How D-10 golfers fared in PIAA final round: North East's Swan claims silver, other results
The putts for North East junior Anna Swan came up just short over the closing holes in her bid for a title during Tuesday's final round for the PIAA Class 2A girls golf tournament at State College.
Swan converted a birdie on the par-five 18th hole of Penn State's Blue Course. However, that followed an attempt at an eagle putt which stopped several ball dimples short of the cup.
Had Swan converted that chance at a three, she would have tied playing partner Hannah Rabb atop the scoreboard.
Instead, it was the junior from District 4 Warrior Run who maintained her one-stroke lead and the division's championship.
Rabb finished at an even-par 144 to Swan's 1-over 145.
Swan said she was on the course's 13th tee box when she realized it was time to take chances for closing the gap on Rabb. District 10's top seed for the tournament was four back at that time.
Swan, though, only managed her closing birdie over that span.
“I played more aggressively, but I still didn't do much,” she said. “I gave myself good chances (at birdies), but they just didn't fall.
Rabb only recorded one red number all day. However, it was a significant one.
She had an eagle two on the course's 393-yard fifth hole.
Swan was one of five District 10 medalists.
Hickory's Sasha Petrochko was third (4-over 148), while teammate Luciana Masters tied for seventh (16-over 160). They remained in State College for Wednesday's one-round PIAA 2A girls team tournament, which the Hornets won a year ago.
West Middlesex freshman Kate Sowers was fourth (6-over 150) and Zoe Stern of Reynolds tied for ninth (17-over 161).
Swan did little to suppress the anger she felt about not winning the tournament. Nor did she deny the incentive to accomplish that going into senior year with the Grapepickers.
She wants to win the same tournament that Lydia Swan, her older sister, did in 2019.
“I know I'm capable of winning this,” Anna Swan said. “This (result) is more gas to the fire.”
Union City's James falls short of repeat, but earns medal
Josh James almost immediately sensed it would be one of those forgettable rounds every golfer experiences.
Unfortunately, the Union City senior also knew it would be one extremely difficult to forget.
There were no what-ifs or second guesses by the end of Tuesday's final round of PIAA Class 2A boys tournament.
A 9-over par 81 for the first-round leader ruined any hope he'd had in repeating as its champion.
No birdies on Penn State University's Blue Course. Seven bogeys. One double bogey.
It was, as James bluntly put it, a bad day.
“I just didn't feel it,” James said. “When I was 2-over through (the first) three holes, I knew it wouldn't be the best day going forward. That proved to show.”
Had James successfully defended, he would have been the district's first male golfer to claim consecutive state titles since Franklin graduate Barrett Melvin won its first two tournaments in 1935-36.
James also would have assured the PIAA's best 2A male golfer was from District 10 for a third straight season. North East graduate Isaiah Swan won the 2019 tournament, which took place at York's Heritage Hills Golf Resort.
Instead, Tuesday's champion was Nick Ciocca of District 12 Devon Prep. The junior won with a 36-hole score of 6-under 138, one fewer than Slippery Rock star Jacob Wolak, who closed with the tournament's best round.
Wolak, thanks to Tuesday's five-under 67, was the silver medalist at 5-under 139. The senior was one of three 2A boys who finished with red numbers.
Michael Lugiano of District 2 Lake Lehman was third at 4-under 140.
James took slight solace that his 81 didn't deny him from finishing as the district's second state medalist. He was one stroke lower than Luke Gronbeck of District 7 Eden Christian Academy, the tournament's 10th and final recipient.
“It's been a journey from not making it out of districts my freshman year,” James said. “It was a good career. I wish things would have been better (Tuesday), but it happens.”
More:'A lucky shot' part of Union City golfer's first-place opening round at PIAA golf tournament
Taylor takes home 3A boys medal
Tuesday also was the last varsity round for Breckin Taylor, another former PIAA gold medalist.
The senior, who helped the Cathedral Prep Ramblers win the state's 3A team title in 2020, came in fifth at 2-over 146. He recorded consecutive rounds of 73 on Penn State's White Course.
Taylor began Tuesday's action in a mammoth seven-way tie for 11th place. He birdied two of Tuesday's first six holes, but bogeyed three straight going into the turn.
Kyle Westfall, like Taylor a former district gold medalist, had back-to-back rounds of 79 in his final appearance for the Erie High Royals.
Cedar Crest's Dylan Ramsey, only a freshman, maintained his first-round lead for the title. The District 3 golfer, thanks to a birdie on his final hole, won at 4-under 140 to the 141 for Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Rocco Salvitti.
Swan's silver best of district's five 2A female medalists
Just short is the best way to describe Anna Swan's putting over the closing holes of Tuesday's round.
It's also the best way to describe the North East junior's place in the division's final standings.
Swan converted a birdie on the par-five 18th hole of Penn State's Blue Course. However, that followed an eagle putt which stopped several ball dimples short of the cup.
Had Swan converted that chance at a three, she would have tied playing partner Hannah Rabb atop the scoreboard.
Instead, it was the junior from District 4 Warrior Run who maintained her one-stroke lead and the division's championship.
Rabb finished at an even-par 144 to Swan's 1-over 145.
Swan said she was on the course's 13th tee box when she realized it was time to take chances for closing the gap on Rabb. The district's top seed for the tournament was four back at that time.
Swan, though, only managed her closing birdie over that span.
“I played more aggressively, but I still didn't do much,” she said. “I gave myself good chances (at birdies), but they just didn't fall.
Rabb only recorded one red number all day. However, it was a significant one.
She had an eagle two on the course's 393-yard fifth hole.
Swan was one of five District 10 medalists.
Hickory's Sasha Petrochko was third (4-over 148), while teammate Luciana Masters tied for seventh (16-over 160). They remained in State College for Wednesday's one-round PIAA 2A girls team tournament, which the Hornets won a year ago.
West Middlesex freshman Kate Sowers was fourth (6-over 150) and Zoe Stern of Reynolds tied for ninth (17-over 161).
Swan didn't little to suppress the anger she felt about not winning the tournament. Nor did she deny the incentive to accomplish that going into senior year with the Grapepickers.
She wants to win the same tournament that Lydia Swan, her older sister, did in 2019.
“I know I'm capable of winning this,” Anna Swan said. “This (result) is more gas to the fire.”
Royal representation in 3A girls field
Tuesday marked the final varsity round for Erie High's Elizabeth D'Andrea. The district's lone participant in the field finished with consecutive rounds of 84 on the White Course.
D'Andrea hadn't qualified for state play before this season.
“I'm just glad I could be there,” she said. “I didn't play how I wanted to, but it was cool to (compete) with some the best golfers in the state. I was pretty nervous on the first tee shot (Monday), but (Tuesday) I calmed down.”
Lower Merion senior Sydney Yermish, at 5-under 139, repeated as the state's best large-school champ.
More:Cathedral Prep captures District 10 Class 3A boys team golf title
PIAA TV broadcast
The Pennsylvania Cable Network will broadcast edited coverage of the two-day tournament on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. Included will be the medal presentations and features on the top-10 medalists in each division.
That means Swan (2A girls), James (2A boys) and Taylor (3A boys) will receive air time.
D-10 dominates 2A girls team field
On Wednesday, Hickory retained its status as the PIAA's best small-school girls golf program.
Mercyhurst Prep also complemented the Hornets' repeat in a historic way.
Hickory, despite miserable weather and playing conditions for Penn State's Blue Course, won its second straight 2A state championship. The Hornets' official team score of 236 consisted of rounds of 78 for Sasha Petrochko and Luciana Masters, plus Ava Liburdi's 80.
Madeline Myers (101) and Ava Miklos (102) also competed for Hickory, which joined the former Villa Maria Victors (2A girls in 2014-15) as District 10 golf programs that have won back-to-back state championships.
Not accomplished before Wednesday was a district sweep of the PIAA's first-place and second-place trophies in one field.
Mercyhurst joined Hickory in attaining that first. The Lakers, second at 264, was four fewer than third-place Scranton Prep.
PIAA officials granted the Lakers, based on their second-place district score of 262, an at-large berth into the tournament. However, coach Kathy Lynch said Mercyhurst didn't receive word of its inclusion until Oct. 12. That was a week before the state tournament and nearly two weeks after the district competition concluded at The Country Club of Meadville.
That delayed invitation, combined with Wednesday's dismal conditions, left Lynch elated with the team's silver medal status.
“We had a little bit of an inkling that we could still get in (with an at-large berth), so we decided to continue to practice just in case,” she said. “We thought we'd get that phone call (from the PIAA) a week after districts. At that point, we thought we weren't in, but we kept practicing anyway.
“When we finally got that call, we couldn't have been more excited to go.”
The Lakers' Katie Caryl, who also qualified for the state's 2A girls individual tournament earlier this week, recorded their low round with an 83. Izzy Barbero finished at 90 and Lia Macek at 91.
Lena Fuss (103) was Mercyhurst's fourth starter.
The McDowell girls (fourth in 3A) and Lakeview boys (sixth in 2A) were other district teams involved in Wednesday's tournament. The district didn't advance a 3A boys team.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
PIAA golf results
The winners and District 10 results for the PIAA golf tournament at Penn State University's par-72 Blue and White Courses. The top 10 golfers with ties received medals:
Class 2A girls
Blue Course
1. Hannah Rabb, Warrior Run 70-74-144
2. Anna Swan, North East 73-72-145
3. Sasha Petrochko, Hickory 76-72-148
4. Kate Sowers, West Middlesex 77-73-150
7. (tie including) Luciana Masters, Hickory 77-83-160
9. (tie including) Zoe Stern, Reynolds 82-79-161
16. Katie Caryl, Mercyhurst Prep 91-81-172
22. AnnaMarie Zinram, Cathedral Prep 90-94-184
Class 2A boys
Blue Course
1. Nick Ciocca, Devon Prep 70-68-138
2. Jacob Wolak, Slippery Rock 72-67-139
9. Josh James, Union City 69-81-150
19. (tie including) Nathan Feltmeyer, Fort LeBoeuf 83-73-156
55. (five-way tie including) Cade Bender, West Middlesex 84-85-169
60. (tie including) Joe Grundy, Saegertown 87-83-170
62. Will Fessler, Fairview 80-91-171
66. (tie including) Andrew Hatton, Iroquois 89-87-176
68. Owen Kemp, North East 85-93-178
Class 3A girls
White Course
1. Sydney Yermish, Lower Merion 72-67-139
24. Elizabeth D'Andrea, Erie High 84-84-168
Class 3A boys
White Course
1. Dylan Ramsey, Cedar Crest 67-73-140
5. Breckin Taylor, Cathedral Prep 73-73-146
48. (four-way tie including) Kyle Westfall, Erie High 79-79-158
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The overall winners and District 10 results for the PIAA team golf tournament at Penn State University's Blue and White Courses:
Class 2A girls
Blue Course
1. HICKORY (236): Sasha Petrochko 78, Luciana Masters 78, Ava Liburdi 80. Other golfers: Madeline Myers 101, Ava Miklos 102
2. MERCYHURST PREP (264): Katie Caryl 83, Izzy Barbero 90, Lia Macek 91. Other golfer: Lena Fuss 103
Class 2A boys
Blue Course
1. LAKE LEHMAN (296)
6. LAKEVIEW (343): Chris Mong 83, Adam Snyder 86, Jackson Gadsby 87, Owen Dye 87. Other golfer: Maddox Bell 88
Class 3A girls
White Course
1. PHOENIXVILLE (240)
4. McDOWELL (277): Alexis Marsh 85, Analise Wolf 94, Genelia Kang 98. Other golfers: Ava Neumeier 100, Brooke Hamilton 100
Class 3A boys
White Course
1. PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC (299)
Note: District 10 didn't qualify a team.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: North East's Swan, Slippery Rock's Wolak take 2nd in PIAA golf tourney
