Conner heads the youth movement with Philly Junior Tour victory at RiverCrest

 

   The guys at the top of the younger 13-to-15 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve July 24^th flashed some talent.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore made birdies at the second, fifth and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard as he had the best score of the day, a 3-over-par 74 over the par 71 RiverCrest layout in Upper Providence, Montgomery County, to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Colby Komancheck, whose father Jamie is the head pro and whose mother Kelly is the pro shop manager at, headed a group of three players tied for second place, each ending up at 4-over 75, a shot behind Conner.

   Komancheck was the winner of the 13-to-15 division with a fairly spectacular 1-under 70 that featured two eagles when the Philly Junior Tour stopped at RiverCrest a year ago. Komancheck wasn’t quite that hot this year, but still made birdies at the second, fourth, 16^th and 18^th holes and had seven pars on his card in getting around in 4-over this time.

   Komancheck was joined at that figure by Conestoga sophomore Chris Sung and Ian Larsen of Glenmoore. Sung got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes, added another birdie at 18 and had nine pars on his card, six off them coming in a front nine of 1-under 35. Larsen made birdies on the second and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Sung is coming off a solid freshman season at Conestoga and Conner, Komancheck and Larsen are all Class of 2027 entries and figure to make a splash on the scholastic scene somewhere this fall. I know Larsen will be joining the team with defending District One Class AAA champion Downingtown West. Not sure where Conner and Komancheck will be matriculating, but I’ll find out soon enough.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester took fifth place in the 13-to-15 division, Luke LaScala of Wilmington, Del. was sixth with an 81 and Andrew Carroccio of Newtown Square was seventh with an 82.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a trio of players tied for eighth place at 83 that included Episcopal Academy eighth-grader Max Leung, Timothy Burns of Phoenixville and Bryan Hebding of Bel Air, Md.

   Three players finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division at 8-over 79, including Methacton junior Matthew Rieger, Andrew Elliott of Souderton and Gavin Dirkes of Berwyn.

   Rieger’s steady round included a birdie at the 18^th hole and 11 pars, eight of them on RiverCrest’s outgoing nine.

   Elliott made birdies on the second, fifth and 16^th holes and had five pars on his scorecard. Dirkes made birdies at the seventh and 15^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Brady Manning, who capped his scholastic career by helping Downingtown West claim that District One Class AAA crown last fall at Turtle Creek Golf Course, and Owen J. Roberts senior Erik Harken finished a shot behind the top three in a tie for fourth place, each recording an 80.

   Radnor senior Shaun Mazzalupi, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, finished alone in sixth place with an 82.

   Brody Bell, a sophomore on Malvern Prep’s Inter-Ac League championship team last fall, Brady Gallagher of Quakertown and Quin Bongiovanni of Ardmore finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 83.

   Souderton senior Shane Callahan and Jack Sweeney of Harleysville rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each carding an 84.

   Upper Merion junior Alyssa Schuebel had a steady round that featured 10 pars as she had the best score in the girls divisions, earning a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with an 86.

   Elizabeth Hershey of Malvern had four pars on her scorecard, all of them on the back nine at RiverCrest, as she was the runnerup with a 92. Ava McCaughan of West Chester had five pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 95.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Katelyn Grimes of Malvern as she finished in fourth place with a 100.

   Saloni Patel of Collegeville made a birdie on the 18^th hole and three pars on the incoming nine at RiverCrest as she earned top honors in the 13-to-15 division with a 90.

   Eliza Meersman of Fort Washington had three pars on her card as she was the runnerup among the younger girls with a 100. Sarah Lester-Stranick of Lewes, Del. took third place with a 107.

   Audrey Comly of Phoenixville took fourth place with a 109 and Michaela Ianieri of Ambler rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 118.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale made a birdie on the ninth hole and had five pars on his scorecard as he bested a typically competitive group of nine-holers with a 2-over 38.

   Nathan Lobo of Collegeville finished his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had four pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Minio in second place with a 3-over 39.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 40.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown took fourth place with a 43, Ethan Meersman, another member of Fort Washington’s Team Meersman, was fifth with a 44, Max Davis of Newtown Square was sixth with a 45 and Jack Sokol, another member of Villanova’s Team Sokol, was seventh with a 46.

   Logan Turner of Berwyn took eighth place with a 47, Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford was ninth with a 49 and Bryce Moyer of Bryn Mawr rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing in 10^th place with a 54.