It wasn't exactly five in a row, but it was the next best thing for the St. Thomas More Knights golf team.
The Knights won a two-day, eight-team high school invitational golf tournament hosted by Shawnigan Lake School and held at Arbutus Ridge Golf Course in Cowichan Bay last Sunday.
Grade 11 Knight Alan Tolusso won the individual low gross, posting a five-under-par 135 following an even-par-70 in the opening round.
Tolusso fired a sizzling 65 on the final day of competition despite the many out of bounds and tricky greens on the 6,193-yard Arbutus Ridge course.
"To be able to shoot that well, you have to putt well and be able to put the ball in the right place. It was an excellent, excellent showing," said STM head coach Joe Thierman.
The Burnaby golfer, the only competitor to shoot par or better in the twoday event, easily bettered runner-up Cris Crisologo of Vancouver College by 11 strokes.
STM teammates, Kevin Vigna and Lucas Gatto, also played well, finishing in third and fourth place, respectively.
Vigna shot a two-day total of 152, while Gatto was one shot back at 153.
Nick Belle and Brendan Lancaster also contributed to STM's team scores. "
"The kids did very well. It was a good way to have Lucas (Gatto) end his fiveyear career. We've ended up the last five years with five tournament victories. The younger kids have something to aspire to, so that's good, too," Thierman said.
Another Burnaby golfer, Wayne Racette, of Vancouver College placed fifth with a 154 score.
STM held a nine-shot lead over College after the opening 18 holes with a first-round aggregate total of 302.
The Knights increased that advantage on the second day, finishing with a team total of 609, 15 shots better than the Vancouver private school.
Host Shawnigan Lake nipped St. George's A team by a single stroke to garner third place.
Coming into this school year, the defending AA provincial champion Knights were poised to make high school history as a fivetime provincial winner.
But earlier in the year, the ongoing dispute between B.C. teachers and the provincial government forced the cancellation of the B.C. High School Sports provincial golf championships.
The unofficial invitational tournament that included A, AA and triple A high schools at Arbutus Ridge was organized in its stead.
"I'm really proud of the kids. It shows they can compete (against 3A schools), and it was a great sendoff for Lucas," Thierman added.
