Emmaus' Cox grabs two-shot lead as Pennsylvania Junior Girls' Championship tees off at Hershey

   It looks like Michelle Cox has taken her game up a notch since finishing 16^th in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a sophomore at Emmaus last fall.

   Cox, playing out of Lehigh Country Club, carded a steady 2-under-par 69 in Monday’s opening round of the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship Monday at Hershey Country Club’s East Course to open up a two-shot lead over Caroline Wrigley, who capped her senior season at North Allegheny by winning the PIAA Class AAA crown last fall.

   Cox got off to a fast start with birdies at the first two holes. Bogeys at the third and fifth holes dropped her back to even-par, but she was steady the rest of the way with birdies at the 10^th and 18^th holes and 10 pars in finishing at 2-under.

   Wrigley, playing out of Butler Country Club, was one of the co-medalists in a U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship qualifier with a 70 at Shannopin Country Club in Pittsburgh last week. She’s headed for one of the marquee events in junior golf when she tees it up at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. July 22.

   It looks like we have an official phenom on our hands heading the group tied for third at 3-over 74, three shots behind Wrigley. Gianna Clemente, listed as playing out of Avalon at Buhl Park, is a Class of 2026 player, which makes her a sixth-grader. Looks like she’s a Warren, Ohio kid and it sounds like we’re going to be hearing from her for a while.

   Joining Clemente in the group tied for third are Lydia Swan, the PIAA Class AA runnerup as a freshman at North East last fall, and New Hope’s Natasha Kiel, a junior at The George School who’s listed as a Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) individual member. Swan plays out of Lake View Country Club.

   Rolling Green Golf Club’s Sydney Yermish and Hartefeld National Golf Club’s Rylie Heflin, a Tower Hill junior and the winner of this event two years ago, are tied for sixth as each posted a 4-over 75.

   It looks like Yermish’s bid to make a return trip to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at SentryWorld came up a little short as she posted a 78 in a qualifier last week at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford, Conn. Yermish, who finished fifth in the Girls 12-13 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club in April, is an alternate, however.

   Mount St. Joseph junior Clare Gimpel, a Class AAA East Regional qualifier in each of her first two seasons, was alone in eighth place with a 6-over 77. Gimpel plays out of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   Central Bucks East senior Sarah Scarpill, who plays out of Talamore Country Club, shared ninth place with Bluestone Country Club’s Elizabeth Beek, each posting a 78. Scarpill was a Class AAA East Regional qualifier last fall.

   Whitford Country Club’s Ava O’Sullivan, a member of the Downingtown East PIAA Class AAA runnerup team as a freshman last fall, heads a trio of players tied for 11^th at 8-over 79.

   O’Sullivan was joined at that figure by Indian Valley Country Club’s Kiera Bartholomew and Danae Rugola, who capped her scholastic career at Uniontown by sharing second placed behind Wrigley in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship. A three-time PIAA qualifier, Rugola will play collegiately at Youngstown State.

   Indian Valley’s Rachel Joyce is the lone competitor in the Junior-Junior Girls’ Championship and posted a solid 3-over 74. That’s pretty good playing for a kid who, like Clemente, is heading into sixth grade.

   Lydia Swan and, I’m going to guess her sister, Anna Swan, have Lake View running away with the Junior Girls’ Team crown as they built a nine-shot lead over Whitemarsh Valley with a 159 total. Anna Swan added an 85 to Lydia Swan’s 74.

   Gimpel and her Mount St. Joseph teammate Olivia Wirsching, who carded a 91, comprised the Whitemarsh Valley entry. Gimpel and Wirsching led the Mount to the District One Class AAA team crown last fall.

   Meanwhile, Ryan Ferry, the District 10 Class AAA runnerup as a junior at Meadville last fall, and Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Jack Irons shared the lead after the opening round of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship as each posted a 2-under 69 at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Both players lit up the front nine on the Hershey East layout. Ferry had birdies at the first, third, fifth and sixth holes around a bogey at the fourth to card a 3-under 33 on the outgoing nine. A birdie at the 10^th hole got him to 4-under before he cooled off with bogeys at the 13^th and 17^th holes to finish at 2-under.

   Irons opened with an eagle at the first and added birdies at the second, fifth and sixth holes to get it to 5-under through six holes. A double bogey at the seventh halted his momentum a little and he also made bogeys at the ninth and 10^th holes to fall back to 1-under. A birdie at the 15^th hole got him a piece of the lead along with Ferry.

   Aronimink Golf Club’s John Updike, a recent Malvern Prep graduate who won this championship three years ago, headed a group of five players tied for third at 1-under 70. Updike was one of the Inter-Ac League’s top performers for four years with Gary Duda’s Friars.

   Joining him at the figure were Manufacturers Golf & Country Club’s Steve Lorenzo, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at La Salle last fall, Carlisle Country Club’s Ben Smith, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at West Perry last fall, Irem Country Club’s Logan Paczewski, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Dallas last fall, and Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Roy Anderson, a junior at Unionville.

   Hannastown Golf Club’s Brady Pervarnik, who finished in a tie for ninth in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Greater Latrobe last fall, and Cranberry Highlands Golf Course’s Donnie Professori, a Pine-Richland senior, shared eighth place, each landing on even-par 71.

   Talamore’s Patrick Sheehan, coming off a runnerup finish in last the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 105^th Junior Boys’ Championship last week at Coatesville Country Club, headed a trio of golfers tied for 10^th at 1-over 72.

   Sheehan, who finished in a tie for third in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks East last fall, West Perry’s Smith and Greater Latrobe’s Pervarnik are part of Greg Nye’s Pennsylvania all-star recruiting class at Penn State.

   Joining Sheehan at 1-over were Wildwood Golf Club’s Gregor Meyer, who finished fifth in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Fox Chapel last fall, and Luke Lestini, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at South Fayette last fall.

   Loch Nairn Golf Club’s Nikita Romanov, one of the top scholastic players in Delaware at Mount Pleasant, headed a trio of players tied for 13^th at 2-over 73. Romanov will play collegiately at La Salle.

   Joining Romanov at 2-over were Elmhurst Country Club’s Billy Pabst Jr., who has really had it going in recent weeks, and The Country Club of Scranton’s Troy Kelleher, a recent Abington Heights graduate.

   The Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship will be a two-player race as McCall Golf Club’s J.P. Hoban and Radley Run Country Club’s Kasim Narinesingh-Smith each carded a 6-over 77. They are the only two players in the field.

   With Sheehan leading the way with his 72, Talamore grabbed a one-shot lead in the Junior Boys’ Team Championship over Fox Chapel Golf Club.

   Christian Matt and Darren Nolan each added a solid 5-over 76 for Talamore to give it a 224 total. It’s a four-score-three format, although both of the top two teams have three-man teams.

   Brice Delaney led the way for Fox Chapel, which ended up with a 225 total, with a 3-over 74. Scott Bitar added a 75 and Adam Lauer chipped in with a 76.