Trojan men topple all at South Regional
CALGARY, ALTA., (Sept. 22, 2019) - The members of the SAIT Trojans men's golf team are feeling pretty good these days.
The Men of Troy took the team title at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) South Regional, hosted by the Trojans at Valley Ridge Golf Club in Calgary. The win is the second straight for the men, who also achieved the feat last weekend at the North Regional in Edmonton.
"With it only being our second year back in the ACAC, it's been pretty nice to see the results we have been able to put up," said Trojans golfer, Cole Keebler, who finished the two-day event in second place after shooting a combined 3-over (72-75). "We brought in guys who have been playing well, and had a couple of walk-ons who have gone low for us. You could throw in any mix of us, and we'd be in good shape."
SAIT will now turn their focus to the ACAC Championships next weekend at Coal Creek Golf Resort in Camrose, Alta. Last year, the men's team placed fifth out of seven teams in snowy conditions at Alberta Springs Golf Resort in Red Deer, Alta.
Based on the last two weeks, Trojans head coach Stephen Yanitski thinks his team is primed to improve on that this time around.
"It looks like the weather might not be that great, and that puts a premium on short game, which is a strength of ours from top to bottom," he said. "It comes down to preparation. Later this week, the forecast isn't great, and we'll try take full advantage of that to try get accustom to the conditions."
The Trojan men shot a combined 29-over for this past weekend's tournament. The University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings placed second at 41-over, while MacEwan University took third (48-over).
Individually, Augustana's Michael Harrison (72-74) bested Keebler (2nd year, Calgary, Business Administration) by just one shot to take first place. Harrison's teammate, Braden Clarkson, place third with a 6-over score (74-76).
While Keebler was doing his thing, ahead of him, his teammates were trying their best to post low scores. Rock Ruschkowski (2nd year, Calgary, Respiratory Therapy) posted his team's best score on Sunday with a 2-over 74 to go along with Saturday's 5-over 77 to finish in a tie for fourth place overall.
Also in that tie for fourth was Dakota Smith (2nd year, Edmonton, Bachelor of Business Administration), who fired rounds of 76-75 over the weekend.
Jared Wylie (1st year, Tumbler Ridge, BC, EMT - Paramedic) struggled a bit on Sunday with a 12-over 84, but his 2-over 74 the day before put the Trojans in a good spot going into the final day of competition.
While the men took the team title, the Trojans women's team pulled off an impressive feat of their own on Sunday.
By the end of Saturday they found themselves 22 shots out of third place, but Yanitski felt they were on the verge of better things.
When Sunday's round finished up, the duo of Carey McLean (1st year, Deer Valley, Sask., Travel and Tourism) and Tashel Scantlebury (5th year, Foxwarren, Man., Community Economic Development) combined to shoot Sunday's lowest score, 23-over par, to sneak into a tie for third with MacEwan University at a two-day score of 70-over.
First place was taken by Medicine Hat College at a combined 47-over, while Concordia University of Edmonton sat second at 49-over.
Helping SAIT on Sunday was McLean's score of 81 - the lowest of the day among all ACAC females. Scantlebury on the other hand, carded a career-best score of 86.
Although Karmen Mooney (5th year, Squamish, BC, Construction Project Management) did not have her score count towards the team title, she did better Saturday's score of 110 by seven shots.
"They climbed a spot from yesterday, and proved quite a bit in the process," Yanitski said proudly. "The push back they showed today was just what we were hoping for going into next week at the ACAC Championships."
Individually, Concordia's Kennedy Turcotte took first at a combined 19-over, while Medicine Hat teammates Nicole Schultz (23-over) and Sierra Zukowski (24-over) took second and third, respectively.