Sewickley, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) bestowed gold medals to its newest champions at the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Golf Individual Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday. Medalists in Class 3A were crowned at Oakmont Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and Class 2A medals were handed out on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Sewickley Heights Golf Club. Class 3A saw Peters Township senior Colton Lusk claim WPIAL gold, while McGuffey senior Logan Crowe led wire-to-wire in Class 2A to bring home the title.
Peters Township senior Colton Lusk is the school’s second WPIAL boys’ golf individual champion, joining Hunter Bruce, who won Class 3A in 2015. Lusk’s 36-hole par score of two-under marks the third consecutive year that the Class 3A champion finished at that number, with Central Catholic’s Rocco Salvitti in 2022 and Penn-Trafford’s Nick Turowski in 2023 accomplishing it previously. Lusk entered the WPIAL Championships with a sixth-place finish last season and an eighth-place effort in 2022.
McGuffey senior Logan Crowe is the first student-athlete from his school to win a WPIAL title, and makes McGuffey the 54th different school to produce a WPIAL boys’ golf individual champion. Crowe qualified for the WPIAL Championships last year, though he didn’t advance from the first round.
The top 14 finishers in Class 3A and top 18 finishers in Class 2A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Golf Individual Championships, which will be held on Oct. 21-22 at Penn State Golf Courses.
CLASS 3A RECAP
Playing at Oakmont Country Club, who will host a record 10th U.S. Open in 2025, Peters Township senior Colton Lusk fired a four-under 67 to capture the Class 3A championship by five strokes, finishing with a 36-hole total of 141 (-2). Lusk recorded seven birdies – including three straight on the second, third, and fourth holes – and nine pars at Oakmont, after collecting two birdies and 13 pars a week earlier at Southpointe Golf Club.
Baldwin sophomore Michael Quallich was one of two silver medalists on the day, posting a 72 (+1) in the final round for a two-day tally of 146 (+3). Quallich birdied three of the final six holes at Oakmont and four overall in the final round, and added 10 pars.
Pine-Richland senior William Hilton also registered a 72 (+1) in the final round, sharing silver with a 36-hole total of 146 (+3). Hilton collected two birdies and 13 pars, rattling off a stretch of six straight pars from the fifth through 10th holes.
Two other student-athletes finished under par for the final round in Upper St. Clair senior Connor McKenzie (69, -2) and North Allegheny senior Christopher Hoffman (70, -1). West Allegheny freshman Nico Ward carded an eagle on the ninth hole.
Fox Chapel sophomore Carson Kittsley posted the best opening round of the tournament at Southpointe, recording a 73 (+1) with six birdies and six pars.
After the trio of Lusk, Quallich, and Hilton, the following golfers qualified for the PIAA Championships: Hoffman (147, +4), Kittsley (147, +7), Plum senior Wes Lorish (148, +5), Franklin Regional junior Colin Holt (151, +8), McKenzie (152, +9), South Fayette junior Sam Bishop (153, +10), Ward (153, +10), North Allegheny junior Ravi Desai (154, +11), Peters Township senior Griffin Hansberry (156, +13), Central Catholic senior Regan Logan (156, +13), and Belle Vernon junior Jordan Mocello (157, +14). Mocello claimed the final spot by winning a one-hole playoff with a par on the first hole.
Lusk and Lorish will be competing in their third PIAA Boys’ Golf Individual Championships, with both finishing inside the top 10 on their previous two appearances. Quallich, Hilton, Hoffman, McKenzie, Desai, and Mocello will all be appearing in their second PIAA Championships.
CLASS 2A RECAP
Beginning the day with a narrow one-stroke advantage, McGuffey senior Logan Crowe registered a 75 (+3) to claim the Class 2A gold by two strokes at Sewickley Heights Golf Club, finishing with a 36-hole tally of 148 (+4). Crowe, McGuffey’s first WPIAL boys’ golf individual champion, had three birdies and nine pars in the final round after recording a 73 (+1) with two birdies and 13 pars in the first round at Youghiogheny Country Club.
Elizabeth Forward sophomore Aaron Didjunas posted a 73 (+1) in the final round for a two-day total of 150 (+6), which brought home a share of the silver medal. Didjunas carded an eagle on the second hole, two birdies, and 10 pars at Sewickley Heights, with a birdie and five pars coming on the final six holes.
Sewickley Academy senior Severin Harmon was the low score in the final round with an even-par 72, which brought him even with Didjunas for the silver medal at 150 (+6). Harmon’s final round consisted of three birdies and 12 pars, and he closed strong with seven pars and a birdie on the back nine.
Crowe, Didjunas, and Harmon qualified for the PIAA Championships alongside Quaker Valley senior Ethan Dai (151, +7), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart junior Jonah Schollaert (151, +7), Shady Side Academy senior Landon Mauser (152, +8), South Allegheny senior Josh Nesky (153, +9), Laurel junior Eli Bintrim (155, +11), Neshannock sophomore Rocco Bautti (157, +13), Quaker Valley senior Nolan Wagoner (157, +13), Beaver County Christian senior Tyler Guevara (158, +14), Sewickley Academy senior Karan Kad (158, +14), Shady Side Academy sophomore Alex Avi (158, +14), Greensburg Central Catholic senior Braden Riley (159, +15), Ellwood City junior Jordan Keller (160, +16), Seton LaSalle senior John Dolan (160, +16), Charleroi freshman Levi Large (161, +17), and North Catholic junior Ben Kandravy (162, +18). Kandravy earned the final spot after winning a two-hole playoff with a pair of pars on the 18th hole.
This will be the fourth time that Harmon and Dai have competed at the PIAA Boys’ Golf Individual Championships, while it’s the third appearance for Schollaert, and the second for Didjunas, Nesky, and Riley.
PIAA PREVIEW
Dates & Location: Oct. 21-22 at Penn State Golf Courses
Amount of Champions from WPIAL: 22 (19 in Class 3A, 3 in Class 2A)
Class 3A Qualifiers: Colton Lusk (12), Peters Township; Michael Quallich (10), Baldwin; William Hilton (12), Pine-Richland; Christopher Hoffman (12), North Allegheny; Carson Kittsley (10), Fox Chapel; Wes Lorish (12), Plum; Colin Holt (11), Franklin Regional; Connor McKenzie (12), Upper St. Clair; Sam Bishop (11), South Fayette; Nico Ward (9), West Allegheny; Ravi Desai (11), North Allegheny; Griffin Hansberry (12), Peters Township; Regan Logan (12), Central Catholic; Jordan Mocello (11), Belle Vernon
- Appearances: Lusk – 3rd (t-4th in 2023, t-10th in 2022); Lorish – 3rd (t-2nd in 2023, t-10th in 2022);
Quallich – 2nd (t-14th in 2023); Hilton – 2nd (t-37th in 2023);
Hoffman – 2nd (t-32nd in 2022); McKenzie – 2nd (t-14th in 2023);
Desai – 2nd (t-14th in 2023); Mocello – 2nd (t-23rd in 2023, 2A);
Kittsley – 1st; Holt – 1st; Bishop – 1st; Ward – 1st; Hansberry – 1st; Logan – 1st
Class 2A Qualifiers: Logan Crowe (12), McGuffey; Aaron Didjunas (10), Elizabeth Forward; Severin Harmon (12), Sewickley Academy; Ethan Dai (12), Quaker Valley; Jonah Schollaert (11), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart; Landon Mauser (12), Shady Side Academy; Josh Nesky (12), South Allegheny; Eli Bintrim (11), Laurel; Rocco Bautti (10), Neshannock; Nolan Wagoner (12), Quaker Valley; Tyler Guevara (12), Beaver County Christian; Karan Kad (12), Sewickley Academy; Alex Avi (10), Shady Side Academy; Braden Riley (12), Greensburg Central Catholic; Jordan Keller (11), Ellwood City; John Dolan (12), Seton LaSalle; Levi Large (9), Charleroi; Ben Kandravy (11), North Catholic
- Appearances: Harmon – 4th (t-35th in 2023, 38th in 2022, t-49th in 2021);
Dai – 4th (t-4th in 2023, t-39th in 2022, t-40th in 2021);
Schollaert – 3rd (t-11th in 2023, t-19th in 2022); Didjunas – 2nd (t-13th in 2023);
Nesky – 2nd (t-25th in 2023); Riley – 2nd (19th in 2023); Crowe – 1st;
Mauser – 1st; Bintrim – 1st; Bautti – 1st; Wagoner – 1st; Guevara – 1st; Kad – 1st;
Avi – 1st; Keller – 1st; Dolan – 1st; Large – 1st; Kandravy – 1st
Last Class 3A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Hunter Swidzinski, Butler (2023)
Last Class 2A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Skyler Fox, Riverside (2019)
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