PT’s Lusk, Benson get top-10 finishes in PIAA golf
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ellie Benson of Peters Township tied for ninth place in the PIAA Class 3A Girls Golf Championships.
Photos by Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Colton Lusk of Peters Township finished in fourth place at the PIAA Class 3A Boys Golf Championships.
STATE COLLEGE – Two Peters Township golfers snagged top-10 finishes Tuesday at the PIAA Individual Championships held at Penn State University’s Blue & White Courses.
Junior Colton Lusk finished in a tie for fourth place in the boys Class 3A tournament, and sophomore Ellie Benson tied for ninth place in the girls Class 3A event. Both tournaments were played on the Blue Course.
Lusk, who finished tie for sixth in the WPIAL Championships, shot 68 on Tuesday to finish with a two-day score of 6-under 138. His second round was very good, as it cincluded six birdies. He played the back nine in 33.
Hunter Swidzinski of Butler was the PIAA champion, shooting 7-under 137 for the tournament and beating Penn-Trafford’s Nick Turowski and Plum’s Wes Lorish in a playoff.
Lusk’s PT teammate, junior Ryan Watterson, tied for 28th place with a 4-over 148. Watterson shot 71 Tuesday and made six birdies.
The Peters Township boys will compete in the state team championships today.
Benson finished in a tie for ninth place. her two-round score was 8-ver 152. She shot 77 Tueswday playing on the Blue Course. She again had a strong front nine and start to the backside. She played the front in 36 but was four-over on the final five holes.
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Rhianna Gooneratne went wire to wire to win the championship with a two-day total of 4-under 140. She was the only girls player in Class 3A to finish under par.
In Class 2A boys, Belle Vernon’s Rogan Maloney tied for 17th at 5-over 149. Maloney shot 76 on Tuesday. Maloney’s Belle Vernon teammate Jordan Mocello made a move up the leaderboard and finished in a tie for 23rd at 9-over 153. He shot 78 in the second round.
Maloney and Mocello return to the course today for the PIAA Class 2A team championship.
Charleroi’s Elliot Lenhart placed in a tie for 59th at 166 and Fort Cherry’s Alan Tarolli was 67th at 150. Tarolli shot 81 in the second round and Lenhart carded an 84.
The Class 2A tournament was played on the White Course at Penn State.