Hartmann, Crowley give Episcopal the edge over Malvern Prep in Germantown Academy Invitational

 

   With senior stalwarts Freddy Hartmann and Liam Crowley each carding a sparkling 2-under-par 34, Episcopal Academy maintained its hold on the top spot in the Inter-Ac League race by edging Malvern Prep by a shot in the Germantown Academy Invitational Tuesday at Bluestone Country Club in Whitpain Township.

   Hartmann also maintained his spot at the top of the individual standings, although Malvern Prep senior captain Colby Komancheck was the medalist for the day with a sizzling 4-under 32 that included five birdies.

   Hartmann and Crowley helped the defending champion Churchmen put together a 1-under 179 at Bluestone, finishing a shot ahead of the Friars, who settled for second place, despite a solid even-par 180 effort.

   Episcopal Academy’s depth was on display as four players – the Churchmen only needed three other counters – each signed for a 1-over 37.

   That foursome included seniors Connor Smolenski and Arthur Hampel and juniors Jack Gioffre and Tucker Dempsey.

   Hartmann, Crowley and Hampel are the captains for Episcopal. Crowley defeated Hampel in a playoff to capture the title in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac’s individual championship last fall at The 1912 Club.

   The 5-0 day for the Churchmen at Bluestone gave them a 14-1 record at the halfway mark of the six invitationals that comprise the Inter-Ac’s regular season.

   Malvern Prep’s 4-1 day enabled the Friars to join The Haverford School in a tie for second place in the team chase, each owning an 11-4 mark.

   Haverford School, coming off a three-shot victory over the Churchmen in the Episcopal Academy Invitational at Merion Golf Club’s West Course, finished in third place at Bluestone with a 195 total.

   Backing up Komancheck, winner of the individual title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship last fall, was fellow senior Ayden Gallen, who had two birdies while matching par with a 36.

   Junior Danny DiDomenico and sophomore Charlie Blok each added a 1-over 37 and three Friars – they only needed one more counter – tallied a 2-over 38, including senior Timmy Burns, junior Mason Matlack and sophomore Max Davis.

   Hartmann, the winner of the individual points race a year ago, improved his record to 126-8-8 and has piled up 260 points. Komancheck is right on Hartmann’s heels and a second straight first-place finish left Komancheck with 125-11-5 record and 255 points. Komancheck was the medalist in the EA Invitational with a 3-under 32 at Merion’s West Course.

   Haverford School was led by freshman Christo Bottos, who recorded a solid 1-over 37. Sophomore William Thorkelson and senior Jack Luterman backed up Bottos as each registered a 2-over 38.

   Rounding out the counters for the Fords were senior Quinn Gallagher and Stephen Comly, another freshman, each of whom toured the Bluestone layout in 4-over 40.

   Penn Charter and Germantown Academy both landed on 201 and the Inter-Ac is breaking ties this year by going to each team’s sixth player. Looks like that tiebreaker went Penn Charter’s way and the Quakers took fourth place and the Patriots finished fifth.

   Senior Andrew Sumner led the way for Penn Charter with a 3-over 39.

   Freshman Charles Egginton and junior Onyu Park paced Germantown Academy as each posted a 3-over 39.

   Springside Chestnut Hill Academy finished in sixth place with a 221. The Blue Devils were led by senior Zach Greenblatt’s 42.

   Penn Charter’s fourth-place finish moved the Quakers to fourth place in the team standings with a 5-10 mark. Germantown Academy was in fifth place with a 4-11 mark and Springside Chestnut Hill remained winless in sixth with an 0-15 slate.

 

 

Ridley's Conner, Conestoga's Riuli the co-medalists in Central Championship; Conestoga's McReynolds tops girls field

 

   LIMERICK – Ridley senior Declan Conner got a chance to perform on two of the biggest stages in junior golf over the summer.

   There is nothing quite like getting a chance to tee it up in a U.S. Junior Amateur Championship or a Boys Junior PGA Championship and Conner did both by surviving tough qualifiers.

   The experience Conner gained at those events in the summer were readily apparent Wednesday as he carded a bogey-free 3-under-par 69 at Turtle Creek Golf Course to get a share of medalist honors with Conestoga sophomore Matt Riuli in the Central League Championship.

   Conner got to experience all three of Saucon Valley Country Club’s great golf courses as he punched his ticket to the U.S. Junior Amateur with a sparkling 2-under 70 at the Weyhill Course and then played the Old Course and the Grace Course in two rounds of qualifying for match play in the main event.

   “It certainly helps, I got a lot of confidence from playing in those events,” Conner said after taming the 6,375-yard, par-72 Turtle Creek layout. “The (USGA and the PGA of America) take such good care of you in those tournaments.

   “The Weyhill course at Saucon Valley was awesome. All three courses there were great.”

   The top finisher among the girls was Conestoga senior Corinne McReynolds, who rallied after a slow start to post a solid 2-over 74 that gave her a two-shot victory over Harriton junior Megan Choi.

   Conner works with Lou Guzzi, one of the region’s top instructors whose base of operation is Talamore Country Club. Conner certainly looked to be totally in command of his game Wednesday at the Turtle.

   Conner was 1-under following a birdie at the sixth hole when I caught up to him at eight. Turtle Creek was pretty soggy as a result of last weekend’s relentless rains and players were allowed to lift, clean and place everywhere on the golf course except the bunkers.

   There wasn’t much in the way of wind, either, so the Turtle was pretty vulnerable.

   Conner laid up in the fairway at the short, par-4 10^th hole, knocked his approach to 15 feet left of the hole and buried his birdie putt to get it to 2-under.

   After driving it in the fairway at the gettable par-5 13^th hole, Conner easily reached the green in two and had a look at eagle from 20 feet. He couldn’t quite get the putt to fall, but walked away with a stress-free two-putt birdie that got him to 3-under.

   Conner had a couple of really good looks at birdie at the 16^th and 17^th holes only to see his putts lip out cruelly.

   “Back-to-back lipouts,” Conner said.

   The main goal at the Central League Championship is to be among the top 21 finishers who advance to next week’s District One Class AAA Championship.

   Conner got through Centrals a year ago with a 4-over 76, but failed to advance out of the District One Championship to the state tournament. This, however, is a different Declan Conner.

   “I just wanted to come out here and play solid golf,” said Conner, who is playing out of Rolling Green Golf Club. “I didn’t play well here in districts last year. I’d like to get through this year and make it to states.”

   District One has flipped the script a little when it comes to next week’s championship. In recent years, the girls would play their first round up Ridge Pike a few miles at Raven’s Claw Golf Club with the survivors of the 18-hole cut playing the second round at the Turtle while the boys played both rounds at Turtle.

   This year, the boys will play their first round at Raven’s Claw Monday and finish up at Turtle following a cut. The girls will play two rounds at Turtle Creek.

   The girls team champion will be crowned following the opening round at Turtle Creek Monday while the boys team championship will be contested at Turtle Creek Tuesday.

   Being a Central League medalist was the furthest thing from Riuli’s mind when he teed off Wednesday at Turtle Creek.

   Starting off the third tee, Riuli, who works on his game with Shane Macgraw of GOLFTEC in Malvern, made a bogey at the third hole.

   But then Riuli, who plays out of White Manor Country Club, really got it going. He rattled off birdies at the fifth, sixth, eighth, 10^th, 13^th and 14^th holes to get it to 5-under for his round.

   “Obviously, the putter was working,” Riuli said. “But I wasn’t looking at any scoreboards. I was just trying to get to districts.”

   Riuli finally cooled off a little with bogeys at the 17^th and 18^th holes, but made pars on his final two holes at one and two to get his share of medalist honors at 3-under.

   Riuli and the Pioneers edged Radnor by a shot on their home course at Waynesborough Country Club to claim the Central League crown.

   But both teams will be in the mix for team honors when the District One Class AAA team champion is crowned next week.

   A year ago, Radnor was the runnerup by five shots behind Unionville in the District One Championship and then finished in a tie for second place, just a shot behind Unionville, in the PIAA Class AAA team chase at Penn State.

   Conestoga’s Johnson brothers, Carter and Will, both of whom are White Manor clubmates of Riuli’s, also had strong showings Wednesday.

   Carter Johnson was the only other player besides Conner and Riuli to finish in red figures as he finished in third place with a solid 1-under 71. A year ago, Carter Johnson was one of the casualties in a playoff for the final four berths to districts out of the Central League.

   Two years ago as a freshman, Will Johnson was the Central League medalist, the runnerup in the District One Class AAA Championship and finished in a tie for ninth in the PIAA Class AAA Championship, the highest finish by a District One player.

   Will Johnson was in the lead group Wednesday along with Conner, Haverford sophomore Will Quartermain and Radnor sophomore Sebastian Leone.

   Will Johnson made the turn at even-par, but got a little sloppy down the stretch and his 4-over 76 left him among a group of nine players who finished in a tie for 13^th place, advancing to districts on the number.

   It was the first time there wasn’t a playoff for the final berths in districts at the end of the day among the guys that anyone could remember.

   Garnet Valley senior Jack Ferm and Harriton sophomore Jack Sokol booked return trips to the district tournament as they finished in a tie for fourth place, each tallying a 1-over 73.

   Sokol headed a group of five Rams headed for districts as Thomas Airoldi finished in a tie for eighth place with a 3-over 75 and Zach Daniels, Henry Belcher and Bryce Moyer were all in the group tied for 13^th at 4-over.

   Haverford’s Quartermain, a sophomore who plays out of Llanerch Country Club, shared sixth place with Garnet Valley’s Frank Kunze as each recorded a 2-over 74. It will be Quartermain’s second straight trip to the district tournament.

   I caught up with Quartermain in time to see him make a birdie at the par-5 eighth hole after he nearly chipped in for eagle from just off the green to get it to 2-under for his round. But he struggled down the stretch with bogeys at the ninth, 11^th, 14^th and 18^th holes, although the bogey at 14 was a good one after he couldn’t locate his drive in the patch of fescue on the right side of the hole.

   Leone and fellow Radnor sophomore Gavin Reger were part of a group of five players that included Harriton’s Airoldi tied for eighth place at 3-over.

   Leone, who teamed with Radnor head coach Andy Achenbach to capture the Junior Boys division in The Deeg Sezna, an event that celebrates mentorship, at Radley Run Country Club in the summer (“First GAP win for me,” Achenbach bragged), and Reger were both in the lineup for the Raptors in the PIAA Class AAA Championship a year ago.

   Birdies at the third and fifth holes got Leone to 1-under for his round, but a bogey at 12, a double bogey at 15 and a bogey at 18 dropped him back to 3-over.

   Like Harriton, Radnor had three players in the nine-player logjam at 4-over, including Drew Reardon, Xander Liu and Thomas Manzi.

   Rounding out the fivesome tied for eighth place at 3-over was Penncrest’s Keane Naugle, who booked a return trip to the District One Class AAA Championship, and Springfield’s Mike O’Kane.

   Rounding out the group at 4-over that nailed down the final berths to districts were Springfield’s Demetri Orloff and Haverford’s Patrick Sheridan.

   Conestoga’s McReynolds, who works on her game with John Dunigan, who was named the Philadelphia Section PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year for a fifth time in 2025, wasn’t thinking about winning medalist honors after she made bogeys at four of her first six holes.

   “Jill (Burks) and Megan (Choi) are such good players, I didn’t think I had a chance after starting off with four bogeys,” said McReynolds, who plays out of Whitford Country Club. “Maybe that turned out to be relaxing for me.”

   McReynolds started off the 17^th tee and made bogeys at 17, 18, one and four. But she heated up in the middle of her round, taking advantage of two of Turtle’s par-5s with birdies at eight and 13 as well as a birdie at the short, par-4 12^th.

   A bogey at the 14^th hole dropped McReynolds to 2-over, but her 74 over a Turtle Creek layout that played 5,131 yards for the girls, was two shots better than Harriton’s Choi, a junior who will be bidding for a third straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at next week’s district tournament.

   McReynolds’ teammate, Burks, a senior, was another two shots behind Choi in third place with a 6-over 78.

   Burks has been one of the Central League’s top players throughout her career at Conestoga and she’ll be bidding to be a four-time state qualifier in next week’s district tournament.

   Burks and McReynolds led the way a year ago as the Pioneers rolled to the District One Class AAA crown and then captured a state team championship a week later at Penn State.

   Conestoga’s Kat Shrum took fourth place with a solid 79, Springfield’s Delany Kearney was fifth with an 86, Radnor’s Sara Fanelli was sixth with an 83, Radnor’s Bea Mackenzie was seventh with an 85, Conestoga’s Journey Holt was eighth with an 87, Conestoga’s Lanna Chanthakad was ninth with a 93, Conestoga’s Annika Johnson was 10^th with a 97 and Conestoga’s Sophia Kortes was 11^th with a 99.

   Shrum, Kearney, Fanelli, Mackenzie and Chanthakul will all be making return trips to the district tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas rides hot start to Philly Junior Tour victory at Garrisons Lake

 

   Patrick Thomas of Hockessin, Del. blitzed the outgoing nine at Garrisons Lake Golf Club in Smyrna, Del. on his way to a sparkling 3-under-par 69 that earned him a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Sept. 13^th.

   Thomas made birdies at the first, fourth, fifth and seventh holes while touring the front nine at Garrisons Lake in 4-under 32.

   Thomas had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a stretch of six consecutive pars from the eighth through the 13^th holes. A bogey at the 14^th hole was the only blemish on his card.

   Pretty sure the stop at Garrisons Lake stop was the back end of a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) weekend in Delaware.

   Of the players in the 13-to-15 division who completed rounds at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del. a day earlier and at Garrisons Lake, Thomas was easily the best with an even-par 144 total. Thomas was the runnerup among the younger guys with a 3-over 75 at Odessa National.

   High finishes in JGS events give players points that can earn then status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   Taimoor Naseem, a talented 13-year-old from Sinking Spring, made a birdie at the 12^th hole, then finished with a flourish, making an eagle at the par-5 17^th and a birdie at 18 as he toured the incoming nine at Garrisons Lake in 4-under 32 while finishing in second place with a 2-over 74.

   Naseem had 11 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from the 13^th through the 16^th holes.

   Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg made birdies at the second and sixth holes, went back-to-back with birdies at 12 and 13 and had had six pars on his card as he finished in third place, a shot behind Naseem with a 3-over 75.

   Bussom made a Philly Junior Tour weekend of it in Delaware and his 75 at Garrisons Lake, combined with a 79 at Odessa National, gave him a 10-over 154 total that left him 10 shots behind Thomas in second place for the two days.

   Adrian Santiago of Millsboro, Del. took fourth place with a 77. Santiago also completed both ends of the weekend in Delaware, posting an 81 at Odessa National that left him in third place overall with a 158 total.

   Grayson Throm of Delmar, Del. took fifth place with a 78, Brooks Buerhaus of Bel Air, Md. and Ruben Yoon, a Wilmington, Del. resident and a sophomore on the Archmere Academy golf team, shared sixth, each signing for a 79 and Will Sylvester of Wayne was eighth with an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Michael Perry of Wilmington, Del. and Nathan Lobo, a sophomore on the Spring-Ford golf team, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying an 87.

   As I mentioned in the post on the stop at Odessa National, Nathan Lobo earned a trip to next week’s District One Class AAA Championship by finishing in a tie for 16^th place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course.

   Nolan Traczykiewicz, a senior on the Central Bucks South golf team, capped a solid weekend in Delaware as he went back-to-back with birdies at the sixth and seventh holes, added another birdie at 12 and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including six straight pars to close out his round, to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 2-under 70.

   A bogey at the eighth hole was the only blemish on Traczykiewicz’s card.

   Combined with his runnerup finish at Odessa National with a 1-over 73, Traczykiewicz’s 70 at Garrisons Lake gave him a 1-under 143 total for the weekend, easily the best score among the players in the 16-to-18 division who completed both ends of the Delaware doubleheader.

   Ryan Kline of Millsboro, Md., and Radnor sophomore Gavin Reger, who helped the Raptors finish in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase a year ago, shared runnerup honors at Garrisons Lake as each recorded a 1-over 73.

   Kline made birdies at the fifth and 15^th holes and an eagle at the par-5 17^th and had 11 pars on his card. Reger made birdies at the first, fourth and 11^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of string of six straight pars from 12 through 17.

   Combined with the 78 he posted at Garrisons Lake a day earlier, Kline’s 73 at Garrisons Lake left him in a tie for second place for the weekend in the 16-to-18 division with a 7-over 151 total.

   Nicholas DiMedio of Haddonfield, N.J. and Zac DeVos, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Bensalem last fall by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, shared fifth place, each registering a 75 and David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. finished seventh with a 76.

   Combined with the 75 he carded a day earlier at Odessa National, Dempsey’s 76 enabled him to share second place with Kline for the weekend with a 151 total.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, and Garnet Valley senior Jack Ferm, a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, finished in a tie for eighth place, each carding a 77.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was a foursome of players tied for 10^th place with 78s, a group that included Joel Vogt of Rising Sun, Md., Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del., Frank Kunze, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, and Nathaniel Clark of Dover, Del.

   Really solid weekend in Delaware for Ellie Walls, a junior on the Indian River golf team who finished in third place among the girls in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens in May.

   Walls made birdies at the 10^th and 13^th holes and had 12 pars on her scorecard, including five straight pars to close out her round, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with a 3-over 75.

   Combined with the 82 Walls posted at Odessa National a day earlier, her 75 at Garrisons Lake gave her a 157 total that was easily the best among the girls in the 16-to-18 division who completed rounds at both courses.

   Brooke Burge, a senior on the Appoquinimink golf team, made a birdie at the fifth hole and had nine pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with a solid 81.

   Burge was Walls’ closest pursuer for the Delaware doubleheader in the 16-to-18 division as she had carded a 90 at Odessa National and her 81 at Garrisons Lake gave her a 171 total.

   Emmerson Gleber, a senior on the golf team at the Charter School of Wilmington, had three pars on her card as she rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division with a 93.

   Valerie Danby, the talented 13-year-old from Avondale, made birdies at the sixth and 17^th holes and had 11 pars on her scorecard, including four straight pars to open her round, as she matched Walls’ 3-over 75 while claiming a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

  It was a typically solid showing for Trisha Lobo, the 11-year-old phenom and a member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, as she made birdies at the ninth and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on her card, including three straight pars at one, two and three and again at five, six and seven, to finish four shots behind Danby in second place with a 79.

   Trisha Lobo was the only girl in the 13-to-15 division to tee it up in both ends of the Delaware doubleheader and her 79 at Garrisons Lake, combined with the 83 she carded at Odessa National, gave her a 162 total for the weekend.

   Dahila Garrick of Wilmington, Del. made a birdie at the sixth hole and had nine pars on her card as she finished in third placed with an 81.

   Eleanor Brillman of Elkins Park took fourth place with an 82 and Evelyn Brillman, another member of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman, and Hannah LeGrow, a sophomore on the Ursuline Academy golf team, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for fifth, each tallying an 87.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr has been one of the top performers among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers this summer and he was at it again at Garrisons Lake, besting the field with a bogey-free 1-under 35.

   Muego made a birdie at the sixth hole and had eight pars on his scorecard, finishing up his round with a string of five straight pars.

   Jesse Cannon of Glen Mills made birdies at the first, fourth and eighth holes and had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 37.

   Kash Gray of Eagleville and Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. shared third place, each signing for a 38.

   Gray made a birdie at the sixth hole and had five pars on his card. Rollins made a birdie at the second hole and had five pars on his card.

   Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. and Grayson Wright of Philadelphia finished in a tie for fifth place, each recording a 40. Wright was coming off a victory a day earlier at Odessa National.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook shared seventh place, each registering a 42 and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell and Leonardo Rossi of Ambler rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting a 43.

   It was a typically competitive bunch of boys 12-and-under nine holers as only eight shots separated the top-10 finishers.

   Kasey Bell of Wilmington, Del. was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she registered a 60.