On face value, the fact that Corey Wagner and Spencer Mellon played a round of golf together last Wednesday or that they will again this coming Wednesday isn't anything out of the ordinary.

After all, Wagner and Mellon grew up a block from each other in Oakmont and have played countless rounds together for more than a decade since meeting as young boys.

What makes these two particular rounds special, however, for the senior teammates on the Central Catholic golf team is the fact that the Oct. 7 round was the WPIAL individual championship and the one this coming Wednesday is the PIAA Western Regional qualifier.

"We're great friends, and we play golf together probably almost every day in the summer, pretty much," Mellon said. "It's always the same story of a battle between us, whether it be a side bet or just having fun out there, we really push each other and it's always good competition and good camaraderie."

Wagner took home a silver medal from the WPIAL championships when he shot a 73 at Butler Country Club to tie Ben Gjebre of Latrobe and lost in a playoff to him. Mellon tied for sixth at the tournament with a 5-over par 76.

"It was awesome," Mellon said. "At one point, actually, there were 10 or 12 groups and Corey and I were 1-2 on the leaderboard, which was pretty cool. It was a good showing."

By finishing among the top 24, both qualified for the PIAA Western Regional, which will take place Wednesday at Tom's Run Golf Course near Blairsville. That is the next step for qualifying for the PIAA championships, which are Oct. 26 and 27 at Heritage Hills Country Club in York. The field at the regional will be further whittled down.

"I just want to stick to my gameplan and follow through, do well, advance, try to get a good seed for the finals and then give it all I got once I get there," Wagner said.

"You have to take it one step at a time because you can't win it in the next round, but you can lose it," Mellon said.

Having both Wagner and Mellon reach the PIAA finals would be fitting ends to distinguished careers at Central Catholic for the two who are part of the initial graduating class to go through the program under fourth-year coach Corey O'Connor.

"They've always been together since they were freshmen," O'Connor said. "They've been quality players for us ever since.

"[Wagner] just really manages his game. He's a smart kid who doesn't let anything really bother him. If he has a bad hole, he will come right back, he has that good a mental game to just block it out .... His ball flight is low and he knows how to manage his way through high winds or anything else that shows up on the course."

Wagner leads the Vikings in average scoring this season at 36.2 strokes per nine-hole round. Mellon isn't too far behind Wagner at 36.9. Each has seen his score go down throughout his high school career, which is not surprising the way Wagner and Mellon push each other to improve and work on their games together.

"This last summer we really emphasized our short game, and having both of us work on that just shaved off a lot of strokes," Wagner said. "We've been able to be all-around better players because that adds a whole new level to the game."

In addition to the individual accolades, Wagner and Mellon have played at the top of the lineup for a Vikings team that tied for the Division I Section 4 title with Fox Chapel.

Central Catholic took part in the WPIAL team semifinals yesterday. The top three finishers at each site there advance to the WPIAL team final Monday at Cedarbrook Gold Course in Rostraver.

"Yes, [Wagner and Mellon] are looking forward to Western Regionals, but both of them are really team players and team captains, and they really want to win the WPIAL for Central," said O'Connor, who is the son of the late Pittsburgh mayor Bob O'Connor. "It will be a tough task, but they're team players, and more than anything else, that's what we like about them."

Also valuable members of the Vikings team are sophomore Will Maher and junior Eric Urda. Urda's scoring average was 37 this season. Maher's was 38, and he shot a clutch 35 against Fox Chapel in a match that allowed Central to tie for the section title.

J.J. Bush, freshman Colin Haag, junior Ben Kennedy and seniors Pat Burke, J.R. Stragar and Nick Redondo round out the lineup for a team that is trying to win the first WPIAL boys' golf title in school history.

"That would be so awesome," Mellon said. "We've won the section [title] three years in a row with the same team for three years straight, so winning the WPIAL title would just put icing on the cake."

"Winning Central's first title would mean a lot, and I know it would mean a lot to Corey O'Connor," Wagner said. "We've had [former] coaches and players tell us we are the best team they've seen come through Central, so we want to capitalize on this moment and take advantage of our opportunity here."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.