Immaculata Sheds ‘Bridesmaid’ Label Winning B.C. High School ‘A’ Title, George Elliott Prevails To Claim ‘AA’ Crown

Mary Parsons Of St. Thomas More And Jake Lane From Kwalikum Tied For The Overall Title In The AA Championships At Even Par For The Two Rounds - Images Courtesy British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Second place was getting old, so the golf team from Immaculata Catholic in Kelowna went one better Wednesday at the B.C. High School A Championships.

Led by senior Nik Federko and Grade 9 student Matt Hopley, Immaculata beat 2016 champions West Point Grey Academy of Vancouver by 15 shots to claim the title at Castlegar Golf Club.

Immaculata had finished second in each of the previous three years at the provincial tourney.

Federko and Hopley both finished the 36-hole event at four-under par and in a tie for second place in the individual competition. Joel Veenstra of Bulkley Valley Christian won the overall title with an impressive score of nine-under par.

“They are ecstatic,” Immaculata coach Dino Cabalfin said of his team, which also included Ethan Hunt, Tanner Marshall and Andrew Gorges. “They did it together, right. That is the biggest thing. When we first met at the beginning of the year that was the goal, to win the provincial title, but there was only one way we would do it, and that is together. Not as individuals, but together.”

Hopley’s four-under 68 on Wednesday included two eagles. “Last year I think Matt Hopley shot 82-83 and this year he comes back 72-68,” Cabalfin said. “That is just him getting over being the youngest on the team and playing with those extra nerves. This year it was like, Matt, don’t worry, just play.”

Immaculata won with a two-day team score of 13-over par. They had an especially strong opening round when they shot a team score of two-over. West Point Grey was second at 28-over, while Aberdeen Hall of Kelowna was third at 43-over.

The AA championship, also held at Castlegar, turned into a tight four-team race. George Elliott of Lake Country prevailed, edging Collingwood of West Vancouver by one shot. Shawnigan Lake was in third place, just two shots behind the winners, while Kwalikum of Qualicum Beach was third, five shots back.

The George Elliott team of Brandon Frechette, Logan Libke, George Wilkins, Jessie Stoesz and Benson Mackney finished at 60-over par. Coach Doug Meraw said there were some anxious moments while the scores were being tabulated. “When the scores finally went up on the board we were still in first.” Meraw said. “It was very exciting.”

“We knew going in we had a shot,” Meraw said. “We really don’t know enough about the other teams to know what kind of s shot. I knew we had five solid golfers and four of them were capable of being in the 70s.”

Frechette led the way both days, with rounds of 77 and 75. His 75 on Wednesday included a 33 on the back nine. “This is a really big deal for our school,” Meraw said. “Our school has never even had a sniff of winning this championship. This is the first gold of any kind for our school in over 20 years.”

Mary Parsons of St. Thomas More in Burnaby and Jake Lane of Kwalikum tied for first in the individual competition. Both finished the event at even-par. It is the latest in a string of good results for Parsons, who earlier this spring won her second straight Future Links Pacific Championship. “It is a tricky course,” Parsons said of Castlegar.

“You have to watch how you are setting yourself up on the fairways and you have to keep in mind where the mountain is because everything is going to break that way.”

CLICK HERE for complete final scoring in A Championship. CLICK HERE for AA final scoring.