O-R Athlete of the Week: Ben Miller, Peters Township
Name: Ben Miller
School: Peters Township
Class: Sophomore
Sport: Golf
Miller’s week: Miller won the Section 6-AAA title by shooting a three-over par 74 at the South Hills Country Club course, one stroke better than his two teammates, Colton Lusk and Austin Malley. Nick Wetzel and Nick Haught each shot 77.
Miller followed that up by qualifying for the WPIAL Class 3A finals after shooting an 84 at Champion Lakes Golf Club on Tuesday. His next competition will be at the WPIAL finals, which will be held at Allegheny Country Club on Oct. 6.
“My expectation was just to make the cut,” said Miller of his performance in the section qualifier. “It surprised me that I made just three bogeys and all pars.”
Fast learner: Miller won an event on the Isaly’s Tour at South Hills Country Club over the summer. Not bad for someone who picked up the game just two years ago.
“I just got started because of COVID,” said Miller. “Sports got cancelled and I had a lot of free time. I was looking for something to do.”
Peters Township head coach Dave Kuhn is happy to have Miller for another two years.
“He’s doing a nice job,” said Kuhn. “He is actually our sixth man by average and he won the section. He’s a good player and he’s obviously playing well. We’ve got players who can’t get into the lineup who shoot under 40.”
Kuhn said Miller’s all-around skills bring his scores down.
“He’s just so solid,” Kuhn said. “I don’t think he does one thing that stands out. He’s a very good athlete who has a good short game and a good scoring game. When he’s a little off his long game, he can still score well.”
All in the family: Miller has good bloodlines. His brother, Sam, quarterbacked the Peters Township football team last year and now is on the baseball team at Columbia University. Another brother, Nathan, plays football and basketball for the Indians. And Ben plays basketball.
“He can be as good as he wants to be (in golf),” Kuhn said. “You can see he has the frame. He’s going to fill out. His dad was a big guy and a good athlete. His mom was a college athlete.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano