As a present for her sixth birthday, Marissa DeCola was given a set of golf clubs by her father.

From a tiny golfing tot to a two-time PIAA championships qualifier in roughly a decade.

DeCola, a sophomore at Butler Area High School, took the second-place silver medal at the WPIAL girls' golf championships a week ago. She shot an 8-over par 79 to finish one stroke behind Fox Chapel's Nadia Luttner at South Hills Country Club.

For DeCola, her love affair with the sport of golf was an instant one.

"Pretty much, I liked it a lot right away," DeCola said. "My dad always took me out to the driving range when I was little."

A season after taking 10th place at the WPIAL championships, DeCola shot a 41 on the par-36 front nine and a 3-over 38 on the back nine at this season's final.

"I'm pretty happy with that finish," DeCola said. "I wanted to finish strong, and I did."

DeCola's interest in closing out her round on a positive note was wrought more out of her inner-desire to shoot the best score she could.

She certainly wanted to win, but while on the course, she wasn't aware of her status on the leader board or how close she was to Luttner, who was the defending champion and finished her round much earlier in the day.

"I don't think about that," DeCola said. "I just played my own game. I just wanted to finish in the top three."

Golden Tornado teammate Mara Shingleton also had a strong showing at the WPIAL championships. A senior, she placed 12th with a round of 93.

DeCola and Shingleton were two of 12 golfers among the field of 24 who qualified for the PIAA Western Regional, which will take place Wednesday at Tom's Run Golf Course near Blairsville.

The purpose of that tournament is merely to set the field for the PIAA championships scheduled for Oct. 26-27 at Heritage Hills Country Club in York.

"I'm trying to make it to states and want to finish better than I did last year," said DeCola, who also is an infielder on the Butler softball team but wants to play golf in college.

DeCola took 20th place at the PIAA tournament last season, shooting two consecutive rounds of 83 to give her a 22-over 166.

This time around, DeCola hasn't been and won't be as much of a wide-eyed freshman after having garnered the experiences of last year.

"I'll know what to expect, and I know how to handle each situation a little bit better," said DeCola, whose brother, Mark, is an up-and-coming golfer and is in seventh grade.

DeCola plays in several tournaments over the course of year ranging from the local King's Restaurants Junior Tour to the American Junior Golf Association and International Junior Golf Tour events.

At the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments, she's also representing her school.

"Every tournament, no matter what, I treat it exactly the same when I'm out on the course," DeCola said. "I mean, of course, it's a little more important [to compete for a WPIAL or PIAA title], but the way I handle it is exactly the same."

The strengths of DeCola's game lie in her consistency and short game, particularly her putting.

"I've always worked on it a lot ... more then I have anything else," said DeCola, who belongs to Oakview Golf Club in Slippery Rock.

DeCola was the top golfer for a Golden Tornado team that went 11-3 during the regular season. The Golden Tornado lost only to Center (twice) and to Seneca Valley and advanced to the WPIAL championship tournament as one of the top teams in Section 3.

This season's championship is scheduled to take place Monday. Last season, Butler placed seventh.

"We're just looking to do a little better than last year," DeCola said.

The team's other top golfers are Tori Hesidence, Rebecca Shakely and Taylor Schnur.

• What: PIAA Golf West Regional.

• When: 9 a.m. Wednesday.

• Where: Tom's Run Golf Course near Blairsville.

• The skinny: The 11 girls with the lowest scores and 22 boys with lowest scores advance to the PIAA championships Oct. 26-27 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort near York.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.