Carlisle's Peters surges to Pennsylvania Junior Boys' crown, Jericho National's Meng the Girls' champion

   Carlisle Country Club’s John Peters surged past the first-round co-leaders with a sizzling 4-under-par 67 at Hershey Country Club’s East Course while Jericho National Golf Club’s Megan Meng cruised to a three-shot victory at Lebanon Country Club as the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) crowned its Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ champions Tuesday.

   The championships are presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods and supported by UPMC Pinnacle.

   Peters finished in a tie for third place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at Carlisle last fall and he trailed the player who won that PIAA Class AAA crown, Carson Bacha, playing out of Out Door Country Club, and Oakmont Country Club’s Rocco Salvitti by four shots after Peters opened with a 2-over 73 over the challenging par-71 East Course layout Monday.

   But Peters blitzed the outgoing nine at Hershey East with four birdies in a 4-under 32 and then held it together on the back nine to get in with a 2-under 140 total.

   Bacha, who capped his scholastic career at Central York with a state title, and Salvitti, who finished in seventh place at Heritage Hills as a freshman at Pittsburgh Central Catholic last fall, each added a 1-over 72 to an opening-round 69 as they shared second place at 1-under 141, a shot behind Peters. Bacha, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn later this summer, was trying to add a second Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ crown to the one he won in 2018.

   Peters came out of the gate firing in Tuesday’s final round as he made birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and ninth holes to get it to 2-under for the tournament. He followed up a bogey at the 11^th hole with a birdie at the 14^th and, after making bogey at the 15^th hole, he again responded with a clutch birdie at the 17^th to nail down the title.

   Conestoga senior Morgan Lofland, playing out of Phoenixville Country Club, capped a month of outstanding golf by adding a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 70 to finish alone in fourth place at even-par 142.

   Since tournament play resumed after the coronavirus-enforced layoff this spring, Lofland, the Class AAA East Regional winner last fall at Golden Oaks Golf Club, has had two wins on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, including one at a Precision Pro Golf Open event at Hickory Valley Golf Club, a tie for second in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood Country Club and a brilliant 6-under 64 that earned him medalist honors in qualifying in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 106^th Junior Boys’ Championship at The 1912 Club.

   It was a coming-out party on the state scene for 13-year-old Nicholas Gross, who will join the Downingtown West program later this year. Playing out of Applecross Country Club, Gross matched par with a 71 Tuesday after opening with a 72 and shared fifth place with Merion Golf Club’s John Bradbeer at 1-over 143. Bradbeer had matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Gross owns a pair of big wins over the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s No. 8 Course in Pinehurst Village, N.C. in the last year, one in the Boys 12 division of the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship last summer and another in the Donald Ross Junior in December. The win in the Donald Ross Junior earned him a berth in next week’s Junior Boys North & South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst.

   Michael Maslanka of the Country Club of Scranton was two shots behind Gross and Bradbeer in seventh place at 3-over 145 after adding a 74 to the even-par 71 he posted in Monday’s opening round.

   Fox Chapel Golf Club’s Adam Lauer, who finished in a tie for fifth place in Class AAA as a junior at Shady Side Academy at Heritage Hills last fall, was a shot behind Maslanka in eighth place at 4-over 146 after signing for a second straight 73.

   Haverford School senior Tyler Zimmer, one of the Inter-Ac League’s top returning players, headed a group of three players who finished in a tie for ninth place at 5-over 147. Zimmer, playing out of Philadelphia Country Club, shaved three shots off his opening-round 75 with a solid 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Zimmer was joined at 5-over by Holy Ghost Prep junior Calen Sanderson, who plays out of Jericho National, and Luke Lestini, a PAGA individual member.

   Sanderson, who finished in a tie for second in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Club last fall, was only two shots out of the lead following an opening-round 71, but fell back with a 5-over 76. Lestini added a 4-over 75 to his opening-round 72.

   Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Jack Irons finished alone in 12^th place at 148 after bettering par with a 1-under 70 Tuesday. Irons had opened with a 78.

   Josh Ryan, a PAGA individual member, had a bit of a letdown after etching his name on the Peg Burnett Trophy with a victory in the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship at The 1912 Club last week.  Ryan, who shared third place with Peters at Heritage Hills last fall after winning the District One Class AAA crown at the Turtle as a junior, shared 13^th place with Hanover Country Club’s Karl Frisk at 149.

   Ryan, who represents Norristown High on the golf course, and Frisk, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Spring Grove last fall, had identical splits at Hershey East, each adding a 2-over 73 to an opening-round 76.

   An Aronimink Golf Club junior program that is arguably the Philadelphia area’s best, produced the Junior Boys’ team champion at Hershey East. Aronimink improved six shots from its opening-round 229 with a 223 and its 26-over 452 total was one shot better than Peters and Carlisle registered.

   Jack Davis was the low man for Aronimink in the four-score-three format with a 73 Tuesday. Haverford School senior Jake Maddaloni, who has helped the Fords win the last two Inter-Ac crowns, added a solid 74 and Devon Prep freshman Nick Ciocca, who won the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood last week, chipped in with a 76.

   Hunter Stetson carded an 83 that the team was able throw out, to round out the Aronimink lineup.

   Speaking of coming-out parties, it was a pretty impressive performance by Meng in claiming the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ crown. She’s a Class of 2024 player from Pennington, N.J. As I mentioned in my post Monday, I’m not sure where she’s playing scholastic golf, but somebody’s getting a player.

   After grabbing a one-shot lead with her opening-round 68 over the par-72 Lebanon layout, Meng fired a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s final round for a 6-under 138 total.

   Meng was a little up and down early, following up a birdie at the second hole with a bogey at the third and following up a birdie at the ninth with a bogey at the 10^th. But she sealed the deal with birdies at the 13^th, 14^th and 16^th holes that got her to 7-under before a closing bogey at the 18^th.

   At the other end of the junior spectrum was runnerup Jennifer Cleary, who plays out of Applecross and is is writing the final chapters of a strong junior career. Cleary added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 71 for a 3-under 141 total.

   Denied her senior season at Tower Hill in Delaware by the coronavirus pandemic, Cleary will join a strong University of Virginia program later this summer.

   The low round of the day belonged to Meng’s Jericho National clubmate, Natasha Kiel, a George School senior. Kiel’s scintillating 5-under 67 included four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 second hole and, combined with her opening-round 75, left her alone in third place, a shot behind Cleary at 2-under 142.

   Yardley Country Club’s Jade Gu, a senior at Pennsbury, was the only other player to finish under par as she added a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 70 for a 1-under 143 total that left her alone in fourth place. Gu claimed the Class AAA East Regional title at Golden Oaks Golf Club in 2018.

   Cleary’s Tower Hill teammate, senior Rylie Heflin, trailed Meng by just a shot after firing an opening round of 3-under 69. Playing out of Hartefeld National Golf Club, Heflin, the 2017 Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ champion, cooled off with a 77 Tuesday that left her in a tie for fifth place at 2-over 146.

   Heflin was joined at that figure by reigning PIAA Class AAA champion Elizabeth Beek, playing out of Blue Bell Country Club, and White Manor Country Club’s Victoria Kim, who was one of three players along with Beek in a playoff for the state championship at Heritage Hills last fall.

   I was there last fall and there was no shortage of drama as regulation play led to the playoff among Beek, who was a freshman at Wissahickon, Kim, who was a sophomore at West Chester East, and another talented freshman, Lower Merion’s Sydney Yermish.

   Beek and Kim were in lockstep again this week at Lebanon, each carding back-to-back 73s to get a share of fifth place with Heflin.

   Michelle Cox, who was just out of that playoff in fourth place at Heritage Hills as a junior at Emmaus last fall, finished alone in eighth place at 4-over 148 after adding a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 75. Cox, who plays out of Lehigh Country Club, was the runnerup to Caroline Wrigley in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ a year ago.

   Rounding out the top 10 were The Club at Nevillewood’s Caroline McConnell, who finished alone in ninth place at 151 after adding a 76 to her opening-round 75, and another Jericho National entry, Ellison Lundquist, who finished alone in 10^th place at 152 with a pair of 76s.

   Merion Golf Club’s Lauren Jones, whose junior season at Episcopal Academy was another victim of the pandemic this spring, rallied from an opening-round 79 with a 3-over 75 as she headed a trio of players tied for 11^th place at 154.

   Jones was joined at 154 by a couple of PIAA qualifiers from last fall, Whitford Country Club’s Ava O’Sullivan, who made it to Heritage Hills in Class AAA as a sophomore at Downingtown East, and Carlisle Country Club’s Paige Richter, who finished in a tie for fifth in Class AA as a sophomore at Camp Hill.

   O’Sullivan matched Jones’ splits, adding a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 79 while Richter, who had opened with a 75, fell back in Tuesday’s final round with a 79.

   Meng and Kiel left little doubt in the Junior Girls’ team competition as they led Jericho National to a spectacular 8-under 280 total that was 40 shots better than runnerup Pleasant Valley Golf Club in the three-score-two format. Kiel’s 67 and Meng’s 70 enabled Jericho National to shave six shots off its opening-round 143 with a final round of 7-under 137.

   Jesse Shue of Crossgates Golf Club broke away from a tightly-bunched foursome at Lebanon with a sparkling 3-under 69 to claim the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship with a 3-over 147 total.

   Shue trailed opening-round leader Ian Larsen of Honeybrook Golf Club by two shots and was in third place after Monday’s opening round, although only three shots separated the four contestants.

   Merion’s J.P. Hoban added a 75 to his opening-round 77 to claim runnerup honors at 8-over 152, five shots behind Shue. Evan Gross of Applecross’ Team Gross was another three shots behind Hoban in third place at 155 after improving three shots from his opening-round 79 with a 4-over 76.

   After opening with a solid 4-over 76, Larsen struggled a little with an 86 in Tuesday’s final round to finish in fourth place at 162.

   Elle Overly of Back Creek Country Club completed a dominating performance in winning the Junior-Junior Girls’ Championship. Overly added a 79 to her opening-round 80 at Lebanon for a 159 total.

   Her closest pursuer was Manufacturers Golf & Country Club’s Talia Hoffner, who added a 97 to her opening-round 95 for a 192 total.

Tarzy right at home at Medford Lakes as his 72 gives him a Junior Tour victory

   Jack Tarzy, playing close to his Medford, N.J. home, fired a solid 1-over-par 72 Monday to capture the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Medford Lakes Country Club.

   Tarzy matched par on the outgoing nine and had two birdies on his scorecard as he claimed his first Junior Tour win of the season.

   Carl Ernst of Mickelton, N.J. came on strong on the back nine of the 6,141-yard, par-71 Medford Lakes layout with birdies at the 11^th hole and back-to-back at the 17^th and 18^th holes as he earned runnerup honors with a 4-over 75.

   A couple of Yardley guys, recent Pennsbury graduate Ethan Finkelstein and Chris Myers, a senior with the Falcons for the upcoming season, shared third place, each posting a 77.

   Another Pennsbury senior, Ryan Rearden, and Benjamin Griffaton of Pottstown finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for an 82. A fourth Yardley guy among the top eight, Stephen Cain, finished alone in eighth place with an 83.

   Rounding out the top 10 were three players – Matthew Van Istendal of Haddon Heights, N.J., Colton Murray of Sewell, N.J. and Luke Snyder of Exton – who finished in a tie for ninth place, each carding an 84.

   Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. started fast with a birdie at the first hole and had four birdies on the back nine as he finished atop the 13-to-15 division leaderboard with a 3-over 74. Jack Rosen, who came all the way from Boca Raton, Fla. to tee it up at Medford Lakes, was the runnerup in the division with a 4-over 75 that included a birdie on the 12^th hole.

   Jack Dare of Moorestown finished in third place with a 78 that included a streak of four straight pars in the middle of his round. Zachary Antao of Chadds Ford took fourth place with an 81.

   Dante Billoni of Lancaster and Nathan Guertler of Merchantville, N.J. shared fifth place, each landing on 83. Sachin Blake of Berwyn took seventh place with an 86, James DeRocini of West Deptford, N.J. was eighth with an 87 and Anthony Carson of Broomall was ninth with an 88.

   Rounding out the top 10 were three players – Kendell Gordon of Burlington Township, N.J., Tiger Li of Newtown and Joseph Fargnoli of Mickelton, N.J. – who finished in a tie for 10^th place, each registering an 89.

   Conestoga’s Sophia Brubaker, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore last fall, had the best score of the day among the girls at Medford Lakes, an 87 that gave her a victory in the 16-to-18 division. Brubaker’s round included five pars and a birdie at the 18^th hole to close it out.

   Emma Schotsch, who lost her junior season at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy to the coronavirus pandemic this spring, was the runnerup with a 99 that featured a par on the front nine and two pars on the incoming nine.

   Emma Li of Newtown’s Team Li had five pars as she fashioned a 91 that gave her the top spot in the 13-to-15 division. Hannah Puc of Marlton, N.J. had four pars in her round of 94 to earn runnerup honors.

   Danielle Higbee of Mickelton, N.J. finished in third place with a 98, Curstan Bunch of Wilmington, Del. was another shot behind Higbee in fourth with a 99, Emily Mayo of Boothwyn was fifth with a 106 and Elisabeth Kehagias, another Wilmington, Del. entry, was sixth with a 110.

   Davis Conaway of West Chester has been playing some solid golf since the Junior Tour resumed play after a coronavirus-enforced layout and that roll continued as he had a pair of four-hole streaks of pars in a 1-over 38 that bested the field of nine-holers. It was Conaway’s sixth victory of the season in the coed 12-and-under division.

   Kiersten Bodge, another West Chester entry, had three pars and a birdie at the sixth hole to take runnerup honors with a 3-over 40. Hank Kancher of Philadelphia finished up with a birdie at the ninth hole to finish in third place with a 42.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore and Jackson Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. shared fourth place, each posting a 46. Daniel Herzchel of Linwood, N.J. and Anthony Primo of Marlton, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for a 48.

   Two more players, Paul Reilly of West Creek, N.J. and Ian Rotto of Kennett Square, shared eighth place, each coming in at 49. Rounding out the top 10 among the nine-holers was Alaina Carson of Broomall’s Team Carson as she finished alone in 10^th place with a 52.

Heflin trails Meng by a shot after opening round of Pennsylvania Junior Girls' Championship

   It seems like Rylie Heflin, an Avondale resident who plays out of Hartefeld National Golf Club, is always in contention at the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) Junior Girls’ Championship.

   Heflin captured the title in 2017, was the runnerup a year later and finished fourth last year. Well, Heflin is in the hunt again as she fired a 3-under-par 69 Monday at Lebanon Country Club and trails Megan Meng of Jericho National Golf Club by a shot heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   Pretty sure Heflin lost her junior season at Tower Hill in Delaware to the coronavirus pandemic. It appears she’s headed for Duke in the summer of 2021, joining a perennial powerhouse on the Division I college scene.

   Heflin was headed into ninth grade when she captured the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ crown in 2017. And it appears Meng is that kid now, a Class of 2024 player from Pennington, N.J. Not sure where she’s headed to play scholastic golf, but it looks like somebody is getting a player.

   Starting on the 10^th hole, Meng ripped off birdies at the 10^th, 11^th and 15^th holes to tour the back nine at the par-72 Lebanon layout in 3-under 33. She got it to 4-under with a birdie at the second hole, gave a shot back with the only bogey on her scorecard at the third hole and immediately got that shot back with a birdie at the third hole to complete a 4-under 68.

   Heflin went off the first tee and got off to a fast start with birdies at the second and seventh holes before falling back to 1-under with a bogey at the ninth hole.

   It was a roller-coaster ride on Lebanon’s incoming nine for Heflin. She birdied the 10^th and 11^th holes to get it to 3-under, stumbled at the 12^th with a double bogey and responded with birdies at the next three holes, the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th to get it to 4-under. A bogey at the 18^th hole left her at 3-under, a shot behind Meng.

   Yardley Country Club’s Jade Gu, coming off a five-shot victory in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Precision Pro Golf Open event at Turtle Creek Golf Club last week, got herself in contention with a 2-under 70 that left her alone in third place, a shot behind Heflin.

   Gu captured the Class AAA East Regional title at Golden Oaks Golf Club as a sophomore at Pennsbury in 2018.

   Heflin’s Tower Hill teammate, Jennifer Cleary, who is headed for the University of Virginia, also got it in under par with a 1-under 71 and was alone in fourth place.

   Pretty sure Cleary, playing out of Applecross Country Club, lost her senior season to the pandemic this spring. It is just awful what the Class of 2020 has missed out on because of this virus. Cleary has had a wonderful junior career and will be a nice addition to the UVA roster.

   Two of the three players who were involved in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA title last fall at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, Blue Bell Country Club’s Elizabeth Beek, who claimed the state crown, and White Manor Country Club’s Victoria Kim, were tied for fifth place at 1-over 73, a shot behind Cleary.

   Beek was the state champion as a freshman at Wissahickon while Kim, who captured the District One Class AAA crown as a freshman in 2018, will be a junior at West Chester East.

   Lehigh Country Club’s Michelle Cox, who was in contention right to the finish in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ a year ago before setting for runnerup honors to Caroline Wrigley, headed a group of five players tied for seventh place at 3-over 75. Cox capped an outstanding scholastic career at Emmaus by finishing fourth in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall.

   Joining Cox at 3-over were Carlisle Country Club’s Paige Richter, who finished right behind Cox in fifth place at Heritage Hills as a sophomore at Camp Hill last fall, another Jericho National entry in Natasha Kiel, a George School senior, Lake View Country Club’s Anna Swan and Caroline McConnell of The Club at Nevillewood.

   Meng and Kiel enabled Jericho National to take a commanding 16-shot lead in the girls team competition. Playing a three-score-two format, Meng’s 68 and Kiel’s 75 gave Jericho National a 1-under 143 total. Jericho National’s third player, Ellison Lundquist, carded a solid 76.

Carlisle Country Club was in second place with a 15-over 159 total.

   On the boys side, Out Door Country Club’s Carson Bacha, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Central York by capturing the PIAA Class AAA crown last fall at Heritage Hills, carded a solid 2-under 69 at Hershey Country Club’s challenging East Course to gain a share of the lead with Oakmont Country Club’s Rocco Salvitti.

   Bacha, who, like Heflin, is seeking a second state Junior crown, having captured the title in 2018. He will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn later this summer.

   It was a typically steady round for Bacha. Starting off the 10^th tee, Bacha made birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes and was 2-under heading for the outgoing nine. He made a birdie at the second hole before making a bogey at the sixth hole, the only blemish on his card, to finish at 2-under over the par-71 Hershey East layout.

   Salvitti, who finished seventh in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman at Pittsburgh Central Catholic last fall, was equally solid. Salvitti started at the first hole and, after making a birdie on the seventh hole, bogeyed the eighth, his only bogey of the day. Birdies at the 10^th and 14^th holes on the incoming nine got him a share of the lead with Bacha.

   Phoenixville Country Club’s Morgan Lofland, who has had a great month since competitive golf returned from this spring’s coronavirus-enforced layoff, was alone in third place with a 1-under 70.

   Lofland, a senior at Conestoga and the Class AAA East Regional winner last fall at Golden Oaks, started on the 10^th hole and birdied that hole before giving the shot back with a bogey at the 11^th hole. He followed up a bogey at the 13^th hole by making a birdie at the 14^th. Lofland make birdies at the first and sixth holes around a bogey at the second to get it in under par.

   Jericho National’s Calen Sanderson, who finished in a tie for second place in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek as a sophomore at Holy Ghost Prep last fall, headed a group of three players tied for fourth place at even-par 71.

   Sanderson was joined at even-par by Merion Golf Club’s John Bradbeer and The Country Club of Scranton’s Michael Maslanka.

   Nicholas Gross, a rising star who plays out of Applecross, headed a group of three players tied for seventh place at 1-over 72. Gross, who will join the Downingtown West program as a freshman later this year, was the winner of the Boys 12 division in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s No. 8 Course last summer.

   Gross was joined at 1-over by another member of Lake View’s Team Swan, Isaiah Swan, and Luke Lestini, a PAGA individual member.

   Blue Bell’s Matt Lafond, who capped his scholastic career at La Salle by winning the Catholic League title last fall, headed a trio of players tied for 10^th place at 2-over 73.

   Lafond was joined at that figure by a couple of players who were top-five finishers in Class AAA in the state tournament last fall, Carlisle Country Club’s John Peters, who finished in a tie for third place at Heritage Hills as a junior at Carlisle, and Fox Chapel Golf Club’s Adam Lauer, who finished in a tie for fifth at Heritage Hills as a junior at Shady Side Academy.

   Aronimink Golf Club grabbed a three-shot advantage over Carlisle Country Club in the boys team championship.

    Haverford School senior Jake Maddaloni and Devon Prep freshman Nick Ciocca, coming off a victory last week in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood Country Club, each carded a 5-over 76 to lead the way for Aronimink. Maddaloni made a nice run to the semifinals of last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 106^th Junior Boys’ Championship at The 1912 Club.

   Jack Davis added a 77 as Aronimink put together a 16-over 229 in the four-score-three format. Aronimink tossed the 87 carded by Hunter Stetson. Carlisle was three shots back in second place at 232.

   Ian Larsen of Honeybrook Golf Club led a tightly-bunched foursome in the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship, being contested at Lebanon Country Club, with a 4-over 76.

   Merion’s J.P. Hoban was a shot behind Larsen in second place with a 77, Jesse Shue of Crossgates Golf Club was third with a 78 and Evan Gross of Applecross’ Team Gross was fourth with a 79.

   Elle Overly of Bent Creek Country Club signed for an 80, also at Lebanon, to take a 15-shot lead in the Junior-Junior Girls’ Championship. Talia Hoffner of Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club was in second place with a 95.