By Tim Tassa -- Daily Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — Unavoidable drama shadowed Jonathan Ritenour past the 18th green on Monday, through the outdoor pavilion after he finished his round, and back to the first tee box, where he advanced to a playoff at the Bull Run District tournament.

It was the first playoff hole of his career, being paired with Luke Crothamel and Hunter Peddy of Madison County and teammate Jamie Rutherford, who each finished in regulation with a 23-over-par 95 and embarked on a sudden-death round.

The top two would advance to the Region B tournament next week, where they'd join George Mason, the regular-season champion, and Clarke County, which finished the afternoon with its second-straight district championship.

The four other at-large Region B qualifiers were Derek Davis of Strasburg (who shot an 83), Kyle Louk (80) and Kevin Haynes (88) of Madison County and Joey Gaouette (87) of Manassas Park.

"I was pretty mad when I came in with a 95 and I thought I wouldn't make it," Ritenour said. "Then I had a chance to get back in it."

After a long drive on the 319-yard first hole, Ritenour hit to within 25 feet of the pin on his second shot, setting up a par — good enough to end the playoff as Crothamel birdied and Rutherford and Peddy bogeyed the hole.

Moments before, a trip to Farmville next week seemed a long shot for Ritenour, a senior, who is accustomed to shooting in the low 40s per nine at Jackson's Chase.

"Last year I went and I choked there, too. I shot like a 94 or something like that when I could've easily shot in the 80s," Ritenour said of the region tournament. "I just hope I can do better this year."

Clarke County, led by Kevin Wiseman's first-place 77, Zach Ramey's 87, Gus Callan's 87 and D.J. Pyatt's 88, finished tied with the Mustangs with a 339 team score, but won on the first hole of the team playoff round.

Madison County finished in third with 358 strokes, followed by Strasburg (370) and Manassas Park (378).

"I really anticipated the guys would play well, they have been playing well for the last week, and they came out and showed what they can do today," said Clarke County head coach Randy Anderson, who called Callan's back-nine score the turning point of the match, after he posted a 46 on the front.

"These guys are close. All six of these guys have been on the golf team for three years. They're feeding off each other. It really sets up for competition to make them better."

Zach Stickley added a 97 for Strasburg, joining Rutherford, Ritenour and Davis as Strasburg's top four players.

"I'm really happy for him — totally unexpected," Strasburg head coach Bert Martin said of Davis, who individually came in third place.

"It's pretty cool being able to shoot up with upperclassmen," Davis said. "I could have putted a little bit better. My driving was pretty good, but I know I could've made two par putts that I should've made but I didn't."

The team playoff was basically a formality to award a trophy, as both teams had already clinched regional berths. However, after the Mustangs took a one-stroke lead following the first group on the first hole, Wiseman and Pyatt each parred their chance, besting Evans Mandes and Tim Hillegass and erasing the deficit to claim victory.

"It was pretty sweet," Wiseman said.

"Everything was working for me today — just a couple bad breaks."

Wiseman, the Bull Run District player of the year, shot a 40 on the front nine and 37 on the back to capture the individual prize.

As a team Clarke County lost twice to George Mason during the regular season — once by six strokes on the Eagles' home course and the other by 16 strokes.

The Eagles got their revenge, however. Now they will focus on making noise at the next level of postseason play.

"We need to listen to our coach," Pyatt said.

Added Wiseman, "We all need to practice a lot, because we've got a long way to go to compete in regionals."

* Contact Tim Tassa at ttassa@nvdaily.com