With the high school golf season right around the corner, the Kwalikum Kondors golf team has a chance to win its third provincial title in the last four years.
After finishing runner-up last season, the Kondors know it’s going to be tough to find their way back to the top of the mountain after nearly doing it three straight seasons.
“It was heartbreaking,” senior Tony Trozzo said of last season’s second-place finish. “That was one of the hardest things of my life so far to get through but we have a strong feeling that this year is going to be different for us.”
The Kondors’ run of two provincial titles and a second-place finish, came with Trozzo, Blair Stewart and Masato Wilson all being a part of the team. Since entering high school, those three have found their way onto the KSS golf team and have contributed to the success of the program every year.
Now in their final year together, the trio hopes to go out with a bang and another provincial title to their record.
“That’s the goal,” Trozzo said. “We’ve got the chance to do something special. Having the chance to win our third provincial championship in four years is crazy to think about. The fact that we almost went three for three last year would have been amazing but we know this is our last chance, being seniors this year, to win it one more time. It’s nerve-racking knowing this is our last year, but I believe we have a legitimate chance at winning another one.”
Kondors golf coach Butch Gayton knows that his team has what it takes to make it back to the big dance and compete for another provincial title, but it’s his seniors who will take the team as far as they can go.
“It all starts with the core group,” Gayton said. “Having Masato, Blair and Tony on this team since they came to KSS, they’ve all been there and won a championship already, so they know what it takes to get there and win one. We had the success last season but couldn’t quite close it out to win a third title, so these kids are going to be hungry to get back out there and show what they can do one more time.”
Expectations will be running high for the Kondors once again heading into the 2016 golf season, but Trozzo knows it’s mostly due to the expectations the team and players put on themselves.
“We want to be better,” Trozzo said. “We want to improve on last season, be stronger and put up lower scores on a consistent basis. In the end, we want to win another provincial title, plain and simple. I look at it like we’re driving a car, what we’ve achieved is in our rear-view mirror but what really matters is what’s in front of us, and that’s another chance at a provincial title. We have to make the most of it in our senior year and that’s what we’re going to do.”