (5).
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division II.
Last Year: No match team wins (not enough players match-ready), no qualifiers for D-II sectionals.
Top Returners: Seniors — Jackson Scott, Arden Riesterer.
Newcomers: Seniors — Charles Young, Wesley Sellars.
Coach’s Analysis: “Looking to have all four boys qualify for sectionals to field a full team at sectionals for the first time in our program’s existence. And ultimately, looking to continue to foster a love of and respect for the game in a team comprised of many relatively new golf players (two of our boys have little to no match experience). Keys for success for our squad this season are productive and focused practices with a willingness to improve; focused mental preparation for competitive play; perseverance and mental toughness through the ups and downs of golf, all while being able to enjoy the game, of course!” — Sam Griffin.
Windsor
Coach: Pat Allen (14).
League: VPA Division II.
Last Year: Had three golfers compete in sectionals; Jake Smith advanced to states. Smith then finished in the top 10 at states, earning himself a trip to New England. There, he competed well and finished 37th as a sophomore, with a very strong back nine.
Top Returners: Junior — Jake Smith; Sophomores — Daniel Parks, Dylan Bonneau.
Newcomers: Juniors — Isaac Friesenhahn, Joey Montieth; Sophomore — Abagail Braley.
Coach’s Analysis: “Windsor is looking to have Smith lead the young team with Parks and Bonneau both returning with match experience from last year. Smith and Parks have improved with their play over the summer, and Bonneau is already showing signs of improvement this season. The key is for the golfers to continue to improve their course management and short game to lower scores and compete at a high level at sectionals.” — Pat Allen.
Girls
Hartford
Coach: Erin Stevens (5).
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division II.
Newcomers: Juniors — Ayela Emery, Vivian Tsouknakis; Sophomores — Bella Lombardi, Madi Greenwood.
Coach’s Analysis: “We’re excited about the potential of this group, and because this is our first season with a girls’ team in over a decade, our biggest goal this season is development. We’ll measure success by how much they improve and how confident they become on the course. Establishing a strong foundation this year will be important as we continue to grow the program that this year’s team can look back on with pride, knowing that they were the trailblazers who restarted Hartford girls golf.” — Erin Stevens.
White River Valley.
Coach: Sam Griffin (5)
League: Southern Vermont League; VPA Division II.
Last Year: No match team wins (not enough players match-ready), no qualifiers for D-II sectionals.
Top Returners: Junior — Alexandria Lumbreras; Sophomores — Adelyn Colson, Sadie Wimett
Coach’s Analysis: “Looking to have at least two of our three girls qualify for sectionals. And ultimately, looking to continue to foster a love of and respect for the game in a team comprised of many relatively new golf players (all of our girls are going into their second year of experience).” — Sam Griffin.
