The Oakland men’s golf team visited Lakewood Country Club in Ohio last week as it looked to defend its Tom Tontimonia Invitational crown from last season.

And that it did.

The Golden Grizzlies defeated 13 other teams, including a slew of Horizon League teams as well as higher profile schools like Butler and Dayton. Oakland finished with a score of +11 shots over par throughout the three-round event.

Oakland finished with an overall score of 863 throughout the event, which turned out to be two shots better than Butler’s 865. Dayton and Bowling Green State followed up in the standings as each team finished with 871 strokes. 

Yaro Ilyenko led the way for the Golden Grizzlies throughout the event. The junior shot a 75 in the first round but followed it up with a pair of 70s to bring his three-round total to 215.

Ilyenko finished in a five-way tie for fifth place as an individual.

Oakland’s Colin Sikkenga was one of the five golfers that finished tied with Ilyenko at 215 strokes. Sikkenga posted a remarkable 69 in the second round to help himself to the fifth-place finish.

Oakland had a third golfer, Anthony Comito, finish just one stroke behind Ilyenko and Sikkenga. Comito posted a 216, with a pair of 71s and a 74 in the third round. 

Comito finished +3 overall throughout the event. 

After Comito, came Ellis Kinnaird, who shot a 217. A 75 in the first round hindered his overall score, but Kinnaird bounced back nicely with a 73 in the second round and a 69 in the final round to finish just seven strokes off the leader.

Kinnaird’s 217 was good for a six-way tie for 14th place. 

Grant Tucker was Oakland’s fifth-leading scorer. He shot a 219, which was good for a four-way tie for 22nd place. 

Tucker was extremely consistent throughout the event, putting up scores of 73, 72 and 74.

The junior finished with the same score as Cleveland State’s top golfer, which goes to show Oakland’s dominance over the Horizon League throughout the event. 

As a team, Oakland finished 12 strokes better than the next closest Horizon League team, which was Northern Kentucky. 

Finally, Oakland’s final competitor, Luke Kelly finished with a 231, which was good for a six-way tie with 60th place. 

Kelly shot a 75 in the first round, followed by a pair of 78s to finish off the event. 

Oakland’s second-round score of 283 was the invitational’s second-best score, only behind Butler’s 281 in the third round. 

The Golden Grizzlies will now prepare for their next event, which will be the Musketeers Classic in Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 10-11.

Teams that will be participating in the event will be Xavier, Villanova, DePaul, Wright State, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Bowling Green, Western Kentucky, Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky, Butler (individuals only), Ohio State (individuals only) and West Virginia (individuals only).