Moelter is ahead of the pack in a Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship qualifier at Rock Manor

   Noah Moelter was one of District One’s best players during his senior season at Central Bucks South last fall.

   Moelter earned a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course with a fourth-place finish in the always competitive District One Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course. Moelter then finished in a tie for sixth place at the state tournament.

   Looks like Moelter’s game has survived the winter in good shape as he took the first step on the road to the Boys Junior PGA Championship by finishing first overall in a qualifier for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship with a solid 1-under-par 70 Saturday at Rock Manor Golf Course near Wilmington, Del.

   Pretty sure last weekend’s miserable weather washed out the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour schedule, so the junior players were out in force with the weather starting to resemble spring a little and a berth in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship on the line.

   After making a birdie on the fourth hole, Moelter ripped off three straight birdies at nine, 10 and 11 before adding his fifth bird of the round at 16. He had nine pars on his scorecard and toured the outgoing nine at Rock Manor in 1-under 35,

   Moelter will be headed to the middle of Pennsylvania for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship July 10^th at the Toftrees Golf Resort outside of State College. The top finishers at Toftrees will qualify for the Boys Junior PGA Championship, which tees off Aug. 1^st at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.

   The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 age groups, although the qualifier was for overall scoring for boys ages 13 to 18. Moelter’s 1-under round gave him a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Evan Eichenlaub, a senior at Moravian Academy and a two-time PIAA Class AA qualifier, was the runnerup in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring with a 3-over 74. Eichenlaub made an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole and had birdies on 10, 13 and 18 to go with the seven pars on his card.

   Michael Vital, a senior at Liberty who is headed for Temple along with twin brother Matt, finished in third place among the older guys and in a tie for fourth in the overall scoring with a 6-over 77. Michael Vital made birdies on the seventh, ninth, 11^th and 13^th holes and had six pars on his card.

   Dallastown sophomore Reed Krosse finished a shot behind Michael Vital in fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for seventh in the overall chase with a 78. Rider Nicholl of Landenberg was a shot behind Krosse with an 80 that left him in fifth place in the division and ninth in the overall scoring.

   The other Vital twin, Matt, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Liberty, and Rudy Mench of Wilmington, Del. finished in a tie for sixth place and earned a trip to Toftrees by ending up in a tie for 10^th in the overall scoring, each registering an 80.

   Tyler Debusschere, who capped his senior season at Strath Haven by punching his ticket to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State, and Ian Yoo of Blue Bell each posted an 80 to finish in a tie for eighth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for 12^th in the overall scoring.

   St. Joseph Prep junior Aidan Farkas, an Ardmore resident who finished in a tie for sixth place along with Moelter in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, and Joshua Freeman of Middletown, Del. finished in a tie for 10^th place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for 17^th in the overall scoring as each carded an 82.

   The cutoff to advance to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship was at 83 and that proved to be a popular number as four players from the 16-to-18 division and three more from the 13-to-15 division landed on that figure.

   The quartet of older guys with 83s and who finished in a tie for 19^th place in the overall scoring included West Chester Rustin sophomore Nick Linkchorst, Conestoga senior Sachin Blake, Michael Dignazio of Wilmington, Del. and Michael Rieger of Collegeville.

   Seiji Sako, who was a District One Class AAA qualifier in his freshman season at Lower Merion last fall, claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division and finished in third place in the overall scoring with a solid 4-over 75. Sako made birdies at the ninth and 13^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard, seven of them on Rock Manor’s incoming nine.

   Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. and Declan Conner of Swarthmore each posted a 6-over 77 to earn runnerup honors among the younger guys and finish in a tie for fourth place in the overall scoring with Michael Vital from the 16-to-18 division.

   Sieben made a birdie on the third hole and had 11 pars on his card, including seven straight to finish his round. Conner matched Sieben’s birdie at the third hole and also had 11 pars on his card, including five straight to finish his round.

   Christopher Sung of Paoli finished alone in fourth place in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for seventh in the overall scoring with a 78.

    Michael Liu of Garnet Valley, Ian Larsen of Glenmoore and Henry Nowak of Wilmington, Del. each carded an 81 to finish in a tie for fifth place in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for 12^th overall.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J., Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown and Jake Patterson of Malvern as they each recorded an 83 to finish in a tie for eighth place in the division and join the large group of seven players to make the cut on the number to advance to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Toftrees in July.

   William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr bested a competitive field of nine-holers as he made a birdie at the third hole and had four pars on his scorecard on his way to a 5-over 41.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova earned runnerup honors as he had four pars on his card while finishing a shot behind Quartermain with a 42.

   Ethan Meersman of Fort Washington and Rayan Shah of Langhorne finished in a tie for third place as each posted a 44. Meersman made birdies at third and ninth holes and added a par at five. Shah finished his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had four pars on his card.

   Jack Sokol of Villanova’s Team Sokol took fifth place with a 45, Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring was sixth with a 47 and Jake Julian of Malvern was seventh with a 48.

   Bryce Moyer of Bryn Mawr and Theodore Diamond of Lutherville-Timonium, Md. finished in a tie for eighth place, each carding a 51, and Vidushi Gupta of Malvern rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division, ending up in 10^th place with a 59.