WPIAL golfers performing well at PIAA championships

From local dispatches

After the first day of the PIAA golf championships Monday, WPIAL golfers are either in first place or near the top of the leaderboard in every classification — boys and girls.

The state championships are played in a 36-hole format during Monday and Tuesday at Penn State’s Blue and White Courses — Class 3A at the White Course and 2A at the Blue Course. Elizabeth Forward junior Mya Morgan is a WPIAL player leading the Class 3A girls tournament while Quaker Valley senior Ethan Dai is tied for first in Class 2A boys.

Morgan, who finished second in the WPIAL tournament, shot a four-under par 68 to grab a two-shot lead Monday. Morgan, who finished seventh a year ago, had six birdies on the day and shot a scintillating 33 on the back nine. Plymouth Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne is second at 70.

Peters Township junior Ellie Benson, who beat Morgan for the WPIAL title, shot a 72 to tie for fourth.

Meanwhile, Dai shot four-under 68 to tie Schuylkill Haven sophomore Alan Evans for the lead. Dai was hot on the front nine, shooting a 32, including an eagle on a par 5. But he bogeyed three of the final six holes.

WPIAL champ Logan Crowe, a senior at McGuffey, shot 75 to tie for 20th. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Jonah Schollaert is third with a 69.

In Class 3A boys, WPIAL champ Colton Lusk is tied for second after shooting five-under 67. Lusk, a senior at Peters Township, had all pars and five birdies. Cedar Crest junior Dylan Ramsey is in the lead with a 66. Fox Chapel sophomore Carson Kittsley, who tied for fourth at the WPIAL championships, is tied for fourth with a 68.

In Class 2A girls, WPIAL champ Alyssa Zhang, a freshman at Shady Side Academy, is in a three-way tie for third at 75, two shots back of leader Madison Koshko, a junior at St. Joseph’s Catholic. Zhang had a double bogey on the 18th hole.