HS Golf: Lujana, Lehman repeat champions at Tribe tournament

EXETER – Michael Lujano and the entire Lake-Lehman team were champions again Monday at the Tom Tribe Memorial Tournament at Fox Hill Country Club.

Lightning interrupted the tournament once and then ended it early, leaving about half the players one or two holes short of completing their rounds.

The second delay lasted for hours, with the clock being reset by half an hour every time lightning registered on the monitors. Finally, as 5:30 p.m. approached, as the players had just arrived at the points on the court where play had been suspended, the discovery of another lightning strike less than 10 miles from the court caused the players to be called off for good.

Players who did not complete their rounds received par for the last hole or bogey and par if they had two holes remaining. This option had already been used by all but four teams, with players leaving the pitch intermittently throughout the delay.

Almost half of the players from Lake-Lehman, Crestwood, Hazleton Area and Dallas ended up filling out the same scorecards.

That interpretation left Lake-Lehman with a one-stroke victory over Crestwood, posting a four-player team score of 294.

Lujano posted all five of his birdies on the back nine and finished with a 4-under 67.

“My birdie on 10 gave me a little bit of momentum, and the one I made on 11 gave me even more momentum,” Lujano said. “Then some shots just started coming from the back instead of the front.”

Lujano finished three strokes ahead of the three players who tied for second place.

Teammate Eli Rapecki and Crestwood’s Derek Johnson and Tommy Biscotti shot 70s.

Connor Mateo’s 71 led to Hazleton Area’s third. The Cougars scored 306 as a team.

Pittston Area finished fourth with 327, followed by Wyoming with 332 and then a tie between Dallas and Holy Redeemer with 333.

11 teams participated in the tournament, as well as entries from four other schools.