Golf: L-L League Championship – Allwein Finishes First, Seven County Golfers Advance to Districts

Heavy rains across the region forced a delayed start to Tuesday’s Lancaster-Lebanon League Golf Championships at Four Seasons Golf Club, setting the stage for a long and challenging day on the course.

The conditions remained wet when play finally began, but gradually improved as the afternoon progressed. By the time the final scores were posted, Lebanon County golfers had made their presence felt throughout the leaderboard.

No performance was better than the one turned in by Annville-Cleona sophomore Benjamin Allwein.

Allwein battled the difficult conditions to fire a one-under-par 71, winning the L-L League Boys Overall Championship by three strokes. Hempfield’s Luke Bahling finished second with a 74, Pequea Valley’s Chase Dizel was third at 75, and Donegal’s Ryan Smeltz took fourth with a 76.

The victory represented another step forward for Allwein, who finished fifth at the league championship as a freshman last fall before returning this season and climbing all the way to the top of the leaderboard.

It also kept the L-L League individual title in Annville for the second consecutive year. Former Dutchman Logan Franciswon the league championship last fall before moving on to continue his golf career at the Naval Academy. One year later, Allwein made it back-to-back champions for A-C.

The league title adds another major accomplishment to a season in which Allwein helped lead the Dutchmen to the Section 4 championship. His 71 also made him the top Class AA qualifier for the District 3 Championships.

The Dutchmen nearly added another championship to their season as a team.

Annville-Cleona and Section 4 rival Pequea Valley finished tied at +28 in the Class AA team competition. The Braves ultimately won the championship on the fifth-score tiebreaker, giving Pequea Valley the L-L League team title and the league’s AA team berth into the District 3 Championships. Lancaster Catholic finished third at +45.

The strength of A-C’s performance becomes even more apparent when compared across classifications. The Dutchmen’s team score was just one stroke behind Class AAA runner-up Cedar Crest and one stroke better than Manheim Township.

Freshman Jefferson Allwein and sophomore Will Kerwin each shot 81 for A-C, tying for eighth in the Class AA individual standings. Senior Aidan Lezon added an 83, while Trey Schrefler shot 89 and Jameson Rabena finished with a 94.

While the Dutchmen battled for the AA championship, Cedar Crest made a strong run at the Class AAA team crown.

The Section 1 champion Falcons finished second in the AAA team competition at +27, only five strokes behind Hempfield’s winning +22. With only the league team champion advancing to the District 3 team tournament, Hempfield earned the team berth.

Individually, senior Davin Kolter led the Cedar Crest boys with a 79 (+7), tying for eighth in the Class AAA standings and finishing comfortably inside the Top 20 that qualified for Districts.

Behind Kolter, Cedar Crest packed the leaderboard right around the qualifying line. Sophomores Rory Smyth and Drew Gebhard, along with junior Luke Usinger, each shot 81 (+9) to tie for 16th in Class AAA. All three finished inside the Top 20, giving the Falcons four boys advancing to the District 3 Championships.

Senior Jackson Seidel added an 88 for the Falcons.

Cedar Crest’s day also included one of the most dramatic finishes of the championship.

Sophomore Bryn Brandt and Ephrata’s Makenna Heckman each completed regulation with a 74 (+2), leaving the girls individual championship to be decided in a playoff.

Brandt and Heckman matched each other with pars on each of the first four playoff holes. Neither could create separation until their fifth playoff hole, No. 9 at Four Seasons, where Heckman made birdie to capture the L-L League girls individual championship.

For Brandt, the runner-up finish still provided another strong result heading into the next stage of the postseason. The Cedar Crest sophomore is the defending District 3 champion and will return to Districts after finishing eighth at the PIAA Class AAA Girls Golf Championship as a freshman.

Cedar Crest’s Alex Jones also earned a District berth by shooting a 90. With the girls qualifying cutoff set at 104, Jones comfortably advanced alongside Brandt.

Lebanon’s Trinity Leeper represented the Cedars in the girls championship, finishing with a 113.

Northern Lebanon also had several golfers representing the county in the boys field. Sophomore Christian Rizzo led the Vikings with an 83, followed closely by junior Collin Padovani at 84. Sophomore Ashton Yeager shot 87, Braden Demler finished at 92, Jacob Anspach carded a 94, and Drew Shireman finished with a 97.

For ELCO, senior Grant Wenger led the Raiders with a 91. Brady Habecker followed with a 95, while James Dolanfinished with a 101.

With the L-L League Championships complete, the attention now shifts to Districts.

The District 3 Golf Championships begin Thursday, October 1 at Honey Run Golf Club in York. The top six Class AA boys and top 20 Class AAA boys from Tuesday’s league championship qualified, while girls advanced by shooting 104 or better.

Lebanon County will be well represented. Benjamin Allwein advances in Class AA, while Davin Kolter, Rory Smyth, Luke Usinger, and Drew Gebhard move on in Class AAA. On the girls side, Bryn Brandt and Alex Jones earned District berths.

For Brandt, the trip to Honey Run brings an opportunity to defend her District 3 championship. For Allwein, it comes after adding an L-L League championship to a season that already included a Section 4 team title. And for Cedar Crest, four boys will carry the momentum from a 29-1 Section 1 championship season into the individual postseason.