Mike Lacey knew he wanted to coach one more year.

Peters Township’s girls golf coach reached 35 years of teaching in 2024 — a “magic milestone,” he said — but wanted to see through one final season with senior Ellie Benson. The 2024 WPIAL individual champion will be playing collegiately at Gardner-Webb in North Carolina next year. She’s been part of four straight WPIAL team titles and two PIAA championships.

On a chilly and gloomy Wednesday afternoon on the Penn State Blue Course in State College, Benson shot a one-under-par 71 in her final round of high school golf. Peters Township ultimately fell short by four strokes to Conestoga, which combined for a 12-over-par 228.

Still, as the team headed to Raising Cane’s for celebratory chicken fingers, Lacey looked back on the season — and th

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