Sep 30, 2019 4 min read

There won’t be any praying to avoid the church pews this year.

For the first time since 2015, the WPIAL Class AAA Boys Individual Golf Championships won’t be played at Oakmont Country Club with the famous church-pew bunkers that border some of its fairways.

Instead, seven local golfers will be in the 36-player field that will play today at Fox Chapel Golf Club in hope of advancing to the PIAA Western Regional Oct. 15 at Tom’s Run Course in Blairsville.

Peters Township has the most golfers from any team in the field as Christian Schreiber, Mason Takacs, Andrew Poon and Ellian Ascencio each are competing for WPIAL gold. Belle Vernon’s Jake Caldwell and South Fayette’s Luke Lestini and James Cavrak will also compete in what should be an unpredictable championship. All of the top-five finishers in last year’s championship have since graduated.

Lestini was the only local boys golfer in Class AAA to advance to last year’s regional after shooting 10-over 81 at Oakmont to finish in 10th place.

The first tee time is 8 a.m.

For the third straight year, the WPIAL Class AAA and AA girls championships will be held at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley. That event will be held Wednesday.

In Class AA, Burgettstown’s Gia Hooper returns for a second consecutive year. Hooper failed to qualify for the regional in 2018.

Carmichaels’ Delaney Lohr will look to join her sister, Remmey, who last week advanced on the boys’ side in Class AA. The two sisters have to play in opposite championships because Carmichaels doesn’t have a girls golf team.

A phenomenal run for South Fayette’s Caroline McConnell began at Diamond Run last year when she shot a 5-over 77 and finished tied for third as a freshman. McConnell went on to shoot a 74, which included a hole-in-one, to place second at the West Regional. She placed fourth at the PIAA Championships with a two-day total of 157 (78-79). Of the other five golfers to finish in the top five at states – two were tied for fifth – McConnell was the only underclassman.

Other local golfers in Class AAA include Marie Kruppa of Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Herrnberger of Trinity, Jamie Rush of Canon-McMillan, Marissa Malosh of South Fayette and Peters Township’s Morgan Byers, Delaney Kern, Alison Poon and Ella McRoberts.

The first tee time is 9 a.m.

Defending champs take hit

The Peters Township girls basketball team was already facing significant roster turnover with the losses of graduated seniors Makenna Marisa and Isabella Mills.

Now, the Indians will have to replace another starter from the 2019 Class 6A PIAA championship team.

Senior forward Mackenzie Lehman tore an ACL during lacrosse season and is expected to miss at least the first half of the season, which will start Dec. 6.

Lehman is a Liberty University lacrosse recruit but also chose to play varsity basketball for the first time last season. She averaged 8.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, including scoring 10 points, grabbing nine rebounds and making the game-winning layup against North Allegheny in a 43-40 overtime victory in the WPIAL Class 6A title game.

Currently, the only starters returning for Peters Township are Journey Thompson and Jordan Bisignani. Sophomore Avana Sayles, who played meaningful minutes as a freshman, will likely move into a starting role.

WG hall adds 3

Prior to a football game that could determine the Tri-County South Conference champion Friday night against California, West Greene will begin the evening by inducting three members into the Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame.

Marvin Watson, Larry Piper and Rodney Wilson will be inducted in a ceremony at 6:30 p.m., a half hour before kickoff.

Watson was West Greene’s tailback during its undefeated 1957 and 1958 regular seasons, including being Greene County’s leading scorer with 14 touchdowns as a junior. He was a four-time letterwinner in football and track.

Wilson, a three-sport standout by competing in football, wrestling and track and field, still is the county’s all-time rushing leader with 6,304 yards prior to graduating in 1994. He was an all-conference player four times and all-state twice.

Spending 35 years as an educator at West Greene, Piper served as an assistant and head coach of various Pioneers’ teams, including starting and being the coach of the varsity baseball program for 12 years. He was the athletic director at the school from 1990 to 2001. He was the head coach of the Pioneers’ football team that advanced to the WPIAL Class A title game in 1993.