State College's McGraw goes low at Indian Spring to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Luke McGraw will be one of the top returning scholastic players in Pennsylvania when he tees off for his senior season late this summer.

   McGraw, a Boalsburg resident, finished in a tie for ninth place in the individual standings in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course last fall and then capped his junior season by helping the Little Lions come up just short of a state Class AAA team crown as they finished in a tie for second place with Radnor, a shot behind state champion Unionville.

   McGraw took an Easter weekend road trip to Indian Spring Country Club in Marlton, N.J. on a spectacular first Saturday in April for golf and carded a sparkling 1-under-par 69 to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   McGraw made birdies on the second, third, fifth and 10^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard. He got it to 3-under through 14 holes before making a couple of late bogeys.

   Ravi Gohel of Mount Laurel, N.J. earned runnerup honors as he made birdies at the third, ninth and 14^th holes and had 10 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from 10 through 13, as he finished four shots behind McGraw with a solid 3-over 73.

   Joey Higgins, a junior on the Philadelphia Academy Charter School golf team, made a birdie on the ninth hole and had nine pars on his card as he finished five shots behind Gohel in third place with a 78.

   Tyler Sharpe of Woolwich Township, N.J. took fourth place with a 79 and Matthew Perez of Linwood, N.J. finished fifth with an 80.

   The foursome of David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J., Shea Henefer of Moorestown, N.J., Ryan Stankoski of Mullica Hill, N.J. and Benjamin Perticari of West Deptford, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Tim Croyle, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Pennridge last fall, as he finished in 10^th place with an 82.

   A couple of graduates from a very competitive 12-and-under division in 2025, Helmut Dang of Newtown Square and Preston Minio of Lansdale, finished 1-2, respectively, in the 13-to-15 division.

   Dang opened his round with a birdie at the first hole and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including a run of seven straight pars from six through 12, as he claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory among the younger guys with a 4-over 74.

   Minio had 11 pars on his card, including a string of six straight pars from the fifth through the 10^th holes, as he earned runnerup honors with a 78.

   David Padgett of Barnegat, N.J. made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had eight pars on his card, closing his round with three straight pars, as he finished in third place with a 79.

   Rithvik Nimma, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Council Rock North last fall, took fourth place with an 80 and Jackson Roy, playing close to his Marlton, N.J. home, was fifth with an 81.

   The quartet of Mark Westfall, another guy playing close to his Marlton, N.J. home, Jonah Lowenberg of Villanova, Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr and Lucas Solano of Vineland, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place, each recording an 82.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was the pair of Jason Leekley of Moorestown, N.J. and Beckett Kush of Yardley as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each tallying an 83.

   It was a home game for Siena Cohen, a Marlton, N.J. resident, and she made a birdie on the 13^th hole and had nine pars on her scorecard to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 84.

   It was a tight battle for the top spot as Morgan Tyhanic of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. had six pars on her card as she finished a shot behind Cohen in second place with an 85.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Christina St. Pierre, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Pennsbury last fall, as she had a pair of pars on the incoming nine at Indian Spring to finish in third place with a 96.

   Mallie Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. made pars on the ninth and 13^th holes as she finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 91.

   Madison Cabot of Newtown, the reigning Player of the Year in the 13-to-15 division, had three pars on her scorecard as she finished three shots behind Heenan in second place with a 94.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. made a par on the third hole as she finished in third place with a 97.

   Sophia Carvalho of Downingtown took fourth place with a 101 and Molly Wagner of Newark, Del. rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 104.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia had five pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. had three pars on his card, closing out his round with back-to-back pars at the eighth and ninth holes, as he earned runnerup honors with a 41.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville had four pars on his card, including a string of three straight pars at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, as he finished a shot behind Rollins in third place with a 42.

   Caden Bartra of Yardley took fourth place with a 43, James Schneider of Penn Valley and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. shared fifth, each registering a 45, and Kash Gray of Eagleville finished seventh with a 46.

   Ben Cho of Chesterbrook took eighth place with a 47, Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. was ninth with a 48 and Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 51.

   Charlotte Cabot, another member of Newtown’s Team Cabot, bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holers with a 54.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester rounded out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division as she finished in second place with a 58.