ALLENTOWN – Jacob Artz leaned in, combing over the leaderboard.

“I think I’m in. I’m in.”

In an instant, the Marian senior’s tension turned to relief.

Artz fired an 86 in the District 11 Class 2A individual tournament at Lehigh Country Club on Monday to place third and punch his ticket to next week’s East Regional event.

“When I came off 18, I was pretty disappointed because I had a bad last couple holes,” said Artz. “I didn’t even think I’d get in. But when I saw that I ended up getting in, that really turned the tide.”

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Artz knew what he had to do, and after a strong start, he appeared to be in good position to advance beyond the district tournament for the first time.

“I was happy. I had a nice start, I parred the first two, which, the last two years I played in this I kind of started out slow, so I was happy with that,” Artz said. “I played really well on the front. I had a 39. On the back, I kind of blew up a little bit, I had a 47, but overall, pretty happy with the scores.”

Artz did exactly what he needed to do to simply survive and advance.

“I thought an 84 or 83 would get in,” he said. “All I had to do was bogey the last three and I would have had an 83, but I doubled (bogeyed) the last three and that stung … I did not think that would get in, but it did.”

Artz edged Schuylkill Haven’s Albe Evans (87), who earned the final regional qualifying spot with a fourth-place finish.

William Mirams won a record fourth-straight district title, firing a 3-under 67. He is the first boy to win four consecutive district titles. Jeff Billie of Emmaus won three in a row from 1963-65.

Moravian Academy’s Griffin Lombardi was second with an 84.

A week after advancing to the district tournament through a qualifying round, Palmerton’s Logan Kresge and Weatherly’s Ashton Gerhard saw their seasons come to an end.

Kresge finished eighth, carding a 92, while Gerhard’s 100 earned him an 11th-place finish.

“It wasn’t my best day,” Kresge said. “I was hitting my driver really well today, I thought. That was one of the few things I thought I was doing well with my game today.

“I was a little inconsistent with my irons. I only hit five greens in regulation all day. My putter wasn’t too consistent, either.”

Gerhard, like Kresge, will look to improve next season when both will be seniors.

“It was a good experience, just seeing everyone,” said Gerhard. “It’s just good to see the competition for next year. And now I know what I have to do for next year.”

Kresge’s score led the Blue Bombers, who finished second in the 2A team standings with 388 points. Moravian Academy won its fifth-straight team title with 342 points.

“We’re happy to be here,” said Palmerton coach Mike Brennan. “Not to say that you’re just happy to show up. But we haven’t been in team districts in maybe 10 or 11 years, when Palmerton had (Mike) Englert and (Dan) Costenbader, which is a big deal.

“Obviously, we had a tremendous task with Moravian Academy. They are what they are every year, and you go from there. But our kids played well.”

Derek Rea (93), Josh Mooney (100), Jacob Sutton (103) and Mason Kistler (103) rounded out the Blue Bombers’ contingent.

“We only lost one senior, so hopefully for Logan, as a senior, he’s not alone next year, and some of these other guys can be in the individual tournament. And hopefully we put the time in and look forward to hopefully contending with Moravian next year.”

Marian finished fourth in the team standings with 457 points. Behind Artz were Johnathan Grutza (106), Walter Pavlik (127), Emily Reaman (138) and Bella LaSante (156).

For Artz, the focus shifts to another round of golf, another opportunity to surprise himself – and maybe the competition.

“Honestly, I didn’t really think about getting to regionals,” said Artz. “I was just happy getting here. I made it two years in a row individually. So to move on to regionals, it’s a dream come true, to be honest with you. We’ll go in there, and see what happens.”

WHEN AND WHERE … The regional tournament will be held Monday, Oct. 15 at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood. It is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

OTHER LOCALS … Tamaqua’s Tavio Agosti finished tied for 13th in the Class 2A field with a 104. Northwestern’s Cole Norman posted a 107 and placed 32nd in Class 3A.

OTHER CHAMPIONS … Emmaus’ Mitch Machulsky won the Class 3A boys title, edging Northampton’s Andrew Hozza in a playoff after both finished with a 75. Moravian’s Grace Sanborn also defeated teammate Keeler Nichols in a playoff for the Class 2A girls crown after both finished regulation tied at 100. Stroudsburg’s Olivia Paltrow captured the Class 3A girls title with a 72, 10 strokes ahead of Emmaus’ Michelle Cox. The Hornets won the Class 3A team title with 315 points.

For more photos, visit: https://www.tnonline.com/district-11-golf-championship