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Following the first day of play in the PIAA high school boys and girls golf championships at the Penn State Golf Courses, three Altoona Mirror core coverage area players are in position to medal at the event.
Bishop Guilfoyle Academy golfer Grant Okonak, who will also compete with his teammates in Wednesday's team championship, shot 1-over par 73 at the Blue Course and is tied for sixth in the 72-man Class 2A field.
"Overall, I felt really good about my game today and thought it was a very positive day on the course," Okonak said. "I was able to hit some great iron shots and put myself in some good positions throughout the round. I felt confident with my ball striking and was happy with the way I was hitting the ball. Although I wasn't able to get as many putts to fall as I would have liked, I felt like I played solid golf and gave myself plenty of opportunities to make things happen."
One stroke behind Okonak is Central's Cody Clapper, who carded a 2-over par 74. Clapper is tied for ninth with six other golfers.
"Cody showed a lot of guts today," Central coach Robbie Keith said. "After having a double bogey on the seventh hole, he shot one under with no bogeys the next 11 holes. It was some inspiring golf to watch. Excited to see what he can do tomorrow."
In addition to his double bogey, Clapper made two bogeys and two birdies.
Okonak made four bogeys and three birdies, including a birdie on No. 18 to rebound from a bogey on No. 17.
"I'm happy with how I competed and stayed focused throughout the day," Okonak said. "Overall, it was a great day, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and giving it a run."
In the 3A girls field being played on the White Course, Hollidaysburg's Crosby Denis is 10th after a first-round 4-over par 76. She's two shots clear of 11th place after finishing fifth and earning a medal last year.
But the Duquesne commit got off to a shaky start and stood at 5-over par after six holes, which included a triple bogey.
"Definitely stress was my biggest thing, partially from this being my last rounds of high school golf but also going into this as the highest placing finisher of last year," Denis said. "I had a couple bad chips that just added up at the start that I overthought."
Denis showed the composure she's developed by shaking off the rough start and playing the final 12 holes in 1-under par with back-to-back birdies on No. 13 and No. 14.
"After the first six holes, I tried to keep my mindset the same as last year," Denis said. "I remembered I had a really tough front nine but played great on the back. I prefer the back a lot more on the White Course, so that was definitely something I kept in mind too as I was playing through. It was overall just trying to keep calm and confident."
Other local players competing in the 2A boys field are Chestnut Ridge's Colton Boozer (78, T-37th); Bedford's Trenton Ripple (83, T-60th), Penn Cambria's District 6 champion Colten Karlheim (85, T-64th) and Juniata Valley's Ethan Scalia (88, T-70th).
Scranton Prep's Cole Powell and Annville Cleona's Ben Allwein lead the 2A boys field at 3-under par.
Dallastown's Bryn Krosse and York Suburban's Vivienne Powers are tied for first in the 3A girls field at 1-under par, and Shady Side Academy's Alyssa Zhang had a three-stroke lead in the 2A girls field after shooting a 3-under par 69. Rockwood's Olivia Nichols and Saint Joseph's Olivia Koshko are tied for fifth after shooting 77.
In the Class 3A boys field, Fox Chapel's Carson Kittsley leads the field after a 7-under par 65. State College's Luke McGraw, who won the District 6 championship by one stroke over Hollidaysburg's Tyler Steiner, who did not qualify for the PIAA championships despite also winning the District 6 Class 3A Sectional, is in second place at 6-under par.