Peters Township, USC golfers prepare for finals
Eight area golfers, five from Peters Township and three from Upper St. Clair, will vie for the WPIAL AAA boys’ title during the individual championship match Oct. 8 at the Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg.
Though the tournament starts at 9 a.m., the first local pairing does not tee off until 9:48 and includes Jackson Sandusky from USC and Connor Schmidt from Peters. Schmidt’s teammates, Hunter Bruce, Tanner Johnson, Jake Sollon and Alec Stopperich, follow in ensuing flights separated each by eight minutes. Lou Olsakovsky and Jack O’Leary, both from USC, will tee off at 10:12 and 10:28, respectively.
The top 14 golfers qualify for the PIAA tournament. The western regional event, the first leg of the state championships, will be held Oct. 19 at Tom’s Run Golf Club.
In the Class AA championships held Oct. 1 at the Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley, three area duffers advanced to the western regional to begin their quest for a PIAA title.
Brendan Shaughnessy from Bishop Canevin fired a 75 and finished tied for fourth place in the finals. The senior finished three strokes off the winning pace set by Jason Li from Sewickley Academy.
Sam Smallhoover will join his teammate in the PIAA tournament. The senior carded a 77 to place sixth overall.
Alec Lacinski from South Fayette tied for 10th place. The senior scored a 79.
Earlier in section action, Lacinski paced South Fayette to victories against Keystone Oaks, 205-228, and Seton-La Salle, 226-256. Against the Golden Eagles, Lacinski shot a 40 with teammate Alex Orlandini. He scored 42 against the Rebels.
The Lions suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Bethel Park, 215-225. Lacinski earned medalist honors with a 43. The Lions are 12-1 overall.
In team action, Peters Township also preserved its unblemished record with a win against West Allegheny, 191-225. The Indians improved to 17-0 overall and 10-0 in Section 7-AAA.
Johnson led all scorers with a one-under-par 35 on the Rolling Hills Country Club course. Schmidt (37), Stopperich (38), Sollon (39) and Bruce (42) followed.
The WPIAL team championships for both boys and girls will be held Oct. 15 at the Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon.
The Peters Township girls’ continue to set a torrid pace on the greens. They defeated Pine-Richland recently, 152-188, and featured three duffers in Tuesday’s WPIAL individual championships played at Rolling Hills.
The three finalists were Mia Kness, Synclaire Kuhn and Brooke Hilden. They set the pace against the Rams with scores of 33, 36 and 42, respectively. Alyssa Parham carded a 41.
Among the other local girls to participate in the WPIAL finals included: Bella Petrone and Elizabeth Engel from Upper St. Clair as well as Taylor Waller from Canon-McMillan. Emily Marcus from South Park participated in the Class AA championships.
The top seven finishers in the Class AAA girls’ division and top eight places in AA advanced to the PIAA Western Regional tournament.