Elco's Tobias ties for fifth at golf districts, headed to regionals

The scholastic golf season is over for Lebanon County competitors. For everyone but Cody Tobias, that is.

The Elco sophomore will keep swinging his clubs for another week or so at least, thanks to a superb performance at the District Three AAA Championships at Briarwood East in York this weekend.

Tobias, who shot a substandard 93 at the Lebanon County tourney on Tuesday and finished modestly tied for 16th at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships last month, is headed to the PIAA East Region Tournament after stringing together two very strong performances at the district event.

On the heels of a two-over par 74 on the 6,608-yard par-72 layout on Friday, Tobias fired a 73 on Saturday that left him in a four-way tie for fifth place and in possession of one of the 16 automatic berths into the East Region tourney, slated for next Monday, Oct. 19, at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood.

Gus Minkin of Central York won the gold, finishing at even-par 144 for a one-shot victory over Andrew Davis of Eastern York and Robert Falconer of Cumberland Valley.

Tobias carded three birdies — all on the front nine — and five bogeys en route to his 74 on Friday, and was similarly steady on Saturday, finishing with three more birdies to offset a double bogey on No.7 and bogeys on the 11th and 18th holes.

Tobias's birdies came on Nos. 2, 8 and 15. He'll be joined at regionals by Ephrata's Matt Kreider, who also finished tied for fifth.

"I left a lot of birdie chances," Tobias said. "I could have drove the ball better, but my best hole was the eighth. I chipped in for birdie there."

The Lancaster Catholic trio of Thomas Moran, Will Riva and RJ VanTash qualified for regionals in boys AA, and Manheim Township's Addie Deery (second) and Penn Manor's Allison Appleton (fifth) advanced in girls AAA.

Grace Stillman of Lancaster Mennonite won the girls AA title and Lancaster Catholic's Lauren Bird was the runner-up.