In two rounds of golf in western Montgomery County last week, Mount St. Joseph Academy senior Clare Gimpel tied for second place in the PIAA District 1 Individual Championships, claiming a berth at the state championships in York later this month.

On Monday, Gimpel shot a one-over-par 72 at Raven's Claw Golf Club outside of Pottstown, and was tied atop the leaderboard with Ava O'Sullivan of Downingtown East High School. The next day, the second round was played five minutes away at Turtle Creek Golf Course, and here Gimpel carded a 76 for a total tournament score of 148.

On Tuesday O'Sullivan shot a 74 for a total of 146, claiming the championship while Gimpel and Pennsbury High School's Jade Gu were tied for second. It was the best individual finish for a Mount golfer since Isabella DiLisio won the district and state tournaments as a junior in 2013.

In 2019, the Mount Magic won both the District 1 and PIAA state team championships, but no repeats were on the cards for 2020. Unionville High School won not only the girls' but also the boys' district title last week. In many past years, more than one team from District 1 has been given a spot in the state team tournament, but this year only the top squad in the district will play in the PIAA championships.

The team scores for the district tourney were derived solely from the single round of play at Raven's Claw last Monday.

With the top three scores of each school's five official players making up the team tally, the Unionville ladies posted a winning score of 237, while Downingtown, led by O'Sullivan, came in second at 241.

For third-place Mount St. Joe, the scorers were Gimpel, with her 72, junior Nora Blatney, with a round of 87, and senior Sofia Gambone, with an 88. All three are graduates of Norwood Fontbonne Academy.

The other two official entrants for the Mount at the district tourney were Caroline Gola (also NFA) and Reilly Kelley.

When the season began, the Mount and other members of the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies were only supposed to be playing an intra-league schedule this fall. Then, near the end of September, the AACA decided that the league teams could participate in the PIAA district and state playoffs, if merited.

In addition to some immediate adjustments to the schedule, the Mounties had to change their mindset and go right into a qualifier for the District 1 tournament on October 1.

Gimpel had won several juniors tournaments over the summer, and she made an addition to her trophy case quite recently, as well. On September 26, she won the Helen Sigel Wilson Invitational Tournament for the third year in a row.

She won't be the only MSJ golfer continuing to play this fall, since some AACA team matches and a league championship event still lie ahead.