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Their link to success: Marauders golf team captures district gold

District 6 high school boys golf championships

By Andy Stine 4 min read

TYRONE -- It's amazing what a difference a year can make in golf.

One year ago, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy had just two golfers -- Grant Okonak and Aidan Sheehan -- qualify for the District 6 Championships.

On Tuesday, the Marauders had three golfers shoot in the high 70s to clinch the Class 2A championship with a team score of 312.

BG beat out Richland (328), St. Joseph's (328), and Westmont Hilltop (334) for the team title.

"I played high school golf here at BG, and it was awesome to come back and help these boys," Bishop Guilfoyle first-year coach AJ Marasco said. "I grew up with a lot of them. They had the ability. All they had to do was just come out here and do it."

Carter Boland and Troy Nachtman carded matching 77s to lead BG for the day. The two ended up in a playoff for the final two spots to advance to the PIAA Championships with Homer Center's Brayden Rado. Boland and Rado advanced on the first playoff hole.

Sheehan's 78 and Okonak's 80 also contributed to the win, while Body Gartmann scored a 95.

"We finished undefeated in conference. We had one loss out of conference," Marasco said. "I knew coming in here we had a good shot. All we had to do was stick to how we can play."

River Valley's Jacob Pynos won the 2A individual championship with a 2-under 70, knocking off two-time defending champion Alex Talmadge of West Shamokin, who carded an even-par 72.

The Marauders now advance to the PIAA Western Region Tournament, which will be held at Treasure Lake in DuBois on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Boland will also advance to the PIAA Individual Championships on Monday, Oct. 20, at Penn State.

It was also special for the Marauders to clinch the championship after the passing of their previous head coach Mark Scalice, who died last December.

"We've all worked real hard this summer. I think a big part of it is (Coach Scalice). I'm glad we got to represent him that way," Boland said.

Boland holed out for an eagle on the par-5 7th hole, which was a big factor in him getting in the playoff tiebreaker with Nachtman and Rado.

"This one feels great," Boland said. "I feel super excited for how we ended up doing. We all stayed in our minds and we played well."

Joining Boland in the individual states at Penn State from the area are Central's Cody Clapper (1-over 73) and Central Cambria's Andrew Kasecky (3-over 75).

In the Class 3A race, State College bested Hollidaysburg in the team race, 293-338. State College also had the two individuals moving on to states in Charlie Ladrido and Luke McGraw. Ladrido beat McGraw on the second hole of the playoff for the district title.

Hollidaysburg's Sam McLanahan came in fifth with a 76, while Altoona's Alex Kanouff was 10th with an 84. Hollidaysburg's Tyler Steiner finished 11th with an 89.

CLASS 3A

TEAM RESULTS

1. State College (SC), 293; 2. Hollidaysburg (H), 338.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP TWO ADVANCE)

T-1. Charlie Ladrido, SC, and Luke McGraw, SC, 72; 3. Jacky Sun, SC, 74; 4. Brady Wager, SC, 75; 5. Sam McLanahan, H, 76; 6. Luke Ladrido, SC, 77; 7. Ty Miller, SC, 80; 8. Michael Lodek, Central Mountain, 81; 9. Alex Hoskins, SC, 82; 10. Adam Kanouff, Altoona, 84; 11. Tyler Steiner, H, 89.

CLASS 2A

TEAM RESULTS

1. Bishop Guilfoyle (BG), 312; T-2. Richland (R), and St. Joseph's (SJ), 328; 4. Westmont Hilltop (WH), 334.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP SEVEN ADVANCE)

1. Jacob Pynos, River Valley, 70; 2. Alex Talmadge, West Shamokin, 72; 3. Cody Clapper, Central, 73; 4. Jake Lucas, Philipsburg-Osceola, 74; 5. Andrew Kasecky, Central Cambria, 75; T-6. Carter Boland, BG, Brayden Rado, Homer Center, and Troy Nachtman, BG, 77; T-9. Aidan Sheehan, BG, Colby Carlson, WH, Jeremy Reed, River Valley, Cullen Carlson, WH, and Wesley Dunlap, R, 78; T-14. Jace Casses, Bishop Carroll, Blake Sweitzer, Tyrone, Grant Okonak, BG, and James Webb, WH, 80; 18. Maddox Vojtko, R, 81; T-19. Liam Roman, R, and Colten Karlheim, Penn Cambria, 82; 21. Kingston Durbin, Penn Cambria, 83; T-22. Kaleb Sweitzer, Tyrone, and Jake Kirsch, Central Cambria, 84; 24. Brady Doak, River Valley, 85; 25. Kane Wolf, Bald Eagle Area, 87; T-26. Brett Hoffman, WH, and Jack Wesner, WH, 88; 28. Trent Salem, R, 90; 29. Wade Habovick, Bald Eagle Area, 94; 30. Tristan Ritchey, Central, 97; 31. Logan Black, Central Cambria, 99.

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