(Butler, PA) Troy Loughry, a Butler County Community College golfer and winner of the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference men’s title last fall, and his teammates next week will seek the program’s fifth regional crown and a berth in the national championship.
The Pioneers’ Loughry, Tanner Hohmann, Liam Kosior, Jack Mason and Collin Witouski will compete against players on four other squads in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 tournament Sunday and Monday at The Links at Spring Church in Apollo.
“It’s one of the best groups I’ve had. No question.”
BC3 will face Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, Md.; the Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh; Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, Johnstown; and Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood.
The lowest four scores from each squad in each of the two rounds will be tallied and determine the regional champion.
The squad with the lowest score, and the golfer with the lowest score if on a team other than the regional winner, will advance to the NJCAA Division III national championship, scheduled for June 7-10 in Chautauqua, N.Y.
Pioneers undefeated against past 16 opponents
BC3 won regional crowns in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2019 and advanced to the national championship. The Pioneers placed seventh nationally in their past two appearances.
“This team has the capability to be right there,” said BC3 golf coach Bill Miller, whose squad is 5-0 this spring and finished 11-0 last fall. … “It’s one of the best groups I’ve had. No question.”
Loughry, a BC3 freshman, is averaging a 71 this spring.
He qualified four times for the postseason District 10 tournament at Grove City High School. Loughry in October became BC3’s eighth WPCC individual golf champion since 2014 with two-round 147.
“A solid, solid player,” Miller said. “He’s just so comfortable around the game. He knows what shots he needs to make. If he has a bad hole or two, it seems like he has birdies.”
Kosior, a BC3 freshman, is averaging a 75.
He tied for 15th in the WPIAL Class 2A individual championships in his senior year at Neshannock High with an 86 over 18 holes. Kosior finished second with a 155 in the WPCC championship last fall.
“He plays a real smart game,” Miller said. “His irons are very good. When he is in that fairway, he knows his yardages. His shots tend to be pin-high. He has a good idea of how far he needs to hit his irons.”
Mason, a BC3 freshman and graduate of Freeport High, is averaging an 81; Witouski, a sophomore and Eden Christian Academy graduate, an 88; and Hohmann, a freshman and graduate of Grove City, an 89.
“Our depth is probably what has been our biggest strength,” Miller said. “Our three, four and five players are usually bringing in two good scores and we have to count four.”
Loughry’s lowest score this spring was a 1-under 69; Kosior’s, a 72; Mason’s, a 76 and Witouski’s, an 82, all at Glengarry Golf Links in Latrobe. Hohmann’s lowest score was an 86 at Lake Arthur Golf Club near Butler.
Mason placed third in the WPCC championship last fall with a 157 and Hohmann, fifth with a 187.
Mason’s tee shots “are as long as anybody’s on the team, maybe longer,” Miller said. Witouski’s strengths are his irons, Miller said, and Hohmann’s, his tee shots and consistency.
To earn a berth in the NJCAA Division III national championship in Chautauqua. BC3 must again top an Anne Arundel squad the Pioneers defeated by 5 strokes April 22 at Lake Arthur, Miller said.
“We know that is the team,” Miller said, “that we have to face and beat.”
The Pioneers last fall won their seventh WPCC team title since 2013 and Miller was selected as the top coach for a sixth time since 2013.
BC3’s spring season features NJCAA Division III Region 20 play, the regional tournament and a possible national championship appearance. The WPCC championship concludes the Pioneers’ fall season.
