Salvitti, Jurica, Sethman Share First Round Leads in WPIAL Boys’ Golf Individual Championships

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held the first round of the Boys’ Golf Individual Championships in the 2A and 3A classifications from Sept. 27-28, with 78 student-athletes moving onto their respective final rounds.

The 2A first round was held on Monday, Sept. 26 at Hannastown Country Club, and the 3A first round was hosted by Champion Lakes Golf Course on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The top 36 scores plus ties from the 2A first round move onto Oakmont Country Club for the final round on Tuesday, Oct. 4, while the top 36 finishers from the 3A first round will compete at Allegheny Country Club for the final round on Thursday, Oct. 6. There was a three-way tie for 36th in 3A, and a five-way deadlock for 36th in 2A.

In 3A, Central Catholic senior Rocco Salvitti carries a two-stroke lead over classmate Connor Walker and Penn-Trafford junior Nick Turowski after firing a 71 (E). Salvitti posted seven pars, four birdies, and an eagle over the course of his round to best his teammate Walker and the reigning 3A champion Turowski. Walker and Turowski both carded a 73 (+2), followed by three golfers in Butler junior Hunter Swidzinski, Pine-Richland senior Blaise Masciantonio, and Central Catholic senior Aidan Burchianti with scores of 74 (+3). The remainder of the top 10 – Plum sophomore Wes Lorish, Avonworth junior Kai Carlson, Mars senior Blake Bertolo, and Indiana junior Trevor Todd – are all within five strokes of Salvitti.

Central Catholic and Peters Township both had four student-athletes place above the cut line, with the Indians led by sophomore Colton Lusk’s score of 79 (+8). Mars, North Allegheny, and Shaler all had three golfers qualify for the championship round, and six other schools (Butler, Indiana, North Catholic, Pine-Richland, Shady Side Academy, Upper St. Clair) will send two student-athletes to Allegheny Country Club next Thursday.

In 2A, Derry senior Hunter Jurica and Brownsville junior Daniel Sethman share the first-round lead with a score of 74 (+4). Jurica’s round consisted of eight pars and three birdies, while Sethman tallied 10 pars and a pair of birdies on his opening 18. South Park junior JP Tusai and Uniontown junior Logan Voytish are a stroke behind the leading duo with rounds of 75 (+5), while Belle Vernon junior Rogan Maloney rounds out the top five with a score of 76 (+6). The top 13 golfers will enter the final round within five strokes of Jurica and Sethman.

Sewickley Academy leads the way with five student-athletes finishing above the cut line, led by senior Joey Mucci’s round of 79 (+9). Quaker Valley had four golfers qualify for the final round, highlighted by the score of 78 (+8) from freshman Jonah Schollaert. Belle Vernon, Carmichaels, Fort Cherry, and Greensburg Central Catholic all saw three student-athletes place inside top 36 following the first round.

LINK: 2022 WPIAL 3A Boys’ Golf Individual Championships First Round Results
LINK: 2022 WPIAL 2A Boys’ Golf Individual Championships First Round Results

The WPIAL Boys’ Golf Individual Championships are now played in a two-round format. The scores accumulated from the first round will carry over to their respective championships. Tee times and pairings for the final round of the WPIAL Boys’ Golf Individual Championships at Oakmont Country Club and Allegheny Country Club will be released on Friday.

Below is a list of student-athletes by school moving onto the final round from the 2A and 3A classifications.

3A
Avonworth: Kai Carlson (11)
Butler: Hunter Swidzinski (11), Wyatt Kos (11)
Central Catholic: Rocco Salvitti (12), Connor Walker (12), Aidan Burchianti (12), Dan Donahue (12)
Fox Chapel: David Fuhrer (11)
Franklin Regional: Nolan Shilling (12)
Indiana: Trevor Todd (11), Harrison Martineau (11)
Laurel Highlands: Nate Schwertfeger (12)
Mars: Blake Bertolo (12), Ryan Steigerwald (12), Will Campbell (10)
Moon: Zack Ross (11)
Mt. Lebanon: Callan Wilcox (12)
North Allegheny: Chris Hoffman (10), Collin Wang (11), Jake Watterson (11)
North Catholic: Ethan Ellis (12), Erik Schneider (12)
Norwin: Alex Graham (11)
Penn-Trafford: Nick Turowski (11)
Peters Township: Colton Lusk (10), Ben Miller (10), Nick Wetzel (12), Austin Malley (12)
Pine-Richland: Blaise Masciantonio (12), Will Hilton (10)
Plum: Wes Lorish (10)
Shady Side Academy: Landon Mauser (10), Ryan Frohlich (10)
Shaler: Joey Miller (11), Jake Kunc (11), Jacob Crissman (10)
Upper St. Clair: Connor McKenzie (10), Neil Joon (11)

2A
Belle Vernon: Rogan Maloney (11), Jordan Mocello (9), Seth Tomalski (10)
Bishop Canevin: Max Samangy (12)
Brownsville: Daniel Sethman (11)
Burrell: Tucker Bitar (10)
Carmichaels: Liam Lohr (11), Dustin Hastings (11), Mason Lapana (11)
Derry: Hunter Jurica (12), Ashton Beighley (12)
Eden Christian Academy: Luke Gronbeck (11)
Fort Cherry: Sam Schuman (12), Alan Tarolli (11), Braden Dombroski (12)
Frazier: Nixen Erdely (11)
Freeport: Nate Covey (12)
Geibel Catholic: Evan Bower (12)
Greensburg Central Catholic: Wade Boyle (12), Braden Riley (10)
Knoch: Mitch Davies (12), Gasparo Porco (12)
Ligonier Valley: Josh Harbert (12)
McGuffey: Jacob Ross (12)
Mohawk: Jay Wrona (11)
Mt. Pleasant: Ryan Karfelt (10)
Neshannock: Max Vitale (11), Matt Morelli (11)
Quaker Valley: Jonah Schollaert (9), Jackson Bould (12), Ethan Dai (10), Nolan Wagoner (10)
Riverside: Reece Pilarski (12)
Sewickley Academy: Joey Mucci (12), Severin Harmon (10), Leon Jiao (12), Nick Straka (12), Karan Kad (10)
South Park: JP Tusai (11)
Uniontown: Logan Voytish (11)