Freshman Lucas Smith shot a pair of even-par 70s to tie for third and help the Mountain Cat golfers finish sixth in Tuesday’s 15-team field of the inaugural Pitt-Johnstown Sunnehanna Collegiate at historic Sunnehanna Country Club.
Gannon’s Mattia Parrini, who held the lead after Monday’s first round, shot a one-over 71 on Tuesday to claim individual medalist honors by one stroke over teammate Rasmus Seppanen and lead the Golden Knights to the team championship at plus-4.
Smith’s even-par 140 over the two days led the way for the Mountain Cats and earned him a tie with Millersville’s Timothy Peters, just two shots behind Parrini.
Pitt-Johnstown’s Eli Ropietski finished in a tie for 27th place at plus-8 (76-72-148) and Mario Battaglia tied for 34th at plus-9 (76-73-159). Justin Scally shot 10-over and tied for 38th place (74-76-150) and Jake Morgan finished at 11 over (76-75-151) in a tie for 44th place to close out the Mountain Cats’ A team.
Sal Cerilli shot a seven-over (77-70-140) to tie for 21st place and lock down a an 11th-place finish for the Pitt-Johnstown B team at plus-43. Along with Cerilli, Mark Yan tied for 44th at plus-11 (75-76-151), Mauricio Hernandez (plus-12, 76-76-152), tied for 47th, while Tyler Mocello (plus-17, 80-77-157) and Parker Hilchey (plus-18, 77-81-158) tied for 66th and 70th, respectively.
Gannon claimed the title by 10 strokes over second-place Millersville (plus-14), while Ohio Dominican (plus-22) was third. Indiana (Pa.) and West Chester tied for fourth at plus-25, and Pitt-Johnstown was one shot back in sixth place at plus-26.
Pitt-Johnstown travels to the Gannon Bud Elwell Invitational at Whispering Woods Golf Club in Erie Monday and Tuesday, before closing out the fall portion of the schedule at the 2024 PSAC men’s golf championships at Iron Valley Golf Club in Lebanon, Oct. 18-20.
