PT girls, South Fayette boys win WPIAL team golf titles
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Observer-Reporter
BELLE VERNON – Talk about dominance.
The Peters Township girls golf program is in the midst of a dynasty.
The Indians won their fourth consecutive WPIAL Class 3A team championship on Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course’s Red course.
Peters Township carded a four-player score of 344 to edge Fox Chapel by one stroke and third-place finisher North Allegheny by 13 strokes.
“This is the most surprising of them all,” PT coach Mike Lacey said of this championship. “We had lost three matches in section and barely got second place. We had to win the last match just to get here.
“We knew it was going to be close today and it came down to one shot.”
The Indians had two of the top three finishers in the day. Ellie Benson shot even-par 71 and Betty Glyptis carded an 80. Both golfers have qualified for the PIAA Individual Championships.
The area garnered a pair of titles on the afternoon. The South Fayette boys won the Class 3A title. The Lions shot a five-player total of 385 on Cedarbrook’s Gold course. Fox Chapel tied for second place at 389 with North Allegheny. Fox Chapel won a playoff for the silver medal.
The championship was the first for South Fayette after eight trips to the team finals. Last year, the Lions missed out on the gold medal by three strokes.
“We set a goal at the beginning of the year to win the section. We believe our section is extremely difficult,” said Lions head coach Robert Ruffalo. “The boys got in a bad spot at the beginning of the year. They were 2-2 and then won 10 in a row to win the section and get on a roll. It’s better to play your best golf at the end of the year than at the beginning.”
Sam Bishop led South Fayette with a round of 73.