Salvitti, Jurica Capture WPIAL Boys’ Golf Individual Gold

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held the final rounds of its Boys’ Golf Individual Championships in the 2A and 3A classifications this week, with 2A competing at Oakmont Country Club on Tuesday and 3A playing at Allegheny Country Club on Thursday. In 3A, Central Catholic senior Rocco Salvitti earned gold after finishing inside the top six in his previous three WPIAL championships, and in 2A, Derry senior Hunter Jurica became the school’s first boys’ golf individual champion.

Salvitti is the fourth different Central Catholic student-athlete to capture a WPIAL boys’ golf individual crown, joining Russ Manski (1995), Jimmy Meyers (2018), and Brent Rodgers (2012), and is the 18th different winner in 18 years at 3A. Jurica is the fourth different winner in four years at 2A after Riverside’s Skyler Fox won three consecutive titles from 2016-18.

LINK: 2022 WPIAL 3A Boys’ Golf Final Round Results
LINK: 2022 WPIAL 2A Girls’ Golf Final Round Results

Beginning the day with a 71 (E) following his opening round at Champion Lakes Golf Course, Salvitti fired a 68 (-2) this afternoon for a two-round tally of 139 (-2), ultimately leading the field by six strokes over both Penn-Trafford junior Nick Turowski (145, +4) and Central Catholic senior Connor Walker (145, +4). Salvitti netted 12 pars and four birdies on his final 18, ripping off six consecutive pars from the seventh to 12th holes, and back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15.

Turowski, the 2021 WPIAL 3A champion, and Walker shared the second spot, with the top 14 finishers in 3A earning qualification into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Golf Individual Championships. The trio was joined by Indiana junior Harrison Martineau (148, +7), Butler junior Hunter Swidzinski (149, +8), Plum sophomore Wes Lorish (149, +8), Central Catholic senior Aidan Burchianti (151, +10), Peters Township sophomore Colton Lusk (154, +13), Avonworth junior Kai Carlson (154, +13), Mars senior Blake Bertolo (155, +14), Pine-Richland senior Blaise Masciantonio (156, +15), North Allegheny sophomore Chris Hoffman (158, +17), Upper St. Clair junior Neil Joon (159, +18), and Moon junior Zack Ross (159, +18). Joon and Ross earned the final PIAA spots in a playoff against Shaler junior Joey Miller.

Entering the final round on Tuesday with a share of the lead at 74 (+4), Jurica posted a 78 (+7) for a two-round tally of 152 (+11) to defeat first-round co-leader Daniel Sethman of Brownsville (155, +14) by three strokes. The Derry senior collected 11 pars and a birdie at Oakmont to pull ahead, including a stretch of four straight pars from the 12th to 15th holes to take control.

Bronze went to Carmichaels junior Liam Lohr, who registered a two-round score of 156 (+15), while Frazier junior Nixen Erdely (157, +16) finished fourth after posting the day’s low round at 77 (+6). The top 18 finishers qualified for the PIAA Boys’ Golf Individual Championships, as the top four were joined by Uniontown junior Logan Voytish (160, +19), Quaker Valley senior Jackson Bould (160, +19) and sophomore Ethan Dai (160, +19), South Park junior JP Tusai (161, +20), Greensburg Central Catholic senior Wade Boyle (161, +20), Eden Christian Academy junior Luke Gronbeck (161, +20), Sewickley Academy senior Joey Mucci (162, +21), Knoch senior Mitch Davies (164, +23), Quaker Valley freshman Jonah Schollaert (165, +24), Freeport senior Nate Covey (165, +24), Sewickley Academy sophomore Severin Harmon (165, +24), Belle Vernon junior Rogan Maloney (166, +25), Ligonier Valley senior Josh Harbert (166, +25), and Mohawk junior Jay Wrona (166, +25).

Five of the 14 qualifiers in 3A will be returning to the PIAA Championships. Salvitti has now punched his ticket in each of his four varsity seasons, finishing seventh once (2019) and eighth twice (2020, 2021) in his previous appearances. Bertolo and Carlson will make their third state tournaments, with Carlson sharing the runner-up spot in 2A last year. Burchianti and Turowski played in the 2021 championships, with the latter tying for fourth.

Nine qualifiers from 2A will be making at least their second PIAA Championships appearance. Mucci has now made it in all four of his varsity seasons, finishing as high as 10th in 2020. Bould, Dai, Erdely, Gronbeck, Harmon, Jurica, Lohr, and Sethman all played in last year’s championships, with Bould sharing the runner-up position and Jurica placing in a tie for sixth.

The original fields for the 2A and 3A Boys’ Golf Individual Championships consisted of 90 and 77 golfers, respectively. This year’s championships were played in a two-round format, with the top 36 finishers from each classification, including ties, after the first round advanced to this week’s championships.

The PIAA Boys’ Golf Individual Championships will consist of two rounds and is set to be held on Oct. 17-18 at Penn State Golf Courses. The 3A qualifiers will play on the White Course, and the 2A qualifiers will compete on the Blue Course.

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