Manheim Township's nascent girls' golf program is sneaking up on a state championship, and can't come any closer than it did Wednesday.
The Blue Streaks lost the Class AAA team title in a dramatic four-hole playoff to Peters Township at Penn State University's White Course.
Township finishes second to Peters Township for the second straight year, and in only the second year of the team's existence. This time, it got five shots closer than in 2023.
Both teams shot regulation, three-player totals of 227. Township got a one under-par 71 from Lancaster-Lebanon League and District Three AAA champion Piper Smith, a 76 from Paisley Kappesser and an 80 from Sonia Dumasia.
Smith's 71 was the best round of the day.
It went down to the wire in regulation, with Peters Township's No. 3, Brooke Vowcheck, knowing her team was a shot behind and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.
It meant a sudden-death playoff involving the combined scores of the three counting players for each team, Kappesser and Dumasia in a foursome with Vowcheck and Sophia Severns, Smith and Peters Township No. 1 Ellie Benson in a twosome following them.
Benson had finished her round bogey, bogey, triple-bogey, but gathered herself in the playoff.
Smith and Benson both birdied the first playoff hole, and had reasonable birdie putts on all four holes. Everything was tied, among all six players, until Benson made a six-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole.
Also Wednesday, Pequea Valley finished seventh in boys' AA on the Penn State Blue Course.
The Braves, who won Section Four of the L-L and the AA district championship, got an even-par 72 from Cole Stoltzfus along with an 81 from Max Hershey, 83 from Josh Stoltzfus and 84 from Chase Dizel for a 320 total.
Scranton Prep shot an eight-over 296 total to win the AA championship by nine shots over Erie Cathedral Prep.
The AAA boys' trophy went to North Allegheny, which got a 68 from Ravi Desai and shot a blistering two-under par 286 total. South Fayette finished second at 290.
Fairview, of District 10 southwest of Erie, won the girls' AA title, shooting 234 for three players, 20 better than runner-up Tunkhannock.