Every year the PIAA Class AAA individual golf championships are held in York, PA, a city known for it’s numerous historic structures that date back to the 1700’s. It was the perfect backdrop for Fox Chapel Area High School golfers Anthony Cordaro and Alex Lawson, who just made some history of their own when they tied for sixth place at the statewide competition, the school’s best finish since 1999.
The boys’ medal-winning scores were even more notable considering the difficulty of the course at the Heritage Hills Golf Club, and cold weather conditions made worse by sustained winds as high as 23 miles per hour.
Anthony and Alex, both seniors, are two-time state qualifiers, but when preparing for this year’s most prestigious interscholastic golf tournament, Anthony said his mind was on more than the championship.
“I was more excited about being there again than being nervous,” recalls Anthony, a Lehigh University recruit, who was Bryan Deal’s first four-year starter in the six years he’s been head coach. “I thought a lot about how this was the last time I’d be playing for Fox Chapel, and how much I liked being with these guys [on the team] for three months out of every year. They made playing golf fun and I’ll really miss that.”
Over the course of four years, Anthony had many other achievements. He advanced to the PIAA Class AAA championship as a sophomore where he finished in 10th place, and also was the 2014 WPIAL individual champion. Since then, he continued to be a critical force in the team’s many victories at regular season games, invitationals, and in postseason play.
No doubt one of his most memorable experiences had to have been meeting golf legend Arnold Palmer, who personally congratulated him on his WPIAL win at Latrobe Country Club. That exchange has become even more special now that Mr. Palmer passed away in September.
Anthony’s teammate Alex, also a four-year letter earner, similarly was an integral part of a team rebuilding process that began in 2013. For much of their high school years, Alex and Anthony often seesawed back and forth atop the leader board with neck-to-neck scores separated by only one or two strokes.
As a sophomore, Alex qualified for the WPIAL finals, but missed advancing to the PIAA Western Regional Championship by only one shot. He ended up as the alternate. He was so disappointed that he decided to really buckle down and take his game much more seriously. It paid off in both of his remaining years. He not only made it to Western Regionals the next season, as a junior and then again as a senior, he qualified for the PIAA Class AAA individual championships.
This season, Alex started off with a bit of a handicap as he recovered from a broken bone in his hand. His game showed it. “I moved down to the number four position, but then after working really hard, I worked my way back up and at times was the number one player,” says Alex, who ended his senior year with the best average on the team and will use that expertise next fall as a rookie on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania men’s golf team.
“I think with all of the ups and downs, what I’ve learned most from golf is it tests your patience. It’s the only sport I’ve played where you can practice all day and not get better if you aren’t doing everything exactly correct. But as I’ve grown, golf also has taught me to put things in the past and move on, and not to get down because I had a bad shot or a bad day. I now apply that same attitude to everything, not just golf.”
“It was totally appropriate that Anthony and Alex ended their careers tied at the state’s highest level of competition,” says Coach Deal. “They both are very talented and are academic achievers, but even better young men. I’m extremely proud of them and what they have contributed to the golf program over their four years with the team. Replacing them next year will be difficult.”