South Fayette’s McConnell, Carmichaels’ Lohr advance to West Regional
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Caroline McConnell of South Fayette watches a shot during the WPIAL Championships earlier this month. McConnell placed fourth in the Girls Class AA competition Tuesday at the PIAA Championships.
By Eleanor Bailey/ The Almanac
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Canon-McMillan’s Jamie Rush putts the ball during the WPIAL Class AAA golf championship Wednesday at Diamond Run Golf Course.
SEWICKLEY – If Caroline McConnell picked swimming as her sport, then the South Fayette High School freshman probably would be a success in the pool. Her mother, Barb, and her aunt, Caroline, were standouts at Mt. Lebanon High School.
Instead, McConnell is a sensation on the golf course and she gets her inspiration from another family member. Her cousin, Rob Leonard, is an avid golfer. He yearned for a Division I scholarship. When that did not happen, he switched to football. Leonard is now an assistant coach with the New York Giants.
“Golf has always been my main sport because a lot of people in my family had played it but my cousin really took an interest in me,” said the 14-year-old daughter of Todd McConnell. “He’s helped a lot with my mental game. When I have played practice rounds with him, he has helped me focus.”
Keeping her head about her played a pivotal role as McConnell earned a spot in the PIAA Western Regional to be held Oct. 15 at Tom Run’s.
Amid a vaunted field of seniors, including three-time champion Caroline Wrigley from North Allegheny and 2017 state champion Lauren Freyvogel from Pine Richland, McConnell fired a 5-over-par 77 and tied for third place during the WPIAL Class AAA girls’ golf championships at the Diamond Run Golf Club. Uniontown’s Danae Rugola and Oakland Catholic’s Jessica Meyers, both seniors, also finished with 77s.
Remmy Lohr of Carmichaels finished third in the Class AA championship after shooting a 9-over 81. Maddie Smithco of North Catholic won the event with a 74. Lohr made the turn in 40 and played the back nine in 41.
“With all those fabulous seniors in the lineup, I thought there could be one sleeper, one Cinderella,” said Barb McConnell. “I wasn’t sure if it could be Caroline but when she showed up (for her first tee shot), she had her game face on.”
The only Caroline that McConnell cared about was herself, not Wrigley, a Furman recruit who was golfing in the threesome ahead of her. Wrigley won the tournament with a 1-under-par 71.
“I wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing. I wasn’t focused on the other Caroline. I was just focused on my game,” McConnell said.
McConnell concentrated on her short game and carded a 39 on the front nine and a 38 on the back.
“My short game with my chips and my putts are the best aspects of my game,” she explained. “Today, my short game, my putting and my chipping were pretty good. My drives and approaches didn’t go as well as I would have liked them to but my short game really compensated for that. That really helped my round.”
What helped McConnell hone her game this fall was playing on the boys team as South Fayette does not have a girls squad. She said that afforded her advantage in the competition, particularly the advice that she has received all season from the Lions’ ace, Luke Lestini.
“He’s really good at teaching me how to manage courses.”
SF coach Bob Ruffolo said McConnell managed the Diamond Run course well.
“Caroline had a plan going into today to play this golf course,” he said. “She followed the plan and shot 77, which is absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t be any more proud of her than I am right now.
“Caroline has worked really hard this year. She works hard at practice and at her grades. She works hard from the moment practice starts until it ends. She is one of the most dedicated kids that I have coached in a long time.”
Now, McConnell tackles the state tournament. As one of the top seven finishers in the WPIAL, she qualified for the Western Regional. She plans to be one of the 11 golfers to advance to the PIAA championships, which will be held Oct. 22-23 at Heritage Hills in York.
“My goal was to make states so I’m really excited,” McConnell said. “There were a lot of great girls out there so this feels great but I don’t want to stop here. At states, I want to play as well as I can and see what happens.”
Lohr had one of two birdies for the round on the par-3 13th. It came one year to the day that she had a double-eagle on the par-5 sixth hole at Carmichaels Golf Course.
“She played awesome,” said Carmichaels head coach Dave Briggs. “It’s a tough course and she does a good job. It’s the first time we had anyone go this far.”
PT girls struggle: For Peters Township, it didn’t happen for their entrants in the WPIAL Class AAA championships.
Ella McRoberts finished tied for 16th after carding a 15-over-par 87. The sophomore came into the tournament having tied for the sectional title with Oakland Catholic’s Jessica Meyers. Both were seeded behind Lauren Freyvogel (71) with scores of 72.
PT head coach Kevin Lawrence believed McRoberts experienced “jitters” in her first WPIAL championship. “Ella was in the high 80s,” he said. “That is so uncharacteristic of what she normally averages and she missed some putts.
“To have been in that first group was impressive. It shows the potential she has. She will get better.”
So too will Allison Poon and Delaney Kern. Both are freshmen.
Poon finished 21st with a 17-over-par 89 and Kern tied for 23rd, carding a 19-over-par 91.
“I was happy with how competitive they were and how they put up some respectable scores. I am excited about the future of Peters Township girls golf,” said Lawrence. “It was a great experience for them.”
Rush ties for 10th: Jamie Rush finished tied for 10th place with North Allegheny’s Christine Lewis and Isabella Walter. The Canon-McMillan sophomore carded a 10-over-par 82.
In other local results: Mt. Lebanon’s Lindsey Powanda and Sara Steve earned PIAA qualifying berths by finishing second and sixth overall with 75 and 79 scores.