Gallen tames Coatesville with a 72 to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Ayden Gallen, a junior on the Malvern Prep golf team and a Broomall resident, carded a solid 1-over-par 72 at Coatesville Country Club June 18^th to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Gallen had a steady round as he made a birdie on the 11^th hole and had 15 pars on his scorecard. Gallen opened his round with six straight pars and closed it with six straight pars on the classic Coatesville layout, which is just outside the Chester County city.

   Harry Traynor, a senior on the Great Valley golf team, made birdies on the 11^th and 15^th holes and had 10 pars on his card as he finished three shots behind Gallen in second place with a 4-over 75.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester and Jack Handling were another shot behind Traynor in a tie for third place as each posted a 5-over 76.

   Barkman made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had 10 pars on his card while Handling made birdies at one and 11 and had nine pars on his card.

   Tyler Myers of York was another shot behind Barkman and Handling in fifth place with a 6-over 77.

   Carson Holmes, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Coatesville High playing not far from his Thorndale home, headed a trio of players tied for sixth place at 80.

   Joining Holmes in the tie for sixth place were Dominic Mendez, a senior on the Downingtown West golf team, and Colin Daugherty.

   Sean Rogers took ninth place with an 81 and Walker Mannon, a junior on the Phoenixville golf team, and Jack Ferm, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as each tallied an 83 to finish in a tie for 10^th.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova made birdies on the 11^th and 16^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 2-over 73.

   Owen Ciesielka of West Chester got it going on the outward nine at Coatesville, making birdies at the first, second and fifth holes, added another birdie at 12 and had eight pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Sokol in second place with a 3-over 74.

   Wayne’s Team Cunningham, Scott, a sophomore on the Devon Prep golf team, and Eric finished in a tie for third place with Braydon Jakatt, a junior on the Coatesville golf team, each signing for a 5-over 76.

   Scott Cunningham, a key contributor as a freshman as the Tide finished in third place in the PIAA Class AA team chase last fall, made bookend birdies at the first and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, seven of them on the incoming nine at Coatesville.

   Eric Cunningham made birdies on the ninth and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his card. Jakatt made birdies on the first, fifth and 10^th holes and had eight pars on his card, closing his round with three straight pars.

   William Thorkelson of Bryn Mawr took seventh place with a 79 and the trio of Mason Kim of Blue Bell, Nicholas Milone of Bryn Mawr and Daniel DiDomenico, a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for eighth, each recording an 80.

   Two of the rising stars in the area battled it out in the girls 13-to-15 division with Madison Cabot, a 14-year-old from Newtown, edging Valerie Danby, an 11-year-old from Avondale, by a shot to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Madison Cabot went back-to-back with birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes, added another birdie at 15 and had nine pars on her scorecard on her way to a sparkling 4-over 75.

   Danby made birdies on the 11^th and 15^th holes and had 10 pars on her card on her way to an equally impressive 5-over 76.

   Ella Kirkuchi, a sophomore on the Downingtown East golf team, and Gigi Gratz, a sophomore on the North Penn golf team, finished in a tie for third place, each registering a 94.

   Kirkuchi and Gratz each had four pars on their cards.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Hannah LeGrow of Wilmington, Del. as she finished in fifth place with a 98.

   Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford had six pars on his scorecard, including a string of three pars in a row from the sixth through the eighth holes, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   The trio of Blake Shurman of Villanova, Baylor Keim of Blue Bell and Rylan Foust of Exton shared second place as each finished two shots behind Mayo with a 6-over 41.

   Shurman had three pars on his card, Keim had four pars on his card and Foust had three pars on his card.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr finished alone in fifth place with a 42.

   Gilbert, Foust and Keim were coming off solid showings a day earlier at Indian Valley Country Club, where Gilbert finished in second place, Foust was third and Keim ended up in a tie for fourth.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell shared sixth place, each landing on 43, and Graeme Day of West Chester finished alone in ninth place with a 44.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was the trio of Nolan English of Villanova and the Wilmington, Del. duo of Michael Perry and Charlie Sears as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for a 45.

   Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills made a birdie on the fourth hole on her way to a 47 that bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers.

   Charlotte Cabot, another member of Newtown’s Team Cabot, and Sophia Kim of Chester Springs rounded out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for second place, each landing on 60.