Mercersburg's boys' and girls' golf teams traveled to the Peddie Golf Club April 22 for the 12th annual Swing Against Cancer invite that has raised over $100,000 for cancer research over the years. Head coach Doug Smith commented that "This is always a very competitive tournament that features all of the MAPL schools in addition to area private and public schools. The weather was blustery, but the rain stayed away just long enough to get the event finished on time."

The Blue Storm girls' team finished a respectable third on the day and were led by Sihyeon Bae '24 who fired a very sharp 87 which was good for a top 10 individual result. Next in the scoring was Kate Kalinowski '24 who carded a rock solid 91. Abby Yang '25 fought her way to a respectable 98 followed by Amanda Xi '25 who finished with a 99 for the round. The girls' 375 total put them behind just Blair and Hill.

"This was a real measurement of how far our girls' program has come in just two short years," said Coach Smith. "I am proud that our girls stuck with their rounds and ground out some solid results in these blustery conditions and in such a pressurized event. Very happy that Sihyeon was in the 80s with this round, and her all around game is really coming together. We have several more big matches this season and I think we can really build from this point forward."

The Blue Storm boys' team came up just short again this year with a second place result.  Argyle Downes '24 was the team's leading scorer and finished second overall with a 74 on the day. Next in line was co-captain Ethan Xin '23, who posted a career low 77 and was striking the ball with wonderful consistency all day long. Next came Jason Jones '24, who recovered from a seven consecutive bogeys to start the round and carded an 82. Co-captain Daniel Zhong '23 was the final scorer on the day with what can only be called a rock solid round of 83. The Blair School took first place on the day, edging Mercersburg by 4 strokes.

"The boys played very well today and we have been knocking on the door two years in a row at this invitational, losing by four this year and three last year," Coach Smith added. "Argyle has to be applauded for a gutty performance because he was severely under the weather for this match and managed to still score. I am thrilled for Ethan and his career low round. Throughout the season he truly puts in the work needed to improve his game." 

On Thursday, April 26 the girls' team hosts McDonogh School (Owings Mills, MD) in a 4:30 pm match at the Chambersburg Country Club while the boys' next contest is a tri-match at Woodberry Forest (VA) on Wednesday, April 25 at 4 pm.