Sophomores Rule at WPIAL Girls Golf Championships

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2016 | 9:53 PM

Two new champions were crowned at the WPIAL 3-A and 2-A Girls Golf Championships at Treesdale Golf Club in Gibsonia on Wednesday. Caroline Wrigley of North Allegheny claimed the 3-A crown with a 3 over par 75, while Kiaria Porter of Central Valley shot a 6 over 78. Porter bested two-time champion Olivia Zambruno of Greensburg Central Catholic by two strokes.

Wrigley finished fifth in last year’s championship. She started the day on a sour note with two bogeys but rebounded strong with seven pars to close out the front nine. Trailing Peters Township senior Mia Kness by two shots at the turn, she was able to take the lead after the 10th hole with a birdie on the par 4 on the Orchard nine, while Kness ran into trouble and posted a 6.

Playing three groups ahead of Wrigley, Kness found more trouble with bogeys on 13 and 15, she was able to post a birdie on the 17th hole and had to wait. Wrigley played one-under golf until the final hole. Leading by three shots, she survived a 5 on the par 3 finisher and held on by a stroke. Sophomore Lauren Freyvogel of Pine Richland could not take the advantage of playing on her home course and finished third with a 78.

The Orchard course did not allow anyone to play under par all day in the 3-A field. The shot of the round came from Penn-Trafford senior Amanda Conner on the 17th with an eagle 3 on the par 5 hole.

In the 2-A field, Zambruno started out strong at 1 under par thru three, but a pair of 6’s opened the door for both Porter and Madie Smithco of Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. Porter, playing in the third group, two behind Zambruno, had three birdies but also survived two double bogeys to lead by one shot after nine.

Zambruno actually took a one shot lead after a birdie on the first hole of the Orchard course(#10 for the tournament). That lead was surrendered when both Zambruno and Smithco bogied the par 5 14th, while Porter made a birdie 4. Another bogey did in Smithco, only a freshman, placing her three shots behind the leaders. Zambruno made a huge error on 17, which led to a triple bogey 8, Porter played error free over the final two holes to clinch the title.

Porter said she was happy with winning the title but would work on her driver almost immediately. Zambruno, while disappointed, will now set her sights on defending her PIAA crown later this month. The top 7 finishers in 3-A and 8 in 2-A advance to the PIAA Western Regional at Tom’s Run in Blairsville on October 17th. Below is a list of all scores from both championships.

GIRLS 3-A RESULTS 

1 Caroline Wrigley 10 North Allegheny 75 18 +3
2 Mia Kness 12 Peters Twp 76 18 +4
3 Lauren Freyvogel 10 Pine Richland 78 18 +6
4 Taylor Waller 11 Canon MacMillan 81 18 +9
5 Danae Rugola 10 Uniontown 82 18 +10
6 Amanda Conner 12 Penn Trafford 83 18 +11
7 Christina Lewis 10 North Allegheny 84 18 +12
   
  T8   Alexandra Muracca 11 Shady Side Academy 85 18 +13
T8 Bella Petrone 12 Upper St. Clair 85 18 +13
10 Jessica Meyers 10 Oakland Catholic 88 18 +16
T11 Brooke Hilden 12 Peters Township 89 18 +17
T11 Casey Morrow 12 Shady Side Academy 89 18 +17
13 Natalie Welsh 11 Mars 90 18 +18
T14 Elizabeth Walsh 11 Shady Side Academy 92 18 +20
T14 Hannah Conroy 11 Fox Chapel 92 18 +20
T14 Taylor Short 11 Hempfield 92 18 +20
17 Hannah Folk 11 Butler 93 18 +21
18 Cara Levicoff 11 Fox Chapel 94 18 +22
19 Kennedy Johnston 11 Seneca Valley 95 18 +23
20 Vanessa Taylor 10 Baldwin 97 18 +25
21 Esha Vaidya 9 North Allegheny 98 18 +26
22 Anna Stowers 11 Penn Trafford 99 18 +27
T23 Meredith Engel 11 Upper St. Clair 103 18 +31
T23 Paige Gennaula 12 Thomas Jefferson 103 18 +31
25 Erin Cavrak 12 Bethel Park 107 18 +35
T26 Jocelyn Behr 11 Franklin Regional 108 18 +36
T26 Kerstin Nestel 12 Fox Chapel 108 18 +36
T26 Maggie Fedzko 10 Butler 108 18 +36
29 Jessica Hood 12 North Allegheny 109 18 +37
30 Ursula Meyer 12 Fox Chapel 115 18 +43

GIRLS 2-A RESULTS

1 Kiaria Porter 10 Central Valley 78 18 +6
T2 Madie Smithco 9 Cardinal Wuerl NC 80 18 +8
T2 Olivia Zambruno 12 Greensburg C C 80 18 +8
T4 Alex Bozich 12 Central Valley 84 18 +12
T4 Tatum McKelvey 10 Sewickley Academy 84 18 +12
6 Abby Zambruno 10 Greensburg C C 90 18 +18
7 Katie Carlson 11 Avonworth 92 18 +20
   8 Sophie Lyons 12 South Side 98 18 +26
9 Ashley Cairns 12 Mt Pleasant 101 18 +29
10 Brianna Fleming 11 Central Valley 106 18 +34
11 Kristen Battles 12 Central Valley 112 18 +40
12 Maya Urgitis 12 Blackhawk 115 18 +43
13 Gabbi Keefer 12 Mt Pleasant 118 18 +46
14 Brianna Milo 11 Sewickley Academy 120 18 +48

Tags: Central Valley