Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Meyers grabs lead in PIAA Class AAA Championship

   Pittsburgh Central Catholic junior Jimmy Meyers displayed the kind of patience that the Heritage Hills Golf Resort layout requires as he grabbed a one-shot lead after Round 1 of the PIAA Class AAA Championship Monday.

   Meyers had 15 pars in a 1-under 70 over the 6,700-yard, par-71 Heritage Hills course. Meyers offset a lone bogey at the par-4 14^th with birdies at the first and 16^th holes.

   Franklin Regional junior Palmer Jackson and Peters Township senior Hunter Bruce are a shot behind Meyers in a tie for second at even-par 71. Jackson also had a steady round, offsetting bogeys at six and 17 with birdies at 11 and 14. Bruce had a little more of an up-and-down round with four birdies and four bogeys.

   Meyers finished tied for 17^th as a sophomore a year ago while Jackson ended up in a tie for ninth in last year’s state championship.

   Round 2 of the 36-hole championship will be held Tuesday. Team champions in Class AAA and Class AA for boys and girls will be crowned Wednesday.

   It wasn’t a great day for the District One contingent as Holy Ghost Prep junior Liam Hart led the way at 1-over 72, which leaves him tied for fourth with Crestwood senior Shane Angle. Hart had four bogeys against three birdies.

   Unionville junior Connor Bennink is part of a group of four players tied for seventh at 1-over 73. Bennink had five birdies at Heritage Hills in Monday’s opening round, but couldn’t avoid a couple of big numbers on the tricky course, including a triple bogey at the sixth and a double bogey at the 14^th.

Joining Bennink at 1-over 73 were Erie Cathedral Prep junior Pat Kelly, Central Dauphin senior Timothy Cooper and Manheim Township senior Jacob Macinanti.

   Four members of the five-man Pioneer Athletic Conference contingent are within a shot of each other. Two-time District One champion Ben Pochet, a senior at Spring-Ford, carded a 4-over 75 and was joined at that figure by Norristown junior Caleb Ryan and Owen J. Roberts senior Ward McHenry. They are tied for 13^th.

   Pope John Paul II senior J.T. Spina was another shot behind the PAC trio in 16^th place with a 5-over 76. Spina was the top finisher among District One golfers a year ago, battling his way to a tie for third.

   Exeter junior Alex Seelig and Northern York senior Austin Schreffler each carded a 3-over 74 and are tied for 11^th, a shot better than the PAC trio at 75.

   Some pretty good players struggled at Heritage Hills Monday. Central York senior Joe Parrini, the District Three champion and an Arizona recruit, is tied for 17^th after posting a 77. Warwick junior Brock Fassnacht, who edged Pochet by a shot to claim the East Regional title last week at Golden Oaks Golf Club, is tied for 21^st at 79.

   Joining Fassnacht in the group tied for 26^th was William Tennent senior Colin Walsh.

   District One’s two freshman phenoms who reached the state tournament, Caleb Ryan’s younger brother Joshua of Norristown and Conestoga’s Morgan Lofland, each carded an 81 and are tied for 26^th. Joining them at that figure was Neshaminy senior Greg DeLuca.

   Central Bucks South senior Kevin Anthony is alone in 33^rd place after posting an 85.

    The best round of the day among the boys belonged to Tulpehocken senior Chase Miller, who fired a 3-under 68 to surge to a four-shot lead in Class AA. Miller had birdies at three, four, 12 and 18 against a lone bogey at 14.

   William Mirams, a junior at Notre Dame East Stroudsburg, is alone in second place, four shots behind Miller at 1-over 72.

   District One champion Ryan McCabe, a freshman at Devon Prep, is tied for 18^th after posting an 82. New Hope senor Benjamin Wiseman is tied for 21^st after carding an 84.

   Manheim Township junior Ellen Wager grabbed the lead in the girls Class AAA championship with an even-par 72 over a Heritage Hills layout that measures 6,223 yards and plays to a par of 72 for the girls. Wager had four birdies and four bogeys in her round.

   Pine Richland junior Lauren Freyvogel, who finished tied for fourth in last year’s state championship,  is alone second place, a shot behind  Wager at 1-over 73.

   Heading the District One contingent is Downingtown East junior Liddie McCook, who is another shot behind Freyvogel in third place at 2-over 74.

   Conestoga junior Samantha Yao, who claimed her second straight District One title a couple of weeks ago at Turtle Creek Golf Club, is alone in fourth place at 5-over 77. Yao, the runnerup in Class AAA to Mia Kness of Peters Township a year ago at Heritage Hills, only managed one birdie at the sixth against six bogeys.

   North Allegheny junior Caroline Wrigley and Oakland Catholic senior Jessica Meyers are tied for seventh at 78. Susquehannock senior Kendel Abrams, who defeated Yao in a playoff for the East Regional title last week, is alone in seventh after posting a 79.

   Wissahickon junior Cristea Park and Unionville freshman Charlotte Scully each carded an 88 and are in a group tied for 13^th. Central Bucks East senior Sophia Mancuso is  tied for 16^th after posting  an 89.

   Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic sophomore Maddie Smithco and Mercyhurst Prep sophomore Sarah White shared the lead in the Class AA championship as each carded a 4-over 76. Smithco was the runnerup at Heritagte Hills as a freshman a year ago.

   A couple of freshmen, Rockwood’s Vileska Gilpi and Brownsville’s Lindsay Sethman, are tied for third, two shots behind  the co-leaders at 6-over 78.

   Villa Joseph Marie senior Carolyn Mueller is alone in 14th place after posting a 100.