What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Oct. 4, 2023: Girls golfers battle for gold at Diamond Run

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 | 11:57 PM

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The top district girls golfers return to Sewickley for the final round of the WPIAL girls Class 3A and 2A individual golf championships Wednesday.

The girls final round will take place at the Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley with 26 golfers from Class 3A and seven from Class 2A participating.

In 3A, two sophomores are on top of the leaderboard with Ellie Benson of Peters Township in first place after shooting a 1-over par 73 in the opening round. Trailing by two strokes is Mya Morgan of Elizabeth Forward, who shot a first-round 75.

Senior Paige Meyers of Oakland Catholic is third at 7-over par, while Seneca Valley senior teammates Lihini Ranaweera and Madison Sharek are tied for fourth place at 8-over par 80.

The rest of the top 10 are Oakland Catholic senior Grace Windfelder (81), Mt. Lebanon senior Madeline Zerega (82), Peters Township junior Brooke Vowcheck (85), Moon sophomore Angelina Schild (85), North Allegheny senior Megan Manesiotis (86), Pine-Richland freshman Siena Smith (86) and Upper St. Clair freshman Olivia Ziegler (86).

The top seven scorers from the 36-hole WPIAL championships will qualify for the PIAA championships at Penn State on Oct. 18 provided their WPIAL championship final round score Wednesday does not exceed 100.

The girls 2A final round will have only have seven golfers participating.

Eden Christian sophomore Pearl Lundgren has a two-stroke lead after shooting an opening round 11-over par 83.

Neshannock senior Sophia Covelli is in second place, two strokes behind Lundgren after shooting a first round 85.

The other five golfers are Greensburg Central Catholic sophomore Alayna Stawovy (91), Seton LaSalle junior Emily Obara (92), Freeport senior Lillie Snow (92), Lincoln Park sophomore Savanna Stile (93) and Greensburg Central Catholic freshman Kennedy Kelly (112).

All seven golfers from the 36-hole WPIAL championships will qualify for the PIAA championships at Penn State on Oct. 18 provided their WPIAL championship final round score Wednesday does not exceed 100.

Playoff fever

With time running out in the 2023 WPIAL girls soccer section schedule, some races for fourth place and a playoff berth are getting tight.

In Class 4A, while North Allegheny has a one-game lead over Seneca Valley in Section 1 and Upper St. Clair is only one game behind Peters Township in Section 2, the fight for fourth place in both sections is close as well.

In Section 1, Butler and Pine-Richland are even in the loss column with the Golden Tornado at 5-5 and the Rams at 4-5 in the section.

On Wednesday, Pine-Richland visits Seneca Valley (8-1-1) while Butler hosts Allderdice (3-7).

In Section 2, three teams are separated by two games.

Mt. Lebanon is in fourth place with a 5-4-1 section record, Bethel Park is right behind at 4-5, followed by Norwin at 3-6.

On Wednesday, the Blue Devils are home to Hempfield (0-9), the Black Hawks host Baldwin (1-9), and the Knights are in search of an upset as they welcome Peters Township (9-0-1).

Double the love

The first three rounds of the 2023 WPIAL girls tennis doubles championships are set for Wednesday.

The Class 3A first round, quarterfinals and semifinals take place at North Allegheny with 16 duos serving for gold.

The top seeds in 3A are seniors Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath of Shady Side Academy.

The first three rounds of the 2A tournament will be held at Bethel Park with 15 pairs in the hunt for a district championship.

The top seeds of Emily Greb and Lindsey Greb of Knoch have already advanced to the quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye.

A duo from Knoch has won four straight WPIAL 2A doubles championships, including the Greb sisters in 2021 and Lindsey Greb and Ally Bauer last fall.