The North Coast Junior Tour hosted the Sand Ridge Junior Invitation on Monday and Tuesday at Sand Ridge Golf Club.
Cooper Wierzchowski (Erie, PA) (pronounced Wizcowski) shot 76-70–146 to win the Boys 16-19 division at the 2025 Sand Ridge Junior Invitational. Wierzchowski blistered the sun-scorched layout with four second round birdies to post the only red numbered score of the day. Cooper started the day by bracketing a second hole bogey with birdies on one and three. A bogey on the challenging par four 9th had him turning in an even par 36. On the back, patience paid off as 5 straight pars set the stage for 2 birdies over his last four holes to come in at 2 under par 34. Wierzchowski finished comfortably ahead of his former high school teammate Connor Laird (Fairview, PA), besting his friend by 3 shots, (76-73–149). Laird posted 4 birdies, 2 doubles and a bogey for a 1 over par 73. Third place saw a tie between high school teammates, Chase Recio (Fairview, PA – 76-75–151) and first round leader Anthony Laboda (Fairview, PA – 71-80–151) with Recio claiming the tie breaker by way of a lower 2nd nine score (35). Laboda seemed to be in control through 27 holes, sitting at 2 under par overall and leading by as many as 5 strokes. But some uncharacteristic lost balls on the back nine allowed the field to catch and surpass him.
Lukas Miller (Titusville, PA) fired a 81-84–165 to win the Boys 15 & Under division. Miller posted matching nines of 42 to claim the trophy. Miller, a regular on the greatlakes tour, added to a crowded trophy case that has seen at least 10 victories on the summer. Miller finished well ahead of runner-up Aiden Curtis (Mentor) who improved three strokes from his first round total (91-88–179). Finishing third in the division was upcoming 6th grader, Penn Recio (Fairview, PA – 88-94–182).
Elena Varga (Hudson) shot twin rounds of 80-80–160 to capture the Girls 19 & under division. After playing the first 12 holes two over par, Varga decided to make things a bit interesting by playing 13 thru 16 a total of 6 over. Calmer waters marked the end of her round as two pars helped her secure a 4 shot victory over first round co-leader Saijal Jawa (Highland Heights – 80-84–164). Finishing third in the division was the player who traveled the greatest distance to compete in the event, Payten Leet (Bradford, PA – 171 miles from Chardon) who finished 10 strokes off the pace (83-87–170).
FINAL RESULTS: North Coast Junior Tour
2025 NCJT Sand Ridge Junior Invitational
Sand Ridge Golf Club, Chardon
Monday, July 7 – Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Boys 16-19
Cooper Wierzchowski, 2025 (Titleist/Callaway) 76-70–146
Connor Laird, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 76-73–149
Chase Recio, 2028 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 76-75–151
Anthony LaBoda, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 71-80–151
Henry Phillips, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 74-78–152
Joseph Prichard, 2028 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 78-76–154
Matthew Contipelli, 2025 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 76-79–155
Griffin Pickett, 2027 (Titleist/Callaway) 82-74–156
Caden Boyd, 2025 (Titleist/Callaway) 76-81–157
Ethan Olszowy, 2027 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 82-75–157
Jack Hecei, 2027 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 76-83–159
Tegan Rucks, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 74-86–160
Santino Washburn, 2028 (Titleist/Callaway) 84-78–162
Peter Fischer, 2027 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 76-88–164
Leyton Hassenplug, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 82-83–165
Tyler Hace, 2026 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 88-79–167
Ty Roediger, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 83-84–167
Nikolas Blanchard, 2027 (Titleist/Callaway) 82-85–167
Jayden Park, 2026 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 80-88–168
Lincoln Miller, 2027 (Titleist/Callaway) 90-79–169
Carter Briskey, 2027 (Titleist/Callaway) 83-87–170
Dominic Luvison, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 84-87–171
Andrew Engler, 2027 (Titleist/Callaway) 90-83–173
Will Cody, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 88-86–174
Ethan Pfleger, 2028 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 88-86–174
Ralph Zappola, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 86-93–179
Sammy Heiser, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 93-86–179
Declan Jackson, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 91-88–179
Johnny Quien, 2027 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 90-92–182
Ryan Green, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 95-94–189
Austin Funk, 2027 (TaylorMade/Cobra) (JWD)
Boys 15&U
Lukas Miller, 2031 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 81-84–165
Aiden Curtis, 2028 (Titleist/Callaway) 91-88–179
Penn Recio, 2032 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 88-94–182
Aidan Tong, 2030 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 90-94–184
Hamilton Miller, 2029 (Titleist/Callaway) 89-95–184
Iulius Braho, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 96-107–203
Liam Siko, 2028 (Titleist/Callaway) 94-110–204
Grant Izbicki, 2030 (Titleist/Callaway) 104-103–207
Luke Woodhouse, 2028 (Titleist/Callaway) 120-93–213
Luca Salerno, 2029 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 115-122–237
Girls 19&U
Elena Varga, 2027 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 80-80–160
Saijal Jawa, 2028 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 80-84–164
Payten Leet, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 83-87–170
Lena Fuss, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 88-85–173
Keira Chang, 2026 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 86-95–181
Ava Solak, 2027 (TaylorMade/Cobra) 94-87–181
Samantha Miller, 2026 (Mizuno/Bridgestone) 88-105–193
Maggie Kothera, 2027 (Ping/Cleveland/Srixon) 94-99–193
Angela Kerwood, 2026 (Titleist/Callaway) 107-94–201
Lillian Kasper, 2029 (Titleist/Callaway) 102-106–208
