Phoenixville senior Kayley Roberts made a valiant effort to erase the five-shot deficit she faced going into Tuesday’s final round of the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course, but ultimately had to settle for a runnerup finish to Elizabeth Forward senior Mya Morgan, who claimed her second straight state title.
Morgan, who had opened with a sparkling 3-under-par 69 in chilly, blustery conditions in central Pennsylvania Monday, opened the door a crack when she opened with back-to-back bogeys at the first and second holes.
And Roberts, the runaway winner of the District One Class AAA Championship last week, charged through that opening, making birdies at the fourth, eighth and 10th holes to get it to 1-under for the championship. Roberts had opened with a 2-over 74 and was five shots behind Morgan to begin the day.
Morgan got a shot back with a birdie at the fifth hole, but when she bogeyed the 10th while Roberts was making birdie, Roberts had caught her at 1-under.
A bogey at the 12th hole might have taken the wind out of Roberts’ sails a little after Morgan had made a birdie at 11. Suddenly, Morgan’s advantage was back to two shots.
Roberts made a birdie at the 13th hole to cut her deficit in half, but the same stretch that had plagued her in Monday’s opening round got her again as she made bogeys at 14 and 16 to fall back to 1-over.
Morgan, meanwhile, was solid as a rock down the stretch. She was 1-under over the final seven holes with a birdie at the 16th hole and six pars.
It added up to an even-par 72 for Morgan and a 3-under 141 total. Roberts closed with a 1-under 71 and a 1-over 145 total, a deceptive four shots behind Morgan.
There will be disappointment in the moment for Roberts, who will join her older sister Kate on the golf team at Delaware at the end of next summer. But she was a four-time PIAA Class AAA Championship qualifier, a feat in itself.
Roberts finished second, fourth, tied for third and second in those four appearances, just short of a gold medal, but never failing to reach for it.
Warwick senior Piper Smith matched par with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 as she finished two shots behind Roberts in third place with a 3-over 147.
Peters Township senior Ellie Benson carded her second straight 2-over 74 to finish a shot behind Smith in fourth place with a 4-over 148 total.
Really nice effort by Radnor senior Elayna Fanelli, a two-time Central League champion, as she tallied a 1-over 73 in the final round of her scholastic career to get a share of fifth place with Hollidaysburg junior Crosby Denis, each ending up with a 5-over 149 total.
Fanelli, in her third straight appearance in the state championship, had opened with a 4-over 76 in Monday’s challenging conditions.
Denis added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 75.
North Pocono senior Layla Jones added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 76 as he finished alone in seventh place with a 6-over 150 total.
Exeter junior Giulia Weisser bounced back from an opening-round 79 by matching par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 as she shared eighth place with Cedar Crest freshman Bryn Brandt, both landing on 7-over 151. It was Weisser’s third straight appearance in the state championship.
Pretty impressive debut at states for Brandt, who added a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 74.
Cardinal O’Hara sophomore Alaina Carson eked out a top-10 finish as she signed for a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 74 to get a share of 10th place with Southern Lehigh junior Lexi Miller at 8-over 152.
It wasn’t the best finish for a Catholic League player at states only because Carson, who captured the Catholic League crown last month, set that bar pretty high when she finished a tie for third place as a freshman a year ago. Carson captured the title in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in the summer at Lebanon Country Club.
Miller recorded her second straight 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to join Carson at 8-over.
Conestoga junior Jill Burks was probably a little disappointed with her final-round 79 Tuesday that left her in a tie for 12th place with, among others, her teammate Corinne McReynolds, also a junior, at 155. Burks, playing in her third straight PIAA Class AAA Championship, had opened with a 4-over 76.
McReynolds added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 79 to join her teammate at 155.
Conestoga sophomore Nicolette Bottos finished alone in 24th place with a 163 total as she knocked seven shots off an opening-round 85 with a 6-over 78 in Tuesday’s second round.
Burks, McReynolds and Bottos will be back at the Blue Course Wednesday as the District One Class AAA champion Pioneers will battle for the PIAA Class AAA team crown. Have to like their chances with that trio leading the way.
Unionville senior Reagan Wilson also ended up in the group tied for 12th place as she bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a solid 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round.
Two other District One entries, Harriton sophomore Megan Choi and West Chester Rustin senior Mina Benedetto, finished among the group tied for 20th place, each landing on 161.
Benedetto rebounded from an opening-round 85 with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round. Choi, in her second straight appearance at states, added a 79 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 82.
Perkiomen Valley junior Saloni Patel added an 82 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 83 as she finished alone in 27th place with a 165 total.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy senior Maddie Koshko pulled away from the field by blitzing the incoming nine at Penn State’s White Course with a 4-under 32 as she captured her second straight PIAA Class AA title with an 8-under 136 total.
Maddie Koshko had entered Tuesday’s second round in a three-way tie for the lead with West Middlesex senior Kate Sowers and Alyssa Zhang, a sophomore phenom at Shady Side Academy.
Maddie Koshko started slowly Tuesday with a birdie at the sixth hole and a bogey at nine. But she went off on the back nine, rattling off birdies at the 11th, 13th, 15th and 18th holes. It added up to a second straight 4-under 68 and an 8-under 136 total.
Sowers added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 68 as she settled for runnerup honors with a 6-under 138 total.
Zhang added a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 68 as she finished a shot behind Sowers in third place with a 5-under 139 total.
It was another eight shots back to Fairview senior Cora Hirz in fourth place as she added a solid 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening round of 4-over 76 for a 3-over 147.
Another member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Team Koshko, sophomore Olivia Koshko, finished in fifth place as she signed for her second straight 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round for a 6-over 150 total.
The Catholic League was represented in the Class AA field by Nazareth Academy junior Adriana Seravalli and she finished in a tie for 13th place with a 159 total as she added an 80 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 79.
There was also a repeat winner in the Class AAA boys championship as Fox Chapel junior Carson Kittsley ripped off a sparkling 6-under 66 at the Blue Course to claim a one-shot victory over Greater Latrobe senior Jack Sacriponte with an 8-under 136 total.
Kittsley joins a short list of repeat boys PIAA champions since 1946 that includes Wyoming Seminary’s Nick Werner in 2023 and ’24 and Fairfield’s Isaiah Logue in 2012 and ’13, both in Class AA after an extra class was added in 2012, Knoch’s Jeff Dickson in 1991 and ’92, Lower Merion’s Jay Sigel in 1960 and ’61 and Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer in 1946 and ’47.
You get your name mentioned in the same breath as Jay Sigel and Arnie in any kind of golf context, you’re in some pretty good company.
Kittsley trailed Daniel Boone senior Chase Yenser by two shots going into Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 2-under 70, but made a birdie on the fourth hole and then rattled off three straight birdies at six, seven and eight to get it to 6-under for the tournament.
Kittsley stumbled briefly with a bogey at the 10th hole, but then made birdies at 11, 13 and 18 to pull away for the victory.
Sacriponte finished his round with an eagle at the par-5 finishing hole to match Kittsley’s 6-under 66 and earn runnerup honors with a 7-under 137 total.
Strong showing in the final round for Unionville senior Charlie Barrickman, the Ches-Mont League champion, as he signed for a 5-under 67 to finish in third place with a 6-under 138 total. Barrickman, in his third appearance in the state tournament, had opened with a 1-under 71 in the opening round.
Barrickman will be back at the Blue Course Wednesday as the District One Class AAA champion Longhorns will be competing for the PIAA Class AAA team crown.
Yenser, the District Three champion, matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round after grabbing the lead with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s gusty winds as he finished in fourth place with a 4-under 140 total.
Strong showing for Coatesville senior Carson Holmes as he added a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s final round to his opening round of even-par 72 as finished a shot behind Yenser in fifth place with a 1-under 143 total.
It was probably the highest finish at states for a Coatesville boy since Mark Curlett won the state title in 1974.
Cedar Crest senior Dylan Ramsey wrapped up an outstanding scholastic career that included a PIAA Class AAA crown as a freshman in 2022 as he matched par in Tuesday’s final round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for sixth place with West Allegheny sophomore Nico Ward and North Allegheny senior Ravi Desai at 1-over 145.
Ward and Desai both finished strong as Ward added a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 5-over 77 and Desai added a 3-under 69 Tuesday to his opening round of 4-over 76.
A couple of Central League standouts, Lower Merion senior Seiji Sako and Radnor senior Lannon Boyd, a two-time Central League champion, were among six players who finished in a tie for ninth place at 2-over 146.
Sako, in his third straight appearance in the state tournament, added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 1-under 71. Boyd matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 2-over 74.
A couple of sophomores, Thomas Jefferson’s Ty Hartman and Nazareth’s Dane Mohap, were also among the group tied at 2-over. Hartman matched par in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 2-over 74. Mohap closed with a solid 2-under 70 Tuesday after opening with a 4-over 76.
State College junior Luke McGraw bounced back from an opening-round 79 in a big way as he recorded a sparkling 5-under 67 to join the group tied for ninth place at 2-over.
Rounding out the group tied at 2-over were Boiling Springs senior James Sias and South Fayette senior Sam Bishop.
Sias matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 2-over 74. Bishop had opened with a solid 2-under 70, but fell back with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round.
Avon Grove junior Gus Stoltzfus added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 74 to finish among a trio tied for 21st place with a 5-over 149 total.
Spring-Ford senior Lucas Kozak added a 5-over 77 to his opening-round 73 as he finished among the group tied for 24th place at 6-over 150.
Liam Litttleton, a junior for Catholic League power La Salle, joined Kozak at 6-over as he closed with a 1-over 73 after opening with a 77.
West Chester Rustin senior Cole Berry, winner of the District One Class AAA crown last week at Turtle Creek Golf Course, Radnor senior Brad McDermott and Bensalem senior Zac DeVos all finished among the group tied for 28th place at 7-over 151.
Berry added a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 74, McDermott bounced back from an opening-round 79 by matching par with a 72 Tuesday and DeVos added a 2-over 74 Tuesday to his opening-round 77.
La Salle junior Ben Robbins ended up in the group tied for 33rd place as he added a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 79 for an 8-over 152 total.
A couple of District One entries, Strath Haven senior Eddie Gephardt and Central Bucks South senior Colin Chelak finished among a trio tied for 38th place at 153.
Gephardt added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 78. Chelak carded a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 79.
Springfield Montco senior Ryan Brnich finished alone in 46th place as he added a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 78 for a 155 total.
Conestoga sophomore Will Johnson and Perkiomen Valley senior Andrew Brendlinger were among the trio tied for 47th place at 156.
Johnson was District One’s highest finisher when he landed in a tie for ninth place as a freshman a year ago. He carded a second straight 6-over 78 in Tuesday’s second round. Brendlinger bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 3-over 75 Tuesday.
Pope John Paul II junior Beau Bliem finished alone in 50th place as he added a 6-over 78 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 79.
Harriton freshman Henry Sokol made his debut in the state tournament and he added an 80 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 78 as he finished in a tie for 51st place with a 158 total.
Another La Salle entry, senior John Gavaghan, was among the group tied for 53rd place at 159 as he added an 82 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 77.
Central Bucks West junior Andy Brexler added an 80 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 81 as he finished in a tie for 60th place with a 161 total.
In the Class AA championship at the Penn State White Course, Scranton Prep sophomore Cole Powell closed with a 3-under 69 after opening with a 68 in Monday’s difficult conditions as he captured the title with a 7-under 137 total.
Fairview senior Anthony LaBoda had the best round of the day on the White Course, a sizzling 7-under 65 as he earned runnerup honors with a 5-under 139 total. LaBoda had opened with a 2-over 74.
Greensburg Salem sophomore Luke Sikora added a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 69 as her finished a shot behind LaBoda in third place with a 4-under 140 total.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Jonah Schollaert matched par for the second straight day with a 72 as he took fourth place with an even-par 144 total.
Neshannock junior Rocco Bautti and Berks Catholic senior Braeden Stringer finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up with a 1-over 145 total.
Bautti posted a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round after struggling to a 79 in the opening round. Stringer added a 2-over 74 Tuesday to his opening round of 1-under 71.
The Catholic League was represented in Class AA by a couple of Devon Prep youngsters, freshman Logan Turner and sophomore Scott Cunningham, both of whom landed in the group tied for 15th place at 7-over 151.
Turner added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 76 while making his debut in the state tournament. Cunningham added a 5-over 77 Tuesday to his opening-round 74.
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