Yan the boys winner, Kritsky tops girls field in AJGA Junior at Huntsville

 

   The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) has always tried to get an event in the Philadelphia region on its schedule.

   The PDQ / Philadelphia Runner Junior began at White Manor Country Club and concluded at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Weyhill Course after a run of about a decade. It was renamed the Junor Golf Hub for one more year at Saucon Valley.

   The AJGA Philadelphia Junior lasted just one year at Huntingdon Valley Country Club in 2018 before the AJGA spent a couple of years at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington, Del. for the Imperial Headwear Junior Classic.  

   I had lost track of the AJGA stop in the Philadelphia area last summer when it apparently resurfaced as the AGJA Junior at Huntsville at Huntsville Golf Club, a classy Rees Jones design in Dallas, Luzerne County.

   The Philly AJGA stop used to be played in late August, but it has steadily moved to earlier summer dates. The AJGA Junior at Huntsville was contested from July 8^th to 11^th. It’s usually a little cooler in northeastern Pennsylvania than it is closer to Philadelphia, but I’m sure some of the top junior golfers in the country were greeted by some heat and humidity in the week after the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

   As usual, though, the closest AJGA event brought out many of Pennsylvania’s top junior players and that makes it something worth recapping for a golf blog that likes to think of junior golf as a specialty.

   Josh Yan, a high school junior from Newburgh, N.Y., put on quite a show in the final round to cruise to his first AJGA victory by three shots with a 5-under-par 211 total.

   Yan opened with a solid 3-under 69 over a Huntsville layout that played to 6,983 yards and a par of 72 for the guys, but struggled to a 3-over 75 in the second round that left him four shots behind Ravi Desai, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at North Allegheny last fall.

   But Yan separated himself from the field with a remarkable 29 on the outgoing nine at Huntsville that featured birdies at the second, third, fourth, fifth sixth, seventh and ninth holes, seven of them in all.

   After making his eighth birdie of the day at the 12^th hole, Yan finally cooled off a little with bogeys at 13, 14 and 18. It still added up to a sparkling 5-under 67 that left him three shots clear of runnerup Collin Allstrin, like Yan, a Class of 2026 entry from Prosper, Texas.

   Allstrin was only a shot behind Desai going into the final round as he matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-under 69. He closed with a 1-over 73 to finish alone in second place with a 2-under 214 total.

   The top two finishers from Pennsylvania were Peters Township senior Colton Lusk and recent Lake Lehman graduate Michael Lugiano as they finished in a tie for third place at even-par 216, two shots behind Allstrin.

   Lusk, who finished in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State last fall, opened with a solid 3-under 69, but struggled in the second round with a 4-over 76 before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Lugiano contended for the PIAA Class AA title in each of the last two falls, finishing in a tie for second place last fall and in third place in 2022. He will join the program at Liberty next month.

   Playing on his home course at Huntsville, Lugiano was remarkably consistent, matching par in each round with three 72s to join Lusk at even-par for the tournament.

   The Asselta brothers of Ramsey, N.J. were part of a quartet of players tied for fifth place at 1-over 217.

   Michael Asselta, who will be a junior at St. Joseph Regional of Montvale, carded back-to-back 1-over 73s in the final two rounds after opening with a 1-under 71.

   I’m guessing Rory Asselta will be joining his big brother at St. Joseph for his freshman season in a few weeks. Rory Asselta had grabbed a share of the lead with an opening round of 4-under 68. He added a 2-over 74 in the second round before closing with a 3-over 75 to join his brother at 1-over.

   North Allegheny’s Desai had the lead going into the final round as he matched par with a 72 in the second round after matching Rory Asselta’s 4-under 68 in the opening round. Desai struggled a little in the final round with a 5-over 77 to join the group tied for fifth place at 1-over.

   Rounding out the foursome at 1-over was Andre Zhu, a Class of ’25 competitor from Canada. After opening with a 1-over 73, Zhu added a 74 in the second round before closing with a solid 1-under 70.

   Malvern Prep junior Davis Conaway picked up a top-10 finish as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a pair of 1-over 73s to finish alone in ninth place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Conaway captured the title in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship as a freshman at Llanerch Country Club in 2022 before finishing in a tie for third place last fall at Aronimink Golf Club.

   York Suburban junior Callahan Harrell finished in a tie for 10^th place with a 5-over 221 total as he closed with a 3-over 75 after registering a pair of 1-over 73s in the first two rounds.

   Wyoming Seminary senior Nick Werner, the reigning PIAA Class AA champion, finished alone in 13^th place as he opened with a solid 3-under 69, but struggled after that with a 6-over 78 I the second round before closing with a 77.

   Recent Butler graduate Hunter Swidzinski, who captured the PIAA Class AAA crown last fall at Penn State’s Blue Course, finished in a tie for 14^th place at 225 as he opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a pair of 4-over 76s in the final two rounds. Swidzinski will join the program at Longwood University next month.

   Harrell’s York Suburban teammate Andrew Ekstrom, a senior who has been a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of the last two seasons, finished among the group tied for 17^th place with a 227 total. Ekstrom added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with a 77.

   Daniel Boone junior Chase Yenser, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, got into the top 20 as he finished in a tie for 20^th place with a 228 total. Yenser added a 3-over 75 in the second round to his opening-round 77 before finishing up with a 76.

   There was also a first-time AJGA winner on the girls side at Huntsville and in equally impressive fashion as Josephina Lillian Kritsky of Potomac Falls, Va. closed with a flawless 3-under 69 to claim a two-shot victory over Aliya Liberatore of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Kritsky, a Class of ’27 competitor, opened with a 2-over 74 over a Huntsville layout that measured 5,916 yards and played to a par of 72 for the girls. She added a 1-under 71 in the second round that left her three shots behind Grace Carter, a Class of ’29 phenom from Jupiter, Fla., going into the final round.

   But Kritsky made birdies on the fifth, 15^th and 17^th holes and had 15 pars on her scorecard in a masterful bogeyless effort that left Kritsky with a 2-under 214 total.

   Liberatore, a Class of ’25 entry, opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 1-under 71 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72 to finish two shots behind Kritsky in second place with an even-par 216 total.

   Elin Wang, a Class of ’28 competitor from China, was another shot behind Liberatore in third place with a 1-over 217 total. Elin Wang sandwiched a 1-under 71 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Elin Wang’s older sister, Xizihan (Hanny) Wang, a Class of ’26 competitor, finished a shot behind her little sister in a tie for fourth place with Carter, each landing on 2-over 218.

   Hanny Wang got off to a good start with a solid 2-under 70, but struggled to a 6-over 78 in the second round before closing with another 2-under 70.

   Carter led Liberatore and Elin Wang by three shots going into the final round as she opened with a sparkling 3-under 69 before matching par in the second round with a 72. She struggled to a 5-over 77 in the final round to get a share of fourth place with Hanny Wang.

   Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne, the reigning PIAA Class AAA champion, finished in a tie for sixth place with Vidhi Lakhawala, a Class of ’26 competitor from Kendall Park, N.J., each ending up with a 3-over 219 total.

   After opening with a solid 1-under 71, Gooneratne struggled a little in the second round with a 4-over 76 before matching par in the final round with a 72. Lakhawala opened with the best round of the tournament, a sizzling 5-under 67, but backed off with a 7-over 79 in the second round before closing with a 73.

   Phoenixville’s Roberts sisters, Kayley, a junior, and Kate, a recent Phoenixville High graduate, both teed it up at Huntsville with Kayley getting the better of her big sister this time.

   Kayley Roberts signed for a pair of 3-over 75s in the first two rounds before closing with a 77 as she finished alone in 15^th place with an 11-over 227 total.

   Kate Roberts sandwiched a 3-over 75 in the second round with a pair of 80s as he finished in 24^th place with a 235 total. I’m hearing Kate Roberts will be taking a gap year before embarking on her college career.

   Last fall, Kate Roberts edged Kayley Roberts by a shot to capture the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course, basically the home away from home for the sisters. Kate Roberts finished in a tie for second place behind Gooneratne in the PIAA Class AAA Championship while Kayley Roberts ended up in fourth.

   Tunkhannock senior Hallie Brown, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, finished a shot behind Kayley Roberts in 16^th place with a 228 total as she added a 3-over 75 in the second round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a 77.

   Episcopal Academy senior Clarissa Leung, who captured the Inter-Ac League and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) individual crowns in the spring, finished two shots behind Brown in 17^th place with a 230 total. Leung, who plays out of White Manor Country Club, struggled to a pair of 7-over 79s in the first two rounds before finding her groove and matching par with a 72 in the final round.

   Danielle Higbee, a Class of ’25 entry out of Mickleton, N.J., got better as the week wore on as she finished in a tie for 22^nd place with a 234 total. Higbee, who has frequently appeared on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards during her junior career, bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a 6-over 78 in the second round before closing with a solid 73.