Frosh Denis shakes off early nerves to win title
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
SALIX -- In District 6 Class 3A girls golf, only the champion advances to the PIAA championships on Oct. 16-17 in State College.
Hollidaysburg freshman Crosby Denis entered Thursday's competition at Windber Country Club as the prohibitive favorite, but that label did more to shake her up than her competition.
Denis made bogey on each of the first three holes and slapped her leg in frustration after a few of her shots before shaking it off and making just one bogey over her next nine holes.
Her day ended with a gold medal around her neck after she carded a 79 and won by 10 strokes over State College's Hannah Kopac.
"I just took deep breaths and told myself it would be OK," Denis said. "I was definitely really nervous at the start. I was really scared, and I have been thinking about it for a long time. I honestly just thought to myself if I keep acting like this and saying I'm not going to do it, I'm going to keep doing bad. So I just took deep breaths and went with it."
Denis won the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference girls championship earlier this year and already has a few local club championships to her name, leading to her entering Thursday as the expected winner.
"I was super proud of her," Hollidaysburg coach Jill Hileman said. "The expectations of her from the start of the season were that she should win districts. She's had that on her shoulders the whole season. She's handled that all season, and she's just a steady player who stays the course and plays well."
Central Mountain's Reese Walizer played right with Denis through nine holes and led the Hollidaysburg freshman until the seventh hole. Denis finally passed her on No. 9 and stretched her lead to three on No. 10 when she made par and Walizer made double bogey after a poor tee shot.
"It made me focus a lot more and think about each one of my shots," Denis said. "I had to think about how I was going to play it."
Denis won a district title one day after falling in the championship of the District 6 Class 3A tennis finals. She has played both sports all fall, but she said Wednesday's competition did not impact her round Thursday.
"Right after tennis, I played a practice round here," Denis said. "Then I went right to bed. I woke up a little late, but I was well rested for today."
Denis avoided a big number throughout the day, despite a few close calls like on No. 13 when her tee shot was plugged in a greenside sand bunker. She escaped, but the shot went over the green. She got on the green on her next shot and made a long putt to save bogey.
"I was really proud of how I played," Denis said. "I have been working for this all summer, all winter, and I'm really proud I got the outcome I wanted and all my work paid off."
Denis has experience playing at Penn State, where the state championships are held.
"I have played there a lot," Denis said. "I did a junior PGA league there a couple summers, and I played there all the time. I'm pretty confident with how I'll do there."
Though only the champion advanced, the top five finishers received a medal.
Altoona's Ellie Filer finished fourth for the second straight season.
"I hit my driver really well," Filer said. "This means a lot. I hope I can get a medal here every year. I went from 101 to 93, and I want to keep getting better every year."
State College, led by Kopac's 89, won the team title over Hollidaysburg, 281-293, and will compete at Treasure Lake in DuBois to compete in a PIAA subregional next Thursday at 10 a.m.
Westmont Hilltop won the 2A team title, 299-308, over River Valley. Central Cambria was third with 310. The Lady Hilltoppers needed a score of 300 or less to advance to Treasure Lake and got in just under the cut.
Central Cambria's Jazmine Boland finished fifth and earned a medal with a 95, but she missed a chance to go to states by a stroke. The top four players in 2A moved on.
That included Saint Joseph's sophomore Maddie Koshko, who won the District 6 Class 2A individual championship for the second year in a row with a 1-under par 71.
"It feels awesome to win again. This year was much more consistent than last year," Koshko said. "I feel like my game was better this year. I think my wedges, approach shots and irons were much better this year."
CLASS 3A TEAM RESULTS
1, State College (SC) 281; 2, Hollidaysburg (H) 293; 3, Altoona (A) 322.
CLASS 3A INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (CHAMPION ADVANCES)
1, Denis, H, 79; 2, Kopac, SC, 89; 3, Walizer, Central Mountain, 90; 4, Filer, A, 93; 5, Donnell, SC, 95; 6, Dworsky, SC, 97; 7, Peacock, H, 103; 8, Long, A, 115; 9, Carles, H, 116.
CLASS 2A TEAM RESULTS
1, Westmont Hilltop (WH) 299; 2, River Valley (RV) 308; 3, Central Cambria (CC) 310; 4, Bishop McCort (BM) 361.
CLASS 2A INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP FOUR ADVANCE)
1, Koshko, Saint Joseph's, 71; 2, Mullen, WH, 92; 3, Miller, Conemaugh Valley, 93; 4, Mar. Dunlap, RV, 94; 5, Boland, CC, 95; 6, Patalune, Portage, 96; 7, Smith, Forest Hills, 97; 8, Yoder, Bishop Carroll, 99; T-9, Buday, WH, 100; T-9, Mad. Dunlap, RV, 100; T-11, Wilson, Bishop Guilfoyle, 107; T-11, Sikora, CC, 107; 13, Cuppett, CC, 109; 14, King, Homer-Center, 112; 15, Staats, RV, 114; 16, McMurtrie, Penns Valley, 116; 17, Mesoras, CC, 122; 18, Thomas, Penn Cambria, 126; 19, Kesslak, BM, 130; 20, Carney, Bishop Carroll, 135; 21, Glass, Penn Cambria, 150.