While most Tyrone students were still at home enjoying the summer, the varsity golf team was already out competing on the links against other Mountain League schools.

With two matches under their belt before the first day of school, Tyrone is tied for first place with Hollidaysburg in the Mountain League.

Tyrone’s first league match was at Skytop Mountain Golf Club on Thursday, August 18. Led by Tyrone seniors Cassidy Miksich and Cyrus Ahlert, along with Williamsburg junior RJ Royer, Tyrone scored a close 2-shot victory over Hollidaysburg (339-341).

Miksich shot a 79, Royer shot an 83, and Ahlert shot an 85. The 339 that Tyrone had shot was more than enough to beat all of the other teams in the Mountain League.

But with Hollidaysburg right on their heels, Tyrone will have to put in the work to come out on top in the Mountain League. This will be the Mountain League’s last season before it folds into the new expanded Laural Highlands Conference next fall.

“We’ve had a good season so far, the team has some important upcoming matches that we are hoping to capitalize on,” said Ahlert.

But Hollidaysburg returned the favor with a win of their own on Tuesday, August 23 at Scotch Valley, Hollidaysburg’s home course.

Scotch Valley is easily one of the toughest courses around due to its tight fairways and fast greens. At times Tyrone struggled to keep the ball in the fairway and putting, but Royer, Miksich, and Ahlert all had good scores. Royer shot a nice round with an 80, Miksich with an 83, and Ahlert with an 86.

However, Hollidaysburg’s Weston Eberhart shot an outstanding 75, which Tyrone couldn’t overcome, and Hollidaysburg won the match by 18 strokes (325-343).

“Overall we had a very positive start to the season. We have overcome some injuries and practiced hard. I’m disappointed in the loss to Hollidaysburg but it was at their home course, and hopefully, we will get them back at Sinking Valley next Tuesday,” said Head Coach Mike Funicelli.

Funicelli has tons of trust in the team this year after coming away with a close victory in the District Championship last year over Central (345-346).

The standings for the Mountain League are as follows: Hollidaysburg and Tyrone (13-1); Philipsburg-Osceola (9-5); Bellefonte (7-7); Huntingdon (8-6); Clearfield (4-10); Bald Eagle Area (2-12).