Johnstown, Pa. - The Youngstown State men's golf team battled though a marathon second round to outlast rival Cleveland State and win the team title at the Red Flash Invitational hosted by Saint Francis which concluded late Tuesday.
At the beautiful and historic Sunnehanna Country Club, YSU finished with a two-round total of 579, good enough for a three-shot win over the Vikings. The Guins had a 292 for the final round after opening with a 287 on Monday. Trailing by two strokes after round one, the Penguins were five shots better than CSU to rally to the victory.
It was YSU's first tournament win since taking the top spot out in a 12-team field the NKU's The Jewell (April 10-11, 2022) in Batavia, Ohio.
Tuesday's play took nearly six hours and both teams remained close throughout. YSU was able to pull ahead on the final holes. On the 16th, 17th and 18th, YSU had eight pars, five bogeys and two birdies. Conversely, Cleveland State had seven pars, six bogeys and three double bogeys on those three holes, which proved to be the difference. Finishing third was Bucknell with a 586 while Holy Cross came in fourth at 593.
Individually, YSU had three of the top 10 finishers with senior Jacob Sylak leading the charge. Sylak finished tied for fourth with a 144 (71-73) as did Jake Ryan (72-72). Coming in ninth was Jordan Kish who had a 145 (72-73). Ryan Sam finished 14th with a 147 (72-75) and Nolan Shilling was 29th with a 153 (79-74). As individuals, Michael Porter finished 27th with a 152 (76-76) and Rocco Turner was 29th carding a 153 (78-75).
Sylak closed out his final round with seven pars and birdie on No. 13. After going three-over par on the front nine, he was even par on the second nine. On Monday, he was steady throughout with 13 pars, three bogeys and birdies on No. 9 and No. 16.
Ryan regrouped after making bogeys on his first three holes on Tuesday to go one-under par his next 15 holes. He had birdies at No. 8, No. 10 and No. 16. For his first round, he had 12 pars and carded birdies on Nos. 4 and 16.
Kish produced six birdies, including three in a four-hole stretch to start the back nine on Monday. For his second round he had birdies on No. 3, No. 11 and No. 15. Sam had four birdies in his 36 holes with birdies coming on No. 13 each day to go along with a first-round birdie at the first and huge second-round birdie on No. 17. Shilling had three birdies for his final round coming at No. 8, No. 13 and No. 15.
Winning the individual title was West Virginia's Nicholas Turowski who had a 139 (70-69).
The Penguins are back in Pennsylvania on Oct. 13-15 to compete at the Bucknell Invitational. The three-day event is in Lewisburg, Pa., at the Bucknell Golf Club.
