Gators have disappointing WPIAL finals
BELLE VERNON – Everyone has just one of those days every once in a while. Just ask Tommy Maddox, at least in the eyes of many Steelers fans. The problem for Geibel Catholic was too many of its six golfers had one of those days at the same time, leading to a disappointing finish Thursday in the WPIAL Boys Division II Team Golf Championship at Cedarbrooks’ Gold course.
The Gators tied Northgate for the bottom of the six-team final with a team score of 443. South Fayette, with all six golfers under 90, won the Division II title with a 414 with Shenango second with a 419.
James McGrath, one of four seniors to play in the finals, had the fourth-best round in Division II with a 7-over par 79. Shenango’s Jereme Stewart was medallist with a 76 while South Fayette’s Steve Markovitz and David Bevevino both shot 78.
McGrath scrambled to keep his round together.
“It was a fight. I started grinding,” said McGrath, who started his round on No. 10. “The course was extremely difficult.
“The greens were rolling extremely fast and there were tough pin positions.”
McGrath was 1-under after the first three holes, but his score started to unwind with four consecutive bogeys.
“I got off to a hot start. I realized the course was playing tough,” said McGrath. “I had to play placement golf, play conservative. Coach (Joel) Hood preaches to play smart. The ball wasn’t carrying as far because of the temperature.
“I wanted to go out and put up a good number, and then the score circulates back to the guys, gives them a positive attitude coming in.”
Brandon Noonan, another senior, wasn’t able to carry over the momentum of his even-par round in the semifinals Tuesday. He mistakenly hit the wrong ball early in his round, and the problems snowballed as he finished with a 93.
“I hit the wrong ball,” said Noonan. “It’s tough to swallow. I couldn’t see the dot (he used to mark his ball). Two shots is a lot to make up. (The mental effects) just hurts.
“I pressed. That’s one thing you can’t do. This is a tough course.”
Pressing is the last thing a golfer should do the way Cedarbrook played in the championship.
“The pins made the course so tough,” said Noonan. “The course played like 7,000 yards. I wanted to take strokes back. I’d been happy with the mid-80s. I went out with 46 and just pressed too hard.”
Philip Lucostic, echoing McGrath’s sentiments, grinded out a 90. He went out in 47 and finished in 43.
Zack Bell had the second-best score for the Gators with an 89 with Edward Spotts’ 92 closing the scoring rounds. Erio Vignali’s 96 was not used.
A disappointing finish to be sure, but the championship came on the heels of a successful season.
“I really felt they were ready to play,” said head coach Joel Hood, still recovering from surgery. “After the first couple holes, Jim (McGrath, James’ dad) saw were the flags were and I knew it would be hard. I preach minimizing big numbers. You had to play 10-par and eight-bogey golf to have a chance to win.”
As for his squad, Hood added, “I love those kids. They’ve meant more to me than you can imagine. The majority of them went 28-1 over the past two years. They came a long way.”
Assistant coach Don Biller didn’t see any nervousness in the team as the Gators approached the finals.
“They seemed loose. We got this far. We didn’t want to give up.”
Lucostic played his final match for the Gators, picking up his coaches’ comments about the squad.
“It’s been an exciting ride. We wanted to go as far as we could go,” said Lucostic. “We were excited to make it. We saw (the semifinals) as a step to propel us forward to the (championship).”
Vignali and Spotts are the heir apparents for leading the 2006 Gators. Both are looking forward to the opportunity.
“I could see us here next year. It depends on how much I practice. I plan to work hard over the off-season,” said Vignali. “I feel ready. Those are big shoes to fill.”
Spotts had the same up-and-down round as many of his teammates, but he, too, is looking forward to his sophomore season.
“I made dumb mistakes. I made it tough for myself,” said Spotts. “(Next year) is something to shoot for. It’s going to be weird with those guys not here next year.”
Geibel Catholic won the WPIAL team title in 1994.
DIVOTS: Upper St. Clair won the boys’ Division I title with a team score of 401. Peters Township was second with a 408. … Peters Township’s Chad Warmbein had the round of the day with an even-par 72. … While only four Division II golfers were able to do so, nine Division I golfers broke 80.