The strength of the Abington Heights boys golf team was evident in the performance of its players at the District 2 Individual Boys Golf Championships.
Cade Kelleher captured the title with a 2-over-par, 74 Sept. 30 at Elkview Country Club and Comets teammates finished in the next three places behind him to advance into Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state competition.
Scranton Prep turned in a similar performance in Class 2A with the second- through fifth-place finishers, all state qualifiers, behind defending state champion Nick Werner from Wyoming Seminary.
Those performances followed up similar efforts Sept. 16 at Elkview when the Lackawanna League qualified its individuals for the district tournament.
At the district tournament, Robert Munley, Robert Bingham and Phillip Matthews all shots 75s for Abington Heights to finish one shot back in a tie for second place.
The Comets also had Luke Swank in a three-way tie for fifth at 77, necessitating a playoff for the last state berth.
North Pocono’s Jason Walsh won that playoff, beating Swank and Crestwood’s Tommy Biscotti.
Robbie Lucas made it six of the top eight for the Comets with a 79.
Sebastian Meyer was 14th with an 85 and Conner Abel tied for 19th in the 31-player field with a 90.
Werner won the district title with a 6-under, 66.
Scranton Prep had the only other two players to break par and the only player to finish at even par in either classification.
Jack Pavuk shot 70, Ben Walsh 71 and Brendan Bell 72 for second, third and fourth place.
Ben Boyanoski was fifth with a 73 and Lake-Lehman’s Charlie Weidner claimed the last state spot by placing sixth with a 74.
Lorenzo Domiano from Lackawanna Trail missed qualifying for states by one place, coming in seventh with a 77.
Brayden Jones and Grady June shot 81 and 82 to finish 13th and tied for 14th for the Lions.
Scranton Prep’s T.J. Stott and Guy Rothery were also part of the five-way tie for 14th.
Matthew Haggerty from the Cavaliers was 23rd with an 87.
Lackawanna Trail’s William Evans was 43rd with a 99.
DISTRICT QUALIFYING
Abington Heights claimed the top six spots in Class 3A while Scranton Prep had the top four finishers and another tied for fifth during the Lackawanna League qualifier.
Bell and Stott from Scranton Prep had the day’s best scores with 70s to lead Class 2A.
Each team advanced eight players to the district tournament.
Kelleher and Munley shot 74s to lead the field in Class 3A.
Scranton Prep had the day’s three under-par and one even-par golfer.
Walsh shot 71 and Powell 72. Boyanoski tied for fifth with his 75.
June led Lackawanna Trail with a 78.
Matthews (75), Bingham (76), Lucas (77) and Swank (78) finished third through sixth in Class 3A.