P-W's Gooneratne two back after opening round in bid to repeat in PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State

 

   Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne opened defense of her PIAA Class AAA crown with a solid 2-under-par 70 at Penn State’s White Course that left her two shots behind Elizabeth Forward junior Mya Morgan in second place following Monday’s opening round.

   Gooneratne, coming off a victory in last week’s District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course, offset two bogeys with four birdies to get it in in red figures.

   Not totally sure if everybody started off the first tee, but Gooneratne made birdies on the third, sixth and 10^th holes. She gave a shot back with a bogey at the 11^th hole, made a birdie at 13 and had a bogey at the finishing hole.

   Gooneratne, who will join the program at Delaware next summer, had opened with a 5-over 76 in some fierce winds at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, just up Ridge Pike from Turtle Creek, in last week’s district tournament and battled cold and windy conditions to take the title with a 1-over 73 at the Turtle.

   Holding the PIAA Championship at Penn State in late October is always a risky proposition weather-wise, but temperatures soared to near 80 in Philadelphia’s western suburbs Monday and it sounds like the best scholastic golfers in Pennsylvania were greeted by benign conditions in the middle of the state.

   Morgan, who finished in a tie for seventh place as a sophomore a year ago, made birdies at the 14^th and 18^th holes to finish with a sparkling 4-under 68. Morgan made birdies at the third and fifth holes, bogeyed the ninth, went back-to-back with birdies at 10 and 11 and gave a shot back with a bogey at 12 before finishing strong.

   York Suburban sophomore Vivienne Powers was a shot behind Gooneratne in third place with a 1-under 71.

   Phoenixville junior Kayley Roberts, the runnerup to Gooneratne in last week’s District One Championship, was part of a trio of players tied for fourth place at even-par 72 that also included Peters Township junior Ellie Benson and Cumberland Valley senior Megan Fenton.

   Roberts finished in fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship a year ago after a runnerup finish as a freshman two years ago. Benson finished in a tie for ninth place a year ago.

   Manheim Township junior Piper Smith, the District Three champion, and Jersey Shore senior Cailyn Schall were tied for seventh place following Monday’s opening round as each signed for a 1-over 73.

   Pretty impressive debut at the state tournament for Cardinal O’Hara freshman Alaina Carson, the Catholic League runnerup, as she earned a share of ninth place with Exeter sophomore Giulia Weisser, each posting a 2-over 74.

   A couple of Central League standouts, Conestoga sophomore Jill Burks and Radnor junior Elayna Fanelli, were part of a trio of players tied for 11^th place at 3-over 75 that also included Chambersburg senior Emily Rensch.

   Burks, the medalist in the Central League Championship, finished in a tie for third place in last week’s District One Championship while Fanelli punched her ticket to the state tournament by taking fifth. Burks and Fanelli are appearing in the PIAA Class AAA Championship for the second straight fall.

   Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy junior Maddie Koshko grabbed a one-shot lead in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course with a 1-over 73.

   Koshko, who finished in fifth place in the state tournament as a sophomore a year ago, made a bogey at the second hole, but made her move with a birdie at four and an eagle at the par-5 fifth. Koshko made a bogey at the seventh hole, birdied nine and stumbled with a bogey at 13, a double bogey at 14 and a bogey at 16 before righting the ship with a birdie at 17.

   Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy is in Boalsburg, right next door to State College and I’m pretty sure Koshko has some familiarity with the Blue Course.

   West Middlesex junior Kate Sowers, who finished in a tie for second place in Class AA at the state tournament a year ago, was a shot behind Koshko in second place after registering a 2-over 74. Sowers captured the title in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Girls’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club in the summer.

   Shady Side Academy freshman Alyssa Zhang, Fairview junior Cara Hirz and Tunkhannock senior Hallie Brown were a shot behind Sowers in a tie for third place, each landing on 3-over 75.

   York Catholic senior Olivia Kury was alone in sixth place with a 4-over 76.

   Cedar Crest junior Dylan Ramsey recaptured the magic that made him the PIAA Class AAA champion as a freshman two years ago as he grabbed a one-shot lead with a sizzling 6-under 66 at the White Course in Monday’s opening round of the Class AAA boys tournament.

   Assuming Ramsey started his round off the first tee, the kid birdied seven of the first 11 holes before making a bogey at 16 to finish at 6-under. Ramsey made birdies at the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, 10^th and 11^th holes.

   Peters Township senior Colton Lusk, who finished a shot out of the three-man playoff for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in a tie fourth place a year ago, and Fleetwood sophomore Cameron Peffel were a shot behind Ramsey in a tie for second place as each registered a sparkling 5-under 67. Lusk captured the WPIAL individual crown earlier this month.

   Governor Mifflin senior Nate Radwanski and Fox Chapel sophomore Carson Kittsley shared fourth place following the opening round as each carded a 4-under 68.

   York Suburban senior Andrew Ekstrom, the District Three Class AAA champion, State College sophomore Luke McGowan, Central York junior Dallas Inch and Mechanicsburg senior Zach Rengen landed in a tie for sixth place, each ending up with a 3-under 69.

   It was a tough day for the District One contingent, although Conestoga freshman Will Johnson, the Central League champion and the runnerup in last week’s District One Class AAA Championship, continued his impressive postseason run as he posted a 2-under 70 to join a group of six other players tied for 10^th place.

   That group included another District One competitor in Unionville junior Charlie Barrickman.

   Also in the group at 2-under were Daniel Boone junior Chase Yenser, Nazareth senior Zachary Miller, South Western senior Ryan Hilyard, Stroudsburg senior Hunter Probst and Dallastown senior Reed Krosse.

   Schuylkill Haven sophomore Alan Evans and Quaker Valley senior Ethan Dai each tallied a 4-under 68 at Penn State’s Blue Course to share the top spot on the Class AA leaderboard following Monday’s opening round.

   Evans had a couple of birdie bursts in his round as he made birdies at the first, second and fourth holes and, after briefly stumbling with bogeys at six and eight, he made birdies at 13, 14 and 16.

   Dai had a roller-coaster of a round as he followed up a birdie at the first hole with an eagle at the par-5 fifth. He then added birdies at the sixth, 11^th and 12^th holes. Dai made a bogey at the 13^th hole and bounced back with a birdie at 15 before making bogeys at 16 and 17.

   Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School junior Jonah Schollaert was a shot behind Evans and Dai in third place after posting a 3-under 68.

   Lurking a shot behind Schollaert in fourth place was defending PIAA Class AA champion Nick Werner, a senior at Wyoming Seminary and a Penn State recruit, as Werner put together a solid 2-under 70.

   Wilmington sophomore Santino Toscano and Lake Lehman senior Charlie Weidner were another shot behind Werner in a tie for fifth place, each signing for a 1-under 71.

   As an Archbishop Carroll graduate, I have to note the presence of a Patriot in the top 10 following Monday’s opening round as Jason DiRita, a senior, matched par with a 72 that left him among a trio of players tied for seventh place along with Fairview junior Anthony Laboda and Dai’s Quaker Valley teammate, senior Noah Wagoner.