Carmichaels, Peters Township take third in WPIAL golf
By Eleanor Bailey
Liam Lohr from Carmichaels watches as his ball approaches the hole on No. 9 during the WPIAL Class AA team championships for boys golf. The freshman finished with an 85.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Liam Lohr from Carmichaels watches his tee shot during the WPIAL Class AA team championships for boys golf. Lohr carded an 85.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Ellian Ascencio tees off at No. 10 during the WPIAL Class AAA team championships for boys’ golf. Ascencio carded a 77 on 6,420-yard course at Cedarbrook Country Club.
Peters Township's Ellian Ascencio watches the flight of his tee shot during the WPIAL Class AAA team championships for boys' golf. Ascencio finished with a 77.
Nick Wetzel watches as he attempts to make a long putt on No. 9 during WPIAL Class AAA team championship action for boys' golf.
BELLE VERNON – Third-place garners no trophies or medals during WPIAL team championships but don’t tell the Carmichaels or Peters Township boys golf programs that their finish Thursday at the Cedarbrook Golf Course wasn’t worthy of being bronzed.
While the Mikes placed third with a 449 score behind champion Sewickley Academy (418) and runner-up Quaker Valley (436) in Class AA, the Indians (414) took a similar spot in Class AAA behind Franklin Regional (409) and Fox Chapel (412).
“We are happy,” said Mikes head coach David Briggs. “It’s exciting.”
For Carmichaels, this was only the second time it had competed in the championships. The last time the Mikes were in the finals, they finished fourth.
Meanwhile, Peters Township has competed in the WPIAL finals 17 of the past 18 seasons, including 14 in a row. Under David Kuhn, the Indians have won five titles, the last ones coming back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. The Indians have finished runner-up four times. This was the fourth time they took third place.
“One of our goals in the beginning was to be the most consistent program in the league,” said Kuhn, who has been at the helm for 21 years. “It’s been a challenging year in a lot of respects but we felt we could do something special.
“People forget how challenging it is to get here. It’s not easy. To get here is a privilege, an honor,” continued Kuhn.
For Carmichaels, Liam Lohr took medalist honors. He carded the team’s low score of 85.
Lohr is one of three freshmen in the lineup. The others are Mason Lapana (89) and Rolin Burghy (93).
Juniors Nick Ricco (90) and Chris Barrish (104) contributed to the third-place showing as did senior Remmey Lohr, who finished her career with a 92.
The future is looking bright,” admitted Briggs. “We are hoping this is a stepping stone.”
Briggs was pleased with how his team handled the playing conditions that included high winds, difficult pin placements and fast greens.
“The conditions were as tough as I have ever seen them,” Briggs said. “The kids hung in there. They didn’t give up. Almost all of them played better on the back 9. I’m proud of that.”
Ironically, Peters Township did not play as well on the back 9, likely costing them a championship. After nine holes, the Indians were six strokes ahead of Franklin Regional and three up on Fox Chapel.
Kuhn did not blame the conditions. “They were tough for everyone,” he said, noting the Indians once shot a 404 in a rain storm to win a championship.
“We were in position to (win) but we didn’t finish. We played poorly on the back nine. Bottom line, we lost it. Obviously, big numbers on the back nine hurt us. We just didn’t do what we had to do.”
Ellian Ascencio did his job. The senior carded a 77 to lead the Indians.
Though senior Logan Shaw finished with an 87 and sophomore Austin Malley totaled and 84, both improved or equalled their showing on the back nine.
Seniors Christian Schreiber and Andrew Poon both finished with 83 to contribute to PT’s total.
Sophomore Nick Wetzel managed an 88.
Still, third place was a good showing after back-to-back sixth-place finishes and when others expected Shady Side Academy (fourth with a 417 team score) and Central Catholic (fifth with a 420 total) to dominate. The Vikings had won four titles since 2012 and three in a row from 2016-18.
“We’re proud of what we have been able to accomplish,” Kuhn said. “No one counted on us but we know what our program is about.
“People don’t realize how challenging it is to get to a championship match and be in the mix. We’ve worked hard. We don’t like the result, but we move forward.
Rocco Salvitti’s triumph during the WPIAL Class AAA championships at Cedarbrook Golf Course proved bittersweet.
Though the sophomore from Canonsburg earned medalist honors with a 76 score, Central Catholic finished fifth in the team standings. The Vikings shot 420, 11 strokes off the winning pace set by Franklin Regional.
”It’s cool to be the medalist,” Salvitti said, “but I would have liked the team to win.”
Salvitti broke even with a 36 on the front nine. After registering a birdie on No. 10, he double-bogeyed 11 and 12 to finish the back nine with a 40.
”The course was tough and the wind was blowing really hard,” Salvitti said of the challenging conditions. “My first four holes of my back nine was were I made all my mistakes. That was the difference.”
Salvitti tipped his hat to the Panthers, who won their first district title in boys golf and qualified for the PIAA Championships.
”They are a really solid team. Good luck to them in states.”
Salvitti is qualified for the individual state championships set for Oct. 20 at Heritage Hills Country Club in York. He says the WPIAL team final was a good test for the upcoming competition.
”It will be very similar (conditions) in York,” he said. “Last year, conditions were really tough. This year, I don’t expect anything different. The course is hard and it’s really windy there. If we get some sun that would be nice.”
So would be the state title.
”The goal is to win,” Salvitti said. “That would be really cool.”