After winning its first ever section championship in 2023, this year’s boys golf team had tough act to follow.
“As a team our expectations were going to be a bit different for (this) season. We returned 3 of 6 starters from a team that finished 14-1 with the first ever Section title in school history so we definitely had a strong core of players. We knew that we would probably get two opportunities to win or at least split the Section title with Fox Chapel,” head coach Mr. Chris Catanese said.
Starting off the season strong, Shaler Area Boys Golf team quickly got their first win at Wildwood Country Club against Ambridge, beating the Bridgers 201-222.
The Titans kept that momentum for most of the season and finished the 2024 season 10-2 and 8-2 in the section.
As the season went they continued to beat stronger teams like North Catholic in the traditional rivalry match. The Trojans put up a good fight and seriously give the Titans a run for their money, but in the end they are no match for Shaler Area who come out on top winning 188-198.
Going against Hampton the Titans come in strong and defeat the Talbots 195 – 207. The Titans continued solid section play defeating both Highlands and and Hampton once more. They defeated the Golden Rams by a large margin, 194-280. Although the Hampton match was a close one, the Titans pushed through to finish their section schedule at 8-2.
Unfortunately for the Titans, their two section losses came against Fox Chapel which prevented a repeat section championship.
“We had the opportunity to tie for the section title with Fox Chapel but unfortunately lost by five shots at home and finished 2nd in the section,” Mr. Catanese said.
The Titans qualified for WPIAL Playoffs for the third year in a row. The team was not able to finish in the top three in its semi-final match to advance to the WPIAL Finals.
Mr. Catanese reflected on what he considered the best part of the season for the boys.
“The best part for me personally was when Senior Jack Clark had the round of his career to qualify for the WPIAL Individual championships,” he said.
Clark was joined by Jacob Crissman and Jake Skerlong who both qualified for the third year in a row. The three of them did not play up to their expectations and could not secure a position in the Individual Final at Oakmont.
While Crissman led the school in scoring for the second year in a row, Skerlong, Colby Weber, Darius Malekci, Matt Stelitano, and Clark all helped contribute to the strong season as well as an impressive three-year span for the golf team.
“We will graduate 6 of the 7 players on this year’s Varsity team. Over the past three seasons this group had a combined record of 35-6 with a Section Title last season, Shaler Area’s first ever in golf,” Mr. Catanese said.
