Lofland earns runnerup finish in return to Heritage Hills

   It’s been five months since Conestoga’s Morgan Lofland capped an outstanding freshman season by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in Springettsbury Township, York County.

   Lofland was back at Heritage Hills Friday for a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop and he picked up right where he left off last fall.

   Lofland carded a 3-over-par 73 over a tricky Heritage Hills layout to finish in a tie for first with Shaun Fedor of Lancaster atop the 16-to-18 division. Fedor earned the top spot via a scorecard playoff, but it's obvious that Lofland remembered some of the secrets of Heritage Hills that he learned in posting rounds of 81 and 76 to finish in a tie for 23^rd in the most competitive scholastic tournament of the fall.

   Heritage Hills plays to a par of 71 for the boys and a par of 72 for the girls in the PIAA Championship, although it looks like the course was geared back to a par of 70 for the guys and gals, likely a bit of concession to late-winter conditions.

   Lofland had three birdies in fashioning his 3-over round while Fedor was the picture of patience, making 15 pars and three bogeys. Fedor got the tiebreaker edge with his total over the last three holes.

   Brandon Simmons of York was another two shots behind Fedor and Lofland in third at 5-over 75. Troy Kelleher of Clarks Summit finished fourth with a 78.

   Conrad Benford of Parker Ford and William Brown, another Clarks Summit entry, shared fifth place,  each posting an 81. Logan Snyder of Dover was another shot back in seventh with an 82.

Edward Trumphour of Villanova finished eighth with an 85, Nichols Sebastianelli, yet another player from Clarks Summit, was ninth with an 88 and Logan Hess of Willow Street rounded out the top 10 with an 89.

   It took another match of cards to determine the winner in the 13-to-15 division as John Olsen of Boalsburg got the edge on Luke Thompson of Palmyra after each posted a 6-over 76. Olsen had a better back nine to get the tiebreaker advantage on Thompson. Each had a birdie in his round.

Karl Frisk of Spring Grove finished alone in third with a 78. Jack Shmonov of Harrisburg took fourth with an 84, Maxwell Wager of State College was fifth with an 87 and William Locovare of Warrington was sixth with an 88.

   Connor Gherghel of Orwigsburg finished seventh with a 91, Clay Breidenstine of Hummelstown was  eighth with a 93, Steven Coelho of Malvern was ninth with a 99, Dante Billoni of Lancaster was the 10^th with a 102 and Grey Conta of Hummelstown was 11th with a 104.

   Mckylie Boreman of New Cumberland was the lone entrant in the girls 16-to-18 division and carded a 97 to claim the victory.

   The 13-to-15 division turned into a Rolling Green Golf Club vs. Llanerch Country Club affair as Kathleen Mark of Media, a Rolling Green member, earned the win by four shots over Riley Quartermain of Bryn Mawr and Llanerch.

   Mark, whose freshman season at Episcopal should be teeing off as soon as all the snow is gone from the Philadelphia area courses, carded an 84 while Quartermain, coming off a solid freshman season at Haverford, posted an 88.

   Mark and Quartermain joined forces to win the girls division in one of the premier Golf Association of Philadelphia junior events, the Francis X. Hussey Memorial, held every summer at  Mark’s home course, Rolling Green.

   Ava O’Sullivan of Exton finished third with a 92, Lillian McNally of York was fourth with a 106 and Aleena Ghanta of Phoenixville was fifth with a 135.

   It took another scorecard playoff to determine the winner among the nine-holers as Tyler Fortney of Fayetteville and Michael Maslanka of Taylor each posted a 6-over 42. Fortney’s total over the final six holes gave him the tiebreaker edge.

   Mason Tucker of York and Isaak Bloom of Bellefonte shared third place as each posted a 49. Jillian Burks of Paoli took fifth with a 56 and Reed Krosse of York was sixth with a 65.

Southern Illinois claims team crown in Kingsmill Intercollegiate; St. Joe's finishes ninth

   The Kingsmill Intercollegiate at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va. proved to be a popular destination for teams trying to get ready for their conference championships later this spring.

   There were 24 teams and more than 120 players teeing it up and Saint Joseph’s and Drexel, separated by a shot, got in the top half of the field, the Hawks finishing ninth and the Dragons ending up tied for 10^th with George Washington. Drexel’s Colonial Athletic Association rival, Delaware, finished 15^th.

   St. Joe’s, led by freshman Wills Montgomery, a former Downingtown East standout, was consistent with a pair of 16-over 286s Sunday and Monday over the 6,794-yard, par-70 River Course layout before finishing up with an 18-over 298 for a 50-over 890 total.

   Drexel was playing without senior Aaron Fricke, the Garden Spot product who claimed the individual title in the City 6 Championship at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale last fall. The Dragons opened with a 301 and added a 292 before matching St. Joe’s 298 final round to finish a shot behind the Hawks at 891.

   Delaware got a little better in each round, the Blue Hens opening with a 301 and adding a 298 before finishing up with a 296 for an 898 total.

   Williamsburg was not quite far enough south to avoid the stubborn grip that winter has had on the Mid-Atlantic region as cold-weather gear was in order.

   Southern Illinois, No. 122 in the latest Golfstat rankings, captured the team title behind individual winner Peyton Wilhoit, a junior from Searcy, Ariz. After opening with a 293, the Salukis fired a 4-over 284 Monday’s second round and finished up with a 5-over 285 to overtake No. 154 Utah Valley with a 22-over 862 total.

   Utah Valley held a narrow one-shot edge on Southern Illinois going into the final round after rounds of 7-over 287 and 9-over 289. Utah Valley’s final-round 290 enabled the Salukis to make up five shots in the final round.

   No. 141 Loyola of Maryland finished up with an 8-over 288 to take thirds at 869, three shots behind Utah Valley. It was another six shots back to No. 168 Seton Hall in fourth at 875, the Pirates finishing up with their best round of the week, a 6-over 286. No. 152 Old Dominion also finished up with its best round of the week, a 9-over 289, to take fifth at 877, two shots behind the Hall.

   After opening with a 4-over-par 74, Wilhoit got it going with a 2-under 68 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a sparkling 4-under 66, the best round of the tournament, in Tuesday’s final round for a 2-under 208 total and a three-shot margin over the rest of the field.

   Wilhoit was backed up by teammate Hunter York, a junior from Decatur, Ill. who finished in a group tied for seventh at 5-over 215. York contributed a 1-under 69 to the Salukis’ final-round surge to the team title.

   Also for Southern Illinois, Frankie Thomas snuck into the top 20 as he finished tied for 19^th at 9-over 219 following a final round of 74. Luke Gannon, a junior from Bel Aire, Kan., finished tied for 30^th at 222, including an even-par 70 in the second round. Dirk Kuehler, a senior from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., finished in a group tied for 90^th at 232, although his 3-over 73, a 10-shot improvement on an opening-round 83, was a key counter for the Salukis in the second round.

   Loyola of Maryland’s Brendan Peel, a sophomore from Potomac, Md., and St. Bonaventure’s Brent Morgan, a junior from Coal Grove, Ohio, shared second place at 1-over 211, three shots behind Wilhoit.

   After opening with a 1-over 71, Peel matched par in each of the last two rounds. Morgan finished up with one of what was only a handful of sub-par rounds over the River Course, a 1-under 69.

   Old Dominion senior Brad Hess, a product of Parkland High School, finished alone in fourth at 2-over 212. Hess held a one-shot lead heading into the final round after opening with a 2-under 68 and adding a 72 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with another 2-over 72.

   The chilly weather didn’t seem to bother a couple of Canadians as Utah Valley senior Blair Bursey and Eastern Michigan freshman Ty Celone shared fifth place at 3-over 213, both finishing up with a solid 1-under 69.

   Montgomery posted a pair of 2-over 72s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 75 for a 9-over 219 as he led the way for Saint Joseph’s by finishing tied for 19^th. Michael O’Brien, a sophomore from West Chester, Ohio, bounced back from an opening-round 80 by matching par in the second round with a 70 and then finishing up with a 73 to join the group tied for 35^th at 223.

   Sophomore Reed Winkler, a former Salesianum standout, got a piece of the opening-round lead with a sparkling 2-under 68 before struggling to an 80 in Monday’s second round and finishing up with a 76 to end up in a group tied for 43^rd at 224.

   Junior Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic product (and occasional Stonewall looper), finished tied for 72^nd at 229 after his best round of the tournament, a 4-over 74, in Tuesday’s final round. Sophomore Richard Riva, a Lancaster Catholic product, rounded out the St. Joe’s lineup as he finished among the group tied for 90th at 232 after a final-round 77.

   The Hawks appear on track to perhaps improve on their 11^th-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Championship last spring.

   In the absence of Fricke, Drexel was led by sophomore Connor Schmidt, a member of Peters Township’s 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup team who finished in the group tied for 30^th at 12-over 222. After opening up with 79, Schmidt posted solid rounds of 71 and 72.

   Sophomore Alex Butler, a member of the 2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team as a junior at St. Joseph’s Prep, finished in a group tied for 35^th at 223. Butler sandwiched a 73 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 75s. Adam Mistretta, a senior from Livermore, Calif., finished tied for 43^rd at 224 after adding a final-round 76 to a pair of 74s.

   Angelo Giantsopou, a freshman from Canada who qualified for match play in last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., finished in a group tied for 51^st at 226 after a final-round 75. Rounding out the Dragons’ lineup was Jeffrey Cunningham, a freshman from West Palm Beach, Fla. who finished tied for 101^st at 233, although his opening-round 76 was a counter for Drexel.

   Leading the way for Delaware was senior Blaine Lafferty, a former Cherokee High standout who finished tied for 16^th at 8-over 218. After opening with a 75, Lafferty had solid rounds of 71 and 72 Monday and Tuesday.

   Jack Gianniny, senior from Pittsford, N.Y., and Christian Chapman, a freshman from Victor, N.Y., both landed in the group tied for 66^th at 228. Gianniny carded a final-round 76 while Chapman finished up with a 74.

   Sophomore Jack Melville, a former Upper Dublin standout, finished tied for 72^nd at 229 after sandwiching an 81 with a pair of 74s. Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Kieran Purcell, a senior from Jersey City, N.J. who finished in the group tied for 90^th at 232 after a final-round 78.

Tough weekend for Temple in Furman Intercollegiate

   It became obvious as Temple’s fall campaign wore on that a couple of younger players, freshman Dawson Anders, who captured the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ crown last summer, and sophomore Liam McGrath had worked their way into Brian Quinn’s lineup.

   Anders, a Souderton product, has shown flashes of the kind of talent he possesses and McGrath, who played scholastically at the Academy of the New Church, has been pretty steady. But they’re still younger players, which means they’re occasionally going to take their lumps.

   Anders was Temple’s top finisher in the Furman Intercollegiate, which concluded Sunday at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C., but his tie for 70^th was indicative of a tough weekend for the Owls. They finished 20^th in the 21-team field with a 60-over-par 924 total, 77 shots behind tournament champion North Florida, No. 28 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   It was Temple’s second foray to South Carolina this spring as the Owls finished 14^th of 18 teams earlier this month in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C.

   Anders showed his potential there with a sparkling 5-under 65 in the second round that enabled him to lead the way for the Owls as he ended up tied for 28^th.

   But after opening with a solid even-par 72 over the 7,031-yard, par-71 Furman University layout Friday, Anders struggled with an 80 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 77 for a 229 total.

   Trey Wren, a junior from Suffolk, Va., was another two shots behind Anders in a group tied for 86^th at 231. Wren has been a solid player throughout his Temple career. After opening with a 79, Wren posted a pair of 76s.

   John Barone, a redshirt junior from Dunmore, was two more shots behind Wren in a group tied for 91^st at 233. He never really got untracked with rounds of 79, 76 and 78.

   McGrath, who was Temple’s second-best finisher in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto, couldn’t get it going in the Furman Intercollegiate. He posted a final-round 82 to finish tied for 101^st at 236, although his second-round 75 shared medalist honors for the Owls for the day.

   Redshirt sophomore Erik Reisner, a two-time Central League champion at Harriton, was the other Owl to post a 3-over 75 in the second round, but he opened with an 80 and closed with an 83 to finish in a group tied for 110^th at 238.

   Reisner shifted into the lineup in place of junior Sam Soeth, Reisner’s old Central League rival at Marple Newtown. Soeth struggled in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto, finishing tied for 85^th, so Reisner got a shot in the Furman Intercollegiate.

   The Owls will tee it up in the Cornell Spring Invitational this weekend in Florida and in the Princeton Invitational the following weekend, their final two tuneups for the American Athletic Conference Championship April 22 to 24 in Palm Harbor, Fla.

   North Florida, meanwhile, showed it is deserving of its lofty national ranking. The Jacksonville-based Ospreys opened with a 10-under 278 and never looked back, adding a 3-under 285 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up Sunday with a 4-under 284 for a 17-under 847 total.

   North Florida was the only team to finish under par, so the golf course was playing pretty tough for the rest of the field. And the cold-weather gear the Ospreys are sporting in the picture from the trophy presentation on their website would seem to indicate it wasn’t exactly Florida weather in Greenville last weekend.

   North Florida was two shots away from earning a berth in the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms last spring and Travis Trace, a junior home-boy from Jacksonville, did punch a ticket as an individual in the NCAA Championship field.

   The Ospreys had a 1-2 finish in the individual standings in the Furman Intercollegiate as Phillip Knowles, a junior from Bradenton, Fla., captured the title at 9-under 207 and Andrew Alligood, a junior from Saint Johns, Fla., was three shots behind Knowles in second at 6-under 210.

   Knowles opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 and added a 1-under 71 before finishing up with a 2-under 70. Alligood saved his best for last, a 4-under 68, to claim runnerup honors. Only Alligood’s teammate Jack Comstock, another junior home-boy from Jacksonville who was competing as an individual, matched Alligood for the low round of the day.

   No. 103 West Virginia held on with a final round of 4-over 292 for a runnerup finish at 1-over 865, 18 shots behind North Florida. No. 88 Virginia Tech fired a 1-under 287 in the final round to take third at 3-over 867, two shots behind the Mountaineers.

   Host Furman, ranked 136^th, shared fourth place with South Carolina-Aiken, the No. 10 team in NCAA Division II, at 11-over 875, eight shots behind Virginia Tech.

   Yale, ranked 169^th, was another four shots behind Furman and South Carolina-Aiken in sixth place, the Bulldogs struggling to a 301 in the final round to finish at 15-over 879. Yale bested two Ivy League rivals in the field as Dartmouth finished tied for 13^th at 902 and reigning Ivy champion Harvard was another shot behind the Big Green in 15^th at 903.

   Backing up Knowles and Alligood for North Florida was Michael Mattiace, a sophomore home-boy from Jacksonville, who was in a group of three players tied for sixth at 3-under 213. Mattiace opened with a 3-under 69 before adding rounds of 71 and 73.

   Trace, an NCAA individual qualifier a year ago, struggled in the opening round with a 79, but settled in with rounds of 71 and 73 to finish tied for 42^nd at 223. Rounding out the lineup for the Ospreys was Michael Saccente, a redshirt freshman from New Smyrna, Fla. who finished tied for 48^th, a shot behind Trace at 224. Saccente struggled in the final round with a 5-over 77.

   Comstock made his play for inclusion in North Florida’s first five, that final-round 68 lifting him into the group tied for 22^nd at 3-over 219.

   Host Furman had a player competing as an individual, Matt Lehman, a sophomore from Bluffton, S.C., finish in a group of three players tied for third in the individual chase at 4-under 212, two shots behind North Florida’s Alligood. Lehman’s sizzling 7-under 65 in the second round was the low round of the weekend. He opened with a 2-over 74 and closed with a 1-over 73.

   Joining Lehman in that trio tied for third at 4-under 212 were Virginia Tech’s Ian Hildenbrand, a senior from Purcellville, Va., and West Virginia’s Etienne Papineau, a sophomore from Canada. Hildenbrand finished strong with a 3-under 69 while Papineau reached 4-under with a 3-under 69 in the second round before matching par with a final-round 72.