Section 4 flexes its muscles at state finals
Franklin Regional senior Palmer Jackson turned in one of the more memorable final rounds atthe PIAA Class 3A individual golf finals when he shot a 4-under 67 on the final day to win the tournament by four strokes.
What may be more impressive is how the rest of the top five played out.
Central Catholic senior Jimmy Meyers shot a 1 under on the final day at Heritage Hills in York and came home with a 2-over 144 to finish in second place. Fox Chapel senior Gregor Meyer moved up nine spots with a 70 and finished in fifth at5-over 147.
For the WPIAL to put three players in the top five at the state championships is impressive. The fact that they all play in Section 4 makes it astonishing.
“I’m very lucky to be in the section I am because, competing with those guys at matches gives you a sense of where other guys are at in the WPIAL and the state,” Jackson, a Notre Dame recruit, said. “We all know that we’re near the top, if not the best, and just playing with those guys weekly, talking to them, they’re great guys. Everyone in our section is so supportive so, to get three of the top five, was just awesome.”
Jackson is the only one of the
three not to have played in a WPIAL team championship. Franklin Regional made the playoffs his freshman year, but the PIAA realignment in 2016 pushed the Panthers into the section with Central Catholic and Fox Chapel and, because of the number of teams, only the top two qualified forthe postseason.
Meyers had the most overall success of the three with three WPIAL and two PIAA Class 3A team championships and also won the WPIAL individual crown at Oakmont Country Club this season. Meyer won the WPIAL individual title as a sophomore in 2016 when Oakmont hosted the event in the wake ofthe U.S. Open.
Class 3A girls
North Allegheny senior Caroline Wrigley finished her career in style as the Furman recruit became the first Class 3A player in history to win the high school grand slam with the WPIAL and PIAA individual and team titles in the same year. Central Valley’s Macky Fouse accomplished the feat in Class 2A in 2013.
Wrigley and fellow senior Christina Lewis have led the Tigers the past four years and both have had their share of success. They were members of four consecutive WPIAL team championships, won three state titles and each went to the PIAA individual championships on multiple occasions.
Though it may be a challenge to replace them next season, the Tigers cupboard is far from bare.
Wrigley and Lewis were the only seniors on the team and the other three members of the starting lineup, Esha Vaida, Isabella Walter and Christina Zhou, are all juniors.
Class 2A boys
Itwas something of a disappointing year in Class 2A boys as no one from the WPIAL brought home a statetitle.
Riverside junior Skyler Fox was the best hope for an individual title, but he finished three shots off the championship pace of Notre Dame East Stroudsburg’s William Mirams after a 10-over 152 in the two-day tournament. Fox has already won three WPIAL individual titles and has an opportunity to become the only four-time champion in either classification next season.
Defending state champion Sewickley Academy also had its problems at Heritage Hills as the sixtime WPIAL champion Panthers, who were in something of a reloading year, shot a 333 that left them 19 shots behind District 10 champion North East.
They will also have to reload again next season as only two starters from the state team, junior J.F. Aber and sophomore Tim Fitzgerald, will return.
Class 2A girls
Abby Zambruno finally got one upon her sister Olivia.
Greensburg Central Catholic has won four consecutive WPIAL Class 2A titles, but the Centurions could never parlay that into a state championship. Each of the previous two years, the Centurions finished second to a team from the WPIAL it had beaten just a couple of weeks before as Central Valley took the PIAA crown in 2016 and Sewickley-Academy did the honors lastyear.
Though the WPIAL only has one automatic qualifier, it can place a second representative if other district champions do not meet the minimum scoring requirement.
This year, though, Greensburg Central Catholic finally earned its first state championship with a two-shot victory over Sewickley Academy in Abby’s final season. Olivia was a two-time WPIAL and three-time PIAA individual champion, but never won a state title.