Ciocca's 1-under 70 at Avalon earns him a ticket to Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship

   Nicholas Ciocca of Berwyn fired a 1-under-par 70 at Avalon Golf Club on a windy Tuesday in Cape May Court House, N.J. to lead a group of 11 more players who punched their ticket to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, the first step toward a possible berth in the 44^th Boys Junior PGA Championship later this summer.

   Ciocca had five birdies and nine pars on a day when many of the junior players in the field struggled with the gusty winds over the 6,272-yard, par-71 Avalon layout. Ciocca was one of three boys in the younger 13-to-15 division to advance to the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour qualifier July 1 at The Springhaven Club.

   The top finishers at Springhaven advance to one of the top junior events in the country, which tees off July 30 at the Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford, Conn.

   Jack Ross of Medford Lakes, N.J. and Michael Lynch III of Dunmore were the other two boys from the 13-to-15 division to earn a trip to Springhaven for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship. Ross had a steady 7-over 78 that featured a lot of pars and Michael Lynch had seven pars on the back nine to get in at 80, one shot below the cut line in the overall 13-to-18 division.

   Another member of Dunmore’s Team Lynch, Thomas Lynch, and Tyler Debusschere of Wallingford shared fourth place in the 13-to-15 division as each posted an 84.

   Cole Apeldorn of Southampton finished sixth with an 87, Ryan Garvey of Media was seventh with an 89, Joseph Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. was eighth with a 91 and Aidan Gallagher of Gladwyne was ninth with a 97.

   Eric Holt of Philadelphia took 10^th with a 99 and Jack Cimino of Gladwyne was 11^th with a 113.

Jack Reid of Medford, N.J. led the way in the 16-to-18 division and was the runnerup to Ciocca in the overall 13-to-18 scoring with a 3-over 74 that featured 11 pars.

   Ryan McCabe, who finished tied for second in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Devon Prep last fall, and Nicky Scarpone of Broomall shared second place, each carding a solid 6-over 77.

   Joseph Morganti, a St. Joseph’s Prep senior from Havertown, finished alone in fourth place with a 79. Three players – Shane Lawler of Malvern, Michael Mitnick of Linwood, N.J. and Noah Petracci of Atco, N.J. – landed on 80 and shared fifth place.

   The final two tickets to Springhaven went to Strath Haven senior Kevin Smith and Elijah Ruppert of Fleetwood as they finished in a tie for eighth in the 16-to-18 division, each posting an 81. Springhaven is Smith’s home course and I’m sure he was determined to get a shot at a berth in the Boys Junior PGA Championship in familiar surroundings.

   Rounding out the top 10 among the older guys was Thomas Newman of Rydal, who carded an 84 to finish alone in 10^th place.

   It was a regular Junior Tour stop for the girls and for the coed 12-and-under nine-holers. The girls will play their qualifier for the 44^th Girls Junior PGA Championship when the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship tees off June 20 at Bellewood Country Club.

   Episcopal Academy teammates Lauren Jones of Newtown Square and Kathleen Mark of Media battled it out for divisional honors in the girls 16-to-18 division. Jones made seven pars on the front nine for an 86 that was one shot better than Mark’s 87. Mark had six pars in her round.

   Jones and Mark just completed their sophomore seasons at Episcopal as they led the Churchwomen to their second straight Inter-Ac League title. Jones was the runnerup in last month’s Inter-Ac individual championship at French Creek Golf Club and Mark finished in a tie for fourth.

   Julia Li of Hockessin, Del. finished third in the division with a 93 and Michelle Quinn of Haddon Heights, N.J. was fourth with a 102.

   Megan Adelman, who finished seventh in the Inter-Ac Championship at French Creek as an eighth-grader at Baldwin this spring, was the only competitor in the 13-to-15 division and was the winner with an 81, the best score in either of the girls divisions. Adelman’s back nine at Avalon featured four pars and a pair of birdies.

   Hudson Clary of Easley, S.C. had two birdies in a 1-over 37 to top the field of nine-holers. The Falconi sisters of Pennington, N.J., Ryan and Reagan, finished second and third with respective scores of 48 and 55. Savannah Thompson of Seaville, N.J. was fourth with a 63.