Youth League’s Week 4 filled with lessons learned

Spradlin-Vogelsang, Lick have hot rounds
Youth League wraps up Oct. 1 in Mount Savage

* Youth League details
* Previous results: Week 1 … Week 2 … Week 3 .
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club – website

MOUNT SAVAGE — Baylen Langan is learning a lot of new things this year. The 8-year-old Corriganville resident and Mount Savage Elementary School student is improving in almost every area imaginable.

On Saturday, he learned an important life lesson: In order to take a step or two forward, sometimes one has to take a step back to assess the situation.

Langan’s a work in progress at the moment, but there’s little doubt that between his already marked improvement on the disc golf course, and what’s likely coming down the pike for him in the next few months, he is likely to drop his number of strokes per hole significantly.

Langan also learned that it doesn’t happen all at once.

Though he threw the most distance he’s ever thrown before, and his ability to throw “nose down” and flat was significantly improved compared to earlier this season, Langan still ended up at the bottom of the Boys’ Division in Week 4 of the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Youth League at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage. He and the other players in the field competed on 12 holes from the short tees and Langan finished with a 75 — an average of 6.25 strokes per hole. But that doesn’t tell the whole story: Langan’s newly practiced abilities had him errant on some holes — Nos. 1, 5, 9 and 10 in particular, in which he carded, respectively, a 12, 7, 9 and 8. Had those four holes each been a double bogey, Langan would have shaved 16 strokes off his final score, and would have been in range of his older brother.

As it was, though, Langan finished at the bottom of the pile in the second-to-last week of Youth League play. League play, which is free and open to players ages 8 to 14, wraps up on Saturday, Oct. 1. at 4 p.m. at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage.

Luke Spradlin-Vogelang, 9, of Frostburg, had the hot round of the day — and possibly the best round of his young life — with a score of 45. Each of the 12 holes on the course is a par 3, and Luke threw for par on six of them, including No. 5 and 8 which are, arguably, the two most difficult baskets on the course due to the layout and sheer number of trees between the tee pads and the baskets.

Langan’s big brother, Chance Troutman, 13, of Corriganville, was second with a 54, while Noah Davis, 8, of Frostburg, was third with a 57.

Lily Lick continued her domination of the Girls’ Division, winning with a score of 75. She once again lowered her average strokes per hole to 6.25, down from 7.67 in Week 1, 6.57 in Week 2 and 6.4 in Week 3.

As friends and family of the adult persuasion are encouraged to play along, Sam Lick, 30, of Cumberland, led the three-player field with a score of 39, only three over par. Kevin Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, was second with a 39 while Noah Spradlin, 23, of Frostburg, was third with a 40.

League play, which is free and open to players ages 8 to 14, wraps up on Saturday, Oct. 1. at 4 p.m. at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage.