Fallon has 16 pars on his way to a Philly Junior Tour victory with a 72 at Reading

 

   Luke Fallon, a junior on the Wilson golf team, was a par machine with 16 pars on his scorecard at Reading Country Club, the classic layout along Route 422 in Exeter Township, on his way to a 2-over-par 72 that gave him a victory in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Sept. 19^th.

   Fallon opened his round with seven straight pars and finished his round with eight consecutive pars.

   It proved to be a good tuneup for Fallon as he came back five days later to finish in third place in the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association Championship at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood.

   Mason Matlack, a Boyertown resident and a junior on the Malvern Prep golf team, and Jaden Irvin, a senior on the Hershey High golf team, shared runnerup honors, each ending up a shot behind Fallon with a 3-over 73.

   Matlack ripped off consecutive birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, added another birdie at 14 and had eight pars on his card.

   Irvin made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, took fourth place with a 75, Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr and Lucas Keysock of Schwenksville shared fifth, each signing for a 79, Brady Morris, a senior on the Governor Mifflin golf team, was seventh with an 80 and Clifton Beam of West Chester was eighth with an 83.

   Toby Lerner of Philadelphia and Pierce Lamichane of Lancaster shared ninth place, each tallying an 86, and Chase Schmidt of Waterford, N.J. and Jacob Allen of West Chester rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 11^th, each recording an 88.

   Bret Wade III, a freshman on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had eight pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 7-over 77.

   Toby Parker of Chester Springs and Jake Ronsvalle, a freshman on the Marple Newtown golf team, shared runnerup honors as each finished a shot behind Wade with a 78.

   Parker had 10 pars on his card and Ronsvalle had 11 pars on his card, twice rattling off four straight pars from the second through the fifth holes and again from 11 through 14.

   Five players finished in a tie for fourth place with 79s, including Connor Bates, a freshman on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, Sam Nelligan, a freshman on the Boyertown golf team, Noah Gates, a sophomore on the Haverford High golf team, Blake Coppolino of Glenmoore and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg took ninth place with an 80 and Jake Julian of Malvern rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 81.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale had eight pars on his scorecard, opening his round with six straight pars, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 1-over 35.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia and Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville shared runnerup honors as each finished two shots behind Kaye with a 37.

   Wright had six pars on his card, closing out his round with consecutive pars at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes. Charpentier made a birdie at the fifth hole and had four pars on his card.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr and Connor Michaels of Lancaster shared fourth place, each registering a 41, Sid Joshi of Coopersburg was sixth with a 42 and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook was seventh with a 45.

   Declan Brainard of Pipersville and Adam Feith of Merion Station shared eighth place, each posting a 46, and Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 49.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester made pars at the sixth and eighth holes as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with an 8-over 42.

   Lauryn Kirby of Chester Springs made a par at the ninth hole as she earned runnerup honors with a 48.

   Kasey Bell of Wilmington, Del. rounded out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division as she made a par at the sixth hole on her way to a 50 that left her in third place.

 

 

 

 

Gross back on track as he helps Alabama claim team crown in Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational

 

   This time a year ago, Nick Gross, the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore at Downingtown West, was having a hard time even cracking the lineup at Alabama.

   Gross did work his way back into the Crimson Tide lineup in the spring of the wraparound 2025-2026 season, but he had suffered a dislocated knee in a workout during college golf’s midseason pause and it was never quite right.

   Gross gutted it out, but it was a second straight spring of frustration for Alabama as the Crimson Tide finished a shot out of the final berth to the NCAA Championship out of the Marana Regional, finishing in sixth place as the four seed.

   Gross shut it down when the college season ended, resurfacing just in time to earn co-medalist honors in Final Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course with a sparkling 5-under-par 66 at Llanerch Country Club.

   Got a chance to watch Gross’ opening round in qualifying for match play in the U.S. Amateur. He was really good at times, making six birdies at the venerable Hugh Wilson design in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   But there was some rust evident, too, as he ended up with a 3-over 73. Needing to go low the next day at Philadelphia Country Club, Gross was only able to manage an even-par 70 and missed out on a bulky playoff for the final spots in the match-play bracket by a shot.

   After a couple of solid outings in Alabama’s first two tournaments of the fall, Nick Gross was officially back last week as he finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings and helped the Crimson Tide to the team crown in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, presented by Charles Schwab, which wrapped up Sept. 29^th at the classic Colonial Country Club, Hogan’s Alley, in Fort Worth, Texas.

   Gross carded back-to-back 1-under 69s over the 7,269-yard, par-70 Colonial layout in the opening-day double round and matched par in the final round with a 70 to help the Crimson Tide overtake Southeastern Conference and in-state rival Auburn, the reigning national champion, and capture the team crown by five shots.

   I’m sure you’ve figured out from watching a few Iron Bowls that the rivalry between these two schools runs deep and a victory over the Tigers, who have sat atop the college golf world twice in the last three years, had to be especially sweet for Alabama.

   Gross’ solid showing left him in a tie for third place with his teammate William Jennings, a junior from Greenville, S.C. and No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a senior from Richardson, Texas and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, each landing on 2-under 208.

   Alabama opened with a solid 6-under 274 and added a 2-over 282 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that left the Crimson Tide in a tie for second place in the team standings, two shots behind their rival Auburn.

   A final round of 4-over 284 gave Alabama an even-par 840 total and their first tourney title of the season.

   Jennings was the runnerup in the individual chase in last spring’s NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. and reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Jennings also represented the United States in a hard-fought 13.5-12.5 loss to Great Britain & Ireland in a thrilling Walker Cup Match earlier in September at Lahinch Golf & Country Club in County Clare, Ireland.

   Jennings contributed a sizzling 4-under 66 to Alabama’s fast start in the opening round before adding back-to-back 1-over 71s in the final two rounds.

   Alabama had opened the wraparound 2026-’27 season – with Jennings out of the lineup just days after the completion of the Walker Cup Match in Ireland -- by finishing in fifth place in a loaded field in the Fields of Honor Collegiate with an 8-under 844 total at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich.

   Gross ended up in the group tied for 23^rd place at even-par 213.

   A couple of weeks later, Alabama finished in fourth place in another stacked field in the Olympia Fields/Fightin’ Illini Intercollegiate at Olympia Fields Golf Club’s South Course with a 30-under 810 total.

   Gross finished in a tie for 31^st place with a 5-under 205 total.

   In addition to the strong showings by Gross and Jennings at Colonial, Alabama had another top-10 finisher in Bailey Sutter, a freshman from Cullman, Ala. who finished among a group of five players tied for ninth place with a 1-over 211 total.

   Sutter, who has been a solid addition to the Alabama lineup in the early going, added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 73.

   Auburn had matched Alabama’s opening round of 6-under 274 and matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 280 that gave the Tigers a two-shot lead going into the final round.

   Auburn closed with an 11-over 291 to finish five shots behind its ancient rival in second place with a 5-over 845 total.

   The Tigers were led by Billy Davis, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif. who finished in a tie for sixth place with Texas’ Matt Comegys, a graduate student from Van Alstyne, Texas and No. 55 in the WAGR, each ending up with a 1-under 209 total.

   Davis had a share of the individual lead going into the final round after adding a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to a sparkling opening-round 67 before closing with a 3-over 73.

   Auburn had another player in the top 10 as Cayden Pope, a senior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 32 in the WAGR, joined the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Pope added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-over 72.

   Big 12 power Texas Tech, behind individual champion Adam Bresnul, a senior from Morocco and No. 24 in the WAGR, and North Carolina, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up seven shots behind Auburn  with a 12-over 852 total.

   The Red Raiders struggled a little in the opening round with a 288, but bounced back with a solid 1-under 279 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 5-over 285.

   It was a disappointing end to the 2025-’26 season last spring for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a two seed in the Corvallis Regional.

   Bresnu made quite a splash in the U.S. Amateur at Merion in August, marking all sorts of firsts for a Moroccan golfer playing in the biggest event in amateur golf. He reached the quarterfinals before falling to Jack Whaley, the eventual champion.

   After opening with a 1-under 69 at Colonial, Bresnu ripped off back-to-back 3-under 67s to claim his first collegiate individual title with a 7-under 203 total.

   North Carolina had the best team round of the tournament in the opening round, a sizzling 9-under 271. The Tar Heels added a 5-over 285 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before struggling to a 296 in the final round.

   It was a frustrating end to the season for North Carolina last spring as the Tar Heels were one of four teams tied for seventh place after four rounds of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship. That meant a playoff among four teams for the final two spots in the match-play bracket, a playoff North Carolina did not survive.

   North Carolina was led by Niall Sheils Donegan, a senior from Mill Valley, Calif. via Scotland and No. 18 in the WAGR, as Sheils Donegan finished among the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over.

   Sheils Donegan opened with an otherworldly 9-under 61 that matched the competitive course record at Colonial. He became the eighth player to card a 61 at Colonial and the other seven are all PGA professionals.

   Sheils Donegan cooled off in the second round with a 5-over 75, but was still tied for the individual lead going into the final round. He finished up with another 75.

   It was a pretty good end of the summer for Sheils Donegan as he reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and then helped GB&I gain possession of the Walker Cup for the first time since it surrendered it in a loss to the U.S. at Los Angeles Country Club in 2017 with a victory over the Americans at Lahinch early in September.

   A couple more SEC powers, Texas and Vanderbilt, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up two shots behind Texas Tech and North Carolina with a 14-over 854 total.

   The Longhorns matched par in the opening round with a 280 and added a 3-over 283 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 291.

   Texas earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual runnerup UCLA in the quarterfinals.

   Texas was led by Comegys, who got a share of sixth place with Auburn’s Davis at 1-under, as Comegys sandwiched a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Vanderbilt only trailed Auburn by four shots going into the final round as the Commodores posted a pair of solid 1-under 279s in the opening-day double round. Vandy struggled a little in the final round with a 296.

   Vanderbilt also earned a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa last spring before falling to Arizona in the quarterfinals.

   Vanderbilt was led by Jon Ed Steed, a sophomore from Enterprise, Ala. who finished alone in eighth place with an even-par 210 that left him a shot behind Davis and Comegys.

   Steed was one of four players, including Bresnu, Davis and Sheils Donegan, tied for the individual lead going into the final round as he signed for a pair of 2-under 68s in the opening-day double round. Steed closed with a 4-over 74.

   Reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma State finished four shots behind Texas and Vanderbilt in seventh place in the 16-team field with an 18-over 858 total.

   The Cowboys opened with a solid 4-under 276, but struggled to a 298 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 4-over 284.

   Oklahoma State reached the semifinals in defense of the national championship it won in 2025 at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual national champion Auburn.

   The Cowboys were led by Stout, who shared third place with the Alabama duo of Gross and Jennings at 2-under.

   Stout, the reigning NCAA individual champion, contributed a sizzling 7-under 63 to Oklahoma State’s strong start, but struggled to a 5-over 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Backing up the trio of Gross, Jennings and Sutter for Alabama was Miles Eubanks, a junior from Warrenville, Ga. who finished among the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-over 213 total. Eubanks sandwiched a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Rounding out the lineup for Alabama was Luke Powell, a graduate student from Laguna Niguel, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 57^th place with a 222 total. Powell added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a 75.

   Really nice showing by Georgia’s J.D. Culbreth, a sophomore from Thomasville, Ga. who was Bresnu’s closest pursuer in the battle for the individual title.

   Culbreth opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a sparkling 67 that left him a shot behind Bresnu in second place with a 6-under 204 total.

   Culbreth led the Bulldogs, another SEC power, to a tie for eighth place in the team standings with a 22-over 862 total.

   Rounding out the fivesome tied for ninth place in the individual standings at 1-over were Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan, a senior homeboy from Edmond, Okla. and No. 5 in the WAGR, and host TCU’s Nathan Miller, a senior from Dallas, Texas.

   Cowan shared low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on the tip of Long Island, reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and was a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team at Lahinch. Pretty good summer, I’d say.

   Cowan matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round at Colonial with a 70 after opening with a 72 and finished up with a 1-under 69.

   Cowan led the Sooners, another SEC entry, to a 10^th-place finish in the team standings with a 24-over 864 total.

   Miller opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   The Horned Frogs, a Big 12 representative, finished a shot behind Oklahoma in 11^th place with a 25-over 865 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring-Ford's Gravinese, Conestoga's Burks the respective, boys, girls District One champions at Turtle Creek

 

   LIMERICK -- Spring-Ford senior Michael Gravinese sensed he was in contention for the District One Class AAA individual title when he arrived at the 17^th hole on a sun-splashed Tuesday at Turtle Creek Golf Course at 2-under-par for his round and 1-over for the championship.

   Gravinese’s approach at the 412-yard, par-4 17^th hole left him just short of the green to a front pin. And when his chip found the bottom of the cup for a birdie, it proved to be the decisive shot in a district crown for Gravinese, the first for a Spring-Ford player since Ben Pochet won the second of his back-to-back titles in 2017.

   The chip-in birdie highlighted a 3-under 69 for Gravinese over the 6,375-yard, par-72 Turtle Creek layout that is the home course for Gravinese and the Rams. The Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship is also played at Turtle.

   “Yeah, I’ve played here a lot,” Gravinese said after finishing with an even-par 143 total. “And I’ve played Raven’s Claw a lot, Perkiomen Valley plays there. Here, you want to avoid three-putting, no doubles and take advantage of the par-5s, especially two and 13.”

   The District One boys tournament opened Monday at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, up Ridge Pike a few miles from the Turtle. Gravinese had opened with a 3-over 74 at Raven’s Claw.

   Conestoga senior Jill Burks ran away with the District One Class AAA title for the girls as she carded a second consecutive even-par 72 at Turtle Creek, which measured 5,827 yards for the girls, for an even-par 144 total that gave her a whopping nine-shot victory. The girls played two rounds at Turtle Creek.

   Gravinese had been a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore two years ago, but failed to survive the cut following the first round of districts a year ago.

   “My goal at the start of the day was just to make sure I got back to states,” said Gravinese, who plays out of the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve.

   He made birdies at the second and sixth holes and then got it to 3-under for his round with a birdie at the short, par-4 10^th.

   “After the birdie at 10, I was starting to think winning might be a possibility,” said Gravinese, who consults with Brian Moose, RiverCrest’s director of instruction, on his game.

   Gravinese’s opening-round 74 at Raven’s Claw had left him three shots behind co-leaders Ben Revness, a freshman at Pennsbury, and Charlie Isler, a senior at West Chester Henderson.

   Playing in the group behind Gravinese, Revness made a birdie at the first hole and then rattled off 10 straight pars.

   I caught up with Revness’ group at the 10^th hole and watched him fail to convert really good birdie looks from six feet at 10 and from five feet at 11. Still, the gritty freshman was 1-under for his round and 1-under for the championship.

   But it was the beginning of a cold stretch with the putter for Revness. He couldn’t get it up and down after missing the green at the 12^th hole, took three-putts at the par-5 13^th and again was unable to get it up and down after missing the green at the par-4 14^th as he made three straight bogeys.

   Up ahead, Gravinese had made a bogey at the 14^th as well, the only blemish on his scorecard, as he fell back to 1-over.

   Revness, however, wasn’t going anywhere. He drained an eight-footer for birdie at the par-3 15^th hole to join Gravinese at 1-over, but gave a shot back when he missed the green at the par-4 16^th.

   Moments after Gravinese chipped in at the 17^th hole for birdie to get it to even-par for the tournament, Revness nearly holed his approach at the same 17^th, settling for a tap-in birdie that drew him within a shot at Gravinese.

   Revness needed to chip in for birdie at the par-5 finishing hole at Turtle Creek, but his chip ran by the hole. He buried his six-footer for par to complete a 1-over 73 that left him a shot behind Gravinese in second place with a 1-over 144 total.

   “I had a good start to the summer, I won (a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event) here,” Gravinese said. “I trailed off a little after that, but I hit the first 10 greens in regulation today. I was really hitting it good.”

   Unionville senior Matt McGinnity, the Ches-Mont League champion, was the only other player in red figures at Turtle Creek Tuesday as his 1-under 71, combined with a 3-over 74 at Raven’s Claw, left him a shot behind Revness in third place with a 2-over 145 total.

   Radnor sophomore Gavin Reger matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 4-over 75 at Raven’s Claw as he finished two shots behind McGinnity in fourth place with a 4-over 147 total.

   Souderton senior Wyatt Underwood was in the final group along with Revness and Henderson’s Isler and Underwood was right there, just a shot behind Revness at 3-over after dropping birdie putts at the 10^th and 12^th holes.

   Bogeys at the 16^th and 17^th holes gave Underwood, who had opened with a 1-over 72 at Raven’s Claw, a 4-over 76 at the Turtle, leaving him in a tie for fifth place at 5-over 148 with Downingtown East senior Chase Riley and Avon Grove’s Ben Nowland.

   Riley added a 2-over 74 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 3-over 74 at Raven’s Claw. Nowland matched par with a 72 at Turtle Creek after opening with a 5-over 76 at Raven’s Claw.

   Isler had surged into contention with three straight birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes, but cooled off on the incoming nine, including a pair of double bogeys at 14 and 16.

   But Isler dropped a 15-footer for birdie at the 18^th hole to salvage a 7-over 79 that left him in a tie for eighth place with another Radnor sophomore, Sebastian Leone, and Harriton freshman Thomas Airoldi at 7-over 150.

   Leone added a 3-over 75 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 4-over 75 at Raven’s Claw. Airoldi will cap his rookie season with a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State after adding a 4-over 76 in the second round at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 3-over 74 at Raven’s Claw.

   Two more Souderton players, senior Chase Andrews and sophomore Danny Ross, joined Underwood in making plans for the PIAA Class AAA Championship, which tees off Oct. 19 at Penn State, as they were part of group of six players tied for 11^th place at 8-over 151.

   Andrews added 3-over 75 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 5-over 76 at Raven’s Claw. Ross had opened with a 3-over 74 at Raven’s Claw and added a 5-over 77 at Turtle Creek.

   Andrews and Ross were also counters for Souderton as the Big Red captured the District One Class AAA team crown by a shot over Upper Dublin. More on that in a little bit.

   Garnet Valley junior Frank Kunze gave the Central League a fourth state qualifier as he matched Andrews’ splits, adding a 3-over 75 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 5-over 76 at Raven’s Claw to join the group at 8-over.

   Rounding the sixsome tied for 11^th place were Central Bucks West senior Jackson Valmore, North Penn senior Kellen Toussaint and West Chester East freshman Ben Lear.

   Valmore added a 3-over 75 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 5-over 76 at Raven’s Claw.

   Toussaint and Lear had identical splits, each opening with a 3-over 74 Monday at Raven’s Claw and punching their tickets to the state tournament with a 5-over 77 at Turtle Creek.

   Only one more berth to the PIAA Class AAA Championship was available and Downingtown West senior Ian Larsen got it as he beat Pope John Paul II senior Ryan Kelly on the second hole of a playoff after the pair finished in a tie for 17^th place at 9-over 152.

   Larsen had been a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore two years ago and he’ll be back at Penn State this fall after adding a 4-over 76 at Turtle Creek to his opening round of 5-over 76 at Raven’s Claw.

   Souderton got key contributions from two of its players who were not involved in the individual chase, junior Declan Henry and senior Landon Stern, in capturing the team title with a 10-over 298 total in the five-score-four format.

   Henry matched par with a 72 and Stern posted a solid 2-over 74. The final two counters were the 3-over 75 tallied by Andrews and the 5-over 77 recorded by Ross. Senior Cole Henning rounded out the lineup with a 78.

   It is a testament to the depth Souderton brought to the table that Underwood wasn’t even part of the Big Red’s District One championship lineup.

   Upper Dublin finished a shot behind Souderton in second place with an 11-over 299 total.

   Defending District One and PIAA Class AAA champion Unionville finished three shots behind Upper Dublin in third place with a 302 and Radnor, which had finished a shot behind the Longhorns in a tie for second place in the state team tournament a year ago, took fourth with a 303.

   Central League champion Conestoga and Avon Grove finished in a tie for fifth place in the District One Class AAA team standings, each landing on 307. Only nine shots separated the top six finishers.

   Jenkintown sophomore Joey Chachkin captured the District One Class AA individual title as he added an 81 at Turtle Creek to the 6-over 77 he carded in Monday’s opening round at Raven’s Claw for a 15-over 158 total and a four-shot victory.

   Chachkin had 10 pars on his scorecard to offset seven bogeys and a double bogey.

   New Hope Solebury sophomore Corvin Bridge earned runnerup honors as he had a share of the lead with Chachkin after opening with a 6-over 77 at Raven’s Claw before adding an 85 at Turtle Creek for a 162 total.

   Plumstead Christian freshman James Gannon grabbed the final ticket to the state tournament in Class AA as he finished a shot behind Bridge in third place with a 163 total. Gannon added an 82 Tuesday at Turtle Creek to his opening-round 81 at Raven’s Claw.

   Bridge and senior Liam Forstrom led New Hope Solebury to the District One Class AA team crown with matching 85s. New Hope Solebury finished with a 60-over 348 total.

   Senior J.T. Bach added an 87 and junior Anthony Whelan’s 91 was the final counter for New Hope Solebury. Rounding out the lineup for New Hope Solebury was junior Nate Plebani, who tallied a 92.

   Plumstead Christian finished 12 shots behind New Hope Solebury in second place with a 72-over 360 total.

   Conestoga’s Burks had been the runnerup to Phoenixville standout Kayley Roberts by nine shots in the District One Class AAA Championship a year ago. So, was this her year?

   “I was hoping so,” Burks said after running away with the district crown by the same nine-shot margin that Roberts had beaten Burks by a year ago. “I’ve been a little better every year here. I was just trying to take it a shot at a time.”

   Burks, who plays out of White Manor Country Club and is coached by John Dunigan, who won the Philadelphia Section PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year award for a fifth time in 2025, was in familiar surroundings at Turtle Creek, where the Central League Championship is also staged.

   It was a typically efficient loop at Turtle Creek for Burks. She made a couple of early bogeys at the first and third holes, but got on track with a birdie at five.

   After a bogey at the eighth hole, Burks was flawless the rest of the way with birdies at the 12^th and 15^th holes and eight pars.

   “I missed a couple of short putts, but later I made a couple of nice mid-range putts, so it worked out,” Burks said.

   Burks also secured a fourth straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship as an individual. And, a day after leading Conestoga to a second straight District One Class AAA team crown, Burks and the Pioneers will head to State College in search of a second straight state team crown. Fairly spectacular four years of work at Conestoga for Burks.

   Perkiomen Valley senior Saloni Patel earned a second straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship as she earned runnerup honors in District One with a 9-over 153 total that left her nine shots behind Burks.

   Patel added a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to the opening-round 76 she posted at the Turtle Monday.

   Burks’ Central League rival Megan Choi, a junior at Harriton, will be making her third straight trip to the state tournament as she finished two shots behind Patel in third place with a 155 total. Choi added a 7-over 79 Tuesday to her opening-round 76.

   Avon Grove junior Kiera Post recorded a second straight 6-over 78 at Turtle Creek as she finished a shot behind Choi in fourth place with a 156 total.

   Central Bucks North sophomore Noor Mehta, who came up just short of a trip to states a year ago, added a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 80 to earn a spot in the PIAA Class AAA Championship by finishing in fifth place with a 157 total.

   Burks’ Conestoga teammate, senior Corinne McReynolds, and Bishop Shanahan senior Emma Bergey finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 160. They had identical splits, adding a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to an opening-round 83.

   It will be the second straight trip to State College for McReynolds, who was also in the lineup for the Pioneers’ state championship team victory a year ago.

   Methacton senior Lauren Springman added an 80 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 85 as she booked her trip to State College in two weeks by finishing in eighth place with a 165 total.

   Springfield junior Delaney Kearney gave the Central League a fourth representative in the PIAA Class AAA field as she nabbed the final berth to states by finishing in ninth place with a 168 total. Kearney shaved six shots off her opening-round 87 with an 81 in Tuesday’s second round.