MONUMENT — It's another day on the range at King's Deer Golf Club for the Lewis-Palmer boys golf team, which during these difficult times, is a pretty great place to be.
"There's honestly nothing like it, the atmosphere this team puts off is so much fun to be around and an honor to be a part of," junior golfer Gregory Lewis said.
The Rangers are led by Lewis, a future Division I standout and the No. 1 ranked player in the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference. Their next two top golfers, Colin Westfall and Justin Hudson are also stars, just typically in other sports.
"Kind of a mesh of a lot of different sports, my No. 1 sports is baseball, got a few guys that play basketball and other sports," senior golfer Justin Hudson said.
However, something interesting is happening on the course this year. Lewis-Palmer is starting to win tournaments and put Southern Colorado on notice.
"We came out here with not too many expectations," senior golfer Colin Westfall said. "As we get better and realize ourselves we can do this, it's time to focus up and do it."
Having already won the Palmer Ridge Scramble Tournament, Larry Mullis' team is moving up the PPAC, currently ranked No. 5 in the league.
"Most people when they think of us, they don't think top school but this year we might be able to shock some people and definitely showing some improvement," Lewis said.
There's always a bit of horsing around with this group. But there are goals: To win regionals, return to state for the first time since 2018 and maybe surprise a few while enjoying a stroke of normalcy.
"It's always upbeat when we play, always fun," Hudson said.
"Keeps me busy, a lot of guys that don't have sports right now they're not busy, they're doing other things," Westfall said. "It keeps me focused, keeps me busy and I just enjoy it."
