HURRICANE -- Finish ahead of Hurricane High School and most likely your team wins the golf tournament.

The catch? That didn't happen very often especially when the Redskins teed it up in league, regional or state tournaments.

In the past four seasons, Hurricane won the Mountain State Athletic Conference crown four times, the West Virginia Class AAA Region IV title three times and the state championship three times, too.

Hurricane supporters paid tribute to the team at a banquet Tuesday night at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club. Before the banquet, Brian Anania and Aaron Barna, two senior standouts for the Redskins, signed National Letters of Intent to play next year at Marshall.

Rounding out Hurricane's super six seniors were Sam Booth, Wyatt Burgess, Taylor Green and Jared Nelson.

"This means a lot," Anania said. "This never happened at the school before. It's nice to be a part of history." The golf team has three of the school's five state titles. The others came in baseball and girls track.

Hurricane became the fifth team in the 56-year history of the state tournament to record a three-peat. The others were Buckhannon-Upshur (1980-82), Barboursville (1983-85), Bridgeport (1992-94) and Huntington High (1997-99).

At the banquet, players sat at the head table. Each player got a framed portrait. A championship cake was on a table in the back of the room along with the three championship trophies. The audience also got to see a slide show of the players as they progressed through the years.

"What a way to cap off a year and a career," Barna said. "That brings back a lot of memories."

All six are members at Sleepy Hollow, where they got their start.

Barna got in many rounds with his dad, Jeff.

"He took me out, I liked it and was hooked," Barna said. "I wanted to play."

Barna also gave credit to Sleepy Hollow pro Jonathan Clark, who played college golf at Marshall. He's been at the club 10 years.

"I owe him everything for what he's done for me," Barna said. "He was always there for us. He was someone to talk to, someone to play a round with. Hopefully that will continue."

The seniors learned to compete on the Top Flite Junior Tour and advanced through the four age groups (10-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18). Barna was the tour's player of the year twice. Barna won the West Virginia Junior Match Play title in 2008 and Anania captured the Junior Amateur crown in 2009. He's also the West Virginia Golf Association's 2009 Junior Player of the Year.

"I started competitively when I was 12," Anania said. "I was hooked. The Top Flite Tour was great. I stayed with it, worked hard and a lot of good things came out."

As sophomores, the Redskins headed to Wheeling with confidence. The 36-hole state tournament is held in early October on the Jones Course at the Oglebay Resort. Two factors present each year are chilly weather and long rounds on the demanding course.

"We felt if we play to our potential we'll be fine," Barna said. "The first usually is the hardest. We wanted two more."

"I figured everybody else had to play the same course," Booth said. "After the first day the nerves were gone."

Booth's confidence level remained high the next two years.

"We were confident, but we didn't look past anyone," he said. "I think after our sophomore year, three titles were on our minds. It was doable. We showed we can play anywhere under any conditions. All that hard work paid off."

Barna was medalist in the state as a sophomore and finished runner-up the next two years, losing in playoffs each time. Wheeling Park's Marshall Hone beat him in 2008 and Anania got him in October.

"It was very special to go out like that," Anania said. "That was our final high school round."

Four Hurricane players got in one more event after the state. Anania, Barna, Booth and Green were four of the eight players on the South team for the first North-South Junior Matches. The South won, 7-5, on the Cobb Course at The Resort at Glade Springs.

"We're all friends but we got them once again," Anania said of beating the North squad. "It was a fun event."

"That was a special win," Booth said. "We all knew each other. We went out and had fun."

Right before the reception started, Burgess summed up best what Tuesday and the past four years meant to the players and people in the room.

"A little bit of heartbreak," he said, referring to the end of high school golf. "I have so many good memories. We had quite a run."

AP Video

Courtesy of Dorie Anania

Hurricane golfers Brian Anania, left, and Aaron Barna, right, are joining the Marshall Thundering Herd golf team coached by Joe Feaganes, center.