Peters Township ladies qualify for states
Peters Township captured runner-up honors in WPIAL Class AAA girls’ golf. Central Valley won the title. By finishing second, the Indians advanced to the PIAA state tournament. Members of the team that shot 336 at Cedarbrook included: Synclaire Kuhn (87), Mia Kness (78), Brooke Hilden (82), Alyssa Parham (89) and Allison Magyar (93).
Bella Petrone lays a shot up onto the green during WPIAL Class AAA championship action in girls’ golf. The Upper St. Clair senior carded an 89 to lead the Panthers.
The Lady Indians joined their male mates in the PIAA tournament as Peters Township finished runner-up to Central Valley in the Class AAA standings with 336 points.
Mia Kness led the Lady Indians. The sophomore fired a 78.
“Every time she goes out, she gives a solid performance,” said head coach Brian Farrell. “Her demeanor, no matter what, is calm. Mia’s always reliable.”
The Lady Indians also relied upon Synclaire Kuhn. The junior, who is the daughter of the boys’ coach (see sidebar story), carded an 87.
“Synclaire’s dealt with a lot of adversity [this season],” Farrell said. “She’s worked hard through all the ups and downs. The girls on the team have really supported her.”
In its quest for a state-playoff berth, Peters Township also benefited from the backing of Brooke Hilden, Allison Magyar and Alyssa Parham. Hilden finished with an 82 while Parham chalked up an 89 score. Magyar finished with a 93.
Of the girls’ performance Farrell said it was solid. “We are always looking to improve. They all went out and competed.”
Central Valley, however, competed just a little better. Led by medalist Maddie McDaniel (74), the Warriors won their fifth straight title, first WPIAL crown in Class AAA, with a 316 score.
“Central Valley is tough. That’s a quality program,” said Farrell. “My hat is off to them. They have my utmost respect.”
The Warriors and Mount St. Joseph are the respective favorites to contend for the PIAA championship. Earlier in the season, the Indians faced MSJ.
“They were impressive,” said Farrell. “We are just going to go out and compete and do the best we can and see where that ends up.”
USC places
Upper St. Clair ended up third in the girls’ standings with a 378 team score and fifth in the boys’ division.
Bella Petrone paced the Lady Panthers with an 89. Elizabeth Engel, Mariah Kelly, Leah Behling and Mereditch Engel also competed for USC.
Top performers for the USC boys included Austin Cassidy, Zach Barone, Jack Oleary Lou Olsakvosky, Jackson Sandusky and Brad Vespa.
Sewickley Academy swept the boys’ and girls’ Class AA divisions with 402 and 389 scores respectively.
The South Fayette boys’ placed fifth with a 428. Top performers included: Wes Keeling, Alec Lacinski, Ryan McGowan, Jake Trimbur, Alex Orlendini and Sam Jenkins.
Walz medals
Joey Walz earned medalist honors in the WPIAL Class AA girls’ championships. The Seton-La Salle senior carded a 40-37–37 to top the leaderboard.
Despite her performance, the Lady Rebels posted a 429 score and took third in the team standings, behind Sewickley Academy (389) and Mount Pleasant (414).
Maddie Leya, Emily Figliglia, Jackie Harbison and Helen Nee rounded out SLS’s showing.