Joey Payeur
It will be home sweet home for the Muskie boys’ golf team.
Tyson-Skylar Morrisseau’s first-place finish, a third from Graeme Kitt, and a 10th from Kendyn Faragher fuelled the Muskies to a second-place showing in the team competition with a combined score of 354 at the NorWOSSA final Tuesday in Red Lake.
That was just one shot back of the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (353).
In earning seven points, Fort High secured third place in the year-end standings with 15 to lock up the last of the team berths available for the NWOSSAA final, which will be held next Thursday (Oct. 1) beginning at 10 a.m. at Heron Landing on Couchiching.
“It’s a big home-field advantage for us,” said Muskie coach Brian Johnstone, whose team can advance to the OFSAA championships Oct. 14-15 in Windsor if the black-and-gold finish in top spot at NWOSSAA.
“It is still a long shot for us to get to OFSAA, as obviously there are going to be a lot of good players out there next week,” he conceded.
“The St. Thomas Aquinas Saints won every tournament this year,” Johnstone noted.
“But on your home course, anything is possible.”
Fort High still could send participants to OFSAA if they don’t make it as a team, with the top two individual finishers next week not affiliated with the winning team also qualifying for the all-Ontarios.
The Dryden Eagles were the lone threat to the Muskies’ team chances but they finished in fifth place in the team category Tuesday with a total score of 392—38 shots behind Fort High.
Morrisseau carded an 82 in cold, windy conditions for the best individual score of the day.
That left him third overall for the season with 272 points, behind only Trey Palermo of the Kenora Broncos (295) and
Owen Stebnitsky from St. Thomas Aquinas (279).
Kitt fired a 87 on Tuesday to trail only Morrisseau and Palermo (83) in what was just his second interscholastic golf tourney.
Faragher, meanwhile, carded a 91 to grab 10th place for the day and finish 11th in the standings (186 points).
Sheldon Jourdain Jr. finished 15th for the day with a round of 94 to tie for 16th overall with Colton Yaremko (Broncos) and Jacob Lugli (Eagles) at 135 points.
Cam Gushulak shot his best round of the NorWOSSA season with a 97 to tie for 17th for the day with Lugli.
He finished 25th overall for the season with 87 points.
But Brandon Morrison had his most difficult round of the season Tuesday with a 113 to end up 31st for the day and 35th on the season with 30 points.
That left him on the outside looking in as only the top five team members, points-wise, qualify for NWOSSAA.
