Peters Township wins WPIAL girls golf championship again
Synclaire Stroyne finally got her WPIAL golf championship.
A WPIAL runner-up twice in the team competition during her scholastic days, Stroyne coached Peters Township to its fifth consecutive title on Oct. 13 at Cedarbrook Golf Club.
“Absolutely, very different,” Stroyne said. ” It’s exciting to watch them hit shots that you wish you could hit, and have fun doing it. It’s hard watching them play shots and not being able to help them, meaning hit the shots for them, but I’m also happy it’s not me anymore.”
Fresh unfettered faces, like Josie Jeglinski, handled the pressure and led the Lady Indians to their sixth team championship in seven years. Before 2026, Peters Township claimed WPIAL team crowns in girls golf in 2020 and from 2022-25.
A 14-year-old freshman, Jeglinski earned medalist honors. She shot a low-score of 74 and guided Peters Township to a 27-stroke win over South Fayette and Fox Chapel. The Lions and Foxes were tied with 353 scores after 18 holes of golf before South Fayette prevailed in a playoff to capture the WPIAL runner-up trophy.
“I just had fun out there. I hit greens and fairways and made some putts,” Jeglinski said of her round that included a birdie on the final hole and four bogies overall.”
The fact it was her biggest match of her young career did not phase Jeglinski.
“I just rolled with that,” she said. Noting that there is a certain amount of pressure that comes with playing on a championship club that is defending its reign and string of titles Jeglinski added, “We’ve such a great team this year that I tried to play well and show up for the team.”
Fellow freshman Annie Higgins as well as junior Betty Glyptis and Autumn Merck showed up too. They carded 83, 80 and 89 on the slippery 5,400-yard, par 71 Red course. Olivia Ondrejko, the team’s only senior, finished with a 90.
“Conditions weren’t great and the course wasn’t in great shape,” Stroyne said. “There was a lot of ground under repair. It was really wet and windy out there. So to shoot the scores we shot, given those conditions, I’m really proud of them.
“By the way our two freshmen played and Betty as well and our four and five shot, I’m very pleased.”
In her first season as head coach, Stroyne was delighted with the attitude of the team as well as how devoted her players were to the game and to their training. She noted they compete year round in tournaments throughout the summer.
“This isn’t just a fall activity for our girls. This is a year-long lifestyle. It’s not just girls that play golf during these couple months.”
Stroyne added that “hard work” and “expectations” have fueled Peters Township’s reign, which includes back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024 and a PIAA runner-up showing in 2025.
“I think hard work and expectations are the key to our long run,” she said. “You know, we have certain expectations for the girls. We’d like to think it’s a dynasty (at Peters Township). We work really hard.”
Jeglinski concurred. A Valley Brook Country Club member, Jeglinski practices at least five days a week. “Sometimes it’s more. Sometimes it’s less,” she said. “We put in the hours. We have such great coaches, too.”
Stroyne only hopes she meets her players’ expectations.
“It’s really fun to be on this side (coaching),” she said. “Hopefully I give them all the knowledge that I had from being in this position, and watching them do even better with it than we did.”
The Lady Indians certainly held up under pressure throughout the fall. They tied South Fayette for the Section 3A banner with a 12-2 record before capturing the district title and qualifying for the PIAA team tournament to be held October 21 at Penn State.
“They all fought hard and for every single shot,” Stroyne said. “They knew what was on the line. They knew they had to shoot good scores and they didn’t leave anything out there.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure on these girls because they’ve won so many and this is such a young team. Losing Ellie (Benson) last year was a big deal and filling those shoes wasn’t exactly easy to do. So, I’m really proud of these girls.”
In finishing runner-up to the Lady Indians, South Fayette was led by sophomores Emma Nicholas (85) and Alianna Billings (87) followed by juniors Olivia Valentino (89) and Vanessa Kushner (92). Brynna Lauer, another junior, rounded out the Lady Lions’ top five to compete in the match.
In the Class AAA boys team tournament, West Allegheny claimed its first golf championship in team history, edging Fox Chapel by two strokes, 384-386.
Peters Township placed fifth in the standings with a 399 team score. Kaden Holleran and Ty Ondrejko led the Indians with low scores of 77. Camden Reyes and Caden Benson followed with 81s while John Blackwell and Jackson Baxter chipped in with an 83 and 87 respectively.