MEADVILLE — Cassidy Conn let it be known after Monday’s first round of District 10’s Class 3A girls golf tournament.
That’s when the Fort LeBoeuf sophomore openly voiced her desire to win the 36-hole competition.
A desire that sounded serious and sincere.
Conn held a four-stroke advantage after that round at the Country Club of Meadville. She quenched her emotional thirst for first place by maintaining that margin after Wednesday’s 18-hole finale.
Conn compiled a cumultative stroke total of 172. McDowell’s Bella Deaton was next at 176.
Meadville’s Brooke Hart, second to Conn going into Wednesday, followed at 177.
“I golfed every day to this summer (to prepare) for this,” Conn said. “I didn’t play my best (Monday), but I also knew I led by four strokes. I was hoping that even if I didn’t play my best (Wednesday), I could still keep (Deaton and Hart) off me.”
“They cut close (to tying) a couple times, but I was always able to come back.”
There was additional pressure on Conn to maintain her position atop the district’s 3A girls scoreboard. Only its champion was guaranteed an invitation to the PIAA tournament.
Conn will travel to Penn State University’s Blue and White Courses for that Oct. 21-22 event.
“I’m glad my season isn’t over yet,” she said. “I got nothing to lose. I’m probably not going to come out on top, but I am going to try my best.”
More: District 10 golf, girls volleyball, tennis and more results for the week of Sept. 30 to Oct. 5
Epic ending
Whatever angst Conn felt throughout Wednesday was miniscule compared to what Grove City’s Isaac Allan experienced during his full round.
And then one-third of another.
Allan, the district’s 2023 Class 2A boys gold medalist, initially found himself in a three-way playoff with Hickory’s Aiden Rueberger and North East’s Leyton Hassenplug for the field’s seventh- and eighth-place PIAA berths.
Rueberger claimed seventh when he won a hole outright. That left Allan, a sophomore, and Hassenplug, a junior, in a de facto match play for the state’s last invitation.
They required a second hole.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Then a fifth.
Finally, thanks to a decisive par save on the club’s 160-yard sixth hole, Allan ended one the most lengthy and dramatic finishes in the tournament’s history.
“Winning this tournament last year was awesome,” he said. “It was a great start to my high school golf career. But this … this feels more clutch than last year. I feel like this (result) has a lot more meaning.
“This whole (playoff) was a good life lesson. When things get hard and things get stressful, you’ve got to keep grinding. You’ve got to keep going.”
More: Cathedral Prep and Meadville claim team titles for District 10’s boys golf tournament
Toscano among playoff spectators
So compelling was the Allan-Hassenplug playoff that Wilmington’s Santino Toscano, the 2A boys actual victor, missed the tournament’s formal awards ceremony because he was amid the gallery for all six holes.
Toscano eventually received his gold-colored medal for his 1-under 143. The sophomore’s score was just low enough to hold off a second-round charge by Cathedral Prep junior Connor Laird, who closed with a 4-under 68.
Laird and Saegertown freshman Mason Gjovik, at 144, tied for second.
Toscano carded a 76 one day after he opened with a 5-under 67.
“It was nerve-wracking by the end (of Wednesday’s round),” he said, “because I knew I still had to play great golf. One more mistake would have cost me.”
Prep’s Cooper Wierzchowski and Fairview’s Anthony LaBoda and Tegan Rucks rounded out the state-bound 2A boys from northwestern Pennsylvania.
More: Fairview girls golf team potentially ends Hickory’s bid for fourth straight PIAA title
Past aids Sowers’ present
The district’s 2A girls titlist also hailed from one of its southern programs.
West Middlesex’s Kate Sowers was the lone player in that field with an overall red number. She followed Monday’s 68 with Wednesday’s even-par 72.
Sowers’ 140 left her with a comfortable seven-stroke advantage over Grove City silver medalist Zoe Stern. The junior attributed her victory in part to directly contending with some of the district’s recent greats for small-school girls golf.
“I learned so much from the Swans (North East graduates Lydia and Anna Swan) just by watching how they played,” Sowers said. “They could bounce back from bad holes and still get birdies on the next ones. Competition like that always makes you better.”
Hickory’s Luciana Masters (third at 151) and Fairview’s Cora Hirz (fourth at 154) were the district’s other automatic qualifiers for this month’s state meet.
More: Erie County’s top performing varsity athletes: Sept. 30-Oct. 5
Familiar name first for 3A boys
Mike Ferry’s role as the district’s tournament director precluded him from hugging Wednesday’s 3A boys champ.
The 3A boys champ who happens to be his son.
Meadville’s Luke Ferry, who was a shot off the lead after Monday’s first round, prevailed with a 36-hole total of 7-over 151. He’ll join fellow freshman teammate Patrick Mahoney (156) for shared debuts at states.
It’s easy to think Luke Ferry, a son of the club’s head golf professional, would have had insider information on how to better play the 6,292-yard course this week.
Right?
“No,” Luke Ferry said, “there’s no secrets to this course. It’s pretty simple, really. Whenever I go out there, I just have fun.”
Meadville senior Robert Mahoney, Patrick Mahoney’s older brother, missed the PIAA cut with his third-place score of 162.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fort LeBoeuf’s Cassidy Conn wins District 10 3A girls golf tournament
