By Rick Woelfel
LIMERICK—A lot of hardware was given out at the District One golf championship on Wednesday afternoon.Council Rick North went home with most of it.
The Indians left Turtle Creek Golf Course with all three championship trophies.
Sophomore Zach Herr fired a 68 to claim the boys’ individual title. His sister, freshman Erica Herr, shot her second consecutive 73 to claim the individual girls’ championship.Not surprisingly, the Indians claimed the boys’ team title as well.
Zach Herr finished two trips around the 6,375-yard layout at Turtle Creek in 1-under par 143. His Wednesday round featured a hole-in-one.
Herr’s teammate Brandon Dalinka, the defending champion, was betrayed by a balky putter but still managed a 73 to finish alone in second place at even-par 144.
T.J. Summers of Central Bucks West and Ben Cooley from Abington were part of a tie for third at 146 after shooting a 76 and a 74 respectively.
The top 16 finishers will move on to the PIAA Eastern Regional championship next Tuesday at Golden Oaks. The list of qualifiers includes Rich Thorpe from Abington (150), Zach Pogust from Plymouth Whitemarsh, and Mike Lam from Neshaminy (151), along with Jalen Griffin (Wissahickon) and Colby Lederer from Neshaminy (154). Lederer earned his spot in a three-for-two playoff.
Herr gave his round a jump-start when he aced the 136-yard third hole. His 50-degree wedge hit eight feet past the pin and spun back into the cup. He bogeyed the next two holes but still made the turn in 1-under par 35.
“After (the two bogeys) I came back to reality and said ‘You’ve got to start playing well,’” Herr said.
Herr got hot with his putter on the back side, draining three birdies in a span of four holes and coming in in 3-under par 33.
Dalinka, playing two groups behind Herr in the last group of the day, was hampered by putting difficulties but was still in a position to tie his teammate and force a playoff before he missed a long birdie try at the final green.
“It was the worst putting day I’ve ever had,” Dalinka said. “It was absolutely miserable.”
Erica Herr started the final round three shots behind Jordan Glatt of Central Bucks East and one behind Gabriella DiMarco of West Chester East, both of whom were paired with her in the final group.By the time the trio made the turn, Herr had overtaken them with a 2-under par 34. Starting on the 10th tee of a layout that measured 5,828 yards for the girls, Herr recorded four birdies on her opening nine to take a one-shot lead.
Herr and Glatt shared the lead with two holes left but Glatt three-putted from 25 feet at the eighth (the group’s 17th hole of the day), then missed a long birdie try at 18.
“I made quite a few 10-footers to save par,” Herr said. “The greens were really hard to read today, they were a lot faster today than (Tuesday).”
Herr will head a list of eight girls who will advance to the Eastern Regional. Glatt closed with a 77 to finish alone in second place at 147. Ashley Cassidy from Central Bucks East shot a 76 to finish seventh at 160, while Melanie Dickens from North Penn shot an 80 to claim the final slot at 162.
The Herr’s brother-sister effort gave the Indians a huge lift in the boys’ team competition. The format called for each of the 13 teams in the field to use its four lowest scores from a five-player lineup.
North turned in a 292 that gave it a 16-shot victory over New Hope-Solebury, which finished at 306. Holy Ghost Prep was third in the 13-team field at 307.
Zach Herr’s 68 led the way for the Indians. Erica Herr and Dalinka shot matching 73s while Austin Birky carded an 80.
The Indians didn’t need Liam Kane’s 90 but the senior was just as excited about the result as his teammates.
“It’s very satisfying,” he said. “All our players came up very big. It’s very satisfying to get out of (District One).”
Kane was quick to note the caliber of opposition North had to get past on Wednesday.
“Holy Ghost and New Hope-Solebury are very good,” he said. “We knew that coming in. It’s almost harder to get out of districts than it is to get out of regionals. We knew this was going to be a tough test, but we got it done.”
Birky, who is also a senior, was confident going in because of his teammates’ proven ability to post low numbers.
“I knew Brandon and Zach would play well,” he said, “and Erica too, so I just tried to shoot under 80 and I was happy I did that.”
The Eastern Regional will include the team champions from Districts One, Two, Three, Four, 11 and 12. Two of the six teams will advance from the regional to the state championship.
Last year the Indians missed out on a trip to states by one stroke.
- Log in to post comments
0
