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Peters Township girls golf team wins 2nd WPIAL title in row

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Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 9:16 PM

One streak continued, two ended and a program-first title was won at the WPIAL team golf championships Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course.

The streak that continued belonged to the Peters Township girls, who won their third consecutive Class 3A title. It was their fourth in the past five years.

The streak that ended was in girls Class 2A, where Shady Side Academy halted Greensburg Central Catholic’s nine-year run.

And the North Catholic boys won their first team title in Class 2A, while the North Allegheny boys ended a 53-year drought by claiming their first team title since 1971.

Peters Township breezed to its title by scoring a low 317 strokes. Fox Chapel was second with 353, and North Allegheny was third with 366.

WPIAL 3A individual champion Ellie Benson paced the way with a 4-over-par 76. Teammate Brooke Vowcheck was next with a 77, followed by Sophia Severns’ 81 and Betty Glyptis’ 83.

“This was a satisfying win,” Peters Township coach Mike Lacey said. “When you are sending four individuals to states, I guess we were the favorites.

“It wasn’t easy. We didn’t play well on the front nine, and maybe they were a little tight. But they rallied on the back nine.”

Freshman Alyssa Zheng, the Class 2A champion, paced Shady Side Academy as it outdueled Greensburg Central Catholic, 387-399. Zheng shot a 1-under 71.

“Alyssa performed great, but my two seniors, Cathy Jin and Sophia Gombos, had never played 18-hole rounds and delivered,” Shady Side Academy coach Betsy Thompson said. “Winning this means a lot. We beat a great team from Greensburg Catholic.”

It was Shady Side Academy’s fourth WPIAL title.

Greensburg Central Catholic coach Anthony Santilli said he was proud of his team’s effort.

“It was close,” he said. “We’ll have to start a new streak next year.”

When returning champion Peters Township boys surprisingly did not make the finals, it opened the door for other teams. North Allegheny stepped up to beat South Fayette, 386-389. Fox Chapel was third with 389. Belle Vernon, playing on its home course, struggled to a sixth-place finish with a 424. Belle Vernon won the Class 2A title in 2023.

“This has been a long-time coming,” North Allegheny coach Pat Niven said. “Our goal this season was to change the banner in the gym. The three guys in the 70s were outstanding, but Liam Cooper came up big for us. He made a clutch putt on the 18th hole. He was clutch.”

The trio of Tigers to lead the way were Ravi Desai with a 72 and Chris Hoffman and Preston Troiano with 75s.

North Catholic edged Greensburg Central Catholic for the 2A title, 419-420. Chris Faver paced the Trojans with a 79, and Dylan Murray had an 81. Braden Riley led GCC with a 76.

“I’ve been coaching this group for a couple years,” North Catholic first-year coach Ryan Parrish said. “Our depth won out. I was their junior varsity coach. Murray’s round sealed it.”

GCC coach Greg Riley said one-stroke losses hurt, but he was proud of his team’s effort.

“I’m sure every team left shots out there,” Riley said. “They battled. We just came up short.”

The winners advance to the PIAA team championships Oct. 23 at Penn State.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

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