Ready to tee off
Mustangs lead way with 4 WPIAL golf qualifiers
Laurel Highlands will be well represented when the WPIAL Individual Golf Championships begin this Monday for Class 3A boys and Class 3A girls.
The girls in Class 2A will also play Monday in the first round of the WPIAL tournament. The boys who have qualified out of their section tournaments in Class 2A will start their quest for district golf on Tuesday.
The Mustangs will have three competitors in the Class 3A boys competition with a trio of seniors in Kayden Smith, Dan O’Neal and Aiden Milsom at Hannastown Golf Club in Greensburg.
Smith, who earned medalist honors in the Section 2-3A qualifier this past Monday after shooting a 2-under-par 70 at Butler’s Golf Woodside Course in Elizabeth, will tee off with the first group at 9 a.m.
Fox Chapel’s Carson Kittsley, who is a two-time defending state champion that won last year’s district title, is in the first group, along with Greensburg Salem’s Luke Sikora and Pine-Richland’s Sam Schneck.
Kittsley and Sikora were 3-under par in their section qualifiers, while Schneck was 2-under par.
O’Neal, who shot the target score of 79 at Butler’s, will tee off at 9:48 in the 18th group. Trinity’s Lucas Daniels, Norwin’s Colin Madden and Central Catholic’s TJ Beltz are the other three to make up the foursome.
Milsom also carded a round of 79 at Butler’s, and will tee off right after his teammate at 9:56 in the 19th group. He will play with Montour’s Drew Dess, Norwin’s Landon Stoner and Hempfield’s Caleb Henry.
Albert Gallatin sophomore Garrett Snyder will hit his first tee shot at 9 a.m. with the 12th group. He is paired with North Allegheny’s Roman Habib, Moon’s Patrick Queen and West Allegheny’s Ethan Bobonski.
Snyder carded a round of 77 at Butler’s to qualify for his first WPIAL tournament.
Laurel Highlands’ Sydney Glover qualified for the WPIAL championship in girls Class 3A after shooting a round of 87 in her qualifier.
The ninth grader is in the fourth group at Hillcrest Country Club in Lower Burrell with Fox Chapel’s London Bitar, Peters Township’s Annie Higgins and Bethel Park’s Kaylee Kreigline. The quartet will tee off at 10 a.m.
Brownsville senior Ava Rohland will compete in the girls Class 2A tournament after firing an 86 during her section qualifier.
Rohland will tee off with the second group of four at Hillcrest Country Club on Monday at 9:40 a.m. with Greensburg Central Catholic’s Kelly Kennedy, Sewickley Academy’s Alankriti Baksji and Oakland Catholic’s Riley Levers.
The boys in Class 2A will compete in the first round on Tuesday at South Hills Country Club in Whitehall.
Carmichaels’ Eli Hastings shot the lowest round for local players in his section qualifier with a 3-over-par 74. The junior will tee off with the third group at 9:18 a.m. He will play with Shady Side Academy’s Ben Cravens, North Catholic’s Christopher Faber and McGuffey’s Josh Rusmisel.
The Mikes’ Anthony Post carded a 77 in the section tournament to advance, and the senior will tee off with the eighth group at 10:03 a.m. Ambridge’s Charles Stefanik, Yough’s Carl Singer and Riverside’s Tony Chill are the remaining three in the group.
Mount Pleasant sophomore Hunter Snyder will tee off at 9:45 with the sixth group. Snyder, who shot 76 in the section qualifier, will play with Quaker Valley’s Joseph Kamnikar, Neshannock’s Noah Gabriel and Laurel’s Seth Gilmore.
Geibel Catholic senior John Hess qualified after carding a 79 in the section tournament. Hess will tee off with the seventh group at 9:54 a.m. He will play with Ellwood City’s Anderson Wesiz, Bishop Canevin’s Jamin Brock and Deer Lakes’ Adam Duffy.
The 14th group has three players in Jefferson-Morgan senior Miles Sowden, Southmoreland senior Gray Moyer and Waynesburg Central junior Ryan Midla, who all shot a round of 80 in their section tournament. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Matt Prince is also in the foursome. The group will tee off at 9:36 a.m.
Brownsville senior Dominic Capan and Southmoreland junior Brock Pritts will play in the 15th group after both finished their section qualifier at 80. McGuffey’s Max Mezyk and Neshannock’s Aspen Tanner are also in the group that will tee off at 9:45 a.m.
The WPIAL championships will consist of cumulative strike play during two 18-hole rounds. The top 36 players and ties from the first round will advance to the final rounds, as the Class 3A boys will compete at Sewickley Heights Golf Club in Sewickley on Oct. 5, and the Class 2A boys will play their final round on Oct. 6 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont. The Class 2A and 3A girls will finish their final rounds on Oct. 5 at Valleybrook Country Club in McMurray.
The top 14 scorers in 3A boys, the top 18 scores in 2A boys’, the top seven scores in 3A girls’, and the top nine scores in 2A girls’ from the 36-hole WPIAL championships will advance to the state tournament on Oct. 19-20 at the Penn State University golf course in State College.