Union City's James wins boys crown, Camp Hill's Richter the girls champion in PIAA Class AA at Heritage Hills

    Union City junior Josh James and Camp Hill senior Paige Richter were crowned state champions Monday as they won the respective PIAA Class AA boys and girls championships at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in Springettsbury Township, York County.

   James tamed the 6,700-yard, par-71 Heritage Hills layout on a day when fall was definitely in the air with a 1-over-par 72 to finish two shots ahead of a trio of players tied for second place.

   James started off the 10^th tee at Heritage Hills and made a bogey at the par-4 14^th hole and a double bogey at the tricky par-4 16^th and headed for the front nine at 3-over for his round. But James righted the ship with birdies at the par-5 second hole and at the par-4 fourth hole and then parred out to get it to the house at 1-over.

   Jackson Bould of Quaker Valley, Josh Suto of Palmerton and Kai Carlson of Avonworth shared second place as each carded a 3-over 74.

   Bould started off the first tee and made the turn at even-par as he birdied the second hole, made bogey at three, picked up another birdie at four and made bogey at seven. A bogey at the 10^th hole and a double bogey at the tough par-3 15^th hole dropped Bould back to 3-over.

   Suto also started off the first tee and got it going after a couple of early bogeys at the first and fifth holes as he ripped off birdies at six, seven and nine and headed to the back nine at 1-under. But three double bogeys on the incoming nine, at the 10^th, 12^th and 18^th holes, derailed Suto’s bid. Suto got it back to 1-over with birdies at the 13^th and 16^th holes, but, needing a birdie at the difficult par-4 finishing hole to catch James, made a double bogey.

   Like James, Carlson started off No. 10 and made bogeys at the 12^th and 14^th holes before bouncing back with a birdie at the tough par-4 16^th. A bogey at the 18^th hole left Carlson at 2-over as headed for the front nine. He made a birdie at the par-5 second hole to get it to 1-over, but bogeys at the third and fifth holes dropped him back into the tie for second at 3-over. It was an improvement for Carlson, who finished in a tie for 10^th place at Heritage Hills a year ago.

   James’ Union City teammate, senior Tyler Parkhurst, finished alone in fifth place with a 4-over 75.

   It was a bit of a frustrating day for Devon Prep sophomore Nick Ciocca, the Catholic League champion, as he landed in a seven-player logjam tied for sixth place with a 5-over 76.

   Starting off the first tee, Ciocca got off to a good start with a birdie at the par-5 second hole. But he stumbled with bogeys at the fifth, eighth and ninth holes to fall back to 2-over. A birdie at the short par-4 10^th hole got Ciocca back to 1-over, but he fell out of contention with a stretch that included bogeys at 13 and 15 and a double bogey at 16. He bounced back with a birdie at the 17^th hole to get it back to 4-over before closing with a bogey at 18.

   It was a good summer for Ciocca, who captured the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship for the second year in a row with a 3-under 67 at Valley Country Club. That performance earned him a starting time in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky. in July. Ciocca had rounds of 82 and 76 at Kearney Hill and failed to survive the 36-hole cut, but getting experience on a national stage is never a bad thing.

   Ciocca, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, capped his summer with a victory in the Imperial Headwear Junior Classic, an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) stop at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington, Del. Still, Ciocca’s finish Monday was an improvement on his showing from a year ago when he landed in a tie for 18^th place with an 80 as a freshman.

   Wyoming Seminary freshman Nick Werner was also in the group tied for sixth place. Werner, who finished in ninth place in the Boys 12-13 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals on the Sunday of Masters week at Augusta National Golf Club, couldn’t quite match the 1-under 70 he fired a couple of weekends ago in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Heritage Hills.

   Rounding out the large group at 5-over were Moravian Academy junior Evan Eichenlaub, Corry senior Maxx Rimdzius, Derry junior Hunter Jurica, Timothy Peters of Saint Joseph’s Academy and Tyler Hager of Palmerton.

   Ciocca’s Devon Prep teammate, Charlie Hurchalla, carded an 82 to finish among the group tied for 29^th place.

   Jenkintown teammates Will Gouveia, a freshman, and Jeff Staples, a senior who edged Gouveia for the District One Class AA crown two weeks ago at Turtle Creek Golf Course, had respective rounds of 89 and 90 Monday at Heritage Hills. That left Gouveia in the group tied for 57^th place and Staples among the group tied for 62^nd.

   Richter was unable to defend the District Three Class AA crown she won as a sophomore as coronavirus pandemic concerns kept her off the golf course in 2020. But she bounced back in the best possible way, again winning the District Three crown and then capping her scholastic career with a 1-over 73 Monday that earned a PIAA Class AA crown. Richter announced last month that she plans to continue her academic and athletic pursuits at Bucknell.

   Starting off the first tee at Heritage Hills, which plays to 6,223 yards and a par of 72 for the girls, Richter made bogeys at the fifth and seventh holes before getting one back with a birdie at the tough par-4 ninth hole. A birdie at the 14^th hole got Richter back to even-par before a bogey at 16 left her at 1-over for the round.

   Richter had to be good to hold off two strong contenders in Greensburg Central Catholic senior Meghan Zambruno, who finished in fifth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship a year ago, and North East senior Lydia Swan, the 2019 champion who finished third a year ago. Meghan Zambruno and Lydia Swan finished a shot behind Richter in a tie for second place as each carded a 2-over 74.

   Starting off the first tee, Meghan Zambruno made a bogey at the sixth hole, but bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 seventh. Bogeys at the 13^th and 16^th holes on the incoming nine left Meghan Zambruno a shot behind Richter.

   Lydia Swan, an Oral Roberts recruit, started off the 10^th tee and looked like she might add a second individual title to her impressive scholastic resume when she made birdies at the 11^th and 13^th holes to get it to 2-under heading to the first tee. But bogeys at the fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth holes dropped Lydia Swan back to 2-over and into the tie for second with Meghan Zambruno.

   Hickory sophomore Sasha Petrochko was another two shots behind Meghan Zambruno and Lydia Swan with a 4-over 76 that left her alone in fourth place.

   Lydia Swan’s younger sister Anna Swan, a North East sophomore, was two shots behind Petrochko in fifth place with a 78. Anna Swan finished in a tie for seventh place as a freshman a year ago.

   Dunmore junior Ciera Toomey, whose best sport is basketball, for which she’s garnered attention from some big-time women’s programs, headed a group of three players tied for sixth place with an 80. Toomey finished in fourth place as a sophomore a year ago.

   Joining Toomey in the tie for sixth place were Brooke Graham of Boiling Springs and Hickory senior McKenzie Gustas. Hannah Robb of Warrior Run finished alone in ninth place with an 81.

   Meghan Zambruno’s twin sister Ella and another Greensburg Central Catholic senior, Izzy Aigner, were two of the three players who finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for an 83. Rounding out the trio in the tie for 10^th place was Eva Bolger of Quaker Valley.

   District One’s lone representative in the PIAA Class AA field, Mollie Young a junior at Springfield (Montco), finished in 34^th place with a 108.

   The plan is to head up to York County Tuesday morning to do some live blogging as the PIAA Class AAA Championship takes center stage for the boys and girls at Heritage Hills. I’ve been to every state championship at Heritage Hills except one since it was moved to York County in 2002.