BUTLER TWP — Xander Downing seeks to become the third Butler County Community College men’s golfer this century to win back-to-back individual conference titles and the Pioneers look to extend an unprecedented streak of three fall seasons without a loss under coach Bill Miller.

The Pioneers finished 12-0 in fall 2023. They captured the postseason WPCC team title with a 10-stroke victory against Westmoreland County Community College in a two-round tournament at the Links at Spring Church in Apollo. BC3 ended 12-0 in fall 2022 and 11-0 in fall 2021.

Downing shot a 14-over 158 and won the postseason WPCC individual title by 2 strokes.

He also placed third in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 tournament in May and qualified for the national championship tournament in June in Chautauqua, N.Y., where he placed 44th.

His championship experiences, Downing said, “will keep me more level-headed if I get into any pressure situations, like in New York or at the conference tournament. Both helped a lot with staying calm and learning if I had a bad hole, not to worry about it.”

Downing’s consecutive 79s in the two-round WPCC tournament followed a regular season in which he shot only 78s, 79s or an 80.

“Xander is very consistent,” Miller said. “If he makes a mistake he can recover. He brings a lot of experience. Good experience. I am excited to see how he is going to do, and I’m expecting big things from him. He’ll be playing right now out of the No. 1 or No. 2 spot.”

Downing faces a challenge for the No. 1 roster slot and possibly for the WPCC individual title from teammate Jacob Marquardt, Miller said.

Marquardt last competed in intercollegiate golf in 2019 at Penn State Behrend. In July he shot a 3-over 147 against a field of 16 to win the 2024 Beaver County Amateur Golf Tournament championship flight by 2 strokes.

Marquardt is “one of the longest drivers in my time at BC3,” said Miller, the Pioneers’ coach since 2003.

“He probably drive it 310 yards,” teammate Mitchell Covert said of Marquardt. “He hits it far. He can drive to two or three greens on par-4s.”

His long tee shots, Marquardt said, “puts more wedges in your hands, especially on par-4s, and more opportunities for a birdie.”

The eight players on BC3’s men’s fall roster are the most in at least seven years, Miller said. Six individuals can participate in a fall-season match. Only the top four individual scores are tallied to arrive at a team score.

“It’s nice to have the extra talent, and we are deeper,” Miller said. “It also creates competition for players to be as high on the ladder as the possibly can.”

Parker Worsley, Covert and Ben Perris “are very close” in battling for the Pioneers’ three through five spots, Miller said.

Worsley averaged a 39 over nine holes in his final season as a varsity golfer at Butler Senior High School; Covert, a 38 at Lincoln High in Ellwood City; and Perris, a 43 at Knoch.

Noah Ritchie, Kaden Rentz and Jaxon Salata will compete for the sixth spot “and could even move up further, depending on how they play,” Miller said.

Ritchie did not participate in golf at Butler; Rentz averaged a 39 at Seneca Valley and Salata, in the low 40s at Butler.

“This is a good team to compete for the conference championship,” Miller said.

Taylor Voloch averaged a 50 at Moniteau and will compete for BC3’s women’s squad.

Covert, Downing and Salata are business administration students at BC3. Marquardt is enrolled in the college’s computer information systems-networking and cybersecurity program; Perris, secondary education-social studies option; Rentz, physical education-sport management option; Ritche, early childhood education (Pre K-4); and Worsley, business management.

Voloch is a psychology student.

The Pioneers have won 13 WPCC team titles since 1972. BC3’s Carmen Oliva captured WPCC individual titles in 2016 and in 2019; and Troy Loughry, in 2021 and in 2022.

Other BC3 golfers to win the WPCC individual title since 2014 are Chris Kier in 2014 and Anthony Lewis in 2017. Miller has been selected as WPCC coach of the year nine times.

Bill Foley is Coordinator of News and Media Content at Butler County Community College