Benson leads PT charge, wins WPIAL girls golf title
Observer-Reporter
BUTLER – This time, there was no final-round disappointment for Ellie Benson.
During the WPIAL Girls Golf Championships on Monday at soggy Butler Country Club, it was Benson at her best. And the result was Benson pulling away from the field to win the Class 3A championship.
Benson, a junior, shot 2-over-par 74 to win the WPIAL title, finishing eight strokes ahead of runner-up and defending champion Mya Morgan of Elizabeth Forward. Pine-Richland's Siena Smith was third, nine shots behind Benson.
Benson had a two-round total of 5-over 149.
"Ellie was dominant," said Peters Township head coach Mike Lacy.
"I felt like I just focused on myself," Benson said. "I didn't want to get in a match-play situation with the other competitors. I just stuck
to what I knew and my game plan."
Peters Township had four of the top-9 finishers. Betty Glyptis, who a hole-in-one a match against Fox Chapel last week, placed fourth at 161, a dozen strokes behind Benson. Glyptis had the third-lowest round of the final round, a 77.
Sophia Severns finished in fifth place, one shot behind Glyptis at 162, and Brooke Vowheck was tied for sixth with a two-round score of 168.
All four Peters Township golfers advance to the PIAA Championships that will be held Oct. 21-22 at the Penn State Golf Courses.
Benson entered the final round with a three-stroke lead following play in the first round last week. It was a similar situation as last year for the Indians standout, when she had a two-stroke lead entering the final round but shot 85, allowing Morgan to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
This time, Benson drained the drama from the event when she made birdies on two of the first three holes to increase her lead over Morgan, who bogeyed No. 2.
Benson's first birdie came on a 15-foot putt.
"When I made that putt, I got a boost. It gave me really good momentum for the rest of the front nine," she said.
Benson shot par on the remaining holes and finished with a 1-under
"I was feeling calm but I didn't want to get ahead of myself
because I knew from experience anything can happen," she said. "My coach even told me that weird things will happen."
In the WPIAL Class 2A Championships, Chartiers-Houston freshman JoJo Jaskulski placed third with a final round of 9-over 81. Jaskulski finished 10 shots behind winner Alyssa Zhang of Shady Side Academy, who edged runner-up Pearl Lundgren of Eden Christian by three strokes.
Jaskulski had a two-round total of 165. Her final-round 84 was the second-lowest score of the day in Class 2A.
Jaskulski was the only golfer from a public school to place among the six in Class 2A. She also qualified for the PIAA Championships.
Waynesburg's Avery Davis missed the state tournament by only one shot. She was part of a three-way tie for eighth place with only the top nine in the field advancing. Davis scored 12 on the two playoff holes, with Maddie Desanti of Neshannock and Kennedy Kelly of Greensburg Central Catholic moving on from the tiebreaker. Kelly edged Davis by one stroke.
The Almanac sports editor Eleanor Bailey contributed to this story.
