Lower Merion's Yermish repeats as state champion in Class AAA; Devon Prep's Ciocca takes Class AA boys crown

    Lower Merion senior Sydney Yermish put an exclamation point on a brilliant scholastic career by capturing the PIAA Class AAA Championship for the second straight year Tuesday at Penn State’s White Course.

   In matching the accomplishment of another former Central League standout, Radnor’s Brynn Walker, who went back-to-back as a state champion in 2014 and 2015, Yermish capped a career that saw her claim three District One Class AAA crowns and contend in all three state tournaments she teed it up in, losing in a playoff as a freshman in 2019 and then winning these last two years.

   The only thing that could stop Yermish, who will join the Michigan program next summer, was a global pandemic as the upheaval over coronavirus protocols in 2020 prevented the Central League players from getting a chance to compete in the postseason.

   Another player from Philadelphia’s suburbs, Devon Prep junior Nick Ciocca, was also crowned as a state champion as he finished atop the leaderboard in Class AA at Penn State’s Blue Course.

   It’s probably noteworthy to report that Downingtown West junior Nick Gross did not win the Class AAA boys crown on Penn State’s White Course, the defending champion settling for a third-place finish behind Cedar Crest freshman Dylan Ramsey.

   But it’s been a whirlwind few months for the kid who stunned the amateur golf world by reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. a week before he turned 16 in August. Hey, nobody wins ’em all in golf.

   And yet Yermish nearly did during her spectacular scholastic career.

   Trailing Phoenixville freshman Kayley Roberts by a shot entering Tuesday’s second round, Yermish ripped off a sparkling 5-under 67 to finish with a 5-under 139 total that was three shots clear of Kayley Roberts, the runnerup.

   For the first time in a long time, I couldn’t make the trip for the second day of the PIAA Championships. The Heritage Hills Golf Resort had its critics as a golf course, but it was an easy drive from the western end of District One. Penn State was a little out of my range.

   I suspect it was pretty chilly in the middle of the state Tuesday morning, but it certainly didn’t seem to bother Yermish. She opened her round with a couple of quick birdies at the second and fourth holes. A bogey at the fifth hole was the only blemish on Yermish’s scorecard and she immediately followed that up with an eagle at the par-5 sixth.

   Yermish was rock solid the rest of the way with birdies at the 11^th and 15^th holes and 10 pars. She had the lead and she wasn’t giving it up.

   Kayley Roberts and big sister Kate, a junior who finished in ninth place, make Phoenixville golf history nearly every time they tee it up in the scholastic postseason. Kayley Roberts had a second straight solid 1-under 71 to earn runnerup honors with a 2-under 142 total.

   The Roberts sisters hung around Happy Valley for another day and led the Phantoms to the PIAA Class AAA team crown in Wednesday’s team competition.  There will be more on the team competition in a separate post later. The Roberts sisters led the Phantoms to their first District One team title last week at Raven’s Claw Golf Club.

   Unionville senior Mary Dunigan capped a pretty strong scholastic career herself Tuesday as she recorded a solid 3-under 69 to finish in third place with a 1-over 145 total. Dunigan had opened with a 4-over 76. Dunigan was a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier and the year she failed to qualify as an individual in 2020, she helped the Longhorns capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown.

   I was under the impression that the players would play the opposite course in Tuesday’s second round to the one they played in the first round, but that was not the case. Both rounds of the Class AAA boys and girls tournaments were played on the White Course while the Class AA boys and girls played the Blue Course both days.

   South Fayette senior Marissa Malosh, a two-time WPIAL Class AAA champion, headed a trio of players tied for fourth place at 5-over 149, four shots behind Dunigan. Malosh added a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 76.

   Malosh was joined at 5-over by a couple of talented western Pennsylvania freshmen, Elizabeth Forward’s Mya Morgan and Peters Township’s Ellie Benson. Morgan added a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 74 while Benson matched Malosh’s splits as she posted a 1-over 73 Tuesday after opening with a 76.

   North Allegheny’s Katie Rose Rankin recorded her second straight 3-over 75 to finish alone in seventh place with a 6-over 150 total.

   Three District One players, Central Bucks West senior Abby Lynn, Kate Roberts, the older of Phoenixville’s Roberts sisters, and Owen J. Roberts’ senior Stefania Fedun rounded out the top 10 in Class AAA with Lynn finishing in eighth place, Kate Roberts landing in ninth and Fedun ending up 10^th.

   Lynn added a 4-over 76 to her opening-round 78 to finish a shot behind Rankin with a 7-over 151 total. Kate Roberts posted her second straight 76 for an 8-over 152 total in her second straight appearance in the state tournament. Fedun, who will join the Lehigh program next summer, shaved three shots off her opening-round 78 with a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to end up with a 9-over 153 total.

   Over at the Blue Course, Warrior Run junior Hannah Rabb carded a 2-over 74, which, combined with her opening round of 2-under 70, gave her the PIAA Class AA crown with an even-par 144 total.

   Rabb held on for a one-shot victory over North East junior Anna Swan of the golfing Swan family. Swan matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 1-over 73 for a 1-over 145 total.

   Rabb opened with a bogey at the first hole, but got it into red figures for the day with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole. Bogeys at the eighth, 14^th and 16^th holes on Rabb’s way to the clubhouse enabled Swan to get close, but Rabb held onto the lead to claim the title.

   It was three shots back to Hickory’s Sasha Petrochko, who finished alone in third place with a 4-over 148 total. Petrochko matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 4-over 76.

   Kate Sowers of West Allegheny bounced back from an opening-round 77 with a 1-over 73 as she finished two shots behind Petrochko in fourth place with a 6-over 150 total.

   Boiling Springs senior Brooke Graham capped a career that saw her tee it up in the state tournament every fall with a 2-over 74 that gave her a 7-over 151 total and a fifth-place finish that was the best of her four appearances. Graham had opened with a 5-over 77.

   Maddie Koshko, a Saint Joseph’s Academy freshman, struggled to an 84 after opening with a 2-over 74 as she finished seven shots behind Graham in sixth place with a 158 total.

   Also at the Blue Course Tuesday, Devon Prep’s Ciocca, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, carded a sparkling 4-under 68 to hold off Slippery Rock senior Jacob Wolak and Lake Lehman junior Michael Lugiano and claim the Class AA state title.

   Ciocca had opened with a 2-under 70 and his solid second round left him with a 6-under 138 total. Wolak closed with an impressive 5-under 67 of his own, making birdies on the 17^th and 18^th holes, as he ended up a shot behind Ciocca in second place with a 5-under 139 total.

   Lugiano, who had opened with a 1-under 71, also finished strong with a 3-under 69 as he was another shot behind Wolak in third place with a 4-under 140 total.

   Ciocca made birdies at the fourth, fifth and seventh holes to get it to 5-under for the championship. A bogey at the eighth hole was the only blemish on Ciocca’s scorecard and he made birdies at 15 and 18 on his way to the clubhouse to hold off Wolak.

   It was Ciocca’s third appearance in the state tournament and he has gotten a little better each year, finishing in a tie for 18^th place as a freshman in 2020 and in a tie for sixth a year ago before ending up at the top of the heap this year. Ciocca plans to join the program at Notre Dame in the summer of 2024.

   Playing in the group ahead of Ciocca, Wolak, who had matched par in Monday’s opening round with a 72, also got off to a fast start with birdies at the sixth, seventh, ninth and 10^th holes. A bogey at the 11^th hole slowed Wolak’s momentum a little, but he got it back to 4-under the championship with a birdie at 12.

   Wolak dropped a shot with a bogey at the 13^th hole before those back-to-back birdies on the final two holes at the Blue Course got him to the clubhouse at 5-under.

   Moravian Academy senior Evan Eichenlaub matched par with a 72 for the second day in a row to finish in fourth place, four shots behind Lugiano with an even-par 144 total.

   Wyoming Seminary sophomore Nick Werner finished two shots behind Eichenlaub in fifth place with a 2-over 146 total as he added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to the solid 1-under 71 he opened with Monday.

   Lake Lehman junior Cael Ropietski and Uniontown junior Logan Voytish finished in a tie for sixth place, a shot behind Werner at 3-over 147. Cael Ropietski added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to the 1-under 71 he posted in the opening round. Voytish had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before finishing up with a 3-over 75.

   Cael Ropietski’s older brother Eli, a senior, gave Lake Lehman a third player inside the top eight as he finished two shots behind his younger brother in eighth place with a 5-over 149 total. Eli Ropietski finished up with a 2-over 74 after opening with a 3-over 75.

   Ciocca had led Devon Prep to the PIAA Class AA team crown a year ago, but Devon Prep was forced to settle for runnerup honors behind a powerful Lake Lehman lineup in Wednesday’s team competition. Again, I’ll round up the team competition in a separate post.

   In the Class AAA boys competition at the White Course, Cedar Crest’s Ramsey birdied the 18^th hole to claim the title by a shot over Pittsburgh Central Catholic senior Rocco Salvitti.

   Ramsey had grabbed a three-shot lead over Salvitti with a sparkling opening round of 3-under 67. Ramsey’s roller-coaster final round resulted in a 1-over 73 that left him with a 4-under 140 total.

   Ramsey had a double bogey and three bogeys, but made four birdies, including the decisive one at the White Course’s finishing hole to hold off Salvitti.

   Salvitti had a really strong summer, earning a spot in the match-play bracket in the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Bandon Dunes Resort on the Oregon coast and finishing in a tie for seventh place in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in suburban Chicago.

   Salvitti, who had opened with a 2-under 70, started slowly in Tuesday’s second round with bogeys at the third, seventh and eighth holes. But he took a run at Ramsey with birdies at the ninth, 10^th, 13^th and 15^th holes. It added up to a final round of 1-under 71 that left Salvitti a shot behind Ramsey with a 3-under 141 total.

   After opening with a 1-over 73 Monday that left him six shots behind Ramsey, Gross tried to force the issue in Tuesday’s final round. He had six birdies and five bogeys on his scorecard for a 1-under 71 that left him three shots behind Salvitti in third place with an even-par 144 total.

   Solanco senior Logan Wagner added a 3-over 75 to his opening round of 2-under 70 to finish a shot behind Gross in fourth place with a 1-over 145 total.

   Cathedral Prep senior Breckin Taylor recorded a second straight 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round to finish a shot behind Wagner in fifth place with a 2-over 146 total.

   The second-best finisher among a strong District One contingent was Central Bucks South senior Noah Moelter, who was part of a trio of players tied for sixth place at 4-over 148. After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Moelter carded a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Moelter was joined at that figure by St. Joseph’s Prep junior Aidan Farkas, a product of the Llanerch Country Club junior program, and Pittsburgh Central Catholic senior Connor Walker. Farkas bounced back from an opening-round 78 with a solid 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round. Walker had the Class AAA field’s best round of the day in Tuesday’s second round, a 3-under 69, a 10-shot improvement on his opening-round 79.

   Among the nine players tied for 10^th place at 5-over 149 were three players from District One, including Penncrest senior Eli Shah, West Chester Rustin sophomore Sam Feeney and Springfield Montco’s Adam Fluehr.

   Shah capped an outstanding scholastic career with a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s final round that gave him a top-10 finish. He had opened with a 78. Feeney, who finished in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman a year ago, matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 77. Fluehr matched par in the opening round with a 72 before finishing up with a 77.

   Perennial Catholic League power La Salle was represented in the top 10 by senior Tyler Leyden, who added a 4-over 76 in the second round after opening with a 73 to join the group at 5-over.

   Rounding out the group tied for 10^th place were Lampeter-Strasburg’s Ben Wilson (77-72), Dallastown’s Lane Krosse (73-76), Peters Township’s Colton Lusk (74-75), Plum’s Wes Lorish (74-75) and Stroudsburg’s Hunter Probst (72-77).