Golf claps to my friends at Pennsylvania College of Technology. The Wildcat Golf Team is on its way to the NCAA Division 3 National Championship. They earned an automatic bid this past weekend, and PCT captured its second straight United East Conference crown.
Montoursville’s Peyton Mussina led the way. The lefty sniper is solid. He is my friend. Peyton posted rounds of 70 and 79 to win medalist honors. His 149 total trumped the 45-player field on the difficult par 70, 6,502-yard Philmont Country Club.
Teammate Trevor Keaton tallied 158 to tie for fourth. Will Orwig carded 78 and 81, which was tied for sixth. My man Gavin Baer went 78 and 82 for eighth. Gunner Redmond of Lock Haven also played well. He, too, finished in the top ten. Impressive.
Penn College had rounds of 304 and 320 for a 624 total. You play five and score the best four. The Wildcats bettered Penn State Harrisburg by 9 strokes. Lancaster Bible, Rutgers Camden, Penn State Abington, Wilson College, Penn State Berks, Rosemont U, and Clarks Summit didn’t have a chance.
Mussina was named the United East Conference Player of the Year. He earned first-team honors with Keaton. Orwig, Baer, and Redmond were second-teamers. Coach Rob Lytle earned the Coach of the Year. Bravo gentlemen. The Wildcats will now head to Boulder City, NV, on May 14-17. Best of luck, gents.
“This has been our goal the entire year,” Peyton Mussina explained. We have played well all year, but our conference tournament is a do-or-die weekend. I am just so proud of the guys for coming away with a win. We really have no expectations for the National Championship. We now have the opportunity to compete against the nation’s best. We will put together the best 36 holes we can and see where we stand.”
I also want to give Will Eberz a little love. The freshman phenom from Stroudsburg, PA, played well in another tournament. On Sunday, Will carded a career-best 73 to jump six spots on the leaderboard to capture an Honorable Mention All Landmark Conference. Eberz went 3 under par on the back nine to finish 15th overall. His two-day 152 was quite impressive on the par 72, 6,725-yard Shawnee Golf Course. Will is the first Lycoming Warrior rookie to earn all-conference honors since 1967. He is the first #warriorgolfer to earn some conference love since Zach Layser in 2016. Will Eberz can play.
The boys and I finished 10th overall. No worries. We had a ball. Scranton University won the crown, and they will join PCT at nationals. The Royals were 11 over par for two days as a team. They carded 296 and 291 to nip Drew University by two. Elliot Parker won medalist honors with a two-day total of 139, which was 5 under par. Ridiculous. Cheers.
