BY ADAM COULTER
Salina Post Contributor
The Sacred Heart Boys Golf Team headed to the state tournament in Dodge City on Monday and Tuesday and came home with a ninth consecutive 2A State Championship.
The Knights have won every 2A title from 2015-2019 and 2021-2024, with the Covid-cancelled 2020 season as the only exception.
As a team, the Knights shot +9 on the first day to take a 38-stroke lead on the next closest team in Ellinwood, who carded a +47 on the day.
"I'm really proud of how my team came out and performed on day one," Sacred Heart Head Coach Patrick Newell said. "The 38-shot cushion gave us a stress-free night leading up to day two."
Individually, the six Sacred Heart golfers competing were all in the top 22 out of a total of 92 participants as day one ended.
Michael Matteucci (E), Walker Tuttle (E), and Luke Newell (+2) placed second, third, and fourth respectively.
"The conditions were night and day from Monday to Tuesday," Newell said. Monday had perfect scoring conditions, but on tuesday the wind was gusting out of the northwest at 25-30 mph making scoring very difficult."
Despite the wind, the Knights outscored every other team on both days to win the championship by 57 strokes.
Individually, Sacred Heart had five golfers place in the top-12. Michael Matteucci (+6) finished second, Luke Newell (+8) placed third, and Walker Tuttle (+11) finished in fourth place.
Additionally, Hunter Newell (+19), Dominic Matteucci (+22), and Jason Marrs (+31) placed 10th, 12th, and tied for 26th, respectively.