Two long days under blazing heat and humidity thick enough to choke a walrus.
Playing a golf course whose greens were harder to read than Homer’s Odyssey.
Throw in the pressure of playing one of the most important tournaments on the Northern Ohio PGA’s extensive schedule.
Include a field that contained most of the Section’s top players from ages 11 to 19 and there you have it: The 42nd annual NOPGA Junior Tour Championship, also known as the Kenny Novak Memorial.
It concluded on Tuesday at Barrington Golf Club, graciously hosting the event while Club Walden – the host for the first 41 Kenny Novaks – undergoes a massive renovation.
If the future of golf in Northern Ohio lies at the hands and feet of the 134 youngsters who teed it up on Monday and Tuesday we need not to worry.
Not only did they play superb golf – in most cases, at least – they did it with no club-throwing, no temper tantrums and no volatile meltdowns we have come to witness lately on so many basketball courts, baseball diamonds, football fields and the pitches of soccer.
The Junior Tour Championship was two days of what youth sports are supposed to be, and it ended with high fives and wide smiles all around. Even by those who didn’t win.
The winners were Akron’s Ryan Dinan (16-19 boys), Sagamore Hills’ Julia Gulla (16-19 girls), Medina’s Trent Riedel (14-15 boys), Chesterland’s Anna Phillips (11-15 girls) and Rocky River’s Coleson Paez (11-13 boys).
They won because they played better than the other 129 players. They had the skill, the mindset, the temperament and in some cases, a touch of good luck.
But all the entrants were winners, no matter if they shot in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s or in the 100s. No matter if they duffed it, four-jacked it, left a couple in Barrington’s imposing bunkers, dumped two or three in the water or mistakenly played the wrong ball.
The bottom line is they proved they were not afraid to compete in one of the toughest games – if not the toughest – on the planet. Or, on the moon. They took their medicine and moved on.
The NOPGA Junior Tour season is over, save for the Junior Ohio Cup, which will be played at Canton Brookside Country Club in October. If the kids felt Barrington’s greens were tough to read wait ‘til they face a 15-foot, downhiller for bogey on one of Brookside’s greens, which can be slicker than your grandmother’s linoleum kitchen floor. But that’ a story for another day.
Here’s the rundown on the five age-group championships and how they were won.
RYAN DINAN, BOYS 16-19: Dinan, the son of NOPGA member David Dinan, went wire-to-wire to win in his final event as a junior. Dinan, a sophomore at Cleveland State, posted rounds of two-under 70 and two-over 74 to finish at even 144. He never trailed and stayed under par as he birdied three of his first five holes in his opening round on Monday and made the turn on Tuesday at two under with one birdie and one bogey. He made 26 pars, five birdies and four bogeys.
It takes a little good fortune to win and Dinan’s came on the longest hole on the course, the 549-yard, 11th. He pushed his drive left and it hit a tree solidly but no one in his group or those following saw it. He was so concerned it was a lost ball he hit a provisional ball to the middle of the fairway.
A spectator found the ball but not in the area where it had hit the tree. It was found in the opposite rough. It struck the tree then ricocheted across the entire fairway into the right rough. From there he made par.
“When that happened, I thought, ‘Hey, things might actually be going my way now.’ They usually don’t go my way but they’re actually going my way. That doesn’t happen for me much. But I thought maybe I was actually cut out to win this thing.”
Dinan was able to stay in front while Millersburg’s Andrew Beun (76-71=147) and Jack Mast (74-72=146), Hudson’s Dexter James (74-72=146) and North Canton’s Danny Gambone (73-73=146) made staunch runs. But no one was able to catch him.
Beun came the closest, making four birdies in a seven hole stretch to get to within one shot of the lead.
After the “look what I found” hole, Dinan strung together six pars over his final seven holes. His lone blemish came on the 399-yard 15th when his drive caught the fairway bunker on the left and his second shot ended up being buried under the lip in the bunker that guards the left front of the green.
He skulled his shot out of the bunker and it scurried past the hole to the back side of the green. He two-putted for five.
“When I got to the green-side bunker I realized I didn’t have my 60-degree wedge,” he said. “I had left it on 14. So, I could only hit my 54-degree. It was a tough lie and I was happy just to get it out of there.”
He closed with three straight routine pars, two-putting from 20, 20 and 25 feet. He looked at the scoreboard for the first time when he stood on the 18th tee.
“I didn’t check the scoreboard once until 18,” he said. “Just in case I needed to know if I needed to press a little and try to make birdie in case anyone went low or if I could lay back and only make a bogey. So, I saw I was up two and I just played a fairway finder with the driver, teed it up low and hit it in the fairway. I hit a wedge to the fattest part of the green I could find and two putted for par.”
Sounded easier than it was but for Dinan it ended up the way he hoped.
“Feels real good to win,” he said. “I am happy with how I played both days. I went through some adversity out there but I was proud of how I bounced back after some bad shots. I had never won this tournament, so this feels real good.”
JULIA GULLA, GIRLS 16-19: Gulla, about to begin her college career at John Carroll, put a finishing touch on an ultra-productive summer in which she won six times and added a second and a third in nine events.
The 18-year old went 73-73 for a two-over 146 and a three shot victory in what may – or may not – be her final junior tour appearance.
“I might be able to play next year, I’m not sure,” she said. “If I can I will.” That would be good for the game.
Gulla came from behind to win by three shots. Fairview Park’s Calli Reed climbed from sixth place after the opening round to a runnerup finish at 75-74=149 and Kayla Knaze (71-79), also from Fairview, and Brunswick’s Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble (71-79) finished in a tie for third at 150 after being the first-round leaders.
Gulla took the lead early on the back nine as Gonzalez- Ribble and Knaze struggled on the first two holes and Gulla avoided disaster, buoyed by an 8-foot birdie putt on the 140-yard 12th to get to even par. She hit an 8-iron off the tee.
The delightful and diminutive Gulla had to fight the urge to match the distances of her opponents, who routinely outdrove her over the final six holes. Knaze and Gonzalez-Ribble are especially long.
“Sometimes (it’s difficult),” she said. “I’ve been hitting my clubs a little farther than I was last year and in the past and that’s been helpful, but it still sometimes feels stressful because everyone else is hitting a 6-iron or a hybrid and I’m hitting s 5-wood. I have to make sure I can still get it to where I need to go and hit it straight.”
That she did when she needed it most.
While she bogeyed the 13th and 15th with rare fairway misses she was able to save par three times over the final six holes and capped it off and put an exclamation point on her victory with a wonderful downhill, right-to-left birdie putt from about eight feet above the hole on the final.
Gulla pointed to the 437-yard third hole as a key. She started the day two shots behind Knaze and Gonzalez-Ribble and cut the deficit to one with a birdie on the par-3 second.
“I bogeyed that hole on Monday and it was a hole I shouldn’t have bogeyed,” she said. “So, I was happy I made par but it wasn’t an easy par. I made some mistakes on that hole.”
Not easy for sure. She hit driver and five-wood to within chipping distance but chipped her third into a greenside bunker. She blasted out to about three feet and made the putt.
“It was a good up-and-down,” she said.
An admitted scoreboard watcher, Gulla said there is a method to her checking.
“Sometimes it’s stressful but a lot of the times I like having that pressure because it makes me focus better. Knowing where I was and knowing what I had to do helped me pick my shot and stick with it.”
She stuck with it throughout the season and capped it all with a win in one of the most significant events of the season.
TRENT RIEDEL, BOYS 14-15: After starting the day two shots out of the lead after an opening 76 Riedel posted just the second sub-par round in his division with a one-under 71 and a two-day total of three-over 147. Riedel, 14, needed that one bogey/two birdie finish because Chesterland’s Dylan Phillips shot the day’s best two-under 70 to finish in a tie for third at 150 and East Liverpool’s Elijah Stewart posted a pair of 74s to finish second at 148. Stewart was the 11-13 age-group winner last year.
Riedel, a sophomore at Medina High, wasted little time in shooting himself into contention. Starting on the back he birdied two of his first three holes and played a bogey-free back nine. After a birdie on the par-3 12th he reeled off nine straight pars before his lone bogey of the day on the 362-yard fourth. He closed with five straight pars.
ANNA PHILLIPS, GIRLS 11-15: She is 13-years-old. In the final round she made four birdies, 11 pars, two bogeys, one eagle and no double-bogeys on her way to a tournament-best 4-under 68 and an 8-stroke victory. Is it any wonder she won? After opening with a 77 and making the back-nine turn at even-par, Phillips closed with a flurry. A bogey on the first left her at 6-over but going forward it was nothing but pars and sub-par scores. That included a birdie on the third hole and a game-changing eagle on the 305-yard fifth that got her to 3-over. Two pars and two birdies followed to give her a 4-under 32 on her final nine holes. After an opening 84 Saijal Jawa (Highland Heights) shaved 15 strokes and finished second with a 3-under 69 and a two-day total of 153.
COLESON PAEZ, BOYS 11-13: Rocky River’s Coleson, the son of PGA member Nick Paez, turned a three-shot lead into a 10-shot victory with a final-round 74 to go with an opening 74 to finish at 4-over 148. Starting on the back nine Paez, 13, had six pars and two birdies before committing his lone blemish of the day with a triple-bogey on the ninth. Six pars and a birdie against one bogey kept him on track as no one was able to challenge. The victory capped a marvelous Junior Tour season for Paez. He won nine of 12 events with three runnerup finishes and easily won the 11-13 points race for player-of-the-year honors.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2025 NOPGA Junior Tour Championship >
FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2025 NOPGA Junior Tour Championship
Barrington Golf Club, Aurora, Ohio
Mon., July 28 – Tue., July 29, 2025
BlueGolf Hole-by-Hole Results >
Boys 16-19 Results:
1. Ryan Dinan, Akron, OH, 2024, *70-74-144 E
2. Dexter James, Hudson, OH, 2027, *74-72-146 +2
2. Jack Mast, Millersburg, OH, 2026, *74-72-146 +2
2. Daniel Gambone, North Canton, OH, 2025, *73-73-146 +2
5. Andrew Beun, Millersburg, OH, 2027, *76-71-147 +3
6. Reed Emmons, Ashland, OH, 2026, *72-77-149 +5
7. Danny Chaplow, Canfield, OH, 2027, *75-75-150 +6
7. Nathan Miller, Youngstown, OH, 2026, *73-77-150 +6
7. Michael (Mick) Ambrose, Canfield, OH, 2026, *73-77-150 +6
10. Jacob Rainieri, Mogadore, OH, 2027, *78-73-151 +7
10. Caden Boyd, Concord Twp., OH, 2025, *77-74-151 +7
12. Kaden Schuette, Independence, OH, 2027, *78-74-152 +8
12. Jordan Miller, Apple Creek, OH, 2026, *75-77-152 +8
14. Cooper Albers, Westlake, OH, 2026, *79-74-153 +9
14. Andrew Cawrse, Mansfield, OH, 2024, *75-78-153 +9
14. Ryan Hvizd, Broadview Heights, OH, 2025, *74-79-153 +9
17. Thomas Mankowski, Canton, OH, 2026, *79-76-155 +11
17. Oliver Huff, Stow, OH, 2027, *76-79-155 +11
19. Craig Carneval, Avon, OH, 2025, *79-77-156 +12
19. Tommy Kinder, Akron, OH, 2027, *76-80-156 +12
21. Dante Turner, Canfield, OH, 2026, *76-81-157 +13
21. Nicholas Nead, Kirtland, OH, 2027, *75-82-157 +13
21. Andrew LaPolla, Warren, OH, 2026, *81-76-157 +13
24. Wren Spires, Medina, OH, 2027, *85-73-158 +14
24. Cameron Stafford, Medina, OH, 2026, *76-82-158 +14
26. Andrew Fredenburg, Niles, OH, 2026, *83-76-159 +15
26. Mica Thirion, Ravenna, OH, 2026, *81-78-159 +15
28. Griffin Pickett, Painesville, OH, 2027, *80-80-160 +16
28. Raffaele Scassa, Canton, OH, 2026, *78-82-160 +16
30. Luke Kasmarcak, Brecksville, OH, 2027, *80-81-161 +17
31. Jackson Sarver, Aurora, OH, 2027, *80-82-162 +18
31. Gavin Sheppard, Kirtland, OH, 2025, *79-83-162 +18
31. Zack Snyder, Avon, OH, 2027, *87-75-162 +18
31. Noah Risman, Moreland Hills, OH, 2027, *84-78-162 +18
31. Carter Briskey, Mentor, OH, 2027, *83-79-162 +18
36. Harrison LaBahn, Strongsville, OH, 2025, *79-84-163 +19
36. Jackson Keller, Uniontown, OH, 2026, *84-79-163 +19
36. Aiden Koehler, Massillon, OH, 2026, *82-81-163 +19
36. Patrick Mansbery, Broadview Heights, OH, 2027, *82-81-163 +19
40. Peyton Wolf, Westlake, OH, 2027, *73-91-164 +20
41. Brett Epple, Streetsboro, OH, 2026, *79-86-165 +21
41. Luca Violi, Medina, OH, 2026, *81-84-165 +21
43. Fritz Houston, North Canton, OH, 2027, *84-82-166 +22
44. Shane Bates, Uniontown, OH, 2026, *85-82-167 +23
44. Will Giesbrecht, Oberlin, OH, 2025, *83-84-167 +23
46. Luigi Costanzo, North Canton, OH, 2027, *86-82-168 +24
46. Nicholas Lytle, Canton, OH, 2027, *84-84-168 +24
46. Chad Tietz, Uniontown, OH, 2026, *83-85-168 +24
49. Owen Ward, Orrville, OH, 2027, *80-92-172 +28
50. Finn Potts, Rocky River, OH, 2026, *77-96-173 +29
51. Declan Jackson, Leroy Township, OH, 2026, *91-84-175 +31
52. Tyler Cheetham, Stow, OH, 2026, *92-84-176 +32
52. Jack Skidmore, Akron, OH, 2026, *88-88-176 +32
54. Sam Miller, Fredericksburg, OH, 2026, *94-83-177 +33
55. Nathan Vorthong, Akron, OH, 2029, *89-91-180 +36
Girls 16-19 Results:
1. Julia Gulla, Sagamore Hills, OH, 2025, *73-73-146 +2
2. Calli Reed, Fairview Park, OH, 2028, *75-74-149 +5
3. Kayla Knaze, Fairview park, OH, 2027, *71-79-150 +6
3. Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble, Brunswick, OH, 2028, *71-79-150 +6
5. Elena Varga, Hudson, OH, 2027, *73-80-153 +9
6. Gianna Reginelli, Broadview Heights, OH, 2025, *74-84-158 +14
7. Sarah Vojtko, Stow, OH, 2028, *80-79-159 +15
8. Yumi Kohara, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, 2027, *79-81-160 +16
9. Anuja Patel, Pepper Pike, OH, 2027, *82-81-163 +19
9. Annelise Stencel, Akron, OH, 2024, *81-82-163 +19
11. Avery Paez, Rocky River, OH, 2025, *86-78-164 +20
11. Emerson Glending, Avon, OH, 2026, *78-86-164 +20
13. Kate Vickerman, Medina, OH, 2026, *84-81-165 +21
13. Annabelle Seville, Norwalk, OH, 2027, *83-82-165 +21
13. Adrianna Mineo, Kent, OH, 2026, *78-87-165 +21
16. Kilee Duncan, Norwalk, OH, 2025, *91-77-168 +24
17. Gianna Rodenhauser, Aurora, OH, 2026, *85-84-169 +25
18. Caitrin Coyle, Barberton, OH, 2026, *83-89-172 +28
19. Sophie Leviton, Brookline, MA, 2027, *86-87-173 +29
20. Mia Steigerwald, Louisville, OH, 2025, *88-87-175 +31
21. Nicole Ferguson, Amherst, OH, 2026, *90-86-176 +32
21. Julia Van Bokkelen, Hudson, OH, 2025, *89-87-176 +32
23. Mirabella Shelton, Hinckley, OH, 2026, *92-90-182 +38
23. Miley Tylicki, Medina, OH, 2026, *89-93-182 +38
25. Leah Dang, Uniontown, OH, 2027, *95-88-183 +39
26. Ava Lewandowski, Chagrin Falls, OH, 2026, *97-87-184 +40
27. Madison Maxwell, Fairlawn, OH, 2025, *96-91-187 +43
28. Polly Loney, Northfield, OH, 2027, *96-93-189 +45
28. Kylie Hostettler, Creston, OH, 2026, *95-94-189 +45
30. Rylie Quaiser, Rocky River, OH, 2026, *95-96-191 +47
31. Alexis Askew, LaGrange, OH, 2026, *96-102-198 +54
Boys 14-15 Results:
1. Trent Riedel, Medina, OH, 2028, *76-71-147 +3
2. Elijah Stewart, East Liverpool, OH, 2030, *74-74-148 +4
3. Dylan Phillips, Chesterland, OH, 2028, *80-70-150 +6
3. Declan West, Medina, OH, 2028, *74-76-150 +6
5. Andrew VanDamme, Kent, OH, 2030, *83-76-159 +15
5. Mason Beatty, Norwalk, OH, 2029, *82-77-159 +15
7. Jacobb Duaso, Madison, OH, 2029, *78-82-160 +16
8. Luke Chluda, Hudson, 2028, *80-81-161 +17
9. Jax Turner, Kent, OH, 2028, *85-79-164 +20
10. Zander Ray, Hudson, OH, 2028, *89-79-168 +24
10. Aiden Curtis, Mentor, OH, 2028, *84-84-168 +24
12. Marcus Beun, Millersburg, OH, 2030, *83-87-170 +26
13. Jordan Clotman, Orange Village, OH, 2027, *88-83-171 +27
13. Harrison Tugeau, Cleveland Heights, OH, 2028, *87-84-171 +27
15. Maddox Burke, Hermitage, PA, 2028, *89-87-176 +32
16. Samuel Riddle, Vermilion, OH, 2028, *91-88-179 +35
17. Joey Reitz, Stow, OH, 2029, *101-91-192 +48
18. Adam Gustin, Perry, OH, 2030, *107-96-203 +59
Girls 11-15 Results:
1. Anna Phillips, Chesterland, OH, 2030, *77-68-145 +1
2. Saijal Jawa, Highland Heights, OH, 2028, *84-69-153 +9
3. Korrine Knaze, Fairview Park, OH, 2029, *75-79-154 +10
4. Sophia Clarico, LaGrange, OH, 2028, *81-75-156 +12
5. Vivian Eich, Strongsville, OH, 2028, *75-82-157 +13
6. Elizabeth Pollock, Moreland Hills, OH, 2028, *82-78-160 +16
7. Emma Gonzalez-Ribble, Brunswick, OH, 2029, *82-81-163 +19
8. Chloe Wu, Solon, OH, 2031, *84-80-164 +20
9. Avery Robinette, Warren, OH, 2029, *87-78-165 +21
10. Rachel Rush, Hudson, OH, 2029, *84-85-169 +25
11. Audrey Goebelt, Uniontown, OH, 2029, *87-90-177 +33
12. Mao Pan Edwards, Mentor, OH, 2028, *98-91-189 +45
13. Cecilia Voelker, Shaker Heights, OH, 2029, *98-95-193 +49
14. Sanaya Dubey, Cleveland, OH, 2030, *101-95-196 +52
15. Addisyn Spencer, Rocky River, OH, 2028, *116-122-238 +94
Boys 11-13 Results:
1. Coleson Paez, Rocky River, OH, 2030, *74-74-148 +4
2. Owen Albrecht, Akron, OH, 2031, *82-76-158 +14
3. Bryan Baranowski, Solon, OH, 2030, *82-80-162 +18
3. Blake Walchalk, Uniontown, OH, 2030, *77-85-162 +18
5. Aidan Tong, Pepper pike, OH, 2030, *81-82-163 +19
6. Jaxson Trebets, Chesterland, OH, 2031, *85-83-168 +24
7. Braeden Bernhardt, Avon, OH, 2030, *90-89-179 +35
8. Atharv Dubey, Pepper Pike, OH, 2033, *91-89-180 +36
9. Miles Nemeth, Silver Lake, OH, 2030, *90-94-184 +40
10. Carson Voinovich, Hudson, OH, 2031, *98-88-186 +42
11. George Moore, Akron, OH, 2032, *96-93-189 +45
12. Flynn Houston, N. Canton, OH, 2031, *101-92-193 +49
