“It feels amazing,” said Hermansen of being crowned the District 2A champ, “especially after not shooting the greatest on Thursday.”

Hermansen shot an 81 at White Deer in the championships’ first round on Thursday, collecting three birdies, six pars, seven bogeys and a triple and a double bogey that left the two-time State qualifier in eighth place and five strokes back of the leader. The top seven finishers qualify for States.

On Saturday, Hermansen bogeyed his first two holes but found his stroke and parred holes 3, 4 and 5 and got back to even with birdies on holes 6 and 7. He finished the front nine with a bogey and a birdie to pull even with a 36. 

Hermansen made the turn and went par, birdie and par to move to 1-under, but a bogey on the par-4 13th put him back at even-par on the day. Three pars and a pair of birdies in his final five holes gave him a 69 for the round and a spot at the top of the leaderboard.

“When I went birdie, birdie on 6 and 7 I started to think I had a shot,” said Hermansen,  “I didn’t look at the scoreboard all round until I finished, then I found out I had a 4-shot lead.”

North Penn-Mansfield Coach Shawn Mitcheltree had high praise for his most decorated golfer.

“At the end of last season, Andy told me he had the silver and a bronze, but his goal for the his last season was the gold,” said Mitcheltree, “to get all three color of medals in a four year period is impressive .. I hope people understand how rare it is to have won all three in a short time.”

In addition to coaching Hermansen and the North Penn-Mansfield golf team, Mitcheltree is the course pro at Corey Creek. He witnessed his top player putting in rounds and working toward his lofty goal. 

“All summer long and in-season, Andy worked on his game,” Mitcheltree says, “Coming into this he was hitting the ball exceptionally well, he just needed it all to come together .. and it did today. Any athlete and coach has to be proud to see hard work pay off.”

Hermansen will make his third appearance at the State Championships on October 20th and 21st at Penn State University’s White course, where he’ll once again be looking for improvement.

“For states, I’d like to finish in the top half after not doing the greatest the last two years,” stated Hermansen.

Hermansen’s teammate, Alex Kalamaris, also qualified for Districts and then made the cut for Saturday’s round. The sophomore carded an 89 on Thursday and a 94 on Saturday, good for 23rd overall in Class 2A.