ODESSA -- On a windy afternoon in Hillsborough County's rural northwest nook, Clearwater Central Catholic senior Ryan Orr watched his putter deny him of a score in the 60s.
No sweat. His team refused to be denied by anything, or anyone.
Behind Orr, who earned medalist honors with a 1-under-par 71, the Marauders captured their first team state tournament berth in more than a decade with a four-shot triumph at the Class 1A, Region 5 tournament at The Eagles.
"This is huge that our whole team's going (to state) because I can rely on other people," said Orr, who qualified for state as an individual last season and struggled to a 71st-place finish. "And just having everyone else there makes it so much better."
A University of Florida commitment, Orr enjoyed a four-birdie day, twice reaching the green in two shots on par-5 holes before two-putting both. Teammate Andrew Heric finished third overall with a 75, following his double-bogey on No. 17 with a birdie on his last hole.
"I hit it off the tee very well," Orr said. "I didn't make many putts but I didn't make many bogeys. I kind of just chugged along, didn't make many mistakes."
Clayton Spilman (80) and Martin Fennemore (85) rounded out the scoring for CCC (311). Tampa Catholic finished four shots back to earn its first team state tourney berth. Reigning region champ Jesuit, which finished the regular season undefeated, was third (323).
"We're always looking for Ryan to do what he does, and Andrew played really well," Marauders coach Tony Pasquine said.
Individually, Calvary Christian's Zach Wood (76) and Ben Murray (77) earned individual state berths, with Murray topping Berkeley Prep's Jack Brittain in a one-hole playoff to earn the second and final spot.
The top two teams, and top two individuals not on those teams, earned berths at state, which tees off Oct. 30 in Howey-in-the-Hills.
On the girls side, Northside Christian's Ashley Zagers and Alison Armstrong each shot a 78 to help the Mustangs to a 321 team score, good enough for second place. Reigning champ Academy of the Holy Names defended its title with a 315.
CCC sophomore Emma Paschal (80) earned an individual berth.
Class 1A, Region 5 Tournament
(at The Eagles, Odessa)
Boys Team Results: Clearwater Central Catholic 311, Tampa Catholic 315, Jesuit 323, St. Petersburg Catholic 337, Shorecrest 344, Lakeland Christian 347, Winter Haven All Saints 364
Boys Individual Results (top 10): Ryan Orr, CCC 71; Nilo Sanchez, Tampa Catholic 74; Andrew Heric, CCC 75; Zach Wood, Calvary Christian, 76*; Ben Murray, Calvary Christian, 77*; Jack Brittain, Berkeley Prep 77; Ryan Tamashiro, Tampa Catholic 78; Anthony Quintessenza, Northside Christian 78; Steven Pike, All Saints 78
*-qualified for state tournament as individual
Girls Team Results: Academy of the Holy Names 315, Northside Christian 321, Indian Rocks Christian 384, Lakeland McKeel 385, Frostproof 393, Berkeley Prep 409, Lakeland Christian 425, Tampa Prep 456
Girls Individual Results (top 10): Emmy Martin, AHN 74; Mariah Diaz, AHN 75; Ashley Zagers, Northside Christian 78; Alison Armstrong, Northside Christian 78; Casey Pluchino, AHN 79; Claudia Rami, Carrollwood Day 80*; Emma Paschal, CCC 80*, Sarah Noto, Northside Christian 82; Kayla Connors, Tenoroc 82; Caroline Gilhool, Robinson 82
*-qualified for state tournament as individual
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Region golf: Orr, Clearwater Central Catholic capture A-5 region title
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