YORK — Piper Smith wasted no time making her mark at the District Three Class 3A girls championships on Thursday morning.
Battling through ever-changing weather conditions, the Manheim Township junior fired a 1-under 71 at Honey Run Golf Club on the tournament’s opening day to take a five-stroke lead over Shippensburg’s Kaydee Beckenbaugh.
Smith, the Lancaster-Lebanon League champ, also helped the Blue Streaks win their second straight girls team title.
With the shotgun start, Smith began her morning on No. 7, a challenging dogleg right lined with bunkers. Smith started strong, earning pars on 7 and 8 before bogey on No. 9 set her back.
Fortunately for Smith, her best play was still to come. She birdied three consecutive holes — No. 18 through No. 2—and finished strong with another birdie on No. 5.
“I just tried to take some good shots off the tee,” said Smith of her late surge. “I felt comfortable with the greens and going after some putts. When I felt like I could make a putt I went for it, and if it went in, it went in.”
Warwick’s Elle Overly is in fourth following a 77.
Overly, who also started on No. 7 but in a different group, made bogeys on three of her first four holes.
Like Smith, Overly’s best golf came later in the round. She made four straight pars before a clutch birdie on No. 15.
Eight of the 18 girls who made the cut (94 or better) for Saturday’s final round were from the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The others moving on are Ephrata’s Kenna Heckman (79), Manheim Township’s Paisley Kappesser (82) and Sonia Dumasia (84), Warwick’s Emily Stauffer (85), Hempfield’s Paige Romich (86) and Garden Spot’s Lila Albertson (90).
Smith finished third last season, five strokes back. Overly was the runner-up a year ago, four back.
“My goal is to just keep the ball in front of me,” Smith said, “not make big mistakes, keep high numbers off the scorecard, and just try to put myself in a position to make birdies.”
In the team competition, Manheim Township finished at 21-over 237, 45 strokes better than runner-up Cumberland Valley. A team’s top three scores counted.
Dylan Ramsey of Cedar Crest follows his tee ball on the 4th hole during the Lancaster-Lebanon League Golf Championship at Meadia Heights Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
Eagles flying high
While the Lancaster-Lebanon League didn’t have a golfer crack the top five in Class 3A boys on Thursday, Cedar Crest made its mark.
Dylan Ramsey is in seventh place after shooting a 1-over 73 in the first round. Despite a triple bogey on the third hole, Ramsey bounced back with pars on No. 10 through No. 17 and closed with a birdie.
He trails the leader, Andrew Ekstrom of York Suburban, by three shots.
Not far behind Ramsey is teammate Ethan Rader, who is tied for 11th after a 75.
Rader looked to be outside the cut after making bogeys on 12, 13 and 14, but an eagle No. 15 put him back in the mix.
Ten of the 38 golfers who made the cut (80 or better) for Saturday’s second round were from the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The others: Lampeter-Strasburg’s Drew Wilson (75), Conestoga Valley's Thomas Kowalinski (76), Penn Manor’s Jesse Shue (76), Manheim Township’s Alex Kaun (77), Manheim Central’s Jon Breinich (79), Solanco’s Hudson Brown (79), Lampeter-Strasburg’s Addison Rosa (79) and Lampeter-Strasburg’s Charlie Westerlund (80).
In the boys team competition, Manheim Township finished third with a total of 33-over 321.
Central York won at 9-over 297.
What’s next
The first round of the individual tournaments and the team tournaments in Class 2A will be held today at Honey Run.
The final rounds in both classes are Saturday.
