State champion North Allegheny boys golf team reflects on ‘epic’ season

By: John Grupp
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The greatest season in North Allegheny boys golf began three months ago with a practice and a premonition.

At the Tigers’ first workout, assistant coach Bill Medwick inhaled the early August breeze and declared, “I smell a state title is in the air.”

The nose knew.

North Allegheny capped its historic season Oct. 23 at Penn State by winning the program’s first PIAA Class 3A team title, adding a state championship trophy to a record-setting campaign already dotted with remarkable wins and memories.

“We knew this was going to be a good team and obviously it worked out that way for us,” coach Pat Niven said. “It was a great season. I keep pinching myself.”

Less than two weeks after winning the program’s first WPIAL team title since 1971, the Tigers shot 2-under 286 on Penn State’s White Course to hold off runner-up South Fayette (290) and win the PIAA Class 3A team championship.

Junior Ravi Desai fired a bogey-free 4-under 68 and senior Christopher Hoffman carded a 2-under 70 to lead the Tigers.

Juniors Preston Troiano (72) and Liam Cooper (76) also contributed to the team score, in which the top four scores out of five NA golfers were counted. Junior Colin Ward shot 79.

The pivotal holes were the 481-yard par-5 No. 18, when NA, which started on the back nine, scored three birdies, while South Fayette had two bogeys, and the 167-yard par 3 No. 7, which the Tigers played even par and South Fayette 2-over.

When Cooper, playing in the last group, birdied his 17th hole, the Tigers’ fate was sealed.

“It was really nerve-wracking watching everybody come in,” said Desai, who had placed tied for fifth with a 5-under 139 at the PIAA individual golf championships Oct. 21-22 at Penn State. “But once we knew we won, it was pretty awesome.”

The Tigers had a lot of extraordinary moments throughout the season. They went 15-2 overall and 11-1 in Section 3-3A to win their first outright section crown since 2013. Along the way, they shot the lowest score in program history with a 167 on Sept. 3 against Knoch at North Park. Then on Oct. 10 at Cedarbrook, the Tigers snapped a 53-year WPIAL team title drought by carding a five-golfer 386 to edge runner-up South Fayette (389), which had handed NA one of its two regular-season losses.

The golfers stayed hungry after winning the WPIAL gold and turned their focus to states.

“We knew the job wasn’t done yet and winning states was something we all wanted really bad,” said Desai, who is drawing interest from Division I Bucknell. “We played every day and kept practicing and stayed ready.”

Said Niven, “It is truly epic and these kids just worked their tails off. They wanted that title.”

Individually, Hoffman tied for fourth at the WPIAL championships and tied for 16th at states. Desai was 11th at the WPIAL finals.

Among the NA girls, junior Kayli Dings placed eighth at the WPIAL championships and tied for 32nd at the PIAA event.

The Tiger boys will return four of their top five golfers and graduate only two seniors, Hoffman and sixth-man Charlie Burbick.

They came home with PIAA championship gold medals, and there are plans to receive championship rings. They also had some proud hallway moments in the wake of the state title.

“When we walked in the school, people were clapping and saying, ‘Good job,’ ” Desai said. “That felt awesome. It really did.”

Tags: North Allegheny