WPIAL team golf championship capsules

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 | 6:09 PM

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9 a.m. Thursday, Cedarbrook Golf Course, Rostraver Township

(Boys on Gold Course; girls on Red Course)

• All four champions move on to the PIAA championships on Oct. 25 at Heritage Hills Resort in York.

Class AAA boys

Teams: Fox Chapel, Peters Township, Mt. Lebanon, Central Catholic, Shady Side Academy, and Pine-Richland.

Scouting the field: Defending champion Central Catholic broke the finals scoring record last year with a 378 to edge Fox Chapel by one shot. Central, which has low-shooting juniors Jimmy Meyers and Neal Shipley, shot 379 to win the semifinal tournament at Ponderosa Golf Course. … Peters Township, led by senior Hunter Bruce, has won two of the last three titles and has six championships overall. … Fox Chapel features 2016 individual champion Gregor Meyer. The Foxes have not won a team title since 2006.

Class AAA girls

Teams: Butler, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Mars, Moon, North Allegheny, Oakland Catholic, Penn-Trafford and Upper St. Clair.

Scouting the field: The largest field in finals history will envelop the Red Course as nine teams compete for the title. This stems from a rainout at Monday's semifinal tournament at Lone Pine Country Club in Washington. … North Allegheny is a heavy favorite to make it a WPIAL three-peat. The Tigers (18-0) averaged around 150 during the nine-hole-match season, with a brow-raising low of 143. They edged Shady Side Academy to win last year, 329-330. Two-time individual champion Caroline Wrigley and Christina Lewis lead the Tigers. Wrigley, a Furman recruit, shot 5-under 67 at Diamond Run to repeat as WPIAL champion. … Upper St. Clair is the standard-bearer for WPIAL titles. It has 16 girls golf titles, including 12 in a row from 1994-2005. … Penn-Trafford won titles in 2012 and ‘13.

Class AA boys

Teams: McGuffey, Quaker Valley, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Sewickley Academy, South Park and Riverside.

Scouting the field: Sewickley Academy has won four straight titles. Only Turtle Creek won five consecutive titles, from 1934-38. Overall, Sewickley Academy, led by seniors Cole Luther and Will Nocito, has seven titles. … McGuffey finished second last season with a score of 395. McGuffey's David Chapman was the medalist at the semifinal tournament at River Forest Country Club with a 71. That was with an 11 on the 11th hole. Senior teammates Trent Belleville and Hunter Donahue also can take it low. … South Park, with seniors Tyler Brinker and Josh Neff back, finished third last year.

Class AA girls

Teams: Greensburg Central Catholic, Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Mt. Pleasant and Sewickley Academy.

Scouting the field: Greensburg Central Catholic and Central Valley are expected to go shot for shot for the title. GCC is seeking a three-peat. Centurions coach George Janik is seeking his eighth title. He has two with the girls and five with the GCC boys team. … Central Valley, which is led by junior Kiaria Porter, won titles in 2012 and ‘13. … Sewickley Academy features WPIAL individual champion Tatum McKelvey. The Panthers won one title, in 2014.

—Bill Beckner Jr.

Tags: Butler, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Mars, McGuffey, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, Shady Side Academy, Upper St. Clair