Westmoreland high school notebook: Mt. Pleasant’s Eutsey shocked by hole-in-one

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, September 18, 2022 | 5:33 PM

Emily Eutsey was having an ordinary round of golf, during a routine high school match, when the extraordinary happened.

The Mt. Pleasant junior pulled her 7-iron on the par-3 No. 4 hole at Luke’s Links at Norvelt Golf Club, aimed at the flag, took a swipe at the ball and held her follow-through as the shot sailed toward the green.

The result was the shot of her life.

It landed on the green and trickled slowly into the cup for a hole-in-one, her first ace.

Unbeaten Mt. Pleasant moved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in Section 1-2A with a 187-237 victory over Derry.

“I saw it hit the green and rolled to the point where I couldn’t see it,” Eutsey said. “I had a good feeling that it went in after hearing the sound of the pin.

“It truly was an amazing feeling. I walked up to the tee box with no indication that I would make that shot. I felt an immense feeling of happiness when the coaches confirmed that it was in fact a hole-in-one.”

Eutsey transferred from Central Cambria in Ebensburg and has been on the Mt. Pleasant team for three years.

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Unbeaten on the links

A number of county teams are looking to finish the WPIAL golf regular season with perfect records.

The Belle Vernon boys (10-0), Mt. Pleasant girls (9-0) and Franklin Regional girls (11-0) were undefeated late in the week.

Franklin Regional has won 30 straight section matches.

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Hussle and flow

Derry sophomore Jane Huss became just the third girl in Derry cross country history to finish with a sub-20-minute time in a race when she crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 59 seconds in a meet against visiting Hempfield and Latrobe.

The mark broke Huss’s own course record.

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Diving into college

Latrobe has a Division-I prospect on the diving board.

Senior Hannah Polosky used to be a competitive gymnast in Norman, Okla., but an injury pushed her toward the swimming pool. When she moved to Latrobe, she took up diving and has become proficient in the 1-meter event.

She has interest from Arkansas, East Carolina and Pitt, with official visits planned to all three.

Colorado State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Wyoming and Kansas also have inquired, along with a number of Division II schools.

Polosky was the Westmoreland County Coaches Association champion last year and broke the Latrobe record (held by Taylor Miller) with a score of 324.60. She finished second at the WPIAL Class 3A championships and qualified for the PIAA meet.

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Jones player of week

Latrobe’s girls volleyball team is tearing through the WPIAL regular season, and Giovanna Jones is a key reason for the Wildcats’ run.

Jones, a senior libero, was named one of the Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association players of the week for Class 3A.

Latrobe is ranked No. 5 in the classification.

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Mankins coaching

Jeff Mankins, a former standout golfer and basketball player at Greensburg Salem, was hired to coach the Golden Lions’ seventh grade girls basketball team.

Mankins most recently played Division I golf at Towson.

His father, Craig, who is the golf professional at Hannastown Golf Club, used to be the boys basketball coach at Greensburg Salem.

Jeff’s mother, Lisa, is an assistant coach for the Greensburg Salem varsity girls team.

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Record round

Hempfield’s boys golf team has a new record holder. Senior Owen Dzurko shot a 3-under-par 32 on Thursday for a team home-course record.

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Golf postseason

The WPIAL golf individual postseason gets going Monday and Tuesday with section tournaments.

The top finishers meeting a target score at each site advance to the WPIAL championship tournament, which will be 36 holes this year and played over two weeks.

For boys Class 3A, host sites are: Youghiogheny Country Club (Section 1), Pleasant Valley Golf Club (Section 2), Suncrest Golf Course (Section 3), Willowbrook Country Club (Section 4), Fox Run Golf Club (Section 5), South Hills Country Club (Section 6), Hickory Heights Golf Club (Section 7), and Saxon Golf Club (Section 8).

Class 2A: Buffalo Golf Course (Section 1), Latrobe Elks (Section 2), Chippewa Golf Course (Section 3), South Park Golf Course (Section 4), Green Meadows Golf Course (Section 5), The Club at Shadow Lakes (Section 6), Westwood Golf Club (Section 7), Uniontown Country Club (Section 8), and Fort Cherry Golf Course (Section 9).

For the girls, 3A sites are: Diamond Run Golf Club (Section 1), Butler’s Golf Course (Section 2), Greensburg Country Club (Section 3) and Buffalo Golf Course (Section 4); 2A: Cedarbrook Golf Course (Section 1), and Del-Mar Golf Course (Section 2).

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Recruiting

Penn-Trafford softball player Kylee Piconi committed to play at Frostburg State, a member of the Division II Mountain East Conference. A shortstop who still has her senior season to play for the Lady Warriors, Piconi has sneaky power. She hit over .600 in the playoffs as Penn-Trafford reached the WPIAL Class 5A championship.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant