Westmoreland high school notebook: Croushore leaves WPIAL committee

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, September 2, 2024 | 6:05 PM

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Jim Croushore played 18, then went one more.

But he’s packing up his clubs as the top man on the WPIAL golf steering committee.

Croushore stepped down before this school year after 19 years on the committee.

The former chairman is a principal at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary School, and golf events in the postseason often conflicted with his schedule and daily duties.

“It’s very hard to juggle golf chairperson responsibilities and be a principal,” Croushore said. “I missed a large number of school days in the fall for committee duties, and asking others to pick up for me while I am out is not good for the district and the students we serve.”

Another key reason he resigned is because he started a consulting business called “No Limits Mindset,” which works with sports teams and athletes on their mental approach to their game.

“Additionally, we create teacher professional development programs and leadership training,” Croushore said. “We’re gaining some traction, and it’s a lot of fun growing this project.”

He and his wife, Linda, also have two sons who are playing college soccer, so they want to follow Ethan, a junior at Westminster, and Ryan, a freshman at Point Park.

“We know our time rooting for them on the field is growing short,” Jim Croushore said. “I feel like I missed a lot of their games already juggling committee responsibilities.”

Croushore said his time as WPIAL chairman allowed him to build relationships and network, which golf so often does.

“I know my path will continue to cross with many of them,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about this change for a long time; I thought that now was the right time to let someone else take the position.”

Which leads to his replacements — yes, plural.

Croushore will be replaced by a pair of veteran boys golf coaches who will serve as co-chairs.

Peters Township coach Dave Kuhn and Franklin Regional’s Jeff Traphagen will oversee the committee and take care of setting up postseason sites and keeping the WPIAL season moving along smoothly.

Kuhn and Traphagen both have won WPIAL championships. Kuhn recently collected his 400th career victory.

Traphagen is in his 24th year with Franklin Regional, 16th with the varsity. Kuhn has been the Indians’ coach for 20 years and runs the Kuhn Golf Academy in McMurray.

A longtime WPIAL committee member, Kuhn also served on the PIAA golf steering committee for eight years.

WCCA golf

The first Westmoreland County Coaches Association event of the fall will be Thursday with the girls golf championship.

The nine-hole tournament will be played at Champion Lakes Golf Course in Bolivar.

Franklin Regional has won three straight team titles. The Panthers’ Gianna Johnson returns as the defending individual champion. She edged Izzy Aigner of Greensburg Central Catholic in a scorecard playoff after both girls shot 40.

Milana Yannascoli of Hempfield also returns after a third-place finish.

Johnson and Yannascoli tied for medalist honors in a match earlier this season.

Franklin Regional recently had a 44-match section winning streak end at the hands of Elizabeth Forward and reigning WPIAL 3A champion Mya Morgan.

The boys county tournament will be Sept. 12 at Latrobe Elks Golf Club.

Cup of kindness

Former Norwin baseball player Ty Cupp, a recent graduate who now plays at Division I Mercyhurst, came up with a fundraising venture and it proved productive.

Cupp, a catcher, called his campaign “Swinging To Support,” and it involved his baseball statistics.

Money was collected for his hits — singles, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, the number of times he caught a runner stealing a base and times he produced outs for the Lakers.

General donations also counted.

Cupp collected $1,300 for families of the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit’s early intervention program in need of support for their children with special needs.

Cupp’s mother, Tonia, works as an occupational therapist for the same WIU program.

Going low

A couple of boys golf teams produced low scores in Wednesday’s matches.

Norwin took care of Hempfield, 181-204, on firm and fast Glengarry Golf Links in Latrobe.

Seven players shot sub-40 rounds, with Dom Cerilli carding an even-par 34, Gage Mamie a 35, Riley Shaffer a 36 and Preston Stoner and Jeffery Lenart 39s for Norwin, which was 11-over as a team.

Nick Jacobsky and Dean Connell matched 39s for Hempfield.

Belle Vernon beat Uniontown, 190-224, at Cedarbrook as Jordan Mocello and Jack Edwards each shot 2-under 34, and Seth Tomalski added a 38.

The defending WPIAL 2A champion Leopards went even lower in a home match against Ringgold, winning 180-238.

Tomalski shot 34, Mocello 35, Donny Croftcheck 35, Landon Vaccaro 37 and Jack Edwards 39.

And Greensburg Central Catholic toppled Southmoreland, 189-245, at Mt. Odin with six players shooting 39 or better. Only five scores count.

Braden Marker led with a 1-under 36, Brandon Plunko had an even 37, Sean Walker shot 38 and Cole Zubaty had a 39.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Norwin