STATE COLLEGE — Cole Powell put himself in position to defend his state title during the first round of the PIAA Individual Golf Championships on Monday.
The Scranton Prep senior shot a 3-under-par 69 on the Penn State University Blue Course and is tied for the lead in Class 2A with Ben Allwein of Annville-Cleona.
“Just kind of played steady golf all day,” Powell said. “Kept myself out of trouble when I wasn’t in the best positions. Just took my medicine and got myself back in play and gave myself a chance to make a par or still get a birdie on a hole. Putter was really solid all day, made a lot of good putts. Had two three-putts, so I’ve got to eliminate those (Tuesday). Got to work on my driver a little bit, but other than that, my game is really solid right now.”
Meanwhile, Abington Heights’ Sebastian Meyer is in the mix in Class 3A. He shot a 3-under 69 on the Penn State White Course and is alone in seventh place, four shots behind leader and two-time defending Class 3A champion Carson Kittsley of Fox Chapel.
The final round is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
As the defending PIAA Class 2A champion, Powell admitted he was a bit nervous coming into the tournament. But those nerves were calmed when he birdied the par-4 first hole.
He bogeyed the par-4 No. 3, but birdied Nos. 4 and 9 to finish the front nine with a 2-under 34. On the back nine, Powell sandwiched bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 around a birdie on No. 11. He birdied the par-3 No. 14 and when he birdied the par-4 No. 16, he briefly was alone atop the leaderboard. But a bogey on the par-3 No. 17 dropped him back into a tie with Allwein. Both golfers birdied the par-5 No. 18.
“On 16, I hit a solid drive down the right side of the fairway,” said Powell, the District 2 Class 2A champion. “Hit a solid 8-iron to about 20-ish feet, then made the putt which was big momentum. Then on 17, a little bit of a mishit off the tee, miss a little right, didn’t get up and down. But then I capitalized on 18 with the birdie to finish it off. Definitely gives me some momentum. Looking forward to (Tuesday).”
Powell and Allwein played in the same foursome Monday and he knows the Annville-Cleona sophomore and District 3 champion from junior tournaments. But Powell said he just needs to focus on himself in the final round in his quest to become the ninth golfer to win back-to-back state titles. Included on that list is Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer in 1946-47 and Wyoming Seminary’s Nick Werner in 2023-24.
“I just have to worry about myself, not what anybody else is doing,” Powell said. “Just play solid golf. Hit some more fairways and eliminate those three-putts.”
Scranton Prep teammates Brendan Bell, Jack Pavuk and Bobby Stott also had solid first days. Bell overcame a triple-bogey on No. 3 and a bogey on No. 4 to finish with a 2-over 74 and is one of six golfers tied for ninth place.
“I rallied back a bit,” Bell said. “I hit the ball really well today. My putter was very underwhelming for me, disappointed a lot on the holes. I played a boring back nine with two birdies and a bogey and was able to put up a reasonable score.”
Pavuk (38-37) and Stott (40-35) both shot 3-over 75s and are among eight golfers tied for 15th place.
“I wasn’t able to get off the tee really well. I only hit four fairways and the greens caught me a little off-guard,” Pavuk said. “But my irons and wedges really saved me a lot of shots. Sent some good wedges to a couple feet and making putts.”
Also in Class 2A, Jack Oliver from Lake-Lehman shot an 6-over-par 78 (38-40) and Lakeland’s Mikey Pisarcik carded an 8-over 80 (39-41).
Meyer, the District 2 Class 3A champion, only had two bogeys in his round — Nos. 1 and 16. He had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, then reeled off three straight birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 11. He admitted he became a bit tentative the rest of the way and played the final seven holes at 1-over.
“I got off to a not great start with a bogey on the first hole. Bad tee shot,” Meyer said. “Then I made some shaky pars. Missed a five-footer for birdie on No. 3. After that, wasn’t too happy but I kept punching at it. On No. 5, I hit a really good shot to about 25 feet and made that for birdie. Made another birdie on No. 6, made a good par on No. 7 and parred No. 8. Then I had three birdies in a row. But then I got a little nervous toward the end. Not the happiest with how it ended, but I’ll still take it.”
Dallas teammates Ryan Roman (38-37) and Landon Moser (36-39) each shot 3-over 75s and are tied for 27th place. Also in Class 3A, Honesdale’s Trevan Dahlgren shot 6-over 78 (41-37) and Cole Severs from Abington Heights had a 10-over 82 (42-40).
On the girls side, District 2 champion Michelle Wu from Wyoming Seminary shot 12-over 84 (42-42) to sit in a three-way tie for 13th in Class 2A. Madison Walker of Tunkhannock (46-50) and Montrose’s Victoria Kipar (49-47) each shot 24-over 96 and are tied for 31st.
District 2 Class 3A champion Liz George from Abington Heights is tied for 14th place after shooting 7-over 79 (41-38). A birdie on No. 15 highlighted her round.
North Pocono’s Julia Biko had a 17-over 89 (41-38) and is tied for 33rd in Class 3A, while Meghan Singer of Wyoming Valley West was in 35th with an 18-over 80 (46-44).
Morning frost caused the scheduled 9 a.m. start to be pushed back one hour.
On Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Penn State Courses, the PIAA Team Championships will take place. Scranton Prep boys are seeking their third straight Class 2A title. Tunkhannock is playing in Class 2A girls, while Abington Heights boys and girls are competing in Class 3A.