Local Sports

CHA’s Soowal rising in ranks of amateur golf
by TOM UTESCHER
As a tenth grader this past spring, Mike Soowal helped lead Chestnut Hill Academy to a tie for the Inter-Ac League golf championship, and judging by the work he’s putting in this summer, Soowal’s serious about retaining the title.

After winding up in a three-way tie for second place at the Inter-Ac Tournament to finish the school season, the rising junior has been honing his game in practice and in competition, and has broken into the top 100 in the national 18-and-under rankings for the first time.

He was ranked 84th at the beginning of August, and he spent last week playing at a 54-hole tournament in Western Pennsylvania, where he registered rounds of 69, 73, and 75 at Tom’s Run, a par-72 course outside of Pittsburgh. This and many other tournaments around the country are operated under the auspices of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

Locals gear up for distance run
Local residents Sidney Goldstein, Amanda Deering and Alyson Rosenfeld are among more than 9,000 runners and walkers who will challenge their strength and endurance in the 28th annual Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run on Sept. 18. The 13.1- mile half marathon winds through downtown Philadelphia, starting and finishing at Eakins Oval by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Goldstein, 59, a Mt. Airy resident, returns to the distance run after two serious injuries threatened to sideline him.

“Over 25 years ago I ran the Distance Run for 7 consecutive years. This year, at 59, will be my third in a row, if I can muster myself into shape,” he said.

“A back injury made it often difficult to stand without pain. I lost mobility, agility; bending over or down was a problem … The other serious injury involved foot, knee, and hip problems which developed over a 3 month period.

Rising senior accepts scholarship
Matthew Zoltak, a 17 year-old senior at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, has just accepted an athletic scholarship to play baseball at Clemson University in South Carolina upon his graduation in 2006.

According to his mother, Monique Seyler, a number of pro scouts who have seen Matt play in various tournaments have suggested that he could be ready to head right for the pros, but Matt is intent on getting a college education while maturing as a player.

Nearly 90 schools actively courted Matt in a process that started unusually early, she said. Coaches attribute the early recruiting process this year to the high number of student athletes who were drafted out of college in their senior year, leaving rosters at lower levels than in the past.