Mustangs move on
Smith tops field as 3 LH golfers advance to WPIAL tourney
Kayden Smith was the lone golfer to shoot under par, as the Laurel Highlands senior carded a 2-under 70 on Monday in the Section 2-3A Boys WPIAL Individual Section Qualifier at Butler’s Golf Woodside Course in Elizabeth.
Smith was not the only Mustang to qualify for the WPIAL individual tournament in Class 3A, which begins on Sept. 28 at Hannastown Golf Club in Greensburg, as senior teammates Dan O’Neal and Aiden Milsom shot the target score of 79 to reach the district championship.
Albert Gallatin sophomore Garrett Snyder finished his 18 holes with a score of 77 to qualify for the WPIAL tournament.
The WPIAL championships will consist of cumulative strike play during two 18-hole rounds. The top 36 players and ties from the round at Hannastown Golf Club will advance to the final round at Sewickley Heights Golf Club in Sewickley on Oct. 5. An aggregate score from all 36 holes will be used to determine final placement. The top 14 scores in Class 3A will qualify for the state tournament at Penn State University Golf Courses in State College on Oct. 19 and 20.
Smith started his round off strong with a birdie on the par-5 hole at No. 1 prior to a second birdie on the seventh, which was another par 5. He had par putts on the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and nine holes, but bogeyed the third to shoot a 1-under 35 on the front nine.
Smith birdied two par-5 holes on the back 9, as she sunk putts on the 10th and 14th. He had six putts for par, but dropped a stroke on the 18th to finish at 2 under, but he was three shots lower than Elizabeth Forward’s Aaron Didjunas, who carded a round of 73.
Thomas Jefferson’s Ty Hartman and the Warriors’ Julian Hredocik finished tied for third with a score of 74.
Elizabeth Forward’s Luke Boyer and the Jaguars’ Nathan Thatcher tied for fifth at 76. Snyder and EF’s Gavin Madden tied for seventh before the Warriors’ Dom Donato shot a 78 for ninth.
O’Neal and Milsom finished in a tie for 10th place.
Connellsville’s Wade Bryner and Laurel Highlands’ Damon Revak were one shot from qualifying in scoring rounds of 80.
Luke Edwards and Maddox Ceccarelli each shot 81 to lead Belle Vernon.
Uniontown’s Liam Glover finished his round with an 88.