(Apollo, PA) Butler County Community College golfer Mitchell Covert rallied from a first-round 79 with a field-leading 1-over 73 in the second to place second for a second time in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference championship Monday and Tuesday at The Links at Spring Church in Apollo.
The Pioneers bounced back from an opening-round 316 with a second-day 307 but fell 4 strokes short of capturing their fifth consecutive team title in the fall season-ending tournament.
Westmoreland County Community College won the team championship with a 619. BC3 placed second with a 623 and the Community College of Allegheny County third with a 695.
The four lowest scores of golfers on each squad each round are totaled to arrive at a team score.
The 2025 WPCC championship was the second in which Covert led the field in the second round to place second. Covert in 2024 shot a first-round 82 and second-day 74. He then won the third hole of a sudden-death playoff to finish with a 156 and as runner-up to teammate Jacob Marquart.
Covert, the Pioneers’ top seed, ended the 2025 tournament with a two-day 152, 5 strokes behind Westmoreland County Community College’s Luke Anderchak.
Mason Phillips led BC3 with a first-round 77. He finished second among BC3 golfers and fourth overall with a 157. Ellis Rae shot an 80 and a 79, his lowest rounds of the fall, to place third for the Pioneers and fifth overall with a 159.
Parker Worsley cut 10 strokes off his first-round score and tied his career-low of 75 at BC3 in the second round. He placed fourth for BC3 and tied for sixth with a 160.
Jaxon Salata was fifth for BC3 and tied for seventh with a 161; and Jeremy Scheidt was sixth for the Pioneers and tied for ninth with a 168.
Covert and Worsley were selected to the WPCC all-tournament team for a second time, and were joined by Phillips and Rae.
Golfers are picked for the WPCC all-conference team based on season scoring averages. Covert, who averaged a 77.38 in eight fall season matches, was chosen for a second time and was joined by Salata, who averaged a 79.88.
Westmoreland County Community College’s Bryn Baluh won the WPCC women’s title with a two-round 177. BC3 All-American Taylor Voloch finished third with a 213 and Leah McClellan fifth with a 230.
Covert is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Ellwood City; Phillips and Scheidt, of Knoch; McClellan, Worsley and Salata, of Butler; Rae, of North Catholic; and Voloch, of Moniteau.
The Pioneers’ fall golf season concludes with the WPCC championship tournament. BC3’s spring season features regional play, regional tournaments and possible national championship appearances where golfers compete for All-American status.