BOWLING GREEN - Calvert's Jeremy Hanna didn't learn his fate until the final group came in. Seneca East's Nate Phillips had to wait a bit longer.
Hanna squeaked out a state berth with a 77, while Phillips lost out on one in a playoff after carding a 78 Thursday at the Division III district golf tournament at Stone Ridge.
"I knew he had a shot. He's been playing well lately," Seneca East coach Gary Manasco said of Phillips. "He's shot some good scores everywhere. Most of all, he was confident when he stood over the ball.
"Just sorry it wasn't a 77 instead of a 78," he said.
The top four teams advanced to next week's state tournament, with Lima Central Catholic beating Ottawa Hills 308-318 for the district title.
Ashland Crestview took third with a 320, while Van Buren carded a 332 to edge out Kalida and Parkway by a stroke for the fourth and final team berth.
The top four individuals not on the top four teams also qualified. Making it as a member of the latter group took an extra hole, and nearly involved a host of players.
First, though, Kalida's Neil Recker shot a 74 to advance as an individual, and Hanna moved on with his 77.
"He was solid. It wasn't a flamboyant round, but whenever he got himself in trouble he made the shots he needed to make and just played that rock-solid round," Calvert coach Bob Williams said.
"His adversity was on any given hole," he said, "but he handled it and he kept his losses to a minimum."
Things got interesting from there.
Fremont St. Joe's Connor Dudley, Nick Kayser of Delphos St. John's and Phillips all finished regulation with a 78, one stroke ahead of six others seeking individual berths.
"There was real log jam at the end of the tournament," Williams said.
It cleared up one hole later.
Phillips found the water on his second shot at the par-5 playoff hole, then had his approach shot miss to the left. He finished with a 7 on the hole, while Dudley shot a 4 and Kayser had a 5.
"I'm extremely proud of what he did today," Manasco said. "He lost the playoff, he didn't get to go, but he met adversity today with courage."
Meanwhile, New Riegel finished 13th with a 358, led by Korey Williams' 84 and Brady Hall's 90.
Bryce Gorrell of Hopewell-Loudon fired an 80.
Carey's Corbin Blair shot a 97, one better than teammate Lincoln Stansberry.
