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HORSEHEADS, N.Y. -- Jacob Dantonio, of Crag Burn, stands alone in first place of the 80th New York State Boys Junior Amateur Championship after the first round. 

Related: Results / Pairings / Photos / Championship Central

The Lancaster native fired a 2-under 69 with three birdies on the back nine to pull ahead.

Dantonio thinks a performance like he had today could be enough to win him the championship in the final round.

“I don’t think anything changes,” he said. “There will probably be a couple kids who are up there with me, but if I play like I did today I should have a good chance.”

The 17-year-old made a birdie on the eleventh and said the momentum from that helped carry him to the first-round lead.

Tyler Berkman, of Potsdam Town & CC, will join Dantonio in the lead group for the final round. He fired a 1-under 70 on day one.

“I striped the ball all day, from the first tee until my last putt on 18,” Berkman said. “I had some struggle holes … I left a couple shots out there that could have got me in the lead, but I’m happy with where I am.”

Connor Kiel, of Midvale CC, will complete the lead group in the final round. He tied for third with Owen Rooney, of the NYSGA eClub – WNY; Jackson Saroney, of Drumlins CC and Ty Kaufman, of the NYSGA eClub – WNY, with an even-par 71.

Charlie Fischerof East Aurora CC, who claimed the 2019 NYS Boys’ 14U title, opened with a 2-over 73.

Tee times for tomorrow’s final round for the Boys’ 18U will begin at 7:30am, with the leaders set to tee off at 9:30am.

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Bellevue Country Club’s Dan Young distanced himself from the pack on the back nine to take hold of the New York State Boys’ 14U Junior Championship lead after the first round.

The Syracuse native will begin the final round tomorrow with a three-stroke lead over defending champion Jacob Olearczyk. 

Young fired a 4-under 67 with three birdies on the back nine, including a chip in to finish the round on #18.

“On the front side I hit every green in regulation,” Young said. “I gave myself some good birdie opportunities and I just made them all. I put myself in good spots off the tee all day.”

Olearczyk, of Barneveld, was 2-over on the front nine but put together a string of birdies after making the turn to pull closer to the lead. He finished at 1-under 70. 

“I knew that to put myself in a good position I just had to turn it around,” Olearczyk said. “The back nine is pretty scorable so I just had to buckle down and persevere.”

Joey Bueme sits in third place at 1-over 72, followed by Michael Clifford-Levy and Blaise Blixner in a tie for fourth at 2-over 73. 

The course was set up at 5,955 yards for the Boys’ 14U division and played to a par of 71.

Tee times for tomorrow’s final round will begin at 1:30pm, with the leaders set to tee off at 2:20pm.