After starting his round with two bogeys and a double-bogey over the first three holes, Carter Willis knew he didn’t have many strokes to spare if he wanted to advance through last week’s District 11 Championships.

The Parkland junior knew the cut to make states would be somewhere around 4-5 over par. He learned last year that pressing isn’t the solution.

So he just kept grinding for pars, accepting an occasional bogey and capitalizing on birdie opportunities.

After going four-over par on his first three holes, Willis played the next 15 holes at 1-over to shoot a 5-over par 77 last Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Steel Club to finish in fifth place and advance to next week’s state championships.

“It was a battle today,” Willis said. “I was just saying stay in it. That was all I could do. Last year I had the same thing happen. I got off to a bad start last year and I let it unravel. I realized that it didn’t have to be that way and I just kept fighting. It worked out in the end. I kept fighting all day. I didn’t give up, not once.”

He made two birdies, three bogeys and parred the rest after the rocky start.

“The postseason you just get down to it,” he said. “It comes down to who can grind out those pars and finish and perform under pressure. The pressure is a lot. The pressure adds strokes. The regular season isn’t easy, but it gets a lot harder. You have to have it between the ears to keep it together.”

Willis also helped the Trojans earn a team title last week.

After a 15-2 regular season and a disappointing finish in the league tournament, the Parkland went to districts with something to prove.

“We felt we had a chance to run the table in the regular season and we missed some opportunities there,” said Parkland head coach Ryan Nunamaker. “We went to EPCs, had a chance to play for a league tournament championship and we finished sixth. That was a wake up call for sure. We were disappointed in our effort there.”

Parkland finished districts with a team score of 321 with Nazareth (324) second, follow by Southern Lehigh (336) and Pocono Mountain East (340).

“We did just enough to hang in there in the second half of that match,” said Nunamaker. “Nazareth got out to a pretty big lead. They had two kids under par at one time. We were behind the eight ball a little bit, but we had some guys really fight through that finish.

“That’s the one thing we talked about all year is can we finish over the last four or five holes. That’s where the pressure builds up and where matches are won and lost. For us to finish that off today was a big step forward.”

Parkland’s Matthew Torres finished in a tie for sixth place at districts. With the top six players advancing to states, Torres was part of a playoff for the final spot with Northampton’s Andrew Eberts and Derek Moyer. Eberts won the playoff on the first hole.

Torres, a sophomore, made two birdies, six bogeys and one double-bogey to go with nine pars last week for a 6-over par 78.

Charlie Gold, the only senior in Parkland’s five-player district line up, shot 82 to tie for 13th place at districts.

Gold made three bogeys, four double-bogeys, a birdie and 10 pars over his round.

Sophomore Ryan Posocco also got into the team scoring with a 12-over par round of 84 to tie for 19th place. He made six bogeys, three doubles and nine pars.

Parkland junior Chase Kleever shot 22-over par 94 at districts, while sophomore Tommy Schimmer carded a 99 in the event.

Willis advances to the state individual championships, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 19-20 at Penn State. The Trojans also move on to the state team tournament to be played the next day on the PSU White Course.

“To go into the next two weeks and have a heck of a lot more golf to play is amazing,” said Willis. “It’s the greatest feeling.”

Saucon Valley’s Anthony Albano took this year’s District 11 3A title with an even-par 72, finishing three shots clear of Alex DiGiacinto (Nazareth) and Chris Gearheart (Pocono Mountain East) in a tie for second place. Conner Aspen (Southern Lehigh) was fourth at 4-over par 76.

Tamaqua’s Sam Vinc won this year’s District 11 Class 2A title with a 4-over par 76. He finished a shot ahead of Schuylkill Haven’s Eli Barton in second place. Alan Evans (Schuylkill Haven) shot 79 for third place with Palmerton’s Joey Sold one shot back in fourth place.

Schuylkill Haven won the boys team title with a four-player team score of 333. Mahanoy Area (352), Notre Dame of Green Pond (353) and Northwestern Lehigh (357) followed.

Schuylkill Haven’s Giuliana Hughes shot 85 for first place in girls Class 2A. Southern Lehigh’s Lexi Miller earned the District 11 girls 3A title at a subregional tournament last Monday.