The Palmerton golf team picked up its second straight Colonial League team title Monday at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course.

Led by second-place finisher Connor Reinhard, the defending champs shot a five-man score of 393 to take this year’s title over Moravian Academy (399), Southern Lehigh (402) and Saucon Valley (409).

“They persevered through the round,” said Blue Bomber co-head coach Justin Petersen. “Connor is a great example of that. He triple-bogeyed the first hole, then he played two under through the rest of the round. He dealt with adversity, and that shows a lot about him.

“Same thing for the rest of our guys. It wasn’t their best rounds for (Josh) Suto or Tyler (Hager), but they still persevered and they helped us win a team championship, which was the goal coming in. We’re looking forward to the rest of the postseason.”

Reinhard took a seven on the par-4 first hole, then made five straight pars. Birdies on holes 7, 9 and 11 put got him back to level par for the round. After a bogey on 12, the Palmerton junior made six straight pars coming in to finish at 1-over par 72.

Reinhard finished two strokes behind winner Ben Ortwein of Notre Dame. The two-time District 11 Class 2A champ shot 1-under par 70 to win Monday. Reinhard tied Moravian Academy’s Evan Eichenlaub at 72, and took second place by a match of cards.

“The last 17 holes I was quite happy with,” Reinhard said. “I knew I could make birdies here, so I just tried to keep myself calm and stay focused the last 17 holes. I started dropping putts later in the round.

“My approach shots were good. I hit a lot of greens, and I gave myself good looks at birdie. Some fell, some didn’t. I made a lot of clutch par putts.”

Suto finished just a couple shots behind Reinhard with a 75, which earned him fourth place by a match of cards. Hager, the defending league champ, shot 79 Monday for 10th place.

The rest of Palmerton’s team score came from Dominic Kintz (82) and Nathan Steinmetz (85).

The Bombers will go on to the district tournament in hopes of making it to regionals for the third straight year.

In the Colonial League girls tournament Monday, Saucon Valley’s Emma Shelby shot 90 for first place, while Bangor’s Paulina Poels took second with a 95.

BIG THREE ... Palmerton’s Hager, Suto and Reinhard - who all finished in the top four places at the 2020 league championship tournament - give the Bombers an even more formidable team in districts, regionals and states, where just the top four scores count. “Our top three are all interchangeable. There’s no specific order for them. Anybody can have the top round on any given day,” said Petersen.

CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN ... Ortwein opened the tournament with three straight birdies and remained under par from there. He bogeyed the fourth, but bounced back with a birdie on the seventh. After a bogey on the eighth hole, birdies on 11 and 13 got him to 4-under par for the round. A bogey on 15, and a double at 16 made it close, but two pars to finish preserved his lead and this year’s title.

INDIVIDUAL

BOYS

(Top 10; plus other locals)

1. Ben Ortwein (Notre Dame GP) 70, 2. Connor Reinhard (Palmerton) 72, 3. Evan Eichenlaub (Moravian Academy) 72, 4. Josh Suto (Palmerton) 75, 5. Cohen Resch (So. Lehigh) 75, 6. Erik Smith (Saucon Valley) 77, 7. Thomas Young (Moravian Academy) 78, 8. Jaden Kennedy (Saucon Valley) 79, 9. Colin Zavacky (Saucon Valley) 79, 10. Tyler Hager (Palmerton) 79, 14. Dominic Kintz (Palmerton) 82, 23. Nathan Steinmetz (Palmerton) 85, 31. Kyle Sebelin (Palmerton) 85, 33. Nathan Knerr (Northwestern) 92, 37. Jared Reinhard (Palmerton) 94, 43. Justin Sebelin (Palmerton) 99, 47. Mason Stroup (Palmerton) 103, 49. Nick Scott (Northwestern) 105.

GIRLS

(Top 5)

1. Emma Shelby (Saucon Valley) 90, 2. Paulina Poels (Bangor) 95, 3. Natalie White (Bangor) 97, 4. Maddie Hagens (Southern Lehigh) 112, 5. Ava Smarch (Salisbury) 120.

TEAM

BOYS

1. Palmerton 393, 2. Moravian Academy 399, 3. Southern Lehigh 402, 4. Saucon Valley 409.

* Match of cards was used to break ties