3 Schuylkill League golfers advance to PIAA Championships
The top six Class AA boys' finishers at Tuesday's District 11 Golf Championships at the Steel Club in Hellertown were, from left: North Schuylkill's Jude Maziekas, sixth; Schuylkill Haven's Talan Spittler, fifth; Schuylkill Haven's Alan Evans, fourth; ACC's Matt Rader, third; Pen Argyl's Joey DosSantos, second; and overall champion Collin Schreiber of Moravian Academy (Photo by Aaron Schock).
3 Schuylkill League golfers qualify for states
HELLERTOWN — Three Schuylkill League golfers punched their tickets to the PIAA Golf Championships with top-six finishes at Tuesday’s District 11 Golf Championships at the Steel Club.
Schuylkill Haven’s Alan Evans and Talan Spittler finished fourth and fifth in the Class AA tournament, while North Schuylkill’s Jude Maziekas placed sixth. All three will compete in the PIAA Golf Championships to be held Oct. 21-22 at the Penn State University Golf Courses in State College.
Evans finished with a 12-over 84, losing in a criteria tiebreaker with Matt Rader of Allentown Central Catholic for third. Spittler was one stroke back with a 13-over 85, while Maziekas carded an 87 for sixth. The top six finishers advance to states.
“That was the goal,” said Evans, who won the Schuylkill League boys’ title Sept. 16 at Schuylkill Country Club. “I was kind of nervous going in. I wasn’t feeling good. Once I got going, after the first couple of shots, I was feeling better.
“I’m excited,” he continued, “looking forward to it. It’s been on my mind since last year, but I wasn’t mature enough to do it last year. This year my focus has been more on my mental game. You have to stay strong because you’re not going to be perfect for the entire round.”
All of the Class AA boys’ competitors started on No. 15. Evans parred the first four holes, then got into a rhythm with three straight pars. The sophomore had a round of eight pars, eight bogeys and two double-bogeys, playing consistent golf throughout.
“I got off to a really rough start,” Evans said. “I was 4-over after four, then I got on a little par streak. I couldn’t make a putt the whole day. I hit almost every green, but whether it was 5 feet or 25 feet, I couldn’t make a birdie putt. Besides that, I played steady.
“To make states is super exciting. It’s even better that I’m doing it with my teammate.”
Spittler, who qualified for states for the second straight season, birdied the par-4 No. 18 and was even after four holes. He struggled with a 46 on the front nine, then closed with three pars, a bogey and a double-bogey over the final five holes.
The senior’s round included the birdie, six pars, eight bogeys and three double-bogeys. He shot a 3-over-39 on the back nine.
“I was really hoping to make (states). That was my biggest goal,” Spittler said.
Spittler said his birdie was nearly an eagle.
“It was a little dogleg right, pretty straight,” Spittler said. “It was a far hole, about 415-yard par-4. (With his second shot) From out 166 yards out, I stuck it to like 5 inches. It almost went in.”
Maziekas, a junior, was also consistent, shooting 43 on the front nine and 44 on the back nine to card an 87. His round included eight pars, six bogeys, three double-bogeys and a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 No. 11.
“That was my main goal. That’s all I wanted to do,” Maziekas said of making states. “I would have loved to get a medal, but I fell a little short. I was happy with the way things turned out. My whole family was there, couple of my friends were there watching me.”
Maziekas beat Bethlehem Catholic’s Ralston Rowlands by three strokes for the final state berth. Through a live scoring app, the Fountain Springs resident knew where he stood in the standings over the final holes, but it got a little contentious, too.
“It was really up and down. I had a couple of bad holes, a couple of good holes, made some long putts to save myself,” Maziekas said of his day. “About my 13-14th hole, I was up by about four holes, but then I made triple-bogey and things went south. One dude was only one shot back, but then he double-bogeyed and I knew I had some room. Once I made a couple pars (No. 12-13) I knew I made it in.”
The play of Evans and Spittler helped the Hurricanes place second in the District 11 Class AA Team Tournament with 352 strokes, as Eli Barton shot an 89 and Connor Haag carded a 94.
Moravian Academy won its second straight team title with 327 strokes as Collin Schreiber won the boys’ individual crown with a 2-over 74 and Mara Dubacher and Emma Xu placed 1-2 in the girls’ field with 79 and 80, respectively.
Nativity was fourth in the Class AA team competition with 391. The Green Wave’s top four were Trey Keating 91, Ryan Grabowski 93, Liam Messina 103 and Andy Smith and Steve Karinch, who both shot 104.
On the girls’ side, Minersville’s Emma Troutman (102) finished tied for fifth in the Class AA competition, while Nativity’s Carleigh Palmieri was seventh with a 115.
Troutman just missed qualifying for states, as she had to shoot under 100 to advance.
In the Class 3A boys’ field, Blue Mountain’s Dylan Knittle and Pottsville’s Maxum DiRenzo finished tied for 27th with a 16-over 88, with Blue Mountain’s Gabe Kamarousky placing 35th with a 101.
Northampton’s Gavin Pychinka dominated the Class 3A competition with a 2-under 70, while Nazareth’s Zachary Miller (73) was second and Southern Lehigh’s Caleb Walsh, Emmaus’ Evan Walters V and Stroudsburg’s Hunter Probst all tied for third at 74.
Southern Lehigh won the Class 3A team title with 313 strokes, one more than Nazareth and Northampton, who both had 314 in what was an epic team battle. Blue Mountain was fourth with 368. Cole Yelinek paced the Eagles with an 85, while Josh Lesak carded a 94.
