Top of the leaderboard: Leopards’ Mocello earns honors as area’s top golfer

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Belle Vernon’s Jordan Mocello plays from the fairway on the sixth hole at Uniontown Country Club during a Section 2-AAA match against Uniontown on Aug. 16. The junior qualified for the PIAA Championship and led the Leopards to an undefeated section title and the WPIAL Class AAA team championship to earn Herald-Standard Boys Golfer of the Year honors.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Elizabeth Forward sophomore Aaron Didjunas follows through after playing a shot off the fairway on the sixth hole at Sewickley Heights Golf Club in the WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship final on Oct. 2.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Charleroi's Levi Large plays a shot onto the third green at Sewickley Heights Golf Club during the 2024 WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship final round.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Belle Vernon's Seth Tomalski kicks up a divot while playing from the fifth fairway at Duck Hollow Golf Club during the FCCA Golf Championship on Sept. 20.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Frazier's Aidan Hardy plays a chip shot on the third hole at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in a Section 8-AA match against Geibel Catholic on Sept. 3.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Connellsville's Ethan Porreca plays a soft chip onto the fifth green at Duck Hollow Golf Club during the FCCA Golf Championship on Sept. 20.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Connellsville's Ethan Porreca (left) and Belle Vernon's Jack Edwards talk before hitting their opening tee shots on the first hole at Oakmont Country Club during the 2024 WPIAL Class AAA Individual Golf Championship final round.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Laurel Highlands' Tyler Cook plays on a shot on the fifth hole at Uniontown Country Club during a Section 2-AAA match against Belle Vernon on Aug. 16.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Jefferson-Morgan's Urijah Teasdale watches as his putt slips into the cup on the ninth hole at Uniontown Country Club during the Section 3-AA qualifier on Sept. 16.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Charleroi's Levi Large blasts out of a sand trap on the third hole at Sewickley Heights Golf Club during the 2024 WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship final round.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Jefferson-Morgan's Urijah Teasdale plays his tee shot on the fifth hole at Sewickley Heights Golf Club during the 2024 WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship final round.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Geibel Catholic's Seth Dolan plays a shot on the eighth hole at Pleasant Valley Golf Club during a Section 8-AA match against Frazier.

Jim Downey | Herald-Standard

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Belle Vernon junior Jordan Mocello was the final qualifier in the WPIAL Class AAA championship first round and won a playoff in the district championship final round for the last berth into the state tournament.

Mocello finished tied for 28th in the state final and also led the Leopards into the WPIAL Class AAA team championship final.

Mocello’s consistent play throughout the regular season and postseason earned the junior top honors as the Herald-Standard Boys Golfer of the Year honors.

Mocello was in the first pair off the tee in the WPIAL Class AAA Individual Golf Championship final round at Oakmont, The junior rebounded from a lackluster first round with a 3-over 74 at Oakmont to put him in the hunt for a spot in the state final.

Mocello watched the scoreboard as the field, including teammate Seth Tomalski, slid back to him and when the last group finished he was in a two-man tie for the 14th spot. Mocello made quick work in the sudden-death playoff with a par.

Mocello also won the Section 2-AAA tournament.

Elizabeth Forward sophomore Aaron Didjuanas had one of the better rounds in the WPIAL Class AA final and pulled into a tie for the silver medal. Didjunas capped his season by finishing in a tie for 16th place in the PIAA Championship.

Teammates Tomalski and Jack Edwards join Mocello on the first team.

Tomalski placed 17th in the WPIAL final and earned All-County honors after finishing 10th in the FCCA Championship at Duck Hollow Golf Club.

Edwards won his first county title after posting an even-par 70. Edwards also qualified for the WPIAL final round.

Connellsville senior Ethan Porreca earned first-team honors after a solid season where he helped the Falcons to a second-place finish for the second year in row and a playoff berth. The lefthander earned All-County honors after finishing seventh.

The remainder of the first-team honorees are Class AA golfers.

Charleroi freshman Levi Large had quite an opening high school season after finishing 17th in the WPIAL Championship and in a tie for 47th in the PIAA final.

Jefferson-Morgan sophomore Urijah Teasdale just missed the WPIAL awards stand and a berth into the state tournament by one stroke after he finished 20th in the district championship.

Mount Pleasant senior Ryan Karfelt rounds out the first team honorees. Karfelt finished 20th in the WPIAL Class AA final.

Belle Vernon’s Melvin Gouker receives Coach of the Year honors after he led the Leopards to an undefeated section record, a school-record 18-hole team score in the WPIAL Class AAA team semifinals and a spot in the WPIAL finals.

The second team includes Connellsville’s Eli Armstrong, Laurel Highlands’ Tyler Cook, Belle Vernon’s Donnie Kroftcheck, Mount Pleasant’s Aydan Gross, Frazier’s Dylan Keilbach, Waynesburg Central’s Rykan Gustafson, and Elizabeth Forward’s Luke Boyer.

Keilbach tied for second place in the FCCA Tournament.

Honorable mention recognition goes to Waynesburg Central’s Jarett Tretinik, Charleroi’s Gage Patterson, Bentworth’s Ross Skerbetz, Elizabeth Forward’s Julien Hredocik, Albert Gallatin’s Caeden Williams, Beth-Center’s Luke Amon, Carmichaels’ Connor Lapana, Frazier’s Aidan Hardy, Geibel Catholic’s Mike Miller and Seth Dolan, Brownsville’s Benjamin Vojacek and Uniontown’s Trevor Uphold.