Blask comes on strong at Meadia Heights to capture a Junior Tour victory

    Tyler Blask of Harrisburg got it going on the back nine Monday as he captured the title in the 16-to-18 division with a 4-over-par 75 in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Meadia Heights Golf Club in Lancaster.

   The skies were threatening, but the predicted storms never materialized as Blask made two of his three birdies in a 1-under 35 tour of the incoming nine at Meadia Heights. Blask made birdies at the fifth, 12^th and 14^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard.

   Luke Morgan of Clarks Summit made a birdie on the 11^th hole and had eight of his 11 pars on the front nine as he earned runnerup honors with a 7-over 78.

   Jack Brennan, a senior at Pope John Paul II and a Stonewall looper, made back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth holes and had nine pars on his card on his way to a 79 that left him alone in third place.

   Joseph Sabol of State College took fourth place with an 83, Aidan Fulkroad of Elizabethtown was fifth with an 88 and Matthew Frizzola of Glen Mills and Liam Stinson of Wallingford finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for a 95.

   David Tervalon of Center Valley rounded out the 16-to-18 division field as he finished alone in eighth place with a 96.

   Nicky Nemo of Bryn Mawr made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had eight pars on his scorecard as he finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with an 80.

   Ian Yoo of Blue Bell opened his round with five straight pars and finished with nine pars on his card as he was the runnerup with an 82. Benjamin Mayer of Garnet Valley had six pars on his card as he ended up in third place with an 85.

   Christopher Mark Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J. took fourth place with an 86, Keegan Redmond of Hummelstown was fifth with an 89, Owen Grimes of Malvern was sixth with a 90 and Teddy Davey of Bryn Mawr was seventh with a 96.

   Max Miller of Hershey rounded out the 13-to-15 division field as he finished in eighth place with a 108.

   Teegan Kelsall of St. Davids made a birdie on the 13^th hole and had seven pars on her scorecard as she earned a victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 86.

   Cierra Griffith of Pottstown had eight pars on her card as she rounded out the 16-to-18 division field by taking runnerup honors with a 94.

   Giulia Weisser of Reading made a birdie on the second hole and had six pars on her scorecard as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with an 87.

   Kyla Quimby of West Lawn made a par on the 12^th hole as she finished in second place with a 103. Hannah Kopac of State College rounded out the 13-to-15 division field as she made a par on the 13^th hole on her way to a 108 that left her in third place.

   It was a 1-2 finish for Nazareth guys Dane Mohap and Holden Sparks among the nine-holers.

   Mohap had six pars on his way to the victory with a solid 3-over 38 while Sparks had four pars to finish two shots behind Mohap in second place with a 5-over 40.

   Miles McGinty of Lititz had two pars as he finished in third place with a 42.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale took fourth place with a 44 and another member of the Nazareth contingent, Alex DiGiacinto, was fifth with a 45.

   Jia Yan of Malvern rounded out the coed 12-and-under division field by finishing in sixth place with a 62.

 

 

 

 

Paczewski, Dunigan the respective boys, girls winners in Pennsylvania Junior Championships

    Logan Paczewski was always there, representing Dallas when the PIAA Class AAA Championship came around each fall at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Tied for 19^th place as a freshman in 2018, eighth as a sophomore in 2019, tied for 14^th as a junior in the tumultuous coronavirus pandemic year of 2020 and tied for fourth as a senior last fall, Paczewski just kept getting better during his scholastic career.

   Headed for Rutgers and the Big Ten later this summer, Paczewski, playing out of Huntsville Golf Club, made a pretty strong statement with a run to the semifinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur earlier this month, giving eventual champion Michael R. Brown Jr. all he wanted before suffering a 2-up setback.

   Tuesday, Paczewski blitzed Hershey Country Club’s tough East Course with a sparkling 4-under-par 67 to pull away from a talented field and claim the title in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Championship, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, by four shots.

   Paczewski had opened with a 3-under 68 Monday and trailed co-leaders Josh Ryan of The 1912 Club and Nick Turowski of Hannastown Golf Club by a shot.

   Paczewski’s 67 in Tuesday’s final round gave him a 7-under 135 total that was four shots clear of Turowski, who shared fourth place with Paczewski at Heritage Hills to cap a strong sophomore season at Penn-Trafford, and Aronimink Golf Club’s Nick Ciocca, who capped his sophomore season at Devon Prep by leading it to the PIAA Class AA team crown last fall.

   Paczewski didn’t take long to separate himself from the field as the made birdies at the first, fourth and seventh holes and then holed out from 110 yards away for an eagle at the par-4 10^th hole to get it to 5-under for the round. He cooled off a little the rest of the way, making bogeys at 13^th and 17^th holes around a birdie at 14, but nobody was going to deny Paczewski the title by that point.

   Ciocca, twice the winner of the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, got on a roll on the front nine of the East Course, rattling off four straight birdies at the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes to get it to 5-under for the tournament.

   A bogey at the ninth hole and a double bogey at 13 slowed his momentum, but Ciocca closed with a birdie at the 18^th hole as he added a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 69 to get a share of second place with a 3-under 139 total.

   Turowski added a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 67 to get a share of second place with Ciocca at 3-under.

   Hunter Stetson, Ciocca’s Aronimink clubmate, also recorded a 1-over 72 after opening with a 68 and finished alone in fourth place with a 2-under 140 total. Stetson capped his sophomore season at Episcopal Academy last fall by capturing the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual championship at Bluestone Country Club.

   Whitford Country Club’s Keller Mulhern, who finished atop the Inter-Ac’s regular-season points standings during his senior season at Malvern Prep last fall, shared fifth place with Carlisle Country Club’s Brady Davidson, a recent Cumberland Valley graduate, each landing on 1-under 141.

   Mulhern, who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s later this summer, added a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 69. Davidson, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, had opened with a 1-over 72, but moved up the leaderboard with a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Ryan, trying to add a Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ crown to the Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship he won last week at Bala Golf Club, struggled in Tuesday’s second round, adding a 5-over 76 to his opening-round 67 to head a group of four players tied for seventh place at 1-over 143.

   Commonwealth National Golf Club’s Kevin Lydon Jr., a recent Central Bucks West graduate, added a 3-over 74 to his opening-round 69 to join the group at 1-over. Lydon, who capped his scholastic career with a trip to the state tournament last fall, fell to Paczewski in the quarterfinals of the Philly Amateur earlier this month.

   Rounding out the group at 143 were Centre Hills Country Club’s John Olsen and Oakmont Country Club’s Davey Fuhrer. Olsen was a senior on a State College team that defeated Fuhrer, a sophomore, and Fox Chapel in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall at Heritage Hills.

   Olsen added a 2-over 73 to his opening-round 70 while Fuhrer, a name synonymous with success on the golf course in western Pennsylvania, had opened with a 2-under 69, but struggled a little with a 3-over 74 in the final round.

   Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club’s Ajeet Bagga, who led Germantown Academy to Inter-Ac and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championships as a sophomore last fall, headed a group of five players tied for 11^th place at 2-over 144. Bagga, who had matched par in the opening round with a 71, closed with a 2-over 73.

   Applecross Country Club’s Sam Feeney, who capped a bustout freshman season at West Chester Rustin by finishing in the group tied for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship along with Paczewski and Turowski last fall, was also in the group at 2-over as he carded his second straight 1-over 72.

   Rounding out the group at 144 were Cedarbrook Country Club’s Christian Matt, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Wissahickon last fall, Lancaster Country Club’s Jack Novis, the District Three Class AA champion as a senior at Lancaster Catholic last fall, and Brookside Country Club of Allentown’s Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus.

   Matt and Novis had the same splits, each adding a 3-over 74 to an opening-round 70. Zerfass, who will join Mulhern at St. Joe’s later this summer, added a 4-over 75 to his opening-round 69.

   Paczewski also led Huntsville to the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ team championship as it added an even-par 213 to its opening round of 1-under 212 for a 1-under 425 total that was three shots better than Aronimink.

   Lake-Lehman’s Michael Lugiano and Wyoming Seminary sophomore Nick Werner backed up Paczewski as each added a 2-over 73 for the final two counters for Huntsville in the four-score-three format. Cael Ropietski, another Lake Lehman standout, rounded out the Huntsville lineup as he posted a 77.

   Ciocca and Stetson led the way for Aronimink, which added a 2-over 215 to its opening round of even-par 213 for a 2-over 428 total. Recent Malvern Prep graduate Jack Davis was the third counter for Aronimink with a 2-over 73. Rounding out the Aronimink layout was Grayson Jakuc, who signed for an 84.

   At nearby Lebanon Country Club, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Mary Grace Dunigan held onto the lead she had built with an opening round of 3-under 69 by matching par in Tuesday’s final round with a 72 that gave her a three-shot victory in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship, also presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

   Dunigan burst onto the scholastic scene by finishing in fifth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman at Unionville in 2019. Although she failed to qualify for states as an individual in 2020, she helped the Longhorns capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown.

   Dunigan, the daughter of Golf Digest Top 50 instructor John Dunigan, was back at Heritage Hills as an individual in her junior year last fall, finishing in a tie for 14^th place.

   Dunigan’s tournament experience was on display in Tuesday’s final round as she offset three bogeys with three birdies and had 12 pars on her scorecard. Dunigan’s final-round 72 gave her a 3-under 141 total.

   Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, who finished ninth in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Warrior Run last fall, could never quite catch Dunigan as she added a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 71 to claim runnerup honors with an even-par 144 total.

   It was a nice showing by The Springhaven Club’s Grace Smith as she added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 75 to finish alone in third place with a 5-over 149 total, five shots behind Rabb.

   Smith was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Strath Haven in 2019, helping the Panthers win the program’s first Central League and District One Class AAA crowns. The coronavirus pandemic cost Smith much of her junior season, although she did help Strath Haven win the team title in the delayed Central League Championship at Downingtown Country Club.

   Smith will play college golf at Stetson after spending parts of her senior year at Strath Haven at the Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, S.C.

   South Fayette senior Marissa Malosh, a PAGA Individual Member, was another shot behind Smith in fourth place as she added a 4-over 76 to her opening-round 74 for a 6-over 150 total. Malosh captured the WPIAL Class AAA crown last fall.

   Whitford Country Club’s Ava O’Sullivan, who led Downingtown East to the PIAA Class AAA team crown as a senior last fall, Allegheny Country Club’s Eva Bolger and Connoquenessing Country Club’s Lihini Ranaweera finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 7-over 151 total.

   O’Sullivan, who shared second place with Dunigan in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course last fall, shaved three shots off her opening-round 77 with a solid 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Bolger, a three-time WPIAL Class AA champion at Quaker Valley, added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s final round to her opening-round 76. Ranaweera, a junior at Seneca Valley, was just two shots behind Dunigan following an opening round of 1-under 71, but struggled a little on her way to an 80 in the second round.

   French Creek Golf Club’s Stefania Fedun and Diamond Run Golf Club’s Lindsey Powanda, shared eighth place, each ending up with an 8-over 152 total.

   Fedun, a senior at Owen J. Roberts, was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2020. She bounced back from an opening-round 78 with a solid 2-over 74. Powanda, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Mt. Lebanon, added a 79 to her opening-round 73.

   Ysabel Liu, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, finished alone in 10^th place as she added a 78 to her opening-round 75 for a 9-over 153 total.

   Recent West Chester East graduate Victoria Kim and Episcopal Academy sophomore Clarissa Leung, who helped White Manor Country Club capture the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ team championship, were two of the three players tied for 11^th place at 10-over 154.

   Kim, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior in 2020, carded her second straight 77. Leung, who finished in third place in last month’s Inter-Ac League Championship at French Creek and helped the Churchwomen capture the league title, added a solid 3-over 75 to her opening-round 79.

   Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Kayla Maletto rounded out the trio at 154 as she added an 81 to her opening-round 73. A PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Wilson in 2020, Maletto’s sophomore season was cut short by injury.

   Leung’s 75 and Kim’s 77 gave White Manor an 8-over 152 total in the three-score-two format for a 20-over 308 total that was three shots clear of Whitford for the team crown.

   Rounding out the White Manor lineup was Jillian Burks, who posted an 89.

   O’Sullivan and her teammate on Downingtown East’s PIAA Class AAA championship team, Mia Pace, led the way for Whitford as it carded an 8-over 152 for a 23-over 311 total. Pace, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA individual chase as a sophomore last fall, registered a 78 in Tuesday’s final round and finished alone in 20^th place in the individual scoring with a 160 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan, Turowski share lead following opening round of Pennsylvania Junior Boys' Championship at Hershey

    In the space of about 24 hours last week, Josh Ryan of The 1912 Club experienced the exhilaration of winning a third straight Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship and the disappointment of coming up just short in a GAP-administered qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

   But to his credit, Ryan has learned that golf is about turning the page, whether it’s the next shot or the next hole or the next tournament, there is just no time to dwell on what just happened, be it good or bad or anything in between.

   Monday at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, Ryan battled through some heavy downpours early in his round to fire a 4-under-par 67 and get a share of the lead with Hannastown Golf Club’s Nick Turowski following the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Championship, presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods.

   The two-day, 36-hole event concludes with the second round Tuesday.

   So impressive on his way to becoming the first player to win three straight GAP Junior Boys’ crowns in more than 100 years at Bala Golf Club, Ryan could do no better than match par with a 72 at Huntsville Golf Club in his bid to reach the U.S. Junior Amateur, which tees off July 25 at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.

   It left Ryan a shot short as a ton of talented junior players were chasing just two qualifying berths. The competition for those two berths is so intense, there is just very little margin for error. Ryan is the second alternate out of the Huntsville qualifier.

   Ryan took out his frustrations on the tough East Course layout at Hershey. After opening with four straight pars, Ryan, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier while representing Norristown High on the golf course, made birdies at the fifth and sixth holes.

   After making a bogey at the ninth hole, Ryan made a birdie at 10. Ryan, who will join the program at ASUN power Liberty later this summer, gave back another shot with a bogey at the 12^th hole, but finished with a flourish, making birdies at 14, 16 and 17 on his way to the clubhouse to get it in at 4-under.

   Turowski had himself quite a sophomore season at Penn-Trafford on the scholastic circuit last fall, capturing the WPIAL Class AAA individual crown and finishing in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Turowski made a birdie on the first hole before giving that shot back with a bogey at three. He then rattled off birdies at the ninth, 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes to join Ryan at 4-under.

   Logan Paczewski, the recent Dallas graduate who shared fourth place with Turowski in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship, and Aronimink Golf Club’s Hunter Stetson, a junior at Episcopal Academy, are tied for third place as each landing on 3-under 68, a shot behind the top two.

   Paczewski, playing out of Huntsville, is coming off an impressive run to the BMW Philadelphia Amateur semifinals earlier this month. He will join the program at Rutgers later this summer. Stetson capped his sophomore season at Episcopal by capturing the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual crown at Bluestone Country Club last fall.

   Aronimink’s Nick Ciocca, who led Devon Prep to the PIAA Class AA team crown to cap his sophomore season last fall, headed a group of five players tied for fifth place at 2-under 69.

   Keller Mulhern, a recent Malvern Prep graduate who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s later this summer, was also in the group at 2-under. Mulhern made a run to the GAP Junior Boys’ semifinals last week at Bala before falling to Ryan.

   Rounding out the group at 2-under were Commonwealth National Golf Club’s Kevin Lydon, the recent Central Bucks West graduate who reached the quarterfinals of the Philadelphia Amateur earlier this month, Brookside Country Club of Allentown’s Matt Zerfass, a recent Emmaus graduate who will be Mulhern’s teammate at St. Joe’s, and Oakmont Country Club’s Davey Fuhrer, a member of the Fox Chapel team that lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall.

   Latrobe Hills Country Club’s John Olsen, a member of the State College team that defeated Furher and Fox Chapel in the playoff to claim the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, headed a group of five more players tied for 10^th place at 1-under 70.

   Cedarbrook Country Club’s Christian Matt, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Wissahickon last fall, was also in the group at 1-under.

   Rounding out the quartet tied for 10^th place were Lancaster Country Club’s Jack Novis, Indiana Country Club’s Trevor Todd, and Olde Stonewall Golf Club’s Nelson Nicklas.

   There were 11 more players tied for 15^th at even-par 71, led by Cael Ropietski, the Lake Lehman standout who was the medalist in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier last week as he signed for a 2-under 70 on his home course at Huntsville to punch his ticket to Bandon Dunes.

   Paczewski and Ropietski helped Huntsville grab the lead in the team competition with a 1-under 68. Backing up the 68 by Paczewski and the 71 from Ropietski in the four-score-three format was Ropietski’s Lake Lehman teammate, Michael Lugiano, who carded a solid 2-over 73.

   Huntsville was able to toss the 76 registered by Nick Werner, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Wyoming Seminary last fall.

   Aronimink, behind Stetson’s 68 and Ciocca’s 69, was a shot behind Huntsville with an even-par 213 total. Recent Malvern Prep graduate Jack Davis was Aronimink’s third counter with a 5-over 76. Rounding out the Aronimink contingent was Grayson Jakuc, who recorded a 79.

   The PAGA Junior Girls’ Championship is being contested at nearby Lebanon Country Club and Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Mary Grace Dunigan, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier in her first three seasons at Unionville, grabbed the lead with a sparkling 3-under 69.

   Drenching morning downpours left the crew at Lebanon scrambling to get the course in playable condition with the first group finally teeing off at 10:30 a.m.

   Dunigan, coming off a nice victory in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour two-day event at Hickory Valley Golf Club earlier this month, got it to 2-under with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh holes. She gave those two shots back with bogeys at the ninth and 11^th holes before closing strong with birdies at 14, 15 and 17.

   Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, a PIAA Class AA qualifier at Warrior Run last fall, and Connoquenessing Country Club’s Lihini Ranaweera, a junior at Seneca Valley, were two shots behind Dunigan in a tie for second place, each carding a 1-under 71.

   Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Kayla Maletto, a junior at Wilson, and Lindsey Powanda of Diamond Run Golf Club were tied for fourth place, each carding a 1-over 73.

   PAGA Individual Member Marissa Malosh, a South Fayette senior, was alone in sixth place with a 2-over 74.

   The Springhaven Club’s Grace Smith headed a group of five players tied for seventh place at 3-over 75. Smith, who will join the program at Stetson later this summer, was a member of the 2019 Strath Haven team that won the program’s first Central League and District One Class AAA crowns and a Central League team tournament champion in the 2020 season that was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.

   Rounding out the quartet at 3-over were Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Sirina Ganne, Paige Scott, a PAGA Individual Member, Ysabel Liu, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, and The Club at Nevillewood’s Christine McConnell.

   Allegheny Country Club’s Eva Bulger, a senior at Quaker Valley and a three-time WPIAL Class AA champion, was alone in 12^th place with a 4-over 76.

   Two of District One’s top players last fall, Whitford Country Club’s Ava O’Sullivan and White Manor Country Club’s Victoria Kim, were tied for 13^th place, each landing on 5-over 77.

   O’Sullivan capped her senior season at Downingtown East by leading the Cougars to the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall. O’Sullivan shared second place in the District One Class AAA Championship with Unionville’s Dunigan. Kim, a recent West Chester East graduate, was the PIAA Class AAA individual champion as a junior in 2020.

   Kim and White Manor lead O’Sullivan and Whitford by three shots in the Junior Girls’ team championship race.