Local teams miss cut in WPIAL golf semifinals
Waynesburg Central’s John Garber and Jefferson-Morgan’s John Curtis realized the odds were long to advance to the WPIAL Division II Boys Golf Team Championships, but both teams received some fine individual performances Tuesday in the semifinals.
The Raiders finished seventh in the semifinal hosted by Duck Hollow Golf Club with a team total of 466, and the Rockets also finished seventh at the other semifinal at Beaver Valley Golf Course, finishing with a 453.
Loren Dukate was the low man for Waynesburg Central, the Section 8 champions, with a 7-over 79. Emily Rohanna shot an 83, Aaron Haywood carded a 95 and Dalton Haywood finished with a 103. Danny Yingling’s 106 closed the scoring. Alex Swauger’s 113 was thrown out.
“The back nine (at Duck Hollow) is tougher than the front, in my opinion. You can’t get big numbers,” said Garber. “I thought we’d play better as a whole. I’m a little disappointed with the scores, as were the kids.
“I thought Loren would play well, and I thought Emily could shoot in the 70s, but she didn’t putt very well today.”
Zack Berkstresser was the low man for Jefferson-Morgan with a 7-over 79. Alex Rush and Gillian Alexander both shot 88 and Brandon Faieta finished with a 97.
Cameron Roberts rounded out the scoring with a 101. Ryan Siebert’s 108 wasn’t used.
“I knew everyone would have to shoot their best round. I felt our top three could shoot with everyone else’s top three,” said Curtis.
Both were disappointed to fall short of the district final, but the coaches were ultimately pleased with their squads’ season.
“Our goal is always to win the section, which we did,” said Garber. “We want to get as many out of the section tournament, and Loren, Aaron and Emily did with Emily winning the WPIAL.”
“I thought we could do well. We had a veteran lineup,” said Curtis, adding, “Gillian had a lot of gallery following her. She was the only girl.”
Burgettstown finished first at Duck Hollow with a 398. Quaker Valley was second with 410 and Shenango earned the last berth into the finals with a 417.
The Blue Devils’ Owen Miller and Shenango’s Matt DeAngelo shared medalist honors at 4-over 72.
Neshannock and Sewickley Academy shared first in the Beaver Valley semifinal with 404. South Fayette was third with a 432. Sewickley Academy’s Keenan Hickton was medalist with a 3-over 75.