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Nov 14, 2023 By Jim Downey, for the Greene County Messenger 5 min read

Nixen Erdely made a birdie run at the right time in the WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship, lifting the Frazier senior to the top of the leaderboard and the gold medal.

Erdely had a solid final season by winning the Section 8-AA qualifier, finishing in a tie for 13th place in the state final, and sharing the silver medal in the FCCA Championship.

Those accomplishments, along with his steady play for the Commodores throughout the season, earn Erdely the Ãå±±½ûµØ Boys Golfer of the Year honors.

Elizabeth Forward sophomore Mya Morgan also won a WPIAL gold medal after cruising to the Class AAA title by 12 strokes, earning top honors as the Ãå±±½ûµØ Girls Golfer of the Year.

Morgan finished tied for seventh-place in the state final.

Erdely closed the WPIAL championship at Butler Country Club with a birdie-birdie-par finish to catapult over Quaker Valley’s Ethan Dai, the first-round leader, for the district title. Erdely shot 1-under 70 in the final round. The Frazier senior tied for second in the FCCA Championship and shared third place in the season-opening Tri-CADA tournament.

The remainder of first-team honorees were accomplished in their own right.

Uniontown’s Logan Voytish won the county title and qualified for the state final after placing 15th in the WPIAL championship. He also finished tied for third in the TriCADA tournament, and led the Red Raiders to a share of the Section 8-AA title.

Elizabeth Forward freshman Aaron Didjunas had quite a first season of high school golf after finishing fourth in the WPIAL Class AA championship. He was tied for fourth after the first round of the state final, but slipped down the leaderboard on the final day to join Voytish and Erdely in a tie for 13th place.

Didjunas led the Warriors to a share of the Section 8-AA title with Belle Vernon and Uniontown.

Belle Vernon won the WPIAL Class AA team title, finished second in the state, and shared the Section 8-AA title, and sophomore Jordan Mocello and senior Rogan Maloney were keys to that success.

Mocello placed seventh in the WPIAL and tied for 23rd in the state final, while Maloney was eighth in the district championship and tied for 17th in the state tournament.

Brownsville senior Daniel Sethman placed sixth in the WPIAL championship and tied for second in the FCCA tournament. Sethman finished in a tie for 17th place in the PIAA final.

Charleroi senior Elliot Lenhart rounds out the first-team honorees. Lenhart tied for 12th place in the district championship to become the Cougars’ first PIAA qualifier since Mike Kondratik in 2016.

The honorable mention squad was also very accomplished and possesses the talent to push into a top-eight position.

Belle Vernon’s Seth Tomalski tied for second in the FCCA Championship and qualified for the WPIAL final along with teammate John Bellissimo. The two posted scores in the Leopards’ WPIAL team title and state silver medal-winning squad.

Carmichaels senior Liam Lohr was solid for the Mikes, finishing second in the TriCADA tournament and helping the squad to the section title. Fellow seniors Dustin Hastings, Mason Lapana and Dom Colarusso also earn honorable mention recognition.

Connellsville’s Ethan Porreca earned all-county honors and the left-hander helped lead the Falcons to a Class AAA playoff berth.

Mount Pleasant junior Ryan Karfelt missed the WPIAL Class AA medals stand and a PIAA berth by only one stroke.

Geibel Catholic sophomore Seth Dolan and Waynesburg Central senior Braden Benke both advanced to the WPIAL Class AA finals.

Uniontown’s Wade Brugger earned all-county honors and a top-10 finish in the TriCADA tournament, and was a key contributor in the Red Raiders’ three-way share of the Section 8-AA title.

Frazier’s Dylan Keilbach tied for second in the FCCA Championship.

Laurel Highlands’ Colin Crawford earned all-county honors, and helped the Mustangs win the county team title and a WPIAL Class AAA team playoff berth.

Benke earned a top-10 finish in the Tri-CADA tournament for the Raiders.

Jefferson-Morgan teammates Urijah Teasdale and Brock Bayles round out the honorable mention squad.

Belle Vernon receives the nod as the Small School Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Melvin Gouker and his staff led the Leopards to a share of the Section 8-AA crown, the WPIAL team championship and the silver medal in the state team final.

Earning honorable mention are the coaching staffs of Uniontown, Carmichaels, Elizabeth Forward and Waynesburg Central.

Aaron Scott led the Red Raiders to the small team title in the county tournament and the WPIAL Class AA team semifinals with a share of the Section 8-AA title.

The Mikes’ Dave Briggs, newly-added member to the WPIAL Golf Steering Committee, coached the Mikes to an undefeated Section 3-AA title and the TriCADA small team crown.

Laurel Highlands’ Mike Revak and Connellsville’s Brent Rockwell share Big School Coach of the Year honors.

Revak led the Mustangs to the county title and a share of second place in Section 2-AAA for a berth in the Class AAA team playoffs. Rockwell led the Falcons to a second-consecutive WPIAL playoff berth.