5 things to watch at WPIAL team golf championships

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 | 7:54 PM

The WPIAL boys and girls team golf championship will be Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Rostraver.

Action begins at 10 a.m. The boys will play the Gold course and the girls’ finals will be contested on the Red course.

Champions will be crowned in Class AAA and AA.

Here are some storylines to watch:

Sixth sense: Sewickley Academy can break the WPIAL record for consecutive boys golf team titles if the Panthers can finish at the top of the leaderboard again.

Coach Win Palmer’s team shot 390 in the Class AA semifinals Tuesday at Butler’s in Elizabeth to keep another title quest intact.

Turtle Creek also won five straight titles from 1934-38.

Repetition is key : Central Catholic’s boys team is looking for its third straight title in Class AAA, while the North Allegheny girls (Class AAA) and Greensburg Central Catholic girls (Class AA) are seeking four consecutive titles.

The last Class AAA boys team to win three championships in a row was Upper St. Clair, which won four from 1998-2001.

Central features WPIAL individual champion Jimmy Meyers, a Penn State recruit, and runner-up Neal Shipley, a James Madison recruit.

North Allegheny’s Caroline Wrigley, a Furman recruit, won three straight WPIAL individual titles.

Three other girls programs have won at least four straight titles: Blackhawk (1977-80), North Allegheny (1986-89), and Upper St. Clair which won an unprecedented 12 straight from 1994-2005. WPIAL golf broke into two divisions for the girls in 2012.

Fox news: Fox Chapel is considered the favorite by many in boys Class AAA. The Foxes were a strong contender last year but players competed with heavy hearts. Several team members were involved in a vehicle crash less than 24 hours before the team finals as an SUV hit into a utility pole in Fox Chapel.

Fox Chapel’s last title came in 2006.

The Foxes tied Central for the Section 4 title.

Peters Township is another pursuer in Class AAA. The Indians qualified for the finals for the 12th straight year, and 15th time in 16 seasons.

GCC is back: Greensburg Central Catholic tied Elizabeth Forward for first in Tuesday’s Class AA boys semifinals to return to the finals for the first time since 2003. GCC has five WPIAL titles in boys golf, but the last one came in 1993. The others: 1983, ‘85, ‘86, and ‘91.

First tee jitters: Carmichaels advanced to the boys Class AA finals for the first time in school history. The Mikes posted a 416 to take third at the semifinal at Butler’s Golf Course in Elizabeth. Sewickley Academy (390) and North Catholic (415) also came out of that qualifier.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Carmichaels, Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Greensburg C.C., North Allegheny, Peters Township, Sewickley Academy