The Norwin Boys’ Golf team wrapped up another fall season. The boys team did not qualify for the WPIAL Playoffs, but some individuals competed at WPIALs.

On September 22, juniors Landon Stoner and Riley Shaffer competed in the 3A WPIAL Individual Championship First Round at Willowbrook Country Club. Stoner placed 43rd, carding a score of 78, and Shaffer placed 83rd with an 84. Stoner missed the cut to advance to the Final Round by 1 stroke.

The boys qualified for the first round on September 15 through the Section 1 qualifying round. Shaffer finished tied for 4th, and Stoner tied for 8th. The top 21 finishers made it to the next round.

“I was very disappointed with how I did in the WPIAL finals, but I know I’ll be back next year and hopefully I’ll able to compete for first next year,” said Stoner.

“I thought I did pretty good in the WPIAL finals. I know I can do better next year, though, and I think my performance encouraged me to work hard and practice more for next year,” said Shaffer.

As juniors, Shaffer and Stoner both have one more year left. They hope to use what they learned from their experience competing in the WPIAL Individual Championship this year to improve for next year.

“For next season, I need to work on my putting for sure,” said Stoner.

“I would like to work on being more consistent in the fairways,” said Shaffer.

The team finished 6th in Section 1 of the WPIALS. They ended the season with a section record of 2-8 and an overall record of 3-9. Stoner and Shaffer led the way for the Knights, but several other golfers contributed to the team, including senior Tanner Shaffer and junior Anthony Knouse.

When asked about what has challenged the Knights golf team this year, coach Neil Rushnock replied with “consistency.” Rushnock also said that the Knights golf team needs to improve its course management in order to better its overall performance. Course management refers how the golfers read the course and make decisions based on the course conditions to hit good shots and lower their score.

“I thought we were really inconsistent,” said Stoner. “We had a lot of kids swapping between the lineup.”

The Knights are determined to improve next season. They believe that by building on this year’s experience and continuing to work hard, they can achieve a better record and potentially move higher in the section standings.

Coach Rushnock believes one key lesson the team learned this year is that they need to learn how to “play their own game.” This advice will prove to be valuable to the Knights next year as they work toward turning things around.

“I think next year we’ll have a really good lineup, so we’ll be able to compete for the section,” said Stoner.

It seems that the Knights have one word in mind for next year: consistency. If they can learn how to play well consistently, the team can be much better next year.

“Each match we need to have consistently good scores, and everyone needs to have a good round, not just one person have a good round and everyone else not do well,” said Shaffer. “We also need to work together more. I think if we do that, we will do well.”