Ropietski's solid 72 gives him a Junior Tour victory over big field at Reading

    Cael Ropietski of Harvey’s Lake was steady all day on his way to a 2-over-par 72 Saturday as he claimed the top spot in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section Junior Tour PGA stop at Reading Country Club in Exeter Township.

   Maybe as impressive as Ropietski’s victory was the huge throng of more than 100 junior golfers who came out to take on the classic par-70 layout on Easter eve.

   Ropietski birdied the 17^th hole while turning in an even-par 36 on Reading’s incoming nine. He had 14 pars, seven of them on the back nine.

   Noah Moelter of Doylestown made birdies at the first, 12^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard to finish a shot behind Ropietski in second place with a 3-over 73.

   No fewer than five players finished in a tie for third place at 6-over 76, headed by a trio of PIAA qualifiers from last fall.

   Shaun Mazzalupi, a sophomore at Radnor, and Nick Joyce, a sophomore at Quakertown, both advanced to the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in Class AAA last fall. Mazzalupi birdied the first hole and had 11 pars on his card while Joyce, who already owns a pair of Junior Tour victories in the early part of the 2022 season, made birdies on the ninth, 13^th and 16^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Evan Eichenlaub, who finished in a tie for sixth in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Moravian Academy last fall, was steady at Reading as he also landed on 76 with 12 pars on his scorecard. Eichenlaub was coming off a Junior Tour victory a week earlier at Middletown Country Club.

   Rounding out the quintet tied for third place were Alexander McCauley of Maple Glen and Sean P. Kelly of Lewisburg. McCauley made a birdie on the seventh hole and has 10 pars on his scorecard while Kelly made birdies at seven, 10 and 17 and had eight pars on his card.

   Bishop Shanahan junior Ben Saggers, who also earned a spot in the field in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Heritage Hills, and Germantown Academy sophomore Ajeet Bagga, who led the Patriots to both Inter-Ac League and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association crowns last fall, finished in a tie for eighth place, each ending up with a 77.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Strath Haven junior Tyler Debusschere, who led the Panthers to the Central League title last fall, and Marshall Kain of Newtown Square as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each landing on 78.

   John Curran of Malvern made birdies on the eighth, ninth, 14^th and 15^th holes and had six pars on his scorecard as he claimed a victory in the 13-to-15 division with a solid 5-over 75.

   Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown came out of the gate with eight straight pars and made a birdie on the 11^th hole as he finished a shot behind Curran in second place with a 76.

   Boyertown freshman Chase Dillman birdied the ninth hole and had 11 pars on his card as he finished in third place, a shot behind Schreiber with a 77. Dillman was coming off a Junior Tour victory a week earlier at Middletown.

   Luke McGraw of Boalsburg took fourth place with an 80, Cameron Peffel of Fleetwood was fifth with an 81, Jack Crowley of Wayne was sixth with an 82 and Michael Liu of Garnet Valley was seventh with an 83.

   Seiji Sako of Wynnewood and Anthony Proud of Stroudsburg ended up in a tie for eighth place, each signing for an 84. Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Haverford School freshman and Havertown resident J.P. Hoban, who carded an 85 to finish alone in 10^th place.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Alexandra Engart of Harleysville made a birdie on the sixth hole and had eight pars on her scorecard as she claimed a Junior Tour victory with a 12-over 82.

   Kaitlyn Hummers of Bethlehem made birdies on the third and 13^th holes and had five pars on her card as she finished a shot behind Engart in second place with an 83. Giulia Weisser of Reading made a birdie at the fourth hole and had seven pars on her card as she finished alone in third place, two shots behind Hummers with an 85.

   Kiran Bagga of Blue Bell’s Team Bagga and Hannah Webb of Woolwich, N.J. finished in a tie for fourth place, each signing for an 89. Kiran Bagga was also a member of Germantown Academy’s Inter-Ac championship team as a freshman with the Patriots last fall.

   Katherine Liu of Moorestown, N.J. took sixth place with a 91, Naaz Mehta of Newtown was seventh with a 94 and Camryn Hoff of Nazareth was eighth with a 95.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division were Anna Firko of Wilmington, Del. and Rhea Malakar of Flourtown as they ended up in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 121.

   Yet another member of Blue Bell’s Team Bagga, Serena Bagga, finished atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division as she had seven pars on her scorecard on her way to an 89. A junior on Germantown Academy’s Inter-Ac championship last fall, Serena Bagga shared low-Bagga honors among the Bagga girls with sister Kiran as both carded an 89.

   Oley Valley junior Heidi Wegscheider rounded out a short field of older girls as she had four pars on the front nine at Reading on her way to a 97 that gave her runnerup honors.

   A couple of Nazareth guys, Holden Sparks and Alex DiGiacinto, finished 1-2, respectively, among the nine-holers.

   Sparks claimed the victory as he made birdies at the eighth and ninth holes and had two pars on his way to a 6-over 40. DiGiacinto had four pars on his scorecard as he earned runnerup honors with an 8-over 42.

   Onyu Park of Blue Bell had three pars on his card and Carter Hippauf of Quakertown made a par at the third hole and a birdie at the sixth hole as they finished in a tie for third place, each signing for a 43.

   Alaina Carson of Broomall and Jack Sokol of Villanova finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 44.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova’s Team Sokol finished two shots behind Jack Sokol in the battle for low-Sokol honors with a 46 that left in a tie for seventh place with Jake Julian of Malvern.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division were Noor Mehta of Newtown’s Team Mehta and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting a 47.