Back-to-back: Gross, O’Sullivan win 2nd consecutive Ches-Mont golf titles

Downingtown >> Downingtown West sophomore Nick Gross and Downingtown East senior Ava O’Sullivan each captured their second consecutive Ches-Mont Golf Championship title at Applecross Country Club Tuesday.
Gross fired a 6-under-par 66 – the best round he has ever shot at Applecross, his home course – to win the boys’ individual title by five strokes over Bishop Shanahan junior Ben Saggers. Last year, Gross shot a 68 to win the Ches-Mont title at Applecross.
O’Sullivan shot 1-under par 71 to win by two strokes over Unionville junior Mary Grace Dunigan. Last fall, she shot a 71 at Applecross to win the Ches-Mont girls title.
Lightning delayed the start of Tuesday’s tournament, as Gross was originally slated to tee off at 9:39 a.m., and O’Sullivan at 9:48 a.m. All of the golfers in the field teed off at 11:30 a.m., in a shotgun start.
“It was a hectic start, and the pins were in some tough spots today – on mounds,” said Gross. “But the rain softened the greens some, and I was glad I was able to shoot [my Applecross best score] today.”

Gross, who started at hole No. 1 in the shotgun start, fired a red-hot 30 on the front nine. He birdied No. 1 with a 12-foot putt, birdied the par-5 second hole with a 13-foot putt, got a birdie on No. 8 and an eagle on the par 5 ninth hole.
Hole No. 9 is a challenging downhill par 5, with a large pond guarding the right side of the green, but Gross nailed a driver and 8-iron to 15 feet. He made the 15-footer for eagle, completing the front nine in 30.
Last fall, as a freshman, Gross captured both the Ches-Mont and District 1 championships, and placed third at States. He was named the 2020 Daily Local News Boys Golfer of the Year.
O’Sullivan, who teed off at No. 11 in the shotgun start Tuesday, rang up five birdies in her round – at Nos. 12, 17, 18, 4 and 7. A Converse (S.C.) University commit who finished third at States last fall, O’Sullivan hit more than a dozen greens at Applecross Tuesday.

“I felt like I was hitting greens and fairways well today,” said O’Sullivan.
Saggers placed second in the Ches-Mont boys’ tournament, shooting a 1-under-par 71 at Applecross, his home course. He teed off on No. 1 in the shotgun start and birdied the first two holes. He qualified for Districts once again – the top 23 boys at the Ches-Mont tourney advance to the District 1 tourney, and last year, he tied for 12th at the C-M tournament with a 77.
Dunigan finished second in the Ches-Mont girls’ tourney, with a 1-over par 73. Last year at the Ches-Mont tournament, she placed second to O’Sullivan. On Tuesday, she was originally slated to tee off at 9:48 a.m., but when the lightning came, the starting times were moved to 11:30 a.m.
“I did my homework between [9:48 a.m.] and the rescheduled tee time,” said a smiling Dunigan.

Downingtown East sophomore Mia Pace placed third in the Ches-Mont girls’ tourney with a 6-over-par 78. Last year, as a freshman, she finished fifth at the Ches-Mont tournament.
“I was hitting my irons well today,” said Pace, whose highlight was a birdie at the par 3 14th hole, where she hit an 8-iron to 7 feet.
Two players tied for third place in the Ches-Mont boys’ tourney – Downingtown West junior Bret Bergey and Kennett sophomore Kasim Narinesingh-Smith, who shot even par 72s.
Bergey, a lacrosse standout at D-West who is the grandson of former Philadelphia Eagles great Bill Bergey, tied for 12th last year at the Ches-Mont tournament and advanced to Districts. On Tuesday, he birdied hole Nos. 4, 7 and 9.
“My putting was going strong,” said Bergey.
Narinesingh-Smith, who just missed qualifying for Districts last year, said, “My drives were pretty straight today, and I hit a lot of greens.”
A total of 23 boys and 14 girls qualified at the Ches-Mont Championships for the District 1 tournament.
The top 23 boys at the Ches-Mont tournament who qualified for Districts were: Gross (first place, 66); Saggers (second, 71); Bergey (tied for 3rd, 72); Narinesingh-Smith (tied for 3rd, 72); West Chester Rustin’s Ryan D’Ariano (5th, 73); West Chester Henderson’s Josh Baker (6th, 74); West Chester Rustin’s Eric Miller (7th, 75); Downingtown East’s Jake Leon (tied for 8th, 76); Unionville’s Danny Donnelly (tied for 8th, 76); West Chester Rustin’s Trevor Talerico (10th, 77); Unionville’s Win Thomas (11th, 78); Great Valley’s John Curran (tied for 12th, 79); West Chester Henderson’s Dylan Kochis (tied for 12th, 79); West Chester Rustin’s Sam Feeney (tied for 12th, 79); West Chester East’s Kane Gallagher (tied for 15th, 80); Downingtown West’s Brady Manning (tied for 15th, 80); Downingtown East’s Bryan Wright (tied for 15th, 80); West Chester Henderson’s Pat Lynn (tied for 15th, 80); Downingtown West’s Joey Suarez (tied for 15th, 80); Kennett’s Griffin Gaughan (tied for 15th, 80); Unionville’s Alex Moore (tied for 15th, 80); West Chester East’s Frankie Sass (tied for 15th, 80); and Downingtown East’s Colin Drummond (tied for 15th, 80).
The top 14 girls at the Ches-Mont tournament who qualified for Districts were: O’Sullivan (first place, 71); Dunigan (2nd, 73); Pace (3rd, 78); West Chester East’s Victoria Kim (4th, 82); Unionville’s Kaitlyn Ferrer (tied for 5th, 84); Downingtown East’s Maria Crowe (tied for 5th, 84); Downingtown East’s Silvana Gonzalez (7th, 85); Downingtown East’s Ava Lichok (tied for 8th, 90); West Chester Rustin’s Sophia DeSentis (tied for 8th, 90); Unionville’s Claire Liu (tied for 10th, 92); Unionville’s Mira Patel (tied for 10th, 92); Downingtown West’s Celia Breslin (12th, 94); Downingtown West’s Clara Huston (13th, 97); and Downingtown West’s Hannah Critchley (14th, 98).
Downingtown East won the Ches-Mont girls team championship, with a combined 30-over par, with Unionville in second place. The D-East total included O’Sullivan (71), Pace (78), Crowe (84) and Gonzalez (85).
Downingtown West won the Ches-Mont National Division boys team championship, with a combined 23 over par, with Downingtown East in second place. The D-West total included Gross (66), Bergey (72), Manning (80), Suarez (80) and Trent Thomas (85).
West Chester Rustin won the Ches-Mont American Division boys team championship, with a combined 27 over par, with Unionville in second place. The Rustin total included D’Ariano (73), Miller (75), Talerico (77), Feeney (79) and Collin Keiser (83).