OTHELLO — Othello senior Ben Garza qualified for the Washington 2A state golf tournament in 2016 and returns to lead the Huskie boys golf team this season.

“Ben has his sights on returning to state as a senior. He played fierce in last year’s district and state tournaments,” boys coach Brian Lumsden said. “We also have an additional bright spot this year in freshman Patrick Azevedo, who is a seasoned junior player with an impressive lower handicap.”

Othello’s team was small last year, but it continued to improve throughout the season, managing to qualify five members for the District qualifier. Garza played exceptionally well at districts and just missed the cut at the 2A state tournament at Horn Rapids by two strokes.

Sophomore Isaiah Garza rounds out the scoring roster, but there is a large group of freshman that are expected to improve with tournament experience.

“The CWAC is an incredibly talented group, with East Valley (Yakima), Selah, Ephrata,” Lumsden said. “Six of the 14 (state) qualifiers are returning as seniors.

The golfers play again on March 20 at the Greyhound Invitational in Grandview.