District 11 golf: Northampton’s Pychinka, Southern Lehigh’s Walsh come through in clutch

Caleb Walsh’s thoughts were not all that good as he stood over his third shot to the par-4 18th hole during Tuesday’s District 11 Golf Championships at Steel Club.

“The lie was awful,” the Southern Lehigh junior said. “It was buried down. I thought I had no chance to get it somewhere close.”

Walsh’s ball was nestled down next to the bunker that guards the two-tiered green on the left.

“I was expecting bogey, maybe double,” he added.

But Walsh saved one of the best shots of his life for a moment when Southern Lehigh was battling EPC champion Nazareth and runner-up Northampton for the district team title.

A mistake like Walsh feared also could have cost him a spot in the PIAA’s individual tournament.

Instead, Walsh watched his chip roll down from the top tier, hit the flag stick and drop into the hole for birdie.

Southern Lehigh beat Northampton by one shot (313-314) and Nazareth (317) by four to win the team title and advance to the Class 3A subregional this month. Walsh finished third in the district 3A individual competition to secure his state berth.

“[The ball] was going 20 feet by if it missed [the hole],” Walsh said.

The district title was Southern Lehigh’s third overall, second in a row. Coach Matt Greenawald’s Spartans, the Colonial League regular-season and tournament champions, advance to the subregional Oct. 16 at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Grace Course against the Districts 1 and 12 champions.

“Something just made it seem like it was meant to be,” Greenawald said.

There were other clutch performances late in the round for Southern Lehigh. David Burmeister made eagle on the par-5 15th right before Walsh made birdie on the par-3 16th. Colin Sarnoski made birdie on 16. Frankie Boensch bounced back from a front-side 43 to shoot 38 on the back with two birdies.

Gavin Pychinka nearly willed Northampton to the team title by making birdie on four of his last five holes to take the 3A individual title with a 2-under-par 70. It was Northampton’s first title since Carter Test in 2014.

“I knew I had to finish strong to make sure I was plus-2 [to qualify for states],” the Konkrete Kids senior said. “Going into 14, I knew I had two good scoring holes coming in. I made sure to birdie them. Birdieing 17 and 18 was just fantastic.”

Nazareth’s Zach Miller finished three shots back in second. Walsh, Stroudsburg’s Hunter Probst and Emmaus’ Evan Walters shot 74. Parkland’s Landen Benner claimed the last state berth with a 75.

The PIAA Golf Championships are Oct. 21-23 at Penn State’s Blue & White Courses.

Nazareth’s Allie Tarreto beat teammate Camryn Hoff for the second year in a row for 3A girls gold, but not without her own 18th-hole drama.

Tarreto had a four-shot cushion going to the last hole, but put her approach shot in the left greenside bunker. Her next shot didn’t leave the bunker.

“I took a step away and got back in there knowing I wanted to get out the second time because earlier in my round it took three to get out,” she said. “I was able to at least get it out.”

Her next shot barely left the bunker, then her pitch raced 25 feet past the hole on the right fringe.

The Blue Eagles senior’s lead was quickly evaporating. But another deep breath led Tarreto to make the 25-foot, right-to-left breaker to save a triple bogey to win by two shots.

Hoff claimed her third consecutive top-2 medal despite struggling on the greens. She took 40 of her 84 shots with a putter in her hand. The senior’s only stray tee shot led to a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 seventh hole. Southern Lehigh’s Lexi Miller edged teammate Avery Martin by one shot for the last state qualifying berth in 3A girls.

In Class 2A, Moravian Academy’s Mara Dubacher won her third consecutive girls title with a one-shot win over teammate Emma Xu. Lions junior Collin Schreiber won the boys title by eight shots with a 2-over-par 74.

Moravian Academy won the 2A team title by 25 shots to advance to the Oct. 16 subregional against the District 12 champion at Turtle Creek Golf Club in Limerick.

Dubacher next year could become just the third girl — Northampton’s Beth Marushak in 1998-2001 and Central Catholic’s Franca Hurtado in 2012-15 were the others — to win four consecutive district titles. Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg’s William Mirams is the only boy to accomplish the feat.

District 11 Golf Championships

Tuesday at Steel Club, Hellertown, par 72

CLASS 2A

Girls (top 3 advance to states)

1. Mara Dubacher, Moravian Academy; 79

2. Emma Xu, Moravian Academy; 80

3. Gracie Scheffler, Northwestern; 96

4. Avri Chandler, Northwestern; 99

5. Addison Remaley, Northwestern; 102

5. Emma Troutman, Minersville; 102

7. Carleigh Parmieri, Nativity BVM; 115

8. Anna Figura, Jim Thorpe; 117

Boys (6)

1. Collin Schreiber, Moravian Academy; 74

2. Joey DosSantos, Pen Argyl; 82

3. Matt Rader, Central Catholic; 84

4. Alan Evans, Schuylkill Haven; 84

5. Talan Spittler, Schuylkill Haven; 85

6. Jude Maziekas, North Schuylkill; 87

7. Ralston Rowlands, Bethlehem Catholic; 90

8. Zach Ostrosky, Bethlehem Catholic; 91

9. Derek Ostrosky, Bethlehem Catholic; 92

10. Joey Solt, Palmerton; 92

11. Jacob Martini, Pen Argyl; 95

11. Owen Fogel, Salisbury; 95

13. Cole Dynda, Northwestern; 98

CLASS 3A

Girls (3)

1. Allie Tarreto, Nazareth; 82

2. Camryn Hoff, Nazareth; 84

3. Lexi Miller, Southern Lehigh: 86

4. Avery Martin, Southern Lehigh; 87

5. Alexis Teichman, Emmaus; 92

6. Sophia Bandi, Wilson; 93

7. Ella Bloszinsky, Emmaus; 98

8. Madeline VanBuskirk, Pocono Mountain East; 105

9. Maya Schutz, Emmaus; 108

10. Pippa Grigsby, Liberty; 117

Boys (6)

1. Gavin Pychinka, Northampton; 70

2. Zach Miller, Nazareth; 73

3. Caleb Walsh, Southern Lehigh; 74

4. Hunter Probst, Stroudsburg; 74

5. Evan Walters, Emmaus; 74

6. Landen Benner, Parkland; 75

7. David Burmeister, Southern Lehigh; 78

7. Trent Stahley, Liberty; 78

9. Brady Rohn, Nazareth; 80

9. Colin Sarnoski, Southern Lehigh; 80

9. Holden Sparks, Nazareth; 80

12. Evan Martz, Pocono Mountain East; 81

12. Frankie Boensch, Southern Lehigh; 81

12. Radek Remaley, Nazareth; 81

12. Talan Canzano, Southern Lehigh; 81

16. Lydon Patascher, Pleasant Valley; 82

16. Nick Hoffman, Freedom; 82

18. David Tervalon, Southern Lehigh; 83

18. Jeff Snyder, Pocono Mountain East; 83

18. Nolan Harriman, Freedom; 83

21. Alex DiGiacinto, Nazareth; 84

21. C.J. Stumpf, Northampton; 84

21. Derek Moyer, Northampton; 84

21. Kyan DeLong, Emmaus; 84

25. Kohler Strohl, Northampton; 86

26. Charlie Gold, Parkland; 87

27. Dylan Knittle, Blue Mountain; 88

27. Maxum DiRenzo, Pottsville; 88

29. Logan DeRewal, Southern Lehigh; 89

30. Cooper Aspen, Southern Lehigh; 90

31. Karson Krasley, Emmaus; 92

31. Zachary Heller, Emmaus; 92

33. Gabe Gower, Northampton; 94

34. Michael D’Amico, Lehighton; 95

35. Gabe Kamarousky, Blue Mountain; 101

Other competitors for team-only tournament

1. Jayden Bleiler, Northampton; 76

2. Cole Yelinek, Blue Mountain; 85

3. Aiden Vanicky, Notre Dame-GP; 89

3. Eli Barton, Schuylkill Haven; 89

5. Trey Keating, Nativity BVM; 91

5. Ryan Grabowski, Nativity BVM; 91

5. Connor Haag, Schuylkill Haven; 91

7. Josh Lesak, Blue Mountain; 94

7. Nate Mette, Moravian Academy; 94

10. Cormac McKenna, Moravian Academy; 95

11. Joe Altmire, Notre Dame-GP; 96

11. Liam Gilligan, Notre Dame-GP; 96

13. Cameron Howell, Notre Dame-GP; 98

14. Liam Messina, Nativity BVM; 103

15. Andy Smith, Nativity BVM; 104

15. Steve Karinch, Nativity BVM; 104

17. Chase Maley, Schuylkill Haven; 105

18. Brayden Boyer, Blue Mountain; 109

Morning Call senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com