Fox Chapel teams, athletes filled trophy cases during successful fall season

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, November 30, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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There were plenty of moments during the fall sports season to give people in the Fox Chapel school district a reason to follow the action closely.

First, Foxes sophomore Carson Kittsley stole the show with a cool performance at the Penn State White Course.

By shooting 5-under par on the back nine, Kittsley became the second golfer in school history to bring home a PIAA Class 3A title. Frank Fuhrer II won Fox Chapel’s only other state championship in 1976.

Kittsley placed fourth at WPIALs and climbed a major hurdle by qualifying for states. As a freshman, Kittsley lost in a playoff that kept him on the outside looking in. Kittsley said after he won that he was able to make key adjustments to stay in the title hunt.

“I don’t think the back nine was set up easier,” Kittsley said. “I made good adjustments and trusted myself more.”

Here’s a look at some other top moments from the fall season:

Arduous journey

Foxes senior cross country runner Ethan Vaughan missed a trip to states as a junior due to a stress fracture, but that didn’t deter him from keeping his eye on the prize and winning the WPIAL Class 3A championship this season. Vaughan finished the race at White Oak Park by smashing his personal best by 12 seconds and finishing in 14 minutes, 26.5 seconds.

Despite some anxiety, Vaughan took an early lead and cruised comfortably to the finish. He became the third Fox Chapel runner to win WPIALs, along with Colin Martin (2013) and Dallas Roper (1979).

The Foxes boys team qualified for states. Vaughan placed seventh at the PIAA meet.

Back on top after 30 years

The Fox Chapel boys soccer program saw the girls end a long WPIAL title drought the year before. Fox Chapel didn’t want to wait too long to find its way to the top of the podium as well. Senior Carson Krushanky scored a goal in the 70th minute against Plum and the Foxes made that goal stand up to win the WPIAL Class 4A title.

It was the Foxes’ sixth championship as a program, but Fox Chapel hadn’t won since 1995. The Foxes won their first state playoff game against Mechanicsburg before being upended by Warwick.

Ending a long streak

Fox Chapel field hockey wasn’t able to win the WPIAL Class 2A crown, but the Foxes made sure Penn-Trafford didn’t win either. Fox Chapel knocked off the eight-time defending champions 2-1 in the semifinals.

Emma Srodes scored the game-winning goal for the Foxes.

Return to Highmark

The Fox Chapel girls soccer team dropped a classification and reached the WPIAL Class 3A final to set up an exciting champion vs. champion matchup. While Fox Chapel couldn’t topple South Fayette, the Foxes showed they could handle the expectations of being the defending Class 4A champions.

Fox Chapel won its first state playoff match before being eliminated in the second round.

Losing streak over

After suffering through 22 consecutive defeats, Fox Chapel was happy to break through in Week 1 with a 38-7 win over Baldwin. Victor Nernberg finished with a team-high 122 rushing yards in the win.

The Foxes finished the year 2-7 and didn’t win a conference game. Fox Chapel did cap the season positively with a 16-14 win against East Allegheny.

Tags: Fox Chapel