ORWIGSBURG - The weather was beautiful during the District 11 Golf Championship at the Schuylkill Country club, and so was the scoring.

The plethora of talent around the district was on full display. William Mirams of Notre Dame represented boys class AA, and shot a 71, which was the best card of the day. Finishing just behind Mirams was local senior-stud Nick Maff of Bethlehem Catholic, who recorded a 72.

“The greens were aerated, so it was tough to put on,” explained Maff. “I didn’t start making many putts until the last couple of holes. For the most part, I hit the ball really well. I had a much better back nine, even though the card said 36-36.”

Boys class AA took four regional qualifiers. Cory Haldeman (73) and Colin McQueen (77), both of Moravian academy, finished third and fourth respectively. As for boys Class AAA, Max Harrington of Emmaus took first place with a round of 73. Although Maff’s round of 72 would have coincidentally earned a AAA win, he surely wasn’t upset with his play.

“Over the previous years, I would be impatient and rush things. I learned to be patient this season. I took a step back, stayed focused, and tried to control my breathing. I won districts twice already; I put a lot of pressure on myself to win it for my senior year. Even though I lost, I still had a great year. I’m looking forward to next week. There’s one more round to get to states, and that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Samantha Fritzinger won the Class AAA girls’ title, with a round of 76. The biggest storyline of the championship day might have been Franca Hurtado’s winning class AA round of 77. The victory marks the senior’s fourth District 11 title. Sophie Orsulak of Blue Mountain will also be advancing, as she shot a round of 85.

Moravian Academy was the most successful squad in the team championship. The Lions had three of its five golfers shoot in the 70s, en route to a class AA title score of 310. Emmaus (305) was fifteen strokes better than Nazareth (320) to capture the Class AAA title. Although Maff’s Becahi squad tied for third, he had a blast this season and learned a lot from head coach Tim McGorry throughout his four years with the program.

“Not only is he (McGorry) a good golf coach, he’s a good life coach,” explained Maff. “I learned a lot of life lessons from him. I had a really good year (69 average) and I was really proud and impressed with our team this year - getting to districts. We have a bunch of ‘jokesters’ on the team, we’re like a bunch of brothers - but, everyone works really hard.”