Boonsboro junior Piper Meredith became the fourth Washington County player to win an MPSSAA girls golf championship, and the first in 16 years, when she claimed the Class 2A-1A title Wednesday at the University of Maryland Golf Course at College Park.
Meredith, who had a two-shot lead following her 4-over 75 in Tuesday’s semifinal round, shot another 75 in the final round to finish at 8-over 150, two shots ahead of runner-up Sady Shafie of Damascus.
“I hit my 2-foot (par) putt on (the final hole), fell to my knees and started crying,” Meredith said. “I did it with all my family (and) all my coaches there, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. … My dad was a state champion (for Smithsburg football). Now I’m a state champion, and they support me so much. It’s so meaningful.”
Meredith joins a trio of Smithsburg winners — Angela Wacker (1990), Ashley Grier (2000) and Haeun Lee (2008) — as girls state champions from Washington County. She is the first Boonsboro golfer, boy or girl, to capture a state title.
“To be able to put my name and Boonsboro’s name in the history books, I did not want to do it with any school other than Boonsboro, and to represent Boonsboro means a lot to me,” Meredith said.
“It’s going to be legendary, absolutely legendary,” said Warriors coach John Miller. “It gives all the other golfers on the team and in the county something to shoot for. Hopefully, it’s not her last. She has one more year to go. Doing a repeat would be absolutely fantastic.”
The 2A-1A girls lead card started the final round on hole 10. Meredith opened up a four-shot lead early in the round, but she bogeyed the 18th and Shafie birdied to get back within two shots. Each shot even par on the back nine.
Meredith regained a four-shot lead when she birdied the third hole and Shafie bogeyed. Meredith bogeyed four, six and seven as her lead shrank to two again. Both bogeyed eight, and Meredith’s par on her final hole sealed her victory.
“My thought was anything can happen until the (final) hole. They could birdie out or I could triple (bogey),” Meredith said. “I literally, on every shot, took a deep breath, took a drink of water, slowed down and it was one shot at a time. I didn’t get overconfident or cocky, I stayed humble and got the job done.”
Meredith finished fourth in the state tournament as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore. She is a three-time Washington County and MPSSAA District 1 Class 2A-1A champion, and a two-time Central Maryland Conference champion.
“Golf is not easy at all. It’s mental, it’s shot for shot, it’s being physically fit, and I’ve put in so much work these last three years,” Meredith said. “Third time is the charm, and I got it done.”
Boonsboro senior Kadan Jones tied for 10th in the 2A-1A boys standings with a two-day total of 14-over 156, 15 shots behind champion Jack Geyer of C. Milton Wright. Jones shot an 8-over 79 on Tuesday to make the cut for the final round, then moved up the leaderboard with a 6-over 77 on Wednesday.
Jones finished ninth at states last year.
The Warriors were eliminated from team title contention Tuesday, finishing ninth with 345 strokes. Nate Montgomery (88) and Trenten Spencer (103) missed the cut for the final round.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Boonsboro junior Piper Meredith wins MPSSAA 2A-1A girls golf title
