AKRON, OH: After claiming their first District Title since 2022, the Saint Ignatius Golf Cats would compete for an OHSAA State Championship at the prestigious Firestone Country Club, a course that has hosted the PGA Championship three times. The two-day tournament took place from Sunday, October 12, to Monday, October 13. 

Head Golf Coach Kevin Neitzel '90 would roll out his five-person lineup of Jackson Sommer, Kyle Malicki, Fitch Farina, Ethan White, and Patrick Myers. 

Sommer came off a second-place performance a week ago at the District Tournament. Meanwhile, fellow teammates Malicki and Farina tied for 13th place in the field. The Wildcats came into Sunday with momentum. 

After day one in Akron, the Wildcats were fourth among 24 teams and ten strokes behind the first-place Dublin Jerome Celtics, who had a fantastic opeing day of the State Tournament. The Wildcats shot a 298 as a team. 

On Day two, the Wildcats began to chip away at the lead on St. Xavier, who entered in third place. The Cats would overtake the third-place position, but St. Charles and Dublin Jerome began to pull away from the field. St. Charles would pull within four strokes with four holes remaining, but Jerome would claim first place. 

Sommer, who earned second-team All-Ohio honors, came in ninth in the field with a two-day score of 147. White would place 13th in the field with a score of 149. 

Other Wildcat scores include: Malicki - 151 (20), Myers - 155 (31), and Farina - 157 (34). 

The Wildcats finished third as a team with a score of 598. This caps a phenomenal season for the Wildcats, who placed first in seven tournaments/invitationals. 

Records this season include: Farina tying a program record with a 66 in an 18-hole course. Another program tying record came from Farina, Sommer, Malicki, Dominic Castelluccio, and Connor Phipps when they scored a 278 on a par 72 course.