Penn State Schuylkill captured the Penn State University Athletic Conference golf championship for the first time in program history Monday, rallying from a three-stroke deficit after the opening round to take the title.
The Lions finished with a two-day score of 628, shooting 311 at the PSUAC Blue Course on Sunday and 317 at the PSUAC White Course on Monday, Oct. 5.
The championship came just six days after Schuylkill earned the first team victory in program history at Penn State Hazleton.
“We went from winning the first match in our program’s history to winning the PSUAC Championship all within the span of a week. It almost doesn’t feel real,” Hayden Lee said.
Cole Yelinek and Lee led Schuylkill in Monday’s final round with matching scores of 77. Yelinek, of Auburn, a Blue Mountain High School graduate, followed a team-leading 74 in the opening round with a 77 to finish fourth individually at 151 and earn All-Conference honors.
For Lee, Monday’s 77 was seven strokes better than his opening round and the best score of his collegiate career. He finished at 161.
Jude Maziekas, of Ashland, a North Schuylkill High School graduate, also earned All-Conference honors with a two-day score of 158. Hogan Troutman, of Valley View, a Tri-Valley High School graduate, shot 81 in both rounds to finish at 162. Rylen Matlock, of New Philadelphia, a Pottsville Area High School graduate, finished at 170, and Blake Deiter finished at 184.
“This weekend was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Finishing fourth and then winning a PSUAC Team Championship was my most important goal during my collegiate career. Being able to bounce back and put up a 74 and a 77 was amazing, and I was really glad to help the team,” Yelinek said.
The team did not know it had won until the awards ceremony.
“One of the best sports moments of my life. Looking at how much that meant to everybody on the team was the best moment. We had no idea that we won until they were announcing awards. Me and Hogan were sitting there trying to do math. We thought we figured it out, but never can be sure,” Maziekas said.
The championship capped a milestone season for coach JD Powis, who has led the Penn State Schuylkill golf program for 21 years and was named PSUAC Coach of the Year following the tournament.
“Through my years of coaching golf at Penn State Schuylkill, I haven’t had ‘success’ in the traditional sense of the word. That is until very recently. My first win as a coach took place after 21 years of coaching. Yet somehow, it’s been rewarding just the same,” Powis said.
“I also want to congratulate my coach for being recognized as the Coach of the Year. Our coach has led by example and has been an amazing role model these past two years for me, and I can’t thank him enough for making all of this possible for my friends and I,” Lee said.
The team also received the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award, presented to Matlock.
For Powis, the championship represents both this year’s team and the players who helped build the program over the past two decades.
“So, I want to thank this year’s team, as well as my former players, for helping to contribute to the success we enjoyed this season. The 2026 PSUAC Championship was won by the Penn State Schuylkill Golf Team, but it can be celebrated by all of us,” Powis said.
The Lions now carry that momentum into nationals.
“It was a great day for our team, and hopefully we can carry this momentum into nationals,” Troutman said.
From a press release
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