Alex Lloyd, 18, of Virginia Beach shot a final-round 1-over-par 73 to register a two-stroke victory as the Virginia State Golf Association Suffolk Junior Open concluded Sunday at the soggy and chilly Riverfront Golf Club.

Lloyd, who shot an opening round 4-under 68 at Nansemond River Golf Club, finished the event at 3-under 141 and successfully defended last year’s title. Overnight co-leader Mark Lawrence Jr., 15, of Richmond finished second after posting 75 for a 1-under 143. Austin Morin, 17, of Virginia Beach closed with 2-over 74 and completed play five back at 2-over 146.

The defending champion and a senior at Floyd E. Kellam High School, Lloyd trailed Lawrence by five strokes after the first nine holes. Lawrence shot an impressive 2-under 34 on the outward half. But Lloyd carded two under on the inward nine in his own right, and back-to-back birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 bolstered him to the comeback victory.

Lawrence had 41 on the second nine; he made triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 12th hole after losing his footing on his second shot on a sidehill lie in the slick conditions.

As the rain fell hard, Lloyd’s birdie from 4 feet at the par-4 16th resulted in a two-shot swing and a one-stroke advantage when Lawrence made bogey at the hole. At the par-4 17th, Lloyd’s 20-foot birdie putt had just enough pace to curl into the right edge to go two ahead and finish off the triumph.

“My short game kept me in it,” said Lloyd, who is bound for the University of Virginia on a golf scholarship in the fall. “In the end, I was able to hit a few good shots and make those two birdies to seal it up. I’m happy I was able to put it together.”

Only one competitor, 17-year-old Philip Hudson of Mechanicsville, who shot a final round best even-par 72, equaled par on Sunday.

Lawrence coasted to a win in the 14-15 age bracket, with 15-year-old Taylor Osborne of Virginia Beach tying a final-round age-division best score of 2-over 74 (8-over 152).

Richmond’s Rob Witherspoon, 13, followed his opening day 78 with a final-round 85 to finish at 19-over 163 and record a wire-to-wire three-stroke triumph among the 12-13-year-olds. Chesapeake’s L.J. Kruszewski, 12, finished second following back-to-back rounds of 83.

In the girls’ division, Chesapeake’s Lauren Kruszewski, 16, carded a final-round 4-over 76 to post a two-stroke wire-to-wire win over 16-year-old central Virginian Abby Portyrata of Midlothian, who had a last-day best 75 in the girls’ division. Kruszewski finished at 5-over 149 and claimed her second consecutive title in the event.

Norfolk’s Elizabeth Bose, 14, posted rounds of 77-78 (11-over 155) and rolled to a triumph in the girls’ 14-15 age bracket.

Final Results are as follows:

 

BOYS AGES 16-18

Alex Lloyd (Virginia Beach), 68-73—141

Austin Morin (Virginia Beach), 72-74—146

Ashton Newsom (Chesapeake), 73-74—147

Patrick Moriarty Jr. (Ruckersville), 76-73—149

Philip Hudson (Mechanicsville), 78-72—150
Bryan Carter (Yorktown), 76-76—152
Austin Smith (Salem), 80-75—155
Chris Dreyfuss (Yorktown), 80-75—155
Connor Rinoski (Yorktown), 74-82—156

KeonHo Song (Centreville), 77-80—157
Taylor Owen Hall (Bristol), 78-79—157
Joe Monk (Williamsburg), 79-78—157
Weston Ringer (Chesapeake), 78-80—158
Trevor Times (Williamsburg), 79-79—158
Harrison Baker (Providence Forge), 80-79—159
Alex Hart (Salem), 75-86—161
Young Suh (Virginia Beach), 82-79—161
Owen Blackshear (Hampton), 79-84—163
Billy Britton (Sedley), 80-84—164

Trevor Klein (Virginia Beach), 82-83—165
Lewis Mayes (Courtland), 81-85—166

Cullen Bruce (Chesapeake), 83-83—166

Trevor Caccetta (Williamsburg), 83-84—167

Zach Weaver (Williamsburg), 85-82—167
Griffin Genier (Suffolk), 86-82—168
Jake Richardson (Virginia Beach), 84-85—169
Nicklaus Norris (Free Union), 86-89—175
Steven Rhinard (Courtland), 87-90—177

Luke Gregory (Midlothian), 90-88—178

Jared Werner (Strasburg), 92-86—178

Eric Blythe (South Chesterfield), 93-86—179

 

BOYS 14-15

Mark Lawrence Jr. (Richmond), 68-75—143
Taylor Osborne (Virginia Beach), 78-74—152
Adam Szwed (Woodbridge), 80-74—154

Logan Yates (Ruckersville), 73-82—155
Danny Pedrazzi (Glen Allen), 76-80—156

Teddy Hoffman (Virginia Beach), 76-80—156
Derek Budd (Virginia Beach), 76-81—157

Blake Hearn (Virginia Beach), 77-85—162
Keith Cooper (Suffolk), 86-77—163
Travis Broome (Virginia Beach), 80-84—164
Colin Ragsdale (Chesapeake), 81-83—164
Bobby Monk (Williamsburg), 79-87—166
Christopher Angelelli (Suffolk), 77-90—167

Alston Newsom (Chesapeake), 88-82—170
Thomas Meyers (Chesapeake), 88-89—177
Trey Razzetti (Glen Allen), 80-98—178
Sameer Qader (Fredericksburg), 84-97—181
Galen Raney (Chesapeake), 95-100—195
James Drake (Virginia Beach), 93-103—196

Ryan O’Malley (Chesapeake), 104-100—204
Brandon Eng (Chesapeake), 108-98—206
Josh Hendriks (Chesapeake), 102-NC

Nick Nichols (Chesapeake), 103-NC

 

BOYS 12-13

Rob Witherspoon (Richmond), 78-85—163
L.J. Kruszewski (Chesapeake), 83-83—166

Samer Hasan (Fredericksburg), 98-98—196

Ralph Sun (Virginia Beach), 111-102—213

Chandler Branton (Portsmouth), 114-109—223

 

GIRLS 16-18

Lauren Kruszewski (Chesapeake), 73-76—149

Abby Portyrata (Midlothian), 76-75—151

Nicole Flores (Brambleton), 78-94—172
Sarah Baldwin (New Kent), 88-91—179

Sydney Thompson (Chesapeake), 89-93—182

Adrienne Schmidt (McLean), 82-WD

 

GIRLS 14-15

Elizabeth Bose (Norfolk), 77-78—155

Megan Martin (Chesapeake), 91-84—175

Katelyn Whitley (Chesapeake), 106-115—221