Guilfoyle golf will head back to states
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Bishop Guilfoyle Academy is heading back to the PIAA Class 2A boys golf championship after a 321-351 victory over Saint Marys in the PIAA Regionals at Ebensburg Country Club on Wednesday.
"They have all done a really good job throughout their career staying focused on the moment and staying focused on their game," BG coach Robby Okonak said. "They have taken this one shot and one hole at a time, and it feels really good to see the kids achieve this. I have seen how hard they work and how much time they put in. To match what we did last year is pretty cool, because they had that expectation of themselves."
The Marauders repeated as Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, District 6 and now PIAA Regional champions. The group, led by four seniors -- Grant Okonak, Carter Boland, Aidan Sheehan and Troy Nachtman -- came into the year with a lot of pressure but lived up to it.
"It feels great," Boland said. "Everyone feels good about it. It just comes down to hard work, showing up every day and taking it one shot at a time."
Boland had BG's best score on Wednesday, a 79. But it was certainly close. Sheehan shot an 80 and Okonak and Nachtman each carded an 81. The seniors are as tight off the course as their scores were on it Wednesday.
"We're extremely close," Boland said. "It almost feels like we're all brothers instead of just friends on the golf team. Seeing each other puts a smile on our faces, and we feed off each other. When one guy plays well, others do. It helps team chemistry, and I think that's a big part of our success."
Sophomore Callen McClellan has also been a critical part of this year's team, but he was forced to withdraw after 13 holes on Wednesday. In the high school golf playoffs, you start five golfers and count four scores.
"His back started hurting him," Coach Okonak said. "He hurt it on a shot and kept trying to play, but it hurt him so bad on a par 3 swing that he couldn't keep going. He couldn't swing a club. We'll obviously get him some treatment and see what happens, but we have two and a half weeks."
The seniors picked up the slack.
"I'm so glad I got to share this experience with my team," Sheehan said. "We have all been together for three or four years. Some matches weren't great, but some were. We all have had fun, and that's what mattered. It's exciting to get back to states. We didn't have a great time last year because of what we shot. We have a shot to go back and try and play better."
Saint Marys was led by Landyn Rippy's 86.
"With us being that close, we're always pushing to get ahead of the other," Sheehan said. "We each want to shoot the best, but we accept the result if we don't. It allows us to be competitive but also be great teammates to each other."
Bishop Guilfoyle finished outside the top five at the PIAA championships last season, but the hope is that experience will help the Marauders improve this year in their second-ever appearance in the championship on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Penn State.
"I don't want to jinx us, but I think us being there before will definitely help us," Boland said. "We had nerves in that situation before, but I feel like we can do much better."
BISHOP GUILFOYLE ACADEMY (321): Boland 79, Sheehan 80, Okonak 81, Nachtman 81.
SAINT MARYS (351): Rippy 86, Meyer 88, Kai Caskey 88, Kayd Caskey 89.