Lower Merion's Yermish takes girls title, Downingtown West's Gross the boys champion in PIAA Class AAA at Heritage Hills

    SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP – Sean DeMuynck was never far from Sydney Yermish’s mind during her march to a PIAA Class AAA Championship victory.

   Not during the Central League Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course, not during two rounds of the District One Class AAA Championship at Raven’s Claw Golf Club and at Turtle Creek and not during a 4-under-par 68 in the state championship on a sun-splashed Tuesday at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   The Lower Merion junior had dedicated her postseason to the memory of DeMuynck, her fellow volunteer firefighter at the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hills Fire Station No. 21 who had died in the line of duty in July just a day before he had planned to return to his native Canada.

   Yermish’s “Birdies for the Fallen” earned money from pledges every time she made a birdie in the postseason. Eagles were double and there was one of them in the final round of districts at Turtle Creek. The money will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md. in honor of DeMuynck’s ultimate sacrifice.

   Yermish got eight birdies over the 6,223-yard, par-72 Heritage Hills layout, seven in a breathtaking final 12 holes during which she made a statement that she is the best scholastic player in Pennsylvania. Good players need birdies to keep them going. Birdies help you win golf tournaments and state championships. But for the last month, Yermish had another reason to make birdies and it showed throughout her sweep to medalist honors at Centrals, at districts and at states.

   “My pledges were up to $410 for each birdie, so what was that today?” Yermish said, her dad doing the quick math that added up to $3,200 for the day. “So, I raised 17, maybe 18 thousand. I had 16 birdies and the eagle counted double, so 18 birdies.”

   Moments after Yermish held off a stubborn Evelyn Wong, a senior at Emmaus, by three shots, a playoff commenced on the 18^th hole for the PIAA Class AAA boys crown, more than an hour after Downingtown West sophomore Nick Gross and North Pocono senior Billy Pabst, playing in the same group, finished with matching 2-under 69s.

   Gross had to hole a tough six-footer for par to extend the playoff and then won the state title that had eluded him as a freshman when Pabst was unable to locate his ball after an errant drive off the tee at the 10^th hole, the second hole of the playoff, enabling Gross to take the PIAA Class AAA Championship with a par.

   It was a sweet sweep for the two District One players. After winning the District One title and losing a playoff in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman two years ago, Yermish never had a chance to compete in the postseason in 2020 with disagreements over coronavirus pandemic protocols derailing the Central League’s plans for a district qualifier. Gross claimed the District One Class AAA title as a freshman a year ago, but finished third in his debut in the state championship and then lost in a playoff to Holy Ghost Prep senior Calen Sanderson at districts two weeks ago.

   Yermish reacquainted herself with the Heritage Hills layout in a practice round Friday and came to the conclusion that she would be able to keep her driver in the bag most of the day, going instead with her newly fitted 5-wood or an iron off most of the tees.

   “I don’t think my ball-striking was that good all day,” said Yermish, Lower Merion’s first state golf champion since the great Jay Sigel won the second of his back-to-back crowns in 1961. “I wanted to get the ball in the fairway. I just wanted to keep it in play. I still only had wedges into most of the greens. The thing I noted the most in my practice round was the places where I could see your approach might run out. I think I only missed two greens.”

   Still, after making a birdie at the gettable, par-5 second hole, Yermish’s round was stuck in neutral after a pair of three-putt bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes.

   Coming to the par-5 seventh hole at 1-over, Yermish was just off the putting surface in two. She chipped up to tap-in range for a birdie that got her back to even-par. She launched her tee shot right over the flag at the par-3 eighth hole and drained a slick 15-footer, her Rolling Green Golf Club roots evident in the smooth stroke.

   “It was nice to see that putt go in at eight, that really seemed to get me going,” said Yermish, who made a verbal commitment last week to join the program at Michigan in the summer of 2023.

   After a couple of routine pars at the ninth and 10^th holes, Yermish went 5-wood, 5-iron and finished just off the green in the fringe at the par-5 11^th hole. She chipped it close and converted the short birdie try.

   Yermish nearly reached the green at the downhill, 358-yard, par-4 14^th hole with her 5-wood off the tee. She chipped it to 14 feet and had just enough speed on her birdie putt to get it to fall. At the short par-4 14^th hole it was more of the same, Yermish burying a 15-footer for birdie on one of the testiest putting surfaces on the course. Suddenly, she was 3-under.

   Wong, who finished in fourth place at Heritage Hills a year ago, was playing in the group in front of Yermish and she wasn’t going anywhere. She made a tough birdie putt of her own at the 14^th hole to join Yermish at 3-under.

   Wong three-putted the tough par-3 15^th hole for a bogey, but Yermish also made a bogey there when her tee shot into the 187-yard hole rolled through the green and into a tough lie off the back. The four-footer Yermish made for bogey might have been one of the most clutch putts of her round.

   “I knew somebody up ahead was close, which just motivated me even more to try to keep making birdies,” Yermish said.

   Yermish lofted a wedge to 25 feet at the par-4 16^th hole and, the putter now fully operational, watched her birdie putt tumble into the hole for her seventh birdie of the day. Up ahead Wong three-putted for bogey at 17 and Yermish had some breathing room.

   Yermish gave a little of her cushion back when she got too aggressive with her chip from the back fringe at the 17^th hole and made a bogey to again fall back to 3-under. But Yermish perfectly placed her 5-wood off the 18^th tee, a par-4 for the boys and a par-5 for the girls. Her approach at the last settled 35 feet from the hole and Yermish calmly two-putted for her eighth birdie of the day to seal the title.

   “I think you have to always go out there thinking you’re the best player out there, no matter where you’re ranked or who you’re playing against,” Yermish said. “I lost in a playoff here two years ago. I’ve been waiting to get another shot ever since. It was nice to win this.”

   The state title, combined with her announcing her commitment to Michigan at the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hills station last week, made for a pretty nice couple of weeks in October for Yermish.

   “I visited Michigan Labor Day weekend and I just knew,” Yermish said. “It’s the right place for me.”

   Wong settled for a par on the finishing hole to complete a solid 1-under 71 that earned her a runnerup finish.

   West Chester East senior Victoria Kim was involved in that playoff two years ago and, like Yermish, came up short, but got some redemption by winning the PIAA Class AAA Championship a year ago. Kim capped a very strong three-year run at Heritage Hills with a 3-over 75 that left her alone in third place, four shots behind Wong.

   Downingtown East senior Ava O’Sullivan wrapped up a second straight strong postseason run as she shared fourth place with Central Bucks East freshman Elle Lundquist, each posting a 4-over 76.

   O’Sullivan’s teammate, sophomore Mia Pace, headed a group of four players tied for sixth place at 5-over 77. O’Sullivan and Pace will be back at Heritage Hills Monday as the District One Class AAA team champion Cougars compete for a PIAA Class AAA team crown.

   Joining Pace at 5-over were Mount St. Joseph senior Caroline Gola, another District One representative, Peters Township senior Allison Poon and Uniontown senior Adena Rugola.

   Rounding out the top 10 were Warwick freshman Elle Overly and Mt. Lebanon senior Lindsey Powanda as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for a 6-over 78.

   Phoenixville sophomore Kate Roberts finished in a tie for 12^th place with a 79.

   Unionville junior Mary Grace Dunigan and Plymouth-Whitemarsh freshman Rhianna Gooneratne capped a strong showing for District One as they were part of a large group of players tied for 14^th place, each registering an 80.

   Also among the group tied for 14^th place were Archbishop Wood sisters Chaela Bennett, a senior, and Lola Bennett, a junior. Team Bennett was also representing the Catholic League and District 12.

   Long before Yermish putted out to capture the PIAA Class AAA girls crown, Gross had managed to rally from a four-shot deficit to his playing partner Pabst and force a playoff.

   Pabst got off to a hot start with birdies at the second, seventh, eighth and 11^th holes that got him to 4-under.

   Gross, coming off a victory in an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Junior All-Star Invitational presented by Adidas Golf on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at the Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Ore. last week, had fallen back to 1-over for his round when he put his tee shot into the water on the right side at the par-4 ninth hole, resulting in a second straight bogey.

   “I got a 20-, 25-footer to fall for birdie at the 10^th and that seemed to get me going,” Gross said.

   Pabst’s birdie at the par-5 11^th hole restored his four-shot edge on Gross, but Pabst made back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14 to give Gross a glimmer of hope. When Gross drilled a 5-iron into a swirling wind at the 201-yard, par-3 15^th hole to 12 feet and converted the birdie try, he was within a shot of Pabst.

   “At some point, it became pretty obvious that Billy was the one to catch,” Gross said. “I knew what I had to do.”

   A birdie at the 17^th hole finally got Gross even with Pabst. Both had good looks at birdie at the par-4 finishing hole, but neither could convert and completed a 2-under 69 run over a Heritage Hills layout that measures 6,700 yards and plays to a par of 71 for the guys.

   More than an hour later, they were headed back to the 18^th tee. Gross’ approach spun back to the front fringe while Pabst’s second shot left him with a good look at birdie from 12 feet. Gross’ first putt came up six feet short. Pabst’s birdie putt slid tantalizingly over the left edge. Gross jammed home his par putt and it was on to the second playoff hole, the par-4 10^th.

   “As it turned out, that putt for par at 18 probably won me the championship,” Gross said.

   But when Pabst blocked his tee shot into deep fescue right of the hole, the door was open for Gross and his par earned him the first state title for a Downingtown golfer.

   “You always want to be the best in your area, the best in your state,” Gross said after adding his name to a list that includes the likes of Sigel, Arnold Palmer and Jim Furyk. “My coach Rob Coyne had the highest finish ever (for a Downingtown) golfer at states, but I beat that last year. It’s nice to win it this year.”

   Sanderson, the Holy Ghost Prep senior, was the PIAA Class AAA champion a year ago and the player who beat Gross in the playoff for the District One crown two weeks ago at Turtle Creek. He made a late push with birdies at the 16^th and 18^th holes, but just missed getting in on the playoff, his 1-under 70 leaving him in third place. Sanderson will join the Notre Dame program at the end of next summer.

   Dallas senior Logan Paczewski capped an outstanding scholastic career that saw him qualify for the state championship all four years by heading a group of four players tied for fourth place at 1-over 72, two shots behind Sanderson.

   Joining Paczewski at 1-over were West Chester Rustin freshman Sam Feeney, Fox Chapel senior Eli Yotan and Penn Trafford sophomore Nick Turowski.

   Two more District One representatives, Penncrest junior Eli Shah and Feeney’s West Chester Rustin teammate, Ryan D’Ariano, a senior, finished in the top 10 as they were part of a group of four players tied for eighth place at 2-over 73. Rounding out the quartet at 2-over were Abington Heights senior James Flickinger and Pittsburgh Central Catholic junior Rocco Salvitti, who has reached the state championship in each of his first three years.

   It was a strong showing for the Chester County contingent as West Chester Henderson senior Dylan Kochis joined Gross, Feeney and D’Ariano in the top 12,  Kochis finishing in the group tied for 12^th place with a 74.

   Wissahickon senior Christian Matt capped his scholastic career with a 4-over 75 that  left him among the group tied for 18th place. Starting off the 10th tee, Matt, the Suburban One League champion, struggled to a 42 on the incoming nine at Heritage Hills before finishing up with a sparkling 3-under 33 on the front nine that included birdies at the fourth, sixth and ninth holes.

   Central Bucks West senior Kevin Lydon carded a 78 to land among the group tied for 28^th place. Also in the group tied at 7-over was La Salle senior Darren Nolan, the District 12 champion.

   Radnor teammates Chase Stephano, a senior, and Shaun Mazzalupi, a sophomore, landed in the group tied for 34^th place, each signing for a 79.

   Garnet Valley senior Matt Pulcinella, Bishop Shanahan junior Ben Saggers and La Salle sophomore Scott Hughes were all among the group tied for 39^th place, each carding a 9-over 80.

   Spring-Ford junior Luke Fazio, the Pioneer Athletic Conference champion, finished in the group tied for 44^th place as he posted an 81. Another West Chester Rustin entry, senior Eric Miller, landed in the group tied for 52^nd place with an 82. Marple Newtown senior Jake Micewski was among the group tied for 57^th place with an 84.

   Upper Dublin senior Charlie Kerprich and La Salle sophomore Ethan Martin shared 61^st place, each posting an 85. Quakertown sophomore Tim Joyce registered a 90 to finish in a tied for 70^th place. Another La Salle entry, senior Eric Fryer, finished in 72^nd place with a 93.

   La Salle defeated Bethlehem’s Liberty High in a sub-regional Monday and the District 12 and Catholic League champion Explorers will be back at Heritage Hills Monday to compete for a PIAA Class AAA team crown. District One champion Central Bucks West will also be in the field.