Ben Reese recaps the opening round of the District One Championships. Ten SOL boys advanced and three girls moved on to the second round.
By Ben Reese
LIMERICK -- Last year, Shane Nocito was itching to advance from the Suburban One League golf championship to the District One championship.
However, it was not to be.
This year, Nocito, the lone Harry S. Truman golfer in the SOL championship, went one better, qualifying for the districts at Turtle Creek Golf Course. He became only the second golfer in recent memory to get that far and the first since 2002.
Now he has gone one step further, qualifying for the second round of district play after shooting a 2-over 74. That gained him a tie for eighth heading into the final round as one of the 30 players to make the cut, which was set at 78.
Leading the way for the girls, who played their first round at Gilbertsville Golf Club, was Central Bucks East's Sophia Mancuso, who tied for the lead with Radnor's Gabby Kim at 6-over 77. Holding the lead for the boys is Luke Shevlin of Rustin with a 2-under 70, one shot ahead of Methacton's Kyle Vance.
So, Shane, how was your first experience at districts?
"I was a little nervous on the first tee for my first hole," Nocito said, "which was No. 8. But then I literally had one birdie, three bogeys and all pars.
"I was making par putts the whole day. They were usually four or five feet. I had a few tap-ins for par.
"I had one birdie, which was on 17. I rolled in a putt from about 20 feet, my only birdie of the day.
"I love the greens. The greens are phenomenal. I have their speed down really good."
He took his qualifying with a straight face.
"I don't really show emotion that much," Nocito said. "I'm excited to make it to tomorrow. This is the first time qualifying for the second day."
He was also aware of his newfound status at Truman.
"I knew about that coming in, so if I do (qualify for regionals) it's going to be more awesome," he said. "That's what I'm planning on doing. It should be fun."
Fun wasn't a word often heard on the course. A strong wind was blowing and affected a lot of shots.
"The wind was tough," Nocito conceded. "I hit a 6-iron 200 yards, but I was getting a 155-yard shot with a 6-iron. There was definitely a 20-30 yard difference (against the wind)."
David Kim of Upper Dublin is no stranger to the districts or the regionals and states as well. He reached both regionals and states in 2015.
In the first round of districts this year, he shot a 3-over 75, which tied him for 11th place.
"Making (states) again would be a good goal, I think, especially because I know I can do it,” Kim said.
He has an affinity for Golden Oaks in Fleetwood, the site of the Regional Championship. In last year's regional, he shot a 71 to finish third.
"I do like Golden Oaks," Kim said with a smile. "Hopefully, I'm going to get through and then play well at Golden Oaks."
Kim had a bit of a problem getting started. But once he did, he came on strong.
"I finished well," he said. "I had a lot of birdies but then I bogeyed the hole after."
And he also found a way to conquer the wind.
"(It bothered me) on a few holes, par 3s definitely," he said. "On the par 4s, I would just hit driver or 3-wood close to the green, so it didn't affect the second shot much."
Cheltenham's Steve DeFrancis is another golfer who is looking for retribution this year. He missed out on making the second round of districts in 2015.
"I shot an 82 last year with an eight on the last hole," DeFrancis said. "I had to birdie the very last hole to qualify and it just didn't happen."
But he seems ready to succeed this time around.
"I feel very confident," he said. "I was playing really good (earlier in the year).
"I shot four 72s in a row and then I went into a little slump. I'm starting to get out of it."
At just the right time.
Another golfer who putted lights-out was Central Bucks East's Patrick Sheehan. He turned in a 5-over 77 to tie for 19th with North Penn's Ron Robinson and Connor Welles of Council Rock North.
"The best that I ever putted in my whole entire life," Sheehan stated. "No three-putts.
"If I hadn't been able to putt, I definitely wouldn't have made this. That's all I did was make putts."
Sheehan is another of the golfers who failed to make the second round last year, but that isn't holding him back.
"I'm definitely excited because last year I missed the cut by one," he said. "I was kind of heartbroken. But I'm definitely excited."
Several other SOL golfers advanced to the second round. North Penn's Andrew Lombardo tied for 15th with a 76 and Hayden Moffat of Hatboro-Horsham, Council Rock South's Griffin Smith, Thomas Butler of Souderton and Wissahickon's Phil James all advanced by hitting the cut on the number, 78.
For the girls, only three Suburban One League golfers advanced to the second round. In addition to Mancuso, Cristea Park of Wissahickon and Cassidy Gavaghan of Hatboro-Horsham both tied for fifth at 81.
The 30 boys and 16 girls who qualified will play the second round Tuesday at Turtle Creek, teeing off at 9:30 a.m. The top 16 boys and eight girls will move on to the Regional Championship at Golden Oaks in Fleetwood on Oct. 17.
DISTRICT ONE BOYS -- FIRST ROUND
1 Luke Shevlin, Rustin -2 70
T2 Kyle Vance, Methacton -1 71
T2 Evan Brown, Kennett -1 71
T2 Ryan Conners, Bish. Shanahan -1 71
5 Ben Pochet, Spring-Ford E 72
T6 Stephen Borst, Great Valley +1 73
T6 Jake Calamaro, Radnor +1 73
T8 Caleb Ryan, Norristown +2 74
T8 Shane Nocito, Truman +2 74
T8 Jack Niemkiewicz, Unionville +2 74
T11 Alex Cook, Conestoga +3 75
T11 David Kim, Upper Dublin +3 75
T11 Connor Boham, Spring-Ford +3 75
T11 Nick Gianelos, Unionville +3 75
T15 Andrew Lombardo, North Penn +4 76
T15 Chase Armor, Spring-Ford +4 76
T15 Wills Montgomery, Downingtown E +4 76
T15 Stephen DeFrancis, Cheltenham +4 76
T19 J.T. Spina, Pope John Paul III +5 77
T19 Ron Robinson, North Penn +5 77
T19 David Colleran, Radnor +5 77
T19 Connor Welles, CR North +5 77
T19 Gunnar Gale, Methacton +5 77
T19 Patrick Sheehan, CB East +5 77
T25 David Robbins, Holy Ghost Prep +6 78
T25 Alex Golland, Lower Merion +6 78
T25 Hayden Moffat, Hatboro-Horsham +6 78
T25 Griffin Smith, CR South +6 78
T25 Thomas Butler, Souderton +6 78
T25 Phil James, Wissahickon +6 78
DISTRICT ONE GIRLS RESULTS -- FIRST ROUND
T1 Sophia Mancuso CB East +6 77
T1 Gabby Kim Radnor +6 77
3 June Kim Radnor +7 78
4 Samantha Yao Conestoga +8 79
T5 Liddie McCook Downingtown East +10 81
T5 Cristea Park Wissahickon +10 81
T5 Alex Mercader Mt. St. Joseph +10 81
T5 Cassidy Gavaghan H-H +10 81
9 Sophia Amoroso W.C. East +11 82
T10 Liv Juliana Great Valley +12 83
T10 Emma Lawrie Methacton +12 83
T12 Caprian Kan Chichester +13 84
T12 Grace Simenson Phoenixville +13 84
T14 Caitlin Mahon Mt. St. Joseph +14 85
T14 Georgia Naples W.C. East +14 85
T14 Chloe Niu Harriton +14 85
T14 Savanna Haas Boyertown +14 85
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