Crescent Wins First Place at OFSAA Golf Championship
Matthew Javier ’24, Eric Zhao ’25, Tyler Bunker ’25 and Ethan Fong ’24, fought a two-day battle in wind and rain at the FireRock Golf Club just west of London, Ontario. They emerged victorious. On October 12 and 13, Crescent’s boys’ golf team earned first place at the 2022 Boys Golf Championship held by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA). It is the first time Crescent has won an OFSAA gold in golf in the School’s history.
Matthew Javier finished as the low overall individual with rounds of 70 (-2) and 67 (-5), out of approximately 140 players. “This had been our goal forever, as long as the golf team has been around,” said Matthew. “Mr. Muranaka has been part of the team for 16 years. To get it done, especially when he’s coaching, was pretty cool.” He attributes their success to solid coaching from Headmaster Michael Fellin, and Upper School faculty Gavin Muranaka and Clark Davis. “They told us to focus on our own game, that every shot counted,” says Javier. “Golf is all about misses. You can only hit a handful of good shots per round, so it’s all about how you deal with your misses and how you can rebound from your mistakes.”
“This year, the team is young,” says Coach Davis. “It’s interesting to watch the mental game with these guys. It’s very developed.” The coaches had Matthew, Ethan and Eric signed on early — they’re seasoned players who were used to competition. But they needed a fourth to round out the team.
Tyler Bunker is an all-around athlete who plays golf recreationally and only recently began to take lessons. “He wasn’t even on our radar until September,” says Mr. Davis. “Ty approached me in accounting class and asked about trying out for the OFSAA team.” Bunker fit in perfectly with the team, and after getting through the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association (CISAA) competitions, they made their way to OFSAA.
“At OFSAA, your best three of four scores count each day,” says Mr. Muranaka. “Ty knew that the outcome would likely hinge on his score. He did an amazing job. He shot 79 on the first day and 78 on the second, which, in those conditions — winds, rain on and off — was admirable.” The team entered the second day of the competition with an eight-shot lead. The tension was high. “We were crunching the numbers,” says Mr. Davis. “The live scoring didn’t show the team numbers, they just showed individual scores.” At one point, their eight-shot lead narrowed to four shots but the boys stayed focused on their own scores and managed to widen their lead again. They finished 11 shots ahead of St. Andrew's College, and Mr. Muranaka gets to enjoy his gold medal after 16 years of coaching the Upper School golf team.
