Carmichaels High School junior Remmey Lohr made history last fall when she became the first girl to play in the WPIAL boys golf championships and ended up finishing third in Class 2A.
But a female will be a “longer shot” to have such success in a future boys championship.
At a board of directors meeting Monday, the PIAA approved on a second-reading basis a new rule that will make any girl in a boys individual championship (district or PIAA) to play from the same tees as the boys. It will be a mere formality for the rule to pass a third and final reading.
Under the previous rule, Lohr played from tees 15% closer to the hole than the boys. Besides finishing third at the WPIAL boys championship, she finished second at the PIAA western regional. She didn’t play well at the PIAA tournament and finished 30th.
Lohr and her sister, Delaney, both played on the Carmichaels boys team last season because Carmichaels doesn’t have a girls team. But a school without a girls golf team can have only one girl compete in the WPIAL championships. So, Delaney competed in the girls championships while Remmey went after the boys title.
While the new PIAA rule makes girls play from the same tees as the boys in individual championships, girls will continue to play from the women’s tees when competing in boys team matches.
More PIAA matters
- The PIAA is considering making a stiffer penalty for coaches or athletes who are ejected from games for either bumping or making contact with an official, or for abusive language or behavior toward an official or opponent. The current rule makes an athlete or a coach ineligible for one game after being ejected. But the PIAA is considering making the penalty two games for all sports and 1 ½ for football.
- The PIAA voted down a proposal from the football steering committee that would allow for a 7-on-7 non-contact practice with another school after the required five days of heat acclimatization in August.
Coaching news
The open boys basketball coaching positions at North Allegheny and Peters Township reportedly attracted some high-profile candidates. One of the candidates who has interviewed for the North Allegheny job is Tim Tyree, who won two WPIAL Class 1A championships in the past three years at Vincentian. But Vincentian is closing at the end of the school year and Tyree is looking for a new coaching job.
Athletic directors at both North Allegheny and Peters Township said coaches are expected to be hired at April school board meetings in a few weeks.
Gribble to play again
In January of 2019, Alayna Gribble walked away from the Pitt women’s basketball team and gave up the sport because of recurring concussions. But it turns out that Gribble’s career isn’t finished.
Gribble, a former star at Norwin High School who was the Post-Gazette Player of the Year in 2016, has decided to transfer to Saint Joseph’s of the Atlantic 10 Conference in hopes of playing one last season.
Mike White: mwhite@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: March 30, 2020, 10:16 p.m.
