Fox Chapel's Kittsley grabs the lead as he opens bid for a third straight state title

 

   Carson Kittsley, a Fox Chapel senior and a product of the junior program at Oakmont Country Club, opened his bid for a third straight PIAA Class AAA crown with a sizzling 7-under-par 65 Monday at Penn State’s White Course.

   Kittlsley will try to join Reading’s John Markel as the only player in the history of scholastic golf in Pennsylvania to win three straight state championships. Markel achieved the feat in 1939, ’40 and ’41. Pretty certain golf was played in the spring back then and I’m quite sure Markel’s sticks would be unrecognizable to the modern high school golfer.

   Kittsley took the lead into the final round of the Pennsylvania Amateur in July at his home course of Oakmont, the Henry Fownes masterpiece in suburban Pittsburgh. He stumbled a little in that final round and settled for a third-place finish.

   It was probably a pretty frosty start to the proceedings in central Pennsylvania Monday before heating up.

   Speaking of heating up, Kittsley went off in the middle of his round, going 8-under over a 10-hole stretch on his way to grabbing a one-shot lead over local favorite Luke McGraw, a junior on the State College golf team who got it going on the incoming nine at the White Course, lighting it up with six birdies on his way to a sparkling 6-under 66.

   Kittsley’s round started quietly as he made a bogey at the second hole.

   But a birdie at the third hole ignited Kittsley sizzling run. He added a birdie at the fifth hole, made an eagle at the par-5 sixth, ripped off three straight birdies at eight, nine and 10 and another birdie at 12. Suddenly, he was 7-under for his round.

   A bogey at the 16^th hole dropped Kittsley back to 6-under, but he closed with a birdie at 18 to get into the clubhouse at 7-under.

   McGraw started off with a birdie at the first hole and made a bogey at nine, the only blemish on his scorecard.

   McGraw then went off on the back nine at the White Course with birdies at the 10^th, 12^th, 14^th, 15^th, 17^th, and 18^th holes for a 6-under 30 on the incoming nine as he ended up a shot behind Kittsley with his 66.

   Liam Littleton headed a trio of players from Catholic League champion La Salle among the top 10 following the opening round as Littleton signed for a 5-under 67 to get a share of third place with West Allegheny senior Nico Ward.

   Ward reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club in July.

   Another La Salle representative, Ben Robbins, got a share of fifth place with Michael Quallich of Baldwin, each posting a 4-under 68.

   Sebastian Meyer, a junior at Abington Heights, was another shot behind Robbins and Quallich in seventh place with a solid 3-under 69.

   A third La Salle representative, Lucas Nye, headed a group of four players who rounded out the top 10 following Monday’s opening round in a tie for eighth place, each recording a 1-under 71.

   The group at 1-under included a pair of District One entries in Radnor sophomore Gavin Reger and Souderton senior Chase Andrews. Rounding out the group at 1-under was Ryan Davis of Cumberland Valley.

   Scranton Prep junior Cole Powell is also looking to repeat as a state champion in Class AA and he got his title defense off to a good start with a 3-under 69 at the Blue Course that left him in a tie for first place with Annville-Cleona senior Ben Allwein.

   Powell was the overall winner of the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Championship in August at Chester Valley Golf Club.

   Powell was all over the place in his opening round at the Blue Course with seven birdies and four bogeys.

   After opening with a birdie at the first hole, Powell made a bogey at three and bounced back with birdies at four and nine to make the turn at 2-under. Powell made a bogey at the 10^th hole, a birdie at 11, a bogey at 12, birdies at 14 and 16 and a bogey at 17 before finishing up with a birdie at 18 in a roller-coaster ride of an incoming nine.

   Allwein made a birdie at the fifth hole and a bogey at eight before capping his front nine with an eagle at the par-5 ninth. He made birdies at the 11^th and 18^th holes around a bogey at 12 over the Blue Course’s incoming nine.

   Erie Cathedral Prep’s Santino Washburn was two shots behind the co-leaders in third place with a 1-under 71, Josiah Swan, another in a long line of golfing Swans at North East, and Santino Toscano of Wilmington were tied for fourth, each tallying an even-par 72, and the trio of Schuylkill Haven’s Alan Evans, Bishop Guilfoyle’s Grant Okorak and North Catholic’s Christopher Faber was in a tie for sixth, each registering a 1-over 73.

   Devon Prep junior Scott Cunningham led a group of six players that rounded out the top 10 in a tie for ninth place following Monday’s opening round at the Blue Course, each landing on 2-over 74.

   Rounding out that gang of six at 2-over were A-C Valley’s Joe Rapp, Powell’s Scranton Prep teammate, Brendan Bell, Central Martinsburg’s Cole Klapper, Saegertown’s Mason Gjovik and Grove City’s Isaac Allan.

   A couple of District Three standouts, Dallastown freshman Bryn Krosse and York Suburban senior Vivienne Powers, each carded a 1-under 71 at the White Course to grab a share of the lead following the opening round of the girls PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Krosse opened with bogeys at the first and third holes, a birdie at three and a bogey at six before rattling off birdies at seven, nine, 11 and 17 to get it to 2-under for her round. A bogey at the last left Krosse at 1-under.

   Powers teed off at No. 10 and opened with a bogey. But Powers was flawless the rest of the way with birdies at the third and ninth holes and 15 pars as she joined Krosse at 1-under.

   Harriton junior Megan Choi, making her third straight appearance in the state tournament, matched par with a 72 and was alone in third place, a shot behind the co-leaders.

   Cardinal O’Hara junior Alaina Carson, the Catholic League and District 12 champion, and Cedar Crest sophomore Bryn Brandt shared fourth place, each tallying a 1-over 73.

   Like Choi, Carson is teeing it up in the PIAA Class AAA Championship for a third straight fall.

   Conestoga senior Jill Burks, the runaway winner of the District One Class AAA title two weeks ago at Turtle Creek Golf Course, and Ephrata junior Makenna Heckman were another shot behind Carson and Brandt in a tie for sixth place, each signing for a 2-over 74.

   Burks, who led the Pioneers to a second straight District One Class AAA team crown at the Turtle, is making her fourth appearance in the state tournament.

   Olivia Degori of Moon and Jordyn Larkin of Canon-McMillan each posted a 3-over 75 to share eighth place and Holidaysburg senior Crosby Denis rounded out the top 10 as she was alone in 10^th with a 4-over 76.

   A trio of District One players, Burks’ Conestoga teammate, senior Corinne McReynolds, Perkiomen Valley senior Solani Patel, the runnerup to Burks in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek, and Springfield junior Delaney Kearney, accounted for the trio tied for 11^th place as each recorded a 6-over 78.

   Shady Side Academy junior Alyssa Zhang, who captured the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship by a whopping 12 shots at Lebanon Country Club in June, grabbed a three-shot lead after opening with a 3-under 69 in the PIAA Class AA Championship at the White Course.

   Zhang has finished in third place in the state tournament in her first two years at Shady Side and this might be her year.

   After making a birdie at the fifth hole, Zhang made a bogey at eight, the only blemish on her scorecard. Zhang made birdies at the ninth, 12^th and 17^th holes as she was the only girl in the Class AA field to get it in in red figures at 3-under.

   Lindsay Hoover of Wilmington was Zhang’s closest pursuer as she matched par in the opening round with a 72 that left her three shots behind Zhang in second place.

   JoJo Jaskulski, a Chartiers-Houston junior, was alone in third place with a 1-over 73 and West Middlesex sophomore Paige Sowers was another two shots behind Jaskulski in fourth place after opening with a 3-over 75.

   Olivia Nichols of Rockwood and Olivia Koshko of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy were in a tie for fifth place, each posting a 5-over 77 and the trio of Kylie Schall of Jersey Shore, Addison Davis of Quaker Valley and Gabby Filia of Westmont were tied for seventh place, each registering a 7-over 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in Class AA following Monday’s opening round was Oley Valley junior Chloe Pirdie, who was alone in 10^th place with an 80.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owen J. Roberts' Wade tunes up for District One Championship by claiming a Philly Junior Tour victory at Berkleigh

 

   Bret Wade, a freshman on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, tuned up for his appearance in the District One Class AAA Championship by carding a solid 3-over-par 75 at Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Oct. 3^rd.

   Wade made a birdie at the ninth hole, finished out his round with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 and had nine pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars from 10 through 14, to finish a shot ahead of his Owen J. Roberts teammate and fellow freshman Sam Whitehouse.

   Whitehouse was a par machine at Berkleigh, once the home of the LPGA Tour’s Betsy King Classic, as he had 14 pars on his card, rattling off seven straight pars from the fourth through the 10^th holes and closing out his round with five straight pars.

   Connor Bates, a sophomore on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, made birdies at the fifth, 15^th and 18^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he finished two shots behind Whitehouse in third place with a 78.

   Ian Lu took a road trip from Edison, N.J. to Berks County and finished in fourth place with an 80.

   Carson McNamee, a freshman on a Souderton golf team that captured the District One Class AAA team crown, headed a group of four players tied for fifth place at 83 that included Jackson Ehrlich of Berwyn, Carter Bove of Kennett Square and Toby Parker of Chester Springs.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Brendan Haney, a freshman on the Cardinal O’Hara golf team, and Noah Gates of Ardmore, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each signing for an 84.

   Lucas Keysock, a senior on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, made a birdie at the 16^th hole and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a pair of streaks of five pars in a row from three through seven and again from 10 through 14, as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 5-over 77.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, made a birdie at the 15^th hole and had nine pars on his card as he finished two shots behind Keysock in second place with a 79.

   Torrin Denton of Mullica Hill, N.J. rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division as he made birdies at the 10^th and 15^th holes and had five pars on his card to finish in third place with an 83.

   Sydney Wellen, a junior on the Agnes Irwin golf team, made a birdie on the 13^th hole and had 11 pars on her scorecard, including a stretch of four consecutive pars from eight through 11 as she captured a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 81.

   Wellen finished in a tie for third place in last spring’s Inter-Ac League Championship at Sandy Run Country Club.

   Mya Dendler, a junior on the Pennsbury golf team, opened her round with a birdie at the first hole and had four pars on her card as she rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in second place with a 92.

   Molly Wagner, a Newark, Del. resident and a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, made birdies on the ninth and 14^th holes and had six pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars at 11, 12 and 13, as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with an 83.

   Natalie Soporowski of Nazareth made a birdie at the ninth hole and a par at 13 as she rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division by finishing in second place with a 100.

   Blake Shurman of Villanova made back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes and had six pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to close out a stellar 1-under 34 as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers. The kid’s 10-years old.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia had eight pars on his card, including seven straight pars to close out his round, as he earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 36.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville made a birdie at the second hole and had five pars on his card, rattling off consecutive pars at four, five and six, as he finished a shot behind Wright in third place with a 37.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale and Declan Brainard of Pipersville shared fourth place, each tallying a 39, and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook and Kash Gray of Eagleville finished in a tie for sixth, each recording a 40.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was a trio of players tied for eighth place at 53 that included Mason Freeborn of Reading, James Schneider of Penn Valley and Sid Joshi of Coopersburg.

   Natasha Lobo, the talented 11-year-old from Collegeville, had four pars on her scorecard, closing out her round with back-to-back pars at the eighth and ninth holes, as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 7-over 42.

   Lillian Fry of Pennsburg had four pars on her card, going back-to-back with pars at the sixth and seventh holes, as she earned runnerup honors with a 44.

   Rounding out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division was Juniper Ha of Royersford as she made pars at the fourth and eighth holes to finish in third place with a 49.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallagher, Comly lead host Haverford School to an Inter-Ac sweep at Gulph Mills

 

   With senior Quinn Gallagher and freshman Stephen Comly each matching par with a 35 at Gulph Mills Golf Club, The Haverford School swept the Inter-Ac League’s invitational Thursday to tighten the race with two more mini-tournaments remaining on the schedule next week.

   Gallagher and Comly led the way as the host Fords put together a 5-over 180 over the challenging Donald Ross layout that is an oasis in the busy traffic pattern in King of Prussia.

   Malvern Prep, behind the individual medalist for the day, junior Mason Matlack, who carded a sparkling 1-under 34, was five shots behind The Haverford School in second place at Gulph Mills with a 185 total.

   Reigning Inter-Ac champion Episcopal Academy finished another four shots behind Malvern Prep in third place with a 189 total.

   The Churchmen maintained their hold on first place with a 17-3 mark through the first four invitationals, but Haverford School and Malvern Prep moved a little closer to EA.

   With their sweep Thursday, the Fords are in second place with a 16-4 record and Malvern Prep is right behind The Haverford School in third place with a 15-5 ledger.

   Backing up Gallagher and Comly for The Haverford School was senior Harry Neilly, who signed for a 1-over 35. Rounding out the counters for the Fords were two more freshmen, Eric Cunningham and Christos Bottos, each of whom recorded a 2-over 37.

   Matlack had three birdies on his scorecard in claiming individual medalist honors for the day and leading the way for Malvern Prep.

   Junior Danny DiDomenico backed up Matlack as he matched par with a 35. Senior captain Colby Komancheck added a 37 for the Friars and senior Michael DiDomencio chipped in with a 4-over 39.

   Sophomore Owen Ciesielka and freshman Charlie Blok each registered a 40 with one of those two scores becoming Malvern Prep’s final counter.

    A day earlier in a nonleague dual match with Central League runnerup Radnor, Malvern Prep established a school record with a spectacular 6-under 169 on its home course at Waynesborough Country Club.

   The Friars’ previous best in relation to par was a 2-under 173 last year at Merion Golf Club’s West Course.

   Michael DiDomenico and Ciesielka led the way for Malvern Prep in its 169-183 victory over the Raptors as each tallied a 3-under 32.

   Senior tri-captain Freddy Hartmann led the way for Episcopal Academy at Gulph Mills with a solid 2-over 37.

   Five other Churchmen posted a 3-over 38, including EA’s two other senior tri-captains, Liam Crowley and Arthur Hampel, senior Connor Smolenski and juniors Jack Gioffre and Tucker Dempsey.

   Hartmann and Malvern Prep’s Komancheck are locked in a tight battle in the Inter-Ac’s individual points chase through four invitationals.

   Hartmann, the winner of the points title a year ago, has compiled a 165-13-10 mark against the rest of the league, good for 340 points. Komancheck has a 164-16-7 record and 336 points.

   The other three Inter-Ac schools, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Germantown Academy and the William Penn Charter School each carded a 205.

   The Inter-Ac is breaking ties this year by going to a team’s sixth player and Springside Chestnut Hill took fourth place for its first two wins of the season.

   Senior Brandon Varga led the way for the Blue Devils with a 3-over 38.

   Germantown Academy finished in fifth place with a pair of Patriots, junior Sean Taylor and sophomore Oliver Hubbert, leading the way as each recorded a 40.

   Penn Charter finished in sixth place with Jack Sheward and Cole Brown leading the way for the Quakers as each registered a 39.

   Germantown Academy and Penn Charter are tied for fourth place after four invitationals, each owning a 5-15 ledger. Springside Chestnut Hill is in sixth place with a 2-18 mark.