The Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s golf teams got their seasons started at their own Elizabethtown Fall Invitational to kick off their 2026-27 campaign. The tournament took place at the Hershey Country Club only 20 minutes from the Etown campus.
Last season, the men’s team kicked off their season finishing first overall out of 11 teams in the invitational, with the women’s team finishing strong with a podium finish, placing third overall. Junior Jeremy Otto led the team last year, shooting +2 overall, tying for fourth in the field. Sophomore Emma Leo led the women’s team, shooting a +24 and finishing 12th overall in the invitational.
Etown’s men’s team played well overall but, however, ultimately came up a few strokes short of winning back-to-back home invitationals, finishing second to Moravian University by five strokes.
Sophomore Talan Spittler, who played on Etown’s B team in the 2025 invitational, led the team with a +2, finishing fourth overall, and improving his best from last year’s invitational by eight strokes. First-year Ben Horgos showed out in his debut for the Blue Jays, posting the second best score with a +4, tying for sixth place overall.
Otto finished third out of the Blue Jays team, shooting a +6, placing him tied for 12th amongst the field. Senior Dylan Poalucci finished tied for 26th overall after shooting a +10, beating his score from last year of +13. Senior Kale Quigley rounded out Etown’s A team, shooting a +13, beating his score of +21 when he played individually in 2025.
The Blue Jays’ B team was led by sophomore Joey Huxta, posting a +12, tying himself with fellow B-team member first-year Landon Blocher and sophomore Jeremiah Wong, who played individually. First-years Ethan Feltzer and Joe Sefula tied with Quigley with a +13 after playing individually in their strong debut performances.
Etown’s women’s team finished fourth overall, trailing third place Alvernia University by 27 strokes. Graduate Alayna Kichman led the Blue Jays overall, shooting a +20. This score finished tied for ninth overall and halved her score from last year after shooting a +41 in 2025.
Leo, after leading the returning Blue Jays last season, finished right behind Kichman with a one stroke difference, shooting a +21, improving from her score of +45 last year. Sophomore Karsyn Peifer finished third for Etown and tied for 16th overall, scoring a +37. First-year Zoey Gerry rounded out the scoring for the Blue Jays with a +61, finishing 21st overall in her debut for Etown.
The men’s team will play their next rounds on Sept. 24 at the Quail Valley Golf Club in Littlestown, PA against Penn State Harrisburg. The women’s team will face off against Susquehanna University on the road at Susquehanna Valley Country Club on Sept. 26 in their next invitational.
