North Allegheny golfers aim for elusive WPIAL crown

By: John Grupp
Saturday, October 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The North Allegheny golf team doesn’t spend much time in the high school gym, but the Tigers plan on making some renovations anyway.

Coming off one of the best regular seasons in program history, the Tigers are looking to snap a 53-year WPIAL team title drought and update a black and gold championship banner in the school gym which currently has one year on it, “1971.”

“I think it would be pretty cool to be the first team in that long to be on the banner,” junior Ravi Desai said. “I walked in the gym for the first time and I was looking at it, and I was like, ‘That’s crazy.’ I felt like it was time for a change.”

The WPIAL Class 3A 18-hole semifinals were scheduled for Oct. 8 at either Champion Lakes or Indian Run. The top three teams at each semifinal site advance to the six-team WPIAL finals Oct. 10 at Cedarbrook.

One week before the team semifinals, five NA golfers — more than any other school — competed at the WPIAL individual championships Oct. 1 at Oakmont. Senior Chris Hoffman placed tied for fourth, firing a 1-under 70 at the legendary course to finish with a two-round score of 4-over 147. Desai finished 11th, shooting a final round 9-over 80 for a 154 total.

Juniors Preston Troiano (37th), Colin Ward (41st) and Liam Cooper (42nd) also competed in the 44-man field.

All five NA golfers had advanced through the 18-hole first round Sept. 24 at Southpointe G.C. Scores carried over into the finals.

By placing in the top 14 at WPIALs, Hoffman and Desai advance to the PIAA individual championships Oct. 21-22 at Penn State.

Winning the elusive team title will be a challenge for North Allegheny, which last season placed fourth for its best finish under 10th-year coach Pat Niven. Peters Township (15-0) returns its top six golfers from last year’s WPIAL champion. South Fayette, which edged NA by one stroke a month ago, and Fox Chapel also are leading contenders.

“It’s going to be a tough order,” Niven said. “There are so many strong teams in the WPIAL right now.”

To put the golf team’s title drought into perspective, North Allegheny has brought home a combined 106 WPIAL team titles since the boys golf team was last crowned — and that’s just the fall sports.

Each of the other nine fall sports teams has won at least one WPIAL title in the past decade — with eight of them winning multiple crowns in that span.

That could change. Niven said this is the best team he has ever coached and believes “without a doubt” the Tigers can win the WPIAL team title.

“We had come into the season with very high hopes, knowing the talent we had,” Niven said. “The scores we’re posting are just phenomenal. … I’ve had some really good teams over the years, but this team, from No. 1 to No. 8, is solid and strong. It’s impressive.”

The Tigers prepared for the team playoffs by carding a terrific regular season. They went 11-1 in Section 3-3A for their first outright section title since 2013, and finished 15-2 overall. They shot the lowest team score in at least two decades with a 169 at New Castle on Aug. 28 at Sylvan Heights and, less than a week later, fired a 167 against Knoch on Sept. 3 at North Park, the Tigers’ home course.

The Tigers are balanced. Their top six golfers averaged nine-hole scores of 38.2 or better, including Desai (34.8), Hoffman (35.5), Troiano (36.8), Ward (37.6), Cooper (38.18) and senior Charlie Burbick (38.19).

“I’m excited,” Desai said. “If we play our best, I don’t think anybody can stop us. It’s just being consistent. I think we have a real shot this year.”

Tags: North Allegheny