Rugola, McHolme area’s top golfers
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Danae Rugola keeps an eye on the ball after hitting from the rough during the 2018 PIAA Western Regional Tournament at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Angus McHolme makes contact with the ball on the No. 14 tee at Cedarbrook Golf Course, Gold course, during the 2018 WPIAL Boys Class AA Team Golf Championship. McHolme has been named the Herald-Standard Boys Golfer of the Year.
Carmichaels’ Matt Barrish blasts out of a greenside trap on the eighth hole at Allegheny Country Club during the 2018 WPIAL Class AA Individual Boys Golf Championship.
Belle Vernon's Jake Caldwell blasts out of greenside bunker on the seventh hole at Oakmont Country Club during the 2018 WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championship.
Bentworth's Luke Dziak plays from the rough off the ninth fairway at Allegheny Country Club during the 2018 WPIAL Class AA Individual Golf Championship.
Uniontown's Danae Rugola watches her putt roll towards the cup during the 2018 WPIAL Girls Class AAA Individual Championship at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley.
Carmichaels' Matthew Barrish watches his ball roll into the cup during the 2018 PIAA Western Regional Tournament at Tom's Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Brownsville's Lindsay Sethman hits a putt during the 2018 WPIAL Girls Class AA Individual Golf Championship at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley.
Elizabeth Forward's Angus McHolme watches as his putt tracks to the cup during the 2018 PIAA Western Regional Tournament at Tom's Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Bentworth's Luke Dziak watches as his putt slips into the cup during the 2018 PIAA Western Regional Tournament at Tom's Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Geibel Catholic's Caroline Konieczny plays from a greenside bunker during the 2018 PIAA Western Regional Tournament at Tom's Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Carmichaels’ Remmey Lohr plays from the eighth fairway at Pleasant Valley Golf Club during the 2018 WPIAL Section 1-AA individual qualifier.
Uniontown senior Danae Rugola capped her stellar high school golfing career with a share of the PIAA silver medal.
Angus McHolme just missed the awards stand in the PIAA Championship, but the Elizabeth Forward senior won his fair share of medals along the way.
All those medals added up to Player of the Year honors for Rugola and McHolme.
Rugola, who will continue her academic and athletic careers at Youngstown State, won the inaugural girls FCCA title, but fell short of winning her third consecutive county golf crown. Although the Red Raiders moved down into Class AA, Rugola remained in Class AAA as an individual, but it didn’t seem to faze the senior. She tied for third in the WPIAL Championship, shared third in the PIAA Western Regional and tied for second in the state championship.
McHolme and the Warriors also moved down a classification this fall and the senior rebounded from his disappointing finish in the 2017 WPIAL Class AAA Championship with a share of the silver medal in the Class AA final. He continued that run into the western regional, sharing the silver medal once again.
McHolme finished tied for 14th in the state championship to miss a share of a top-10 finish and the awards podium by just one stroke.
Earning the big school Coach of the Year honor is Belle Vernon’s Melvin Gouker, whose Leopards defeated Thomas Jefferson late in the season to earn a share of the Section 2-AAA title.
Elizabeth Forward’s Chris Weibl and Carmichaels’ Dave Briggs share the small school Coach of the Year honor. Both squads finished as section champions and advanced to the WPIAL Class AA Team Championship. The Warriors won a playoff to finish in second place, while the Mikes placed fourth.
The remainder of the squad are solid players in their own right, headed by Carmichaels senior Matthew Barrish. McHolme, Barrish, Laurel Highlands’ Steven Ross, Albert Gallatin’s Aaron Fetzner, Bentworth’s Luke Dziak and Belle Vernon’s Jake Caldwell give the aforementioned coaches a strong team.
The travel team pushing for a spot into the top six includes Connellsville’s Chase Richardson, Elizabeth Forward’s Matt White, the Mustangs’ Cain Basinger and Gregory Hensh, Mount Pleasant’s Sam Napper, Carmichaels’ Taggart Shea and Brownsville’s Dalton Mullen.
Fetzner was poised for a strong postseason run, but an injury in a late-season soccer match knocked the senior out of the county championship and section qualifier.
Caldwell and Richardson played in the WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championships held at Oakmont Country Club. Caldwell, unfortunately, discovered how to play from the famed Oakmont bunkers on the front nine. Richardson was even-par through the first five holes, but overshot the green on both the fifth and sixth holes and was left scrambling over the final 12 holes.
White and Napper both shot 82 in the Class AA final, missing the cut by two strokes. Napper and the Vikings also advanced to the WPIAL Class AA Team Championship.
Mullen earned All-County honors.
The girls first-team includes the Rugola sisters, Danae and Adena, the Lohrs, Remmey and Delaney, and Brownsville’s Lindsay Sethman.
Adena Rugola, a freshman, finished second to her sister in the girls county golf championship, and nearly qualified for the boys WPIAL Class AA Championship in the Section 8-AA qualifier.
Remmey Lohr finished third in the WPIAL, tied for ninth in the PIAA western regional and 14th in the state final. The Lohr sisters helped the Mikes finish as undefeated Section 8-AA champions.
Sethman, a sophomore, finished fourth in the WPIAL, but was unable to qualify out of the western regional into the state final.
Geibel Catholic sophomore Caroline Konieczny earned an honorable mention nod, winning a playoff with Greensburg C.C. freshman Ella Zambruno to finish ninth in the WPIAL Class AA Championship and advance to the regional tournament. Frazier’s Bryanna Bakos also earned honorable mention.
The Zambruno sisters, who live in Bullskin Twp., earned special recognition after leading the Lady Centurions to the WPIAL and PIAA Class AA team titles.
Abby, a senior, finished fifth in the WPIAL final, tied for seventh in the regional tournament, and tied for fifth in the state final. Meghan, a freshman, placed sixth in the district championship, 11th in the western regional, and tied for third in the PIAA championship.