O'Hara's Carson, Daniel Boone's Yenser the respective girls, boys winners in Pennsylvania Junior Championships

 

   Cardinal O’Hara has developed a well-deserved reputation as one of the top girls basketball programs in Pennsylvania over the last three decades or so and, from what I hear, Alaina Carson possesses some hoop skills.

   But it is on the golf course where Carson is starting to build a pretty nice resume. A sophomore at O’Hara, Carson carded a sparkling 3-under-par 69, the best round of the day, in blistering heat at Lebanon Country Club Tuesday and her 3-under 141 total gave her the title in the 62^nd Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) Junior Girls’ Championship, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

   The victory gives Carson, a GAP Youth on Course representative, a berth in next month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, which tees off July 14 at the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course.

   Hey, at least competing in two straight days of real-feels in the neighborhood of 100 degrees will be perfect preparation for what Carson can expect in Johns Creek, Ga.

   Reading Country Club’s Chase Yenser, a senior at Daniel Boone, was an equally impressive winner in the 82^nd PAGA Junior Boys’ Championship, held at the nearby Hershey Country Club East Course.

   Yenser added a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round to his sizzling opening round of 6-under 65 for a 7-under 135 total that gave him a two-shot victory.

   The Pennsylvania Junior Championships were supposed to be 54-hole events with a double round of 36 holes scheduled for Tuesday, but the reality of the record heat that draped itself over the eastern half of Pennsylvania prompted tournament officials to shorten the tournaments to 36 holes and just play 18 holes Tuesday.

   None of which diminishes what Carson did Tuesday. She trailed the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve’s Alli Engart, who wrapped up a standout scholastic career at Souderton last fall, by two shots entering the second and final round.

   It was a really steady round for Carson, despite the heat, despite competing against mostly older girls. Carson had shown she can take the competitive heat when she finished in a tie for third place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course as a freshman.

   Carson made back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes to get off to a good start Tuesday. A bogey at the eighth hole was the only blemish on her scorecard and then she put the championship away with back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16.

   “It feels kind of unreal, it’s just amazing,” Carson told the PAGA website. “The success late in the round felt great, but I wasn’t even looking at the scoreboard. I knew I was up there, but didn’t know if I was in front or even second.”

   As it turned out, Carson’s closest pursuer was Centre Hills Country Club’s Maddie Koshko, the PIAA Class AA champion at Penn State’s Blue Course as a junior at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy last fall.

   Koshko was right there with Carson after matching par in the opening round with a 72. After making a birdie at the third hole and a bogey at six, Koshko fell back to 3-over for the championship with a double bogey at the 11^th hole and a bogey at 12.

   But Koshko turned things around in a hurry. After making a birdie at the 13^th hole, Koshko closed with birdies at 16, 17 and 18 that gave her a 1-under 71. Her 1-under 143 total left her alone in second place, two shots behind Carson.

   One of the likely contenders was Hannah Rabb, a four-time PIAA Class AA qualifier and the 2022 state Class AA champion at Warrior Run who already has a year of college golf at James Madison under her belt.

   Rabb, playing out of Susquehanna Country Club, had opened with a 1-under 71 that left her a shot behind Engart. Rabb closed with a 1-over 73 that left her in a tie for third place with Lake Shore Country Club’s Cora Hirz at even-par 144, a shot behind Koshko.

   Hirz, who finished in fifth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a junior at Fairview last fall, carded her second straight even-par 72 to get a share of third place with Rabb at even-par.

   Engart struggled a little in the second round, adding a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 70 to finish in a tie for fifth place with former Phoenixville standout Kate Roberts at 1-over 145.

   Roberts capped an outstanding scholastic career with the Phantoms by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State in the fall of 2023. She joined the program at Mountain West Conference power San Jose State.

   Roberts didn’t play a lot for the Spartans, but just being around a high-powered golf environment like the one at San Jose State can only make you a better player. Roberts matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 as she joined Engart at 1-over.

   Another strong showing for a talented youngster from the Philadelphia suburbs as Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, a junior at Notre Dame Academy and a West Chester resident, posted a solid 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to finish alone in seventh place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Conestoga Country Club’s Piper Smith, a senior on the Manheim Township golf team, rallied after an opening-round 77 with a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round as she finished a shot behind Bodge in eighth place with a 3-over 147 total. Smith finished in a tie for seventh place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall at Penn State’s White Course.

   Regents’ Glen Country Club’s Brynn Krosse, a 13-year-old phenom from Dallastown, added a 1-under 71 to her opening round of 5-over 77 to finish in ninth place with a 4-over 148 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 was the defending champion, Tam O’Shanter Golf Course’s Kate Sowers, the runnerup to Koshko in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall as a junior at West Middlesex who finished in 10^th place with a 6-over 150 total. Sowers added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 74.

   Over at Hershey, Yenser, who finished in a tie for second place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course, played with the lead like a grizzled veteran.

   Entering Tuesday’s final round with a three-shot lead, Yenser made back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes and a bogey at 14 was the only blemish on his scorecard. It added up to a 2-under 70 and a 7-under 135 total. Pretty good testament to the competitive golf scene in Berks County.

   “I got off to a pretty steady start and throughout the tournament avoided any big numbers,” Yenser told the PAGA website. “No double bogeys, no triples, so that really keeps you in it.

   “The course is in great shape. The fairways are firm and the greens are super receptive. So, really good scoring conditions.”

   Another nice showing for a product of the junior program at Overbrook as Freddy Hartmann, a junior at Episcopal Academy, added a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 3-under 68 to earn runnerup honors with a 5-under 137 that left him two shots behind Yenser.

   Hartmann finished in a tie for 10^th place in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship last fall at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   South Hills Country Club’s Michael Quallich, a junior on the Baldwin golf team, had the best round of the day Tuesday with a 4-under 67, which, combined with an opening round of even-par 71, left him alone in third place, a shot behind Hartmann, with a 4-under 138 total.

   It’s been a pretty good couple of weeks for Merion Golf Club’s Nicky Nemo, a junior on The Haverford School’s Inter-Ac championship team last fall.

   Nemo added a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 72 to share fourth place with Edgewood Country Club’s Wes Lorish, a recent Plum graduate, each landing on 1-under 141.

   Nemo reached the final of last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship before falling to Haverford School teammate and Merion clubmate Sean Curran at Merion’s West Course.

   Lorish, who lost in a playoff in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior in the fall of 2023, matched par with a 71 in Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 1-under 70 to join Nemo at 1-under. Lorish will join the program at Marshall later this summer.

   Another solid week for The Springhaven Club’s Luca Kleinschmidt, a senior on the Strath Haven golf team, as he carded a second straight even-par 71 to share sixth place with Treesdale Country Club’s William Hilton at even-par 142.

   Kleinschmidt was the qualifying medalist in last week’s GAP Junior Boys’ Championship with a 1-under 69 at Merion West and finished in a tie for fourth place in a two-day Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event at Turtle Creek Golf Course the week before that.

   Hilton, a recent Pine-Richland graduate who will join the program at West Chester this summer, had the same splits as Kleinschmidt with a pair of even-par 71s for an even-par total.

   Oakmont Country Club’s Carson Kittsley, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore at Fox Chapel last fall, and Nemacolin Country Club’s Colton Lusk, a recent Peters Township graduate, finished in a tie for eighth place, each registering a 1-over 143 total.

   Kittsley posted a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round after matching par in the opening round with a 71. Lusk, who finished in a tie for fifth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State and is headed for Siena, added a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 1-under 70.

   Diamond Run Golf Club’s Ravi Desai, who finished in a tie for fifth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at North Allegheny last fall, headed a group of five players who rounded out the top 10 by finishing in a tie for 10^th place at 2-over 144. Desai signed for his second straight 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Another South Hills guy, Ty Hartman, a sophomore on the Thomas Jefferson golf team, and Nico Ward, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at West Allegheny last fall, were also in the group tied for 10^th place at 2-over.

   Hartman matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 2-over 73. Ward bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 74 with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Rounding out the quintet at 2-over were Willowbrook Country Club’s Max Mottura, a senior on the Kiski Area golf team, and Out Door Country Club’s Callahan Harrell, a senior on the York Suburban golf team.

   After opening with a 1-under 70, Mottura added a 3-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round. Harrell had the opposite splits, opening with a 3-over 74 and finishing up with a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.