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Saturday, October 19, 2024 | 11:01 AM

The Fox Chapel boys golf team will likely be in the running for the WPIAL Class 3A team championship again next season. Foxes coach Joe Farrell hopes his team will be able to get back over the hump and qualify for the PIAA championship.

For the second straight year, the Foxes finished in fourth place at the WPIAL team tournament and missed out on heading to states. Farrell said Fox Chapel has a lot of players who will be vying for spots on the varsity team next year.

“The program is solid,” Farrell said. “I have nine freshmen on the JV team. I’ve played five of them in matches this season. The competition between our own kids really makes us better. It’s tough to crack our lineup. We’re getting ready to have the final meetings. This offseason, the kids will have to be prepared for the plans for lifting, eating, getting strong and playing more golf.”

Fox Chapel shot a team score of 401 at the Cedarbrook Golf Course and finished two strikes behind Plum.

North Allegheny won the WPIAL title with a score of 386, while South Fayette finished second with 389 to grab the other spot in the state playoffs.

“This is the second year in a row we’ve finished fourth,” Farrell said. “The crazy part of it is we beat NA by 10 and Plum by 20-something in the semifinals. When we got there, I think the team was worn out. A lot of our guys play a lot of tournaments. We picked a bad day to have a bad day.”

Junior David DiGregory led Fox Chapel with a 5-over par 77 at the team championships. Carson Kittsley, who qualified for the PIAA championships as an individual, shot a 79. Grady Johnson (82), Barron Bitar (82) and Davis Kittsley (86) also played for the Foxes.

Farrell said he’s proud of how this group played through the year.

“It means a lot,” Farrell said about making it back to the team playoffs. “They came together with senior leadership. Matt Begg and Davis were able to help bring the young kids along.”

Tags: Fox Chapel