Butler, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) crowned its newest champions at the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Golf Individual Championships on Monday. First round action was held at Willowbrook Country Club on Monday, Sept. 23, with all scores carrying over to the final round at Butler Country Club on Monday, Sept. 30. Class 3A saw last year’s runner-up Ellie Benson of Peters Township improve one spot to gold, while Shady Side Academy freshman Alyssa Zhang made up an eight-stroke deficit to capture the Class 2A championship.
 
Peters Township junior Ellie Benson becomes the first student-athlete since 2013 at Class 3A to win the WPIAL girls’ golf individual championship one year after finishing runner-up. She also is the school’s first individual champion, and makes Peters Township the 28th different school to produce a WPIAL girls’ golf individual champion. Benson previously finished second last season, and third as a freshman in 2022.
 
Shady Side Academy freshman Alyssa Zhang is the first ninth grader to win a WPIAL girls’ golf individual championship since Quaker Valley’s Eva Bulger did so in 2019. She is Shady Side Academy’s second WPIAL girls’ golf individual champion, joining Margaret Pentrack, who won Class 3A in 2006.
 
The top seven finishers in Class 3A and top nine finishers in Class 2A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Golf Individual Championships, which will be held on Oct. 21-22 at Penn State Golf Courses.
 
CLASS 3A RECAP
Entering the day with a three-shot advantage, Peters Township junior Ellie Benson carded a classification-best 74 (+2) at a rainy Butler Country Club to capture the Class 3A gold with a 36-hole total of 149 (+5). Benson finished her final round with two birdies and 12 pars after netting three birdies and nine pars a week earlier at Willowbrook Country Club.
 
Elizabeth Forward junior and reigning WPIAL Class 3A champion Mya Morgan earned silver with a final-round 76 (+4), putting her at 157 (+13) overall. Morgan’s round at Butler included three birdies and eight pars, collecting five of the latter on the final six holes.
 
Claiming bronze was Pine-Richland sophomore Siena Smith, as she finished with a two-day total of 158 (+14). Smith’s best round was the opener at Willowbrook last Monday, as her six-over 78 consisted of 12 pars, including six straight to finish the day.
 
The Peters Township trio of freshman Betty Glyptis (161, +17), senior Sophia Severns (162, +18), and senior Brooke Vowcheck (168, +24), and Moon sophomore Liv DeGori (168, +24) collected the final PIAA qualifier spots.
 
Benson was the 2023 silver medalist and 2022 bronze recipient in her last two WPIAL appearances, while Morgan won in 2023 and shared fifth in 2022. Vowcheck was the lone student-athlete at Class 3A competing in her fourth WPIAL Championships.
 
CLASS 2A RECAP
Trailing by eight strokes to begin the final round at Butler Country Club, Shady Side Academy freshman Alyssa Zhang fired an even-par 72 in rainy conditions to claim Class 2A glory with a 36-hole total of 155 (+11). One of three freshmen to qualify for the WPIAL Championships, Zhang posted five birdies – three coming on the front nine – and eight pars on the day after recording one birdie and eight pars during the first round at Willowbrook Country Club.
 
Finishing with silver for the second consecutive season was Eden Christian Academy junior Pearl Lundgren, who registered a 158 (+14) over the two rounds. Lundgren opened the championships with a three-over 75 at Willowbrook, thanks to a round of one birdie and 11 pars.
 
Chartiers-Houston freshman JoJo Jaskulski earned bronze with a 36-hole tally of 165 (+21). Jaskulski trimmed three strokes from her first-round total, shooting an 81 (+9) with a birdie and nine pars.
 
Seton LaSalle senior Emily Obara (170, +26), North Catholic freshman Riley Kontul (185, +41), Greensburg Central Catholic junior Alayna Stawovy (189, +45), and Quaker Valley junior Makenna Kamnikar (191, +47) also qualified for the PIAA Championships. There was a three-way tie for the final two qualifier positions, with Neshannock junior Maddie DeSanti advancing after bogeying the first playoff hole, and Greensburg Central Catholic sophomore Kennedy Kelly booking her ticket following a bogey on the second playoff hole. Both DeSanti and Kelly finished with a 195 (+51) over the two rounds.
 
Lundgren previously finished second in 2023 and fourth in 2022 at her last two WPIAL appearances. Obara, a four-time WPIAL qualifier, was last year’s bronze medalist.
 
PIAA PREVIEW
Dates & Location: Oct. 21-22 at Penn State Golf Courses
Amount of Champions from WPIAL: 24 (18 in Class 3A, 6 in Class 2A)
Class 3A Qualifiers: Ellie Benson (11), Peters Township; Mya Morgan (11), Elizabeth Forward; Siena Smith (10), Pine-Richland; Betty Glyptis (9), Peters Township; Sophia Severns (12), Peters Township; Brooke Vowcheck (12), Peters Township; Liv DeGori (10), Moon
          – Appearances: Benson – 3rd (t-9th in 2023, t-4th in 2022); Morgan – 3rd (t-7th in 2023, t-4th in 2022);
                                      Smith – 1st; Glyptis – 1st; Severns – 1st; Vowcheck – 1st; DeGori – 1st
Class 2A Qualifiers: Alyssa Zhang (9), Shady Side Academy; Pearl Lundgren (11), Eden Christian Academy; JoJo Jaskulski (9), Chartiers-Houston; Emily Obara (12), Seton LaSalle; Riley Kontul (9), North Catholic; Alayna Stawovy (11), Greensburg Central Catholic; Makenna Kamnikar (11), Quaker Valley; Maddie Desanti (11), Neshannock; Kennedy Kelly (10), Greensburg Central Catholic
          – Appearances: Lundgren – 3rd (9th in 2023, 15th in 2022); Obara – 2nd (27th in 2023);
                                      Stawovy – 2nd (t-24th in 2023); Zhang – 1st; Jaskulski – 1st; Kontul – 1st;
                                      Kamnikar – 1st; Desanti – 1st; Kelly – 1st
Last Class 3A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Caroline Wrigley, North Allegheny (2018)
Last Class 2A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Maddie Smithco, North Catholic (2017)

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