Oct 23, 2012 4 min read

Peters Township senior Tommy Nettles was three strokes better this year, but he still suffered the same fate, settling for second place again at the PIAA Class AAA individual championships for boys golf, held the past two days at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York.Nettles shot a 74-70-144 to finish one stroke back of the leader, Manheim Township’s Craig Hornberger. Both closed with 1-under 70s Tuesday.Last year, Nettles shot a 147 to finish one stroke behind Garrett Browning of West Allegheny.”It is somewhat frustrating, but I couldn’t be happier, to be honest with you,” Nettles said. “It’s been a heck of a ride. I played a great round of golf (Tuesday), and I played well on Monday. I can’t ask for much more.”Nettles’ round Tuesday featured seven pars, five birdies, four bogeys, one double and an eagle – on No. 2, an uphill, 480-yard par 5. After tucking his approach under a tree and on the back of the green, he sunk a 65-foot putt with two breaks.”There were a lot of shots being played,” said Nettles, who’s a Campbell University recruit. “It was definitely interesting.”Nettles was the area’s only participant in the Class AAA draw, but Burgettstown’s Owen Miller earned medalist honors in Class AA.Miller made 10 pars, seven bogeys and one par, posting a two-day score of 78-77-155 and finishing tied with Richland’s Brady Moran for ninth.Fairfield’s Isaiah Logue captured the Class AA title with a two-round score of 145.Other local finishers included Waynesburg’s Loren Dukate (tied-20th, 78-84-162), McGuffey’s Jesse Vensel (tied-27th, 87-81-168) and California’s Michael Langley (35th, 95-87-182).Canon-McMillan sophomore Lauren Waller closed with a 2-over 73 yesterday to finish with a score of 148, though she took third as Council Rock North’s Erica Herr blew away the field with a 72-68-140. Herr’s total score was the lowest of any male or female player.Waller, who shot 75 in the first round, played an extremely steady final round that featured 12 pays, two birdies and four bogeys.”It was definitely a good round,” Waller said. “I played pretty consistent.”Jefferson-Morgan’s Gillian Alexander, the WPIAL Class AA champion, finished 13th with a 91-91-182.Peters Township tennis advancesLed by an impressive win from Sara Komer at No. 1 singles, the Peters Township girls tennis team downed Erie-McDowell, 5-0, on Tuesday afternoon at North Allegheny, advancing to the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AAA team tournament.Komer won four consecutive games in the second set to take out Adrianna Jeffress 6-4, 7-5. Jeffress was the fourth-ranked player at her age in the state, according to tennisrecruiting.net. Komer is second.Peters Township improved to 19-1 and will play the No. 2 seed from District 1, Harriton, at the Hershey Racquet Club on Thursday at 5 p.m. The semifinals and finals of the tournament are both on Saturday, also in Hershey.”I thought the girls came out and played well,” Peters Township coach Brandt Bowman said. “I just keep telling them to not take anything for granted and to get out to a fast start. They did both of those things.”Chloe Grzyb defeated Larissa Chen 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, and Abby Cummings beat Rachel Dougherty 6-0, 6-1 to win the No. 3 spot.The top doubles team of Vida Komer and Jen Holcombe cruised past Liti Ghang and Diane Lee 6-1, 6-0, and Megan Hixon and Morgan Parisi scored a 6-0, 6-1 win over Elise Heinlein and Jackie Naud at the No. 2 spot.Sara Komer came into her match nursing a sore hamstring that has hobbled her throughout the playoffs, but she controlled the tempo enough that it wasn’t much of a factor against Jeffress, who helped Erie-McDowell win its ninth consecutive District 10 title.”The big thing for Sara is that if she dictates the point, she doesn’t have to move as much,” Bowman said. “Then if you get someone else on the run, they tend to make mistakes.”