Peters Township runner-up in boys’ golf
At Peters Township High School, second place is never satisfactory, particularly in boys’ golf. So when the Indians walk away with the WPIAL Class AAA runner-up trophy, they are extremely disheartened.
“Very disappointed,” said head coach David Kuhn.
In 14 of the last 15 years, the Indians have made a trip to Cedarbrook Golf Club to compete for the championship and they have won five times since 2004, including a record victory in 2015. However, Peters Township finished second to Central Catholic Thursday, five strokes off the winning pace, 386-391.
“Anybody else in the WPIAL would take that (14 of 15) right now if you asked them. So we are proud of that,” Kuhn said of the run. “But the problem for us is the expectation is of winning. If you don’t win it, then you are disappointed.”
After a front nine of three even pars and two other scores below 40, the Indians were in position to capture their sixth title in program history. But they did not finish well, posting only two scores under 39 on the back nine.
“We just did not execute,” Kuhn said. “It’s hard to explain. Whether it’s bad decision or not execution. But it was more than just missing a few putts. We just didn’t play well on the back nine.”
It was the exact opposite of last year’s performance where the Indians fell a few strokes short of beating the Vikings, who have won three titles since 2012.
As he scanned the scorecards in his phone, Kuhn commented, “Looks like we had a lead after the front nine and totally did not play well on the back and gave it away easily. What are you going to do?” he said.
“Last year, we got way behind on the front nine and we scraped really hard and made up an 11-shot deficit on the back nine and ended up short by two shots. This year was the exact opposite. We played pretty well on the front and didn’t get it done on the back.”
Hunter Bruce did. The Penn State recruit fired a 73 to tie Central Catholic’s Neal Shipley for low-score honors.
Parker Johnson was the only other Indian in the 70s, carding a 75. Matt Petrisin (80), Joe Pisarcik (81) and Michael Bell (82) completed PT’s scoring.
In addition to Shipley, Palmer Cuny (79), Tyler Blake (78), Shane Kelley (79) and Jimmy Meyers (77) all finished in the 70s for the Vikings.
During the regular season, the Indians got it done. They ran the table in Section 7 and compiled a 17-1 overall record. They also advanced Bruce to the Western Regional, where he shot a 76 on Oct. 16 at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville and qualified for PIAA championships set for Oct. 23-24 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Conference Center in York, Pa.
The overall season, however, is no consolation for the Indians, who view their second-place showing as a loss.
“The kids are hurting,” said Kuhn. “It’s not the way they wanted to end it.”
Lebo fifth
Mt. Lebanon finished fifth in the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ golf championships held Oct. 12 at Cedar Brook Golf Club in Belle Vernon. The Blue Devils totaled 412.
Luke Rolfsen led the squad with a low score of 76. Hayden Mitchell followed with an 81 while JT Nichols and Cory Koval each carded an 84. Sheamus Cochran tacked on an 87. Paul Linkowski also competed in the match.