Radnor's Colleran, Conestoga's Lofland share Central League title with 71s at Turtle Creek

   LIMERICK – Radnor senior David Colleran will head for the District One Class AAA Championship as a Central League champion for the second straight year while Conestoga sophomore Morgan Lofland will try to repeat his postseason run of a year ago when the then-freshman made it all the way to the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   The road to the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County’s Springettsbury Township began in earnest Tuesday for the Central League’s best golfers at Turtle Creek Golf Club, finally starting to dry out after last week’s drenching rains forced the course, like many throughout the region, to close Friday.

   Colleran fired a 1-under-par 71 over a 6,375-yard, par-72 Turtle Creek layout he knows all too well and Lofland was able to match Colleran’s 71 as the two shared the Central League title. Colleran matched par with a 72 last year to gain a share of the Central League crown.

   Colleran, who captured the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ crown in 2016, knows how to keep it around par at the Turtle and he did just that Tuesday.

   Starting on the first tee in the shotgun start, Colleran birdied two of the par-5s at the Turtle, the eighth and the 13^th, and added a birdie at the short par-4 10^th.

   He decided to have a go at reaching the risk-reward par-5 18^th in two, but his 3-iron shot ended up in the pond fronting the green. But after taking a drop, he got it up and down, converting a 10-footer for par to hold onto his piece of the top spot.

   “I really only needed to carry it 245 (yards) to the pin and 230 to clear the water, I just chunked it,” said Colleran, who will join Ben Feld’s Drexel program a year from now. “I do know this course, I’ve played it a lot. I made a couple of mental mistakes, but I’m happy with the way I played.”

   Colleran has continued to consult John Bierkan, the head of instruction at Aronimink Golf Club, in an effort to improve his game.

   “He’s the best teacher I’ve been around,” said Colleran, who plays out of Overbrook Golf Club, so he never has to look far for some competition.

   Colleran estimated he played in about eight tournaments, including several starts in American Junior Golf Association events, this summer. He finished sixth in the AJGA Philadelphia Junior at Huntingdon Valley Country Club and ended up in a group tied for 20^th in the KJ Choi Foundation Junior Championship, presented by SK Telecom at Fidler’s Creek Country Club in Bedminster Township, N.J. right before the school season started.

   “My goal is to win the state championship, but I have to make sure I get there first,” Colleran said.

   The next step on that road will be right back at Turtle Creek Monday for the District One Class AAA Championship. Colleran and Lofland finished tied for 10^th in the district tournament a year ago to qualify for the Class AAA East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood, Berks County.

   An 82 on a chilly, windy day at Golden Oaks was not good enough to get Colleran to Heritage Hills.

   He is looking forward to joining the program at Drexel. Feld has done a nice job luring some of the top scholastic talent in the Philadelphia area to Drexel since taking over the program.

   “Coach Feld is doing a great job,” Colleran said. “He’s really trying to take the program to the next level. Several of the guys I’ve played junior golf against are there now, like Ben Pochet (the former Spring-Ford standout who captured the last two District One Class AAA titles).”

   Colleran and the Raiders took a big step toward the Central League title by defeating Lofland and Conestoga by three shots on the Pioneers’ home course at Waynesborough Country Club last week to remain unbeaten.

   The depth of talent the two schools possess was on display Tuesday as seven of the 21 players who qualified for districts are from Conestoga and five, led by Colleran, are from Radnor.

   Lofland, a district qualifier as a 115-pounder on the wrestling mat as a freshman, took an aggressive approach at Turtle Creek to get his share of the Central League title Tuesday.

   Starting on the second hole, Lofland jump-started his round by holing out from 100 yards away at the 353-yard, par-4 fourth hole for eagle. He added birdies at seven, 14, 15 and 18. He had some mis-steps, but nothing worse than the double bogey he suffered at the 12^th when his drive found the water.

   “The wind was tough out there,” said Lofland who plays out of Phoenixville Country Club where he works on his game with head pro Matt Dever. “It seemed like it was coming at us a lot.”

   His start in the KJ Choi Foundation event at Fidler’s Elbow was his AJGA debut and he admits it was an eye-opener.

   “The kid who won it from South Korea (Sang Ha Park) was 12-under, so it really made me realize what it’s all about,” said Lofland, who finished 35^th at Fidler’s Elbow.

   A year ago as a freshman, Lofland accomplished a goal that so often eludes scholastic golfers in Pennsylvania, a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   “I shot 2-over the first day of districts last year and then shot 2-under the second day to make it, I guess by a shot,” Lofland said.

   He survived the tough conditions at Golden Oaks, shooting a 77 as he was the only Central League boy to reach Heritage Hills.

   Strath Haven junior Kevin Smith is one of the more talented players in the Central League, but he struggled a little Tuesday at the Turtle, carding a 5-over 77 that left him tied for 11^th, but safely through to districts.

   Smith was coming off a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory Sunday as he had five birdies in an even-par 72 at Linwood Country Club. Some of his strongest showings in a busy spring and summer of golf came in qualifiers for a couple of the biggest USGA events.

   Smith lost in a playoff for the final spot in a local U.S. Open qualifier at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. in the spring after shooting a 1-over 72 and posted a 6-over 148 total, including a 1-over 72 in the afternoon round, in a U.S. Amateur qualifier at Laurel Creek Country Club.

   “I think in those things I just focus on making good swings and staying out of trouble and that seems to work out pretty well,” said Smith, who works on his game with Mark Sheftic, Merion Golf Club’s head of instruction.

   Playing in the same group as Colleran, Smith jump-started his round by dropping a long putt – “I think it was 80 feet,” Smith said – at the par-3 third. He added a birdie at the par-5 eighth.

   But there was a triple bogey in there somewhere and, like Colleran, Smith tried to reach the par-5 18^th in two and blocked it out of bounds to the right. He then laid up short of the water and got it up and down for a hard-working bogey.

   Lofland’s teammate, Ben Lee, matched par to finish alone in third and Andrew Wallace, the left-hander from Harriton who rounded out the threesome with Colleran and Smith, posted a solid 1-over 73 to finish fourth.

   Three more Conestoga entries – Cutter Harvey, Michael Walz and Connor Loftus – were joined by Harriton’s David Fitzgerald and Radnor senior Blake Stephano in a five-way logjam for fifth at 3-over 75.

   Conestoga’s Kemp Bassett finished alone in 10^th with a 76 and Radnor’s Jack Hamilton and Davis Flannery, Strath Haven’s Nick Cardow and Harriton’s Max Mezrow joined Cardow’s teammate Smith in another five-way tie for 11^th at 77.

   David Merz gave Strath Haven a third district qualifier as he finished alone in 16^th with a 78.

Garnet Valley junior Jake Sokalsky, a regular on Philly Junior leaderboards all summer, Conestoga’s Drew Ridder and Radnor’s Tyler Tornoe finished in a tie for 17^th, each carding a 79 and Harriton’s Zach Sandler nailed down 20^th place with an 80.

   Jay Ramswamy then gave Harriton its fifth district qualifier when he prevailed in a playoff on the Turtle’s tough par-3 ninth over Conestoga’s Will Blatchford. They had finished in a tie for 21^st, each posting an 81.

   Conestoga senior Samantha Yao showed she’s ready to make her bid for a third straight District One Class AAA title as she captured the Central League girls title with a 1-under 71.

   Yao, who plays out of White Manor Country Club, has been in contention for a PIAA Class AAA championship at Heritage Hills each of the last two years, earning runnerup honors two years ago and finishing fourth last year.

   The district girls competition will get under way a few miles up Swamp Pike from Turtle Creek Monday on the Red and White Nines at Gilbertsville Golf Club. The Class AAA and AA girls team champions will also be crowned at Gilbertsville.

   There will be a cut for the individuals with the leaders battling it out for the district title Tuesday at Turtle Creek, a course that Yao has played well since contending for a district title as a freshman three years ago.

   Haverford’s long-hitting sophomore Riley Quartermain, a product of the Llanerch Country Club junior program, was the runnerup with a 78. Kevin Smith’s younger sister Grace Smith, a freshman at Strath Haven, carded a solid 79 to finish third.

   Harriton accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard with Callie Jean Burns finishing fourth with an 81 and Niosha Parvizi taking fifth with an 85.

   Two Radnor players were next in line with June Kim finishing sixth with a 90 and Jacqueline Slinkard taking seventh with a 93.

   Paige Brown made it two Strath Haven freshmen in the District One field as she finished in a tie for eighth with Marple Newtown junior GillYoung Koh after each posted a 95.

   Garnet Valley’s Sasha Mochocki finished 10^th with a 96, Conestoga’s Sophia Brubaker was 11^th with a 98 and Garnet Valley’s Nicole Ng earned the final berth to districts as she placed 12^th with a 99.

   The Class AA and AAA boys team titles will be contested next Tuesday at Turtle Creek.