2023 WPIAL golf preview: Graduation losses leave boys, girls titles up for grabs
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Wednesday, August 9, 2023 | 2:41 PM
Peters Township’s Colton Lusk watches his tee shot on Hole 16 during the WPIAL Class 3A boys golf championship on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, at Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley Heights.
Sewickley Academy’s Severin Harmon watches his tee shot on a playoff hole against Belle Vernon during the WPIAL team golf championships on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Izzy Aigner hits her tee shot on Hole 1 during the WPIAL team golf championships on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
Freeport’s Lillie Snow watches her tee shot on the final hole of the WPIAL Class 2A girls golf championship on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, at Valley Brook Country Club in McMurray.
The WPIAL boys and girls golf season opens Thursday. Here is a breakdown of the top teams and players to follow this fall.
Boys
Defending champions
Class 3A team: Central Catholic
Class 2A team: Sewickley Academy
Class 3A individual: Rocco Salvitti, Central Catholic
Class 2A individual: Hunter Jurica, Derry
Top teams
Class 3A — Central Catholic, Peters Township, Mars, Upper St. Clair, Plum, Moon
Class 2A — Sewickley Academy, Belle Vernon, Quaker Valley, South Park
Favorites
Class 3A — With WPIAL and PIAA champion Central Catholic losing four starters to graduation, including Salvitti, Peters Township could emerge as the frontrunner with juniors Colton Lusk and Ben Miller returning. … Three starters return for North Allegheny in Chris Hoffman, Collin Wang and Jake Watterson
Class 2A — Sewickley Academy is primed to defend its title with juniors Severin Harmon and Karan Kad back in the lineup. … Quaker Valley should contend, as well, with Jonah Schollaert, Ethan Dai and Nolan Wagoner leading the way. … Belle Vernon took the Panthers to a playoff last year at 411, so keep an eye on the Leopards.
Individual favorites
Class 3A — Nick Turowski of Penn-Trafford tied for second last year and won the WPIAL title in 2021. Also watch out for Indiana’s Harrison Martineau, Butler’s Hunter Swidzinski and Plum’s Wes Lorish. Swidzinski is the top returning state qualifier.
Class 2A — Brownsville senior Daniel Sethman was the runner-up last season at Oakmont. Senior Liam Lohr of Carmichaels, Frazier junior Nixen Erdely and sophomore Ethan Dai of Quaker Valley all carded top-five finishes in the finals. Logan Voytish of Uniontown tied for sixth at the PIAA finals.
Important dates
Aug. 10 — first play date for scrimmages
Aug. 14 — first section matches
Aug. 18 — section qualifiers
Sept. 25-28 — WPIAL individual first-round tournaments
Oct. 2 — WPIAL 2A individual championship, Butler Country Club; 3A individual championship, Valley Brook Country Club
Oct. 10 — WPIAL team semifinals
Oct. 12 — WPIAL team championships, Cedarbrook Golf Course
Oct. 16-17 — PIAA championships (individual), 2A Penn State White Course, 3A Penn State Blue Course
Oct. 18 — PIAA team championships, 2A Penn State White Course, 3A Penn State Blue Course
Girls
Defending champions
Class 3A team: Peters Township
Class 2A team: Greensburg Central Catholic
Class 3A individual: Marissa Malosh, Sr., South Fayette
Class 2A individual: Eva Bulger, Sr., Quaker Valley
Top teams
Class 3A — Peters Township, Fox Chapel, South Fayette, Moon, Butler, Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford
Class 2A — Greensburg Central Catholic, Shady Side Academy, Mt. Pleasant, Central Valley
Favorites
Class 3A — With five starters back, including Brooke Vowcheck and Sophia and Amelia Severns, Peters Township has expectations to repeat.
Class 2A — Greensburg Central Catholic is chasing its ninth consecutive district title. The Centurions return four starters in Izzy Aigner, Alayna Stawovy, Erica Rodriguez and Macee Magill.
Individual favorites
Class 3A — With Malosh gone, the door swings open for a new champion to enter. It could be a sophomore. Peters Township’s Ellie Benson and Mya Morgan of Elizabeth Forward finished inside the top five in last year’s finals at Youghiogheny Country Club. They also tied for fourth at the PIAA Tournament.
Class 2A — Now that four-time champion Bulger has graduated, the field should tighten. Izzy Aigner of Greensburg Central Catholic has a shot at her first title after a third-place finish. Also watch Pearl Lundgren of Eden Christian.
Important dates
Aug. 10 — first play date for scrimmages
Aug. 11 — first section matches
Sept. 20— section qualifiers
Sept. 25 — WPIAL individual first-round tournaments
Oct. 5 — WPIAL individual championships, Diamond Run Golf Club
Oct. 12 — WPIAL team championships, Cedarbrook Golf Course
Oct. 16-17 — PIAA championships (individual), 2A Penn State White Course, 3A Penn State Blue Course
Oct. 18 — PIAA team championships, 2A Penn State White Course, 3A Penn State Blue Course
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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