Peters Township girls win WPIAL golf title
Title is third in three years
Peters Township lived up to its billing in golf when the Lady Indians secured their third straight WPIAL title. They compiled a 317 team score and outdistanced their closest competition – North Allegheny – by 36 strokes to claim the Class 3A championship on Oct. 10 at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon.
“When you have four of the best golfers in the WPIAL, you better win this,” said PT skipper Micke Lacey.
Only a week prior, the Lady Indians placed four golfers in the top six during the individual championships. They also had the WPIAL individual champion in Ellie Benson.
But a team championship was not a given.
“Golf is a crazy game,” Lacey said. “You never know what is going to happen.”
Over the first five holes, the unthinkable appeared to be occurring on the 5,200-yard Red Course. Few pars and even less birdies were being recorded.
“At the beginning, we struggled. Some started with bogeys and things like that,” Lacey said.
“When you win two in a row and you bring everybody back, there is pressure to win again and that was part of it,” he continued. “Some of it was nerves. They didn’t want to be the one that didn’t shoot the score that we needed to win.”
Lacey knew, however, it was just “a matter of time” before the Lady Indians showed their true colors.
“I was not concerned because I knew they would be able to turn it around. I have seen them play all season long and what they were doing on the first five or six wholes wasn’t the way they normally played. They weren’t going to bogey every hole out there.
“We calmed our nerves and got back into our rhythm,” Lacey continued. “We really turned it around, especially on the back nine.”
Benson played a fairly even round, 37 out and 39 in for a low score of 76. Brooke Vowcheck followed with a 77 (38-39).
Sophia Severns lowered her front nine score by three strokes and finished with an 81 while freshman Betty Glyptis bettered her front nine by five strokes to card an 83.
Gabby Catalogna also played 18 holes and contributed an 87. Only six other girls in the field from nine other teams shot a lower score.
“We took care of business,” Lacey said. “They played well. The best we’ve shot in a WPIAL championship.”
For Lacey, the squad shares a sense of compassion and consideration that contributes to its success.
“They are the nicest girls to be around. They like each other. There is no animosity or jealousy and that’s not easy to do with high school kids. These girls actually want to see each other do well. So it’s nice to see them win. You want to see them get that reward for all their hard work.”
For the Lady Indians, there is more work to do. Not only will four of them compete for individual state honors, they will be out to defend their PIAA title when state tournament action commences Oct. 21 at Penn State. Peters Township won the Class 3A team championship in 2023.
“You want to go back and prove yourself again but there are so many good teams and we are not necessarily expected to win,” Lacey said. “We have to play the same team we beat by five strokes and five is not a lot. It’s a couple holes, a couple bounces.”
Experience though provides Peters Township an edge.
“We have been close before. We played the course before. We know what to expect,” Lacey agreed. “But it’s a coin flip. One bounce here or there will determine who wins. It will be close. We are not heavy favorites. Not like the WPIAL,” he added.
“We got here though. That is the hard part.”
NOTES: Upper St. Clair finished seventh in the team standings. The Lady Panthers posted a 377 team score.
Mia Capriotti led USC with the low score of 89. Olivia Ziegler and Addy Shedd followed. Myla and Madalyn Burchill also contributed for the Panthers.