Smith's eight birdies at Tanglewood Manor help him capture a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Evan Smith, a 15-year-old from Elkton, Md., made a remarkable eight birdies at Tanglewood Manor Golf Club in Quarryville, southern Lancaster County, Saturday to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a sizzling 3-under-par 69.

   With summer holding on for the first full weekend of fall, nobody was hotter than Smith as he rattled off four birdies on each side. He went back-to-back with birdies at the second and third holes, added birdies at six and nine on the outgoing nine, then made birdies at 10 and 15 before going back-to-back again at 17 and 18 to complete his round.

   Smith also had five birdies on his scorecard and toured the incoming nine at Tanglewood Manor in 2-under 34.

   Ryan Sun of Morganville, N.J. made a birdie at the second hole and then rattled off three straight birdies at 11, 12 and 13 as he earned runnerup honors among the younger guys with a solid 1-over 73. Sun had 10 pars on his card.

   Logan Stoney of Hillsborough, N.J. was three shots behind Sun in third place as Stoney made a birdie on the fourth hole and had 12 pars on his card. Stoney had a pair of separate runs of five straight pars from the eighth through the 12^th holes and again on the final five holes of his round.

   Collin Padovani, a sophomore on the Northern Lebanon golf team, took fourth place with an 81.

   Turned out to be a nice tuneup for Padovani, who came back Monday with a 7-over 79 in the Lancaster Lebanon League Championship at Lebanon Country Club, finishing in 12^th place and punching his ticket to the District Three Class AAA Championship, which tees off Thursday at Honey Run Golf Club in York.

   Tyler Marshall of Marietta and Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg shared fifth place, each posting an 82, Landon Chandler, a sophomore on the Hempfield High golf team, took seventh with an 83 and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. was eighth with an 84.

   A couple of Rising Sun, Md. guys rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as Luke Cheuvront took ninth place with an 85 and Joel Vogt finished 10^th with an 87.

   Miles McGinty, a sophomore on the Warwick golf team, and Shane Cornell, a junior on the Avon Grove golf team, finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division, each tallying a 3-over 75.

   McGinty made back-to-back birdies at the 11^th and 12^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars to finish up his round. Cornell made back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes and had 11 pars on his card, including seven straight pars to close out his round.

   Caiden Jordan of Rising Sun, Md. and Josh Mohn of Wilmington, Del. were another shot behind McGinty and Cornell in a tie for third place, each signing for a 4-over 76.

   Jordan made birdies on the second and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from the 12^th through the 16^th holes while touring the incoming nine at Tanglewood Manor in even-par 36. Mohn made birdies on the second and 10^th holes and had 10 pars on his card.

   Eoin Regan, a senior on the North Penn golf team, and Johnny Lee of Glenside shared fifth place, each recording a 78, Joseph Gangemi Jr. of Downingtown was seventh with an 81, Nicholas Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. was eighth with an 82 and Vyom Shukla of Berwyn was ninth with an 83.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was a trio of players tied for 10^th place with 85s, including Santo Gentile, a senior on the Delco Christian golf team and a Malvern resident, James Henry of Wilmington, Del. and Max Silvestri of Haddon Heights, N.J.

   Emma Gangemi, a sophomore on the Downingtown East golf team and another member of Downingtown’s Team Gangemi, made a birdie on the seventh hole and had three pars on her scorecard as she edged Raegan Young of Middletown by a shot to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 13-to-15 division.

   Young had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 89.

   Brianna Stwalley, a sophomore on the Central Bucks West golf team, made a par on the seventh hole as she rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division by finishing in third place with a 96.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale made a bogey on the first hole and went 2-under the rest of the way as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a sparkling 1-under 35. Minio made birdies on the seventh and ninth holes and had six pars on his scorecard.

   Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. made birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth holes and had three pars on his card as he finished two shots behind Minio in second place with a 1-over 37.

   Dollard has been a fixture on the leaderboard in the very competitive boys 12-and-under division all season. His second-place finish at Tanglewood Manor was the third straight time he’s earned runnerup honors on the Philly Junior Tour.

   Baylor Keim of Blue Bell made birdies on the second and ninth holes and had four pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Dollard in third place with a 3-over 38.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster took fourth place with a 39, Helmut Dang, coming off victories in his last two Philly Junior Tour starts at Linfield National Golf Club and the Riverwinds Golf & Tennis Club, was fifth with a 40, Joe Bowers of Lewisburg was sixth with a 41, Jaxson Freeborn of Reading was seventh with a 42 and Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. was eighth with a 43.

   Drew Matta of West Grove took ninth place with a 45 and Zheng Yan of Malvern rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 47.

   Trisha Lobo, the talented 10-year-old from Collegeville, had three pars on her scorecard as she bested a short field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 6-over 42.

   Rounding out the field in the girls 12-and-under division was Kollins Karlton of Oxford as she finished in second place with a 60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciesielka starts strong on his way to a Philly Junior Tour victory at Riverwinds

 

   Jamie Ciesielka of Woolwich Township, N.J. carded a solid 1-over-par 73 to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Sept. 21^st at the Riverwinds Golf & Tennis Club just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia in West Deptford, N.J.

   Ciesielka got off to a good start with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes, added birdies at 13 and 15 and had nine pars on his scorecard on his way to the win.

   The stop at Riverwinds brought out some of the top Philly Junior Tour performers from South Jersey and Kingsway senior Chris Parrish and Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. finished just a shot behind Ciesielka in a tie for second place, each tallying a 2-over 74.

   Parrish, the winner of Delaware’s Junior Boys’ Championship in the summer, made birdies on the second and fourth holes and had 12 pars on his card, seven of them on the incoming nine at Riverwinds. Brogan made birdies on the fourth, eighth and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from 11 through 14.

   Eric Coombs of North Cape May, N.J. took fourth place with a 4-over 76, Ravi Gohel of Mount Laurel, N.J. and Luke Farnese, a senior on the Plymouth-Whitemarsh golf team, shared fifth, each recording a 77, and Jackson Murland, a junior on the Friends’ Central golf team and a Villanova resident, and Nicholas Fragnoli of Mickleton, N.J. finished in a tie for seventh, each signing for a 78.

   Christopher Jones of Mullica Hill, N.J. took ninth place with a 79 and David Watts of Haddonfield, N.J. and Chase Adomaitis of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th, each posting an 80.

   William Thorkelson of Bryn Mawr and Will Simonson of Haddonfield, N.J. finished in a tie at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division as each carded a 4-over 76.

   Thorkelson made birdies at the fourth, eighth and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard. Simonson opened his round with a birdie at the first hole, added birdies at 12 and 16 and had nine pars on his card.

   Henry Sokol, a freshman on the Harriton golf team, and Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del. finished in a tie for third place, each posting a 5-over 77.

   Henry Sokol made birdies at the 10^th and 12^th holes and had nine pars on his card. Hughes opened his round with a birdie at the first hole, added birdies on 10 and 18 and had seven pars on his card.

   Henry Sokol was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division a day earlier at Linfield National Golf Club.

   Conor Coughlin of Haddon Township, N.J. and Evan Hahn of Berlin, N.J. shared fifth place, each registering a 79, Luke Peyton of Frankford, Del. was seventh with an 80 and Jack Lobley of Gladwyne finished eighth with an 81.

   Nicholas DiMedio of Haddonfield, N.J. and Jack Sokol, the twin brother of Henry Sokol, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each recording an 82.

   Went out to the Central League Championship Monday at Turtle Creek Golf Course, where the Sokol twins both qualified for the District One Class AAA Championship. Henry Sokol finished in a tie for fourth place and Jack Sokol was one of the survivors of a six-man playoff for the final fourth berths to districts out of the Central League.

   Another player who advanced to the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Monday, Springfield sophomore Delaney Kearney, had the best score among the girls in the Philly Junior Tour stop at Riverwinds, claiming the top spot in the 13-to-15 division with an 86.

   Kearney had nine pars on her scorecard at Riverwinds. She finished in a tie for ninth place in the Central Championship Monday at Turtle Creek.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had five pars on her scorecard as she earned runnerup honors with a 90.

   Brianna Stwalley, a sophomore on the Central Bucks West golf team, had five pars on her card as she finished a shot behind Cowan in third place with a 91.

   Reagan Miller of Lancaster took fourth place, ending up a shot behind Stwalley with a 92 and a couple of Moorestown, N.J. entries, Naaya Patel and Sonia Rosenman, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as Patel was fifth with a 108 and Rosenman was sixth with a 117.

   Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. had eight pars on her scorecard as she captured a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with an 87.

   A couple of Cinnaminson, N.J. entries, Maddie Gibson and Emily Renouf, accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard, Gibson taking second place with a 92 and Renouf finishing third with a 95.

   Gibson made a birdie on the sixth hole and had four pars on her card. Renouf made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had two pars on her card.

  Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Samantha Matey of Manahawkin, N.J. as she finished in fourth place with a 102.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square earned his second straight Philly Junior Tour win as he matched par on the outgoing nine at Riverwinds with a 36 to best the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers.

   Dang, coming off a victory in the boys 12-and-under division a day earlier at Linfield National, made birdies at the first and fifth holes and had five pars on his scorecard.

   Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr shared second place as each carded a 1-over 37.

   Dollard, the runnerup to Dang a day earlier at Linfield National, made a birdie on the eighth hole and had six pars on his card. Muego made birdies on the third and eighth holes and had four pars on his card.

   Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. took fourth place with a 2-over 38, Samuel Karas of Blue Bell was fifth with a 39, Aiden Jose of Brick, N.J. was sixth with a 41, Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. was seventh with a 42 and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. finished eighth with a 45.

   Rounding out the field in the boys 12-and-under division were Adam Feith of Merion Station and Zach Medeiros of Narberth as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each signing for a 47.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester bested a short field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 53.

   Avery Jaffe of Richboro rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division field as she finished in second place with a 59.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boyd, Fanelli are the respective boys, girls medalists in Central League Championship at Turtle Creek

 

   LIMERICK – Radnor seniors Lannon Boyd and Elayna Fanelli are, to use an expression from a bygone era, an item.

   Which makes what transpired in the Central League Championship Monday at Turtle Creek Golf Course, to use Elayna Fanelli’s words, “pretty special.”

   Boyd and Elayna Fanelli, clubmates at Overbrook Golf Club, claimed medalist honors among the boys and girls, respectively, and pretty easily. And that’s quite a feat in a Central League that has as much talent as any in District One.

   It was a similar story two years ago when Boyd, then a sophomore, shared medalist honors at the Turtle while Elayna Fanelli finished atop the leaderboard on the girls side as a sophomore.

   Boyd put together a sparkling 4-under 68 over a 6,375-yard, par-72 Turtle Creek layout as we squeezed out another summerlike day in defiance of a calendar that says that summer is over.

   “I just think this course is so much fun to play,” Boyd said. “It was in great shape and the greens were rolling pretty good.”

   The tall left-hander, who has made a verbal commitment to join the program at Saint Joseph’s next summer, didn’t have a bogey on his card and was 5-under for his round going to the Turtle’s risk-reward par-5 18^th hole.

   With the wind in the players’ face on the 18^th hole, though, nobody was really trying to reach the green, guarded by a pond in front of it, at the 552-yard, par-5 finisher in two Monday.

   After laying up, Boyd’s approach spilled into a grass bunker right of the pin. He was unable to get it up and down and made his first bogey of the day to finish at 4-under.

   Boyd’s round got off to a good start when he knocked a 52-degree wedge to six feet at the par-3 third hole and converted the birdie putt and then hit a wedge to two feet at the par-4 fourth and made that short birdie try.

   Boyd was just short of the par-5 eighth hole in two and chipped it close for another birdie. He nearly drove the green at the short par-4 12^th hole and again got it up and down for birdie.

   I caught up to Boyd's group in time to see him effortlessly send a 5-iron onto the green at the par-5 13^th hole and two-putt from 45 feet for his fifth birdie of the day.

   Boyd will be back at the Turtle in two weeks for the District One Class AAA Championship. He will be trying to fill in a void on his high school golf resume by earning a trip to the state tournament.

   “I was 4-over after the opening round last year and just didn’t play well the second day,” Boyd said. “It is my one and only goal for this year, to make it to states.”

   Boyd will also be leading a Radnor team in Day 2 of the District One Championship as the Raptors pursue a Class AAA team crown that could send the whole team to states. Radnor can complete an undefeated run through the Central League with a victory over Upper Darby Tuesday.

   Boyd’s closest pursuer was Conestoga sophomore Will Johnson, who settled for a runnerup finish with a 1-under 71.

   No Central League golfer had a better postseason than Will Johnson did as a freshman a year ago. He was the medalist in the Central League Championship, finished in second place in the District One Class AAA Championship and his tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course was the best finish for a District One player at states.

   Will Johnson claimed the club championship at White Manor Country Club this summer.

   The main focus of the Central League Championship is as a qualifier for the District One Class AAA Championship. The Central League is usually allotted 21 spots to districts.

   Holy Ghost Prep is unaffiliated and uses the Central League qualifier as a vehicle to get its players to districts.

   The Golf Association of Philadelphia did live scoring from Turtle Creek Monday, a first in my memory. For my purposes, I displaced the Holy Ghost kids from the Central League individual results if you notice any discrepancies from what I’m reporting and what’s on the GAP website.

   Harriton’s Carson Deringer finished alone in third place among the Central League players with a 1-over 73.

   Radnor senior Brad McDermott, Lower Merion senior Seiji Sako, who was in the group with Boyd, and a couple of talented freshmen, Henry Sokol of Harriton and William Quartermain of Haverford finished in a tie for fourth place, each signing for a 2-over 74.

   McDermott was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore two years ago and Sako will be bidding for a third straight trip to the state tournament when he tees it up back at the Turtle in two weeks.

   Haverford’s Charlie Robinson and Radnor’s Sean Mutshler each posted a 3-over 75 and finished in a tie for eighth place.

   Ridley’s Declan Conner, another player who was in the group with Boyd and Sako, Conestoga’s Chris Sung, the Penncrest duo of Keane Naugle and Adrian Ciavarelli, and Garnet Valley’s Jack Ferm were part of a large group tied for 10^th place, each tallying a 4-over 76.

   The Strath Haven duo of Luca Kleinschmidt and Eddie Gebhardt each recorded a 5-over 77 and finished in a tie for 16^th place, enabling them to avoid being involved in the playoff for the final four berths to the district tournament.

   Six players vied for those coveted final four tickets to districts with Haverford’s Bryce Ciochetto, Conestoga’s Joon Wee, Harriton’s Jack Sokol, the twin brother of Henry Sokol, and Radnor’s Gavin Reger surviving the playoff to earn a spot in the districts back at the Turtle in two weeks.

   Ciochetto and Jack Sokol, playing in the first threesome in the six-man playoff, both converted nice up-and-downs for par after missing the green at the tough par-3 ninth hole to the right.

   Conestoga’s Will Kenney and Carter Johnson failed to advance out of the playoff.

   Meanwhile, Elayna Fanelli, starting on the par-4 16^th hole, made a birdie there and it turned out to be her only birdie of the day.

   But like her boyfriend Boyd, Elayna Fanelli feels right at home at the Turtle, which played 5,131 yards for the girls. She made bogeys at the sixth and eighth holes and made pars at the rest, 15 in all, to defeat Conestoga junior Jill Burks by three shots.

   “I was just very consistent,” said Elayna Fanelli, one of the many students of Golf Digest Top 50 instructor John Dunigan. “I like this course. And I know this course very well.”

   The District One Class AAA Championship for the girls will tee off Oct. 13 up Ridge Pike from Turtle Creek at Raven’s Claw Golf Club before concluding back at the Turtle the next day. Elayna Fanelli will be bidding for a third straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at districts.

   Burks, another player who counts Dunigan as a swing instructor, was the runnerup with a 4-over 76. Burks, like Will Johnson, a member at White Manor, was the medalist in the Central League Championship a year ago and reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship for the second straight time by finishing in a tie for third place at districts.

   “Another top-three finish at districts again would be nice,” said Burks, winner of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Match Play Championship last month at Trenton Country Club.

   Elayna Fanelli and Burks played in the same group, but Elayna Fanelli didn’t fall into the trap of playing her opponent, preferring to concentrate on what she was doing.

   “Jill is a very good player, but I had to focus on my own game,” Elayna Fanelli said. “I couldn’t worry about what anyone else was doing.”

   Burks and Conestoga figure to be contenders for the District One Class AAA girls team title, which will be decided on Day 1 at Raven’s Claw Oct. 13.

   The Pioneers captured the district title two years ago when Burks was a freshman. Last year, Conestoga was the runnerup to Downingtown West, but was awarded a wild-card berth in the Class AAA state team tournament.

   Pretty sure the standard for qualifying for districts in the Central League Championship for the girls is just to break 100. There were 13 girls who met that standard Monday, eight of them from Conestoga.

   A ninth Conestoga player, Journey Holt, finished in 14^th place with a 102. The results from GAP didn’t indicate that she had failed to make the cut, so we’ll see.

   It was a strong showing for the Pioneers as Burks led seven Conestoga players who finished among the top 10 in the individual standings.

   Sophomore Nicolette Bottos finished two shots behind her teammate Burks in third place with a 6-over 78.

   Harriton’s Megan Choi, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman a year ago, took fourth place with an 81.

   Conestoga accounted for the next four spots in the individual standings with junior Corinne McReynolds taking fifth place with an 84, Kat Shrum in sixth with an 86 and senior Suri Ahn and Lanta Chanthakad tied for seventh, each landing on 89.

   Burks, Bottos, McReynolds and Ahn were all in the lineup for the PIAA Class AAA team competition at Penn State a year ago, the Pioneers finishing in fourth place, a shot behind their District One rival Downingtown West.

   Another member of Conestoga’s Team Chanthakad, Lanna Chanthakad, Radnor’s Sara Fanelli, pretty sure she’s Elayna’s younger sister, and Springfield’s Delaney Kearney finished in a tie for ninth place, each registering a 92.

   Radnor’s Bea Mackenzie took12^th place with a 93, Conestoga’s Alex Myers was 13^th with a 94 and Holt rounded out the girls field, finishing 14^th with a 102.