Mary Kate Norcross … qualified for the PIAA Championship.
FLEETWOOD — Despite not having a good day putting, and despite a triple bogey on No. 9, Chambersburg senior Mary Kate Norcross survived the cut Monday at the PIAA Eastern Regional Golf Tournament.
Norcross shot 80 to tie for ninth in Class 3A, qualifying her for the PIAA Championships, which are next Monday and Tuesday at Heritage Hills in York.
Playing at Golden Oaks G.C. for the regionals, Norcross had a 43 on the front nine, but came back with a very nice 1-over par 37 on the back side — helped by a birdie on No. 17 — to make the cut by two strokes.
“Last year the cut was higher (88), but I knew this year there were a lot of good freshmen and it would take a lower score,” Norcross said. “There were a lot of 79s and 80s, so it was really close.”
On the par-5 ninth hole, a drive that did not at first seem that bad turned costly.
“I hit it right a little, but it hit the cart path and bounced way right, then hit another path and ended up on the women’s tee on No. 2,” Norcross said. “It took me five to get on the green, and then I three-putted.”
But Norcross made very few mistakes other than on the greens.
“On he way home we counted, and I had 37 putts,” she said. “That’s not ideal at all, but at least I know what I need to work on. The greens were pretty slick today.”
Norcross will be making her second appearance in the state tournament.
The three other Franklin County golfers in the regional did not fare as well. Also in Class 3A girls, Amanda Steier, a Greencastle-Antrim senior, shot back-to-back nines of 46 to post a 92.
In boys Class 3A, Chambersburg senior Karsen Rush shot 81 to tie for 36th and Waynesboro sophomore Devin Smith carded a 79 to tie for 28th; the top 26 qualified. Smith finished two strokes above the cut line.
Rush shot nines of 41-40. He was able to birdie No. 7, but a pair of triple bogeys were too much to overcome. Smith had an excellent start, fashioning a 37 on the front with birdies on No. 1 and No. 4, but slipped to 42 on the back.
Dennis Alegria
BOYS SOCCER
Chambersburg 4, Central Dauphin 1: The Trojans closed out their regular season with a rousing 4-1 Mid Penn Commonwealth victory over the Rams.
Chambersburg (11-4-2, 8-3-1 MPC), which finished second in the division, will now await their seeding and pairing for the District 3 Tournament, which begins next Tuesday. Currently, the Trojans are No. 6 and the top eight teams host a first-round game.
“It was a weird game played on a very sloppy, muddy surface,” Chambersburg coach Corey Grove said. “We didn’t play very well, but I thought we had a little luck on our side. We finished just about every opportunity we had, which I was pleased about.”
Emmanuel Hewitt tallied two goals, in the 38th and 50th minutes, then Dennis Alegria and Omario Duncan closed it out with goals four and three minutes from the end.
Chuy Munoz and Duncan had the assists. CD (9-8) led in shots (13-7) and corner kicks (7-6).
Grove said, “Possession was non-existent for most of the game, but I was proud that we grinded another one out.”
GIRLS SOCCER
Central Dauphin 3, Chambersburg 0: The Trojans could not break through against the nationally-ranked Rams in a Mid Penn Commonwealth game at Trojan Stadium.
Chambersburg is 9-8 (4-7 MPC) and plays a makeup game at Carlisle on Thursday in its regular season finale.