HERSHEY, Pa. – Senior
Max Kirsch (Ebensburg, Pa. /Central Cambria) won the individual title to lead IUP to its 27th all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Men's Golf Championship this weekend at the Hershey Country Club.
Kirsch shot a three-under 68 in Sunday's second round, tying West Chester's Andrew Patterson for the lead before defeating him in a playoff on the 16th hole.
He finished the weekend with a four-over 146, rallying from seven strokes back after the first round. Heading into Sunday, Kirsch was tied for 15th overall with a seven-over 78. His 68 on Sunday tied a career-best and was the best round of any golfer at the championships. It was Kirsch's second career individual win.
Kirsch is the 14th IUP golfer since 1993 to earn medalist honors at the PSAC Championships, and the first since Zack Kempa took home the title as a junior in 2012.
Kirsch led a second round comeback, as IUP rallied from two strokes back after the opening round to win the championship by two strokes. The Crimson Hawks shot a 13-over 297 as a team on Sunday to finish with a 35-over 603 for the tournament.
The Crimson Hawks shot a 22-over 306 on Saturday and sat two strokes back of West Chester, California (Pa.), and Mercyhurst, which were tied for the lead with a 20-over 304.
The Golden Rams, led by Patterson, finished in second place with a 37-over 605 while Cal was third with a 38-over 606. Mercyhurst and Millersville tied for fourth at 43-over 611, while Clarion (627) was sixth, Gannon (638) was seventh, and Pitt-Johnstown (680) finished eighth.
The championship is the 27th for IUP since 1957, by far the most of any school in the PSAC. It's the first for the Crimson Hawks since 2012, who took home six straight conference championships from 2007-12. This is IUP's 10th PSAC title since 2000.
IUP had three players finish in the top 10 overall, including Kirsch's individual medal.
Matt Cocorikis (Monroe Twp., N.J./Monroe Twp.) tied for third overall with a seventh-over 149 and
Jeremy Eckenrode (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) tied for sixth with an eight-over 150.
Cocorikis fired a two-over 73 on Sunday while Eckenrode had an identical score on Saturday.
Michael Hoare (Mechanicsburg, Pa. /Cumberland Valley) shot back-to-back eight-over 79s to finish in a tie for 23rd with a 16-over 158.
Joshua Bartley (Valencia, Pa. /Mars High School) tied for 26th overall with an 18-over 160.
This wraps up the fall season for IUP, which finished first or second in three of its five overall events.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's golf on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPgolf.
