BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Clarion junior Kam Kerle led wire-to-wire at Pinecrest Country Club in Brookville to claim his second consecutive District 9 golf championship on Saturday.
(Pictured above, Clarion’s two-time District 9 Class 2A golf champion Kam Kerle)
Kerle shot a first round 69 on Monday and backed it up with a second-day 72 – his combined 141 five strokes better than teammate and tournament runner-up Devon Lauer (71-75-146), a senior.
Kerle will be making his third trip to the state tournament and Lauer a second.
Whereas the top-two placers remained the same over the two rounds, there was a bit of a shake-up in the four spots below them, all of who secured spots in the state tournament by virtue of finishing in the top-6.
Ethan Carll, a North Clarion senior, entered the second day tied for third with fellow senior Cayden Baker, a student at Cranberry.
Carll added an 80 to his first round 77, claiming third outright with a 154. It was a redemption of sorts for Carll, who qualified for states as a sophomore, but missed out a year ago.
Baker, meanwhile, shot a 77-80-157 and dropped into a tie for fifth with Brookville’s Killian Radel (79-78-157).
Baker is now a two-time state qualifier, while Radel is a first-timer.
Sean Karg, a freshman at Keystone, made the biggest positive move of the round – vaulting from eighth on the leaderboard after the first day to fourth by the end of the second.
Karg shot a first round 83, but was 11 strokes better on tournament’s last day (72) for a combined 155.
2A Second-Round Leaderboard
1. Kam Kerle (Clarion) (SQ) 69-72-141
2. Devon Lauer (Clarion) (SQ) 71-75-146
3. Ethan Carll (North Clarion) (SQ) 77-77-154
4. Sean Karg (Keystone) (SQ) 83-72-155
T5. Cayden Baker (Cranberry) (SQ) 77-80-157
T5. Killian Radel (Brookville) (SQ) 79-78-157
T7. James Keenan (Clarion) 83-83-166
T7. Dalton Wenner (Cranberry) 84-82-166
9. Dawson Wallace (Moniteau) 83-85-168
10. Dane Wenner (Cranberry) 82-87-169
11. Evan Presloid (Punxsutawney) 83-88-171
12. Triston Sedor (Dubois CC) 84-88-172
13. Aiden Snowberger (Dubois CC) 83-90-173
14. Jared Obenrader (Oswayo Valley) 83-92-175
15. Connor Howell (Curwensville) 82-95-177
16. Lucas Mitrosky (Clarion) 85-96-181
Class 3A
Jake Franz, a senior at Bradford, defended the D9 title he won last year on Saturday (Oct. 7) by leading from beginning to end at Pinecrest Country Club. Franz, who shot a 78 on the first day of the championship tournament (Oct. 2), improved by two strokes on the second (76) for a 154 total.
St. Marys’ sophomore Louie Nedzinksi finished the event in second place, nine strokes behind Franz (79-84-163). Last season, Nedzinski didn’t make the first day’s cut to play in the final round.
Franz and Nedzinksi both earned berths in the state tournament (only the top-2 advance in 3A).
DuBois’s Brock Smith, a senior, made the biggest jump of the day, moving from tie for fourth into sole possession of third (85-82 167).
3A Second Round Leaderboard
1. Jake Franz (Bradford) (SQ) 78-76-154
2. Louie Nedzinski (St. Marys) (SQ) 79-84-163
3. Brock Smith (Dubois) 85-82-167
4. Anthony Nedzinski (St. Marys) 89-81-170
5. Max Croyle (St. Marys) 83-90-173
T6. Liam Gedson (Allderdice) 86-88-174
T6. Jonah Holst (Allderdice) 89-85-174
8. Wyatt Stark (Bradford) 85-94-179
The two-round 2A and 3A individual tournaments are scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16 and Tuesday, Oct. 17 at Penn State’s White Course.
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