OCALA -- In each of the Past three FHSAA golf finals, Columbus has improved its standing.

Three years ago, the Explorers finished 15th. In 2007, Columbus ended in eighth place and last season finished sixth.

The Explorers continued the trend Tuesday in the first round of the 2009 Class 2A Championship at Silver Springs Shores.

Columbus fired an opening-round 303 to place itself tied for fifth with Olympia and Palm Harbor in a very competitive 2A tournament.

Thirteen teams in Class 2A are within nine strokes of leader St. Thomas Aquinas, which shot a 298. Martin County is second with a 299 and Lake Mary is third with a 300.

Senior Marcelo Huarte led the Explorers with a 72.

Huarte had four birdies in his even-par round but could have had more.

``I thought I played pretty well,'' Huarte said. ``I left a few shots out there. The back nine on the course was tough, but we hung in there. We just got to click [Wednesday] with four good rounds and hopefully bring a title back to Miami.''

Antonio Balducci and Stefano Diaz each carded a 75 for Columbus.

Palmetto is among those top 13 teams vying for the 2A crown. The Panthers shot a 307 to place 13th.

Senior James Tria shot a 74 to lead Palmetto and Ryan Carter had a 75.

Palmer Trinity's Landon Michelson, competing as an individual in the Class 1A boys championship, fired a 1-under 71 at Juliette Falls to tie for fourth after the first 18 holes.

The Miami-Dade 2A girls participants did not fare as well as the boys in the opening round of the FHSAA Finals.

Miami Springs is 15th after shooting a 399 and the Palmetto girls are 16th with a 425.

BOYS' RESULTS

Class 2A: St. Thomas Aquinas 298; 2. Martin County 299; 3. Lake Mary 300; 4. Fort Walton Beach 302; 5. Columbus 303, Olympia 303, Palm Harbor 303; 8. East Lake 304; 9. Cypress Bay (305), Barron Collier 305. 13. Palmetto 307

Individuals: James Monnerville (Vero Beach) 66; 2. Gabriel Ormachea (STA) 68; T-3. John Boehme (Fletcher) 69, Will Davenport (Martin County) 69, Linzy Clark (East Lake) 69.

Other Dade & Broward individuals: 9. Marcelo Huarte (Col) 72; T-11. Ryan Henry (STA) 73, Michael Heda (CB) 73; 20. James Tria (Pal) 74; T-30. Charlie Villani (STA) 75, Shane White (CB) 75, Antonio Balducci (Col) 75, Stefano Diaz (Col) 75, Ryan Carter (Pal) 75; 45. Jaime Rodriguez (Braddock) 77; T-49. Rohan Ramnath (CB) 78, Denizen Kocak (Pal) 78; 58. Bradley Andersen (CB) 79; 67. Casey Matthews (Pal) 80; 72. Jordan Portal (Col) 81; T-75. Justin Yocum (West Broward) 82, Eric Sills (STA) 82, Michael Perez (CB) 82; 89. Christopher Lecusay (Col) 85; 95. Joshua Levitats (Pal) 93.

Class 1A: Benjamin 288; 2. Archbishop McCarthy 292; 3. Cardinal Newman 293; 4. Northside Christian 302; T-5. Trinity Catholic 303, Trinity Prep 303; 13. Gulliver 316

Individuals: T-1. Kevin Jorden (Cardinal Newman) 67, Jesse Perkins (AMC) 67; 3. Matt Ceravolo (Benjamin) 69; T-4. Landon Michelson (Palmer Trinity) 71, Andrew Mangini (Coral Springs Christian) 71, Conor Richardson (Cardinal Newman) 71, Sean Kelly (St. Stephen's) 71, Collin Engelhardt (Trinity Prep) 71; T-20. Jared Carver (AMC) 74, Matt Robles (Gul) 74; 28. Robert Geibel (AMC) 75; 34. Zach Toste (AMC) 76; 38. Richard Trotter (AMC) 77; 58. Charles Castellano (Gul) 80; T-67. Chris Ingham (Gul) 81, Kyle Parker (Gul) 81; 82. Anthony Infante (Gul) 84.

GIRLS' RESULTS

Class 2A: Lake Mary 311; 2. Viera 320; 3. Durant 328; 4. Gulf Breeze 330; 5. Olympia 338; 9. Cypress Bay 348; 15. Miami Springs 399; 16. Palmetto 425

Individuals: Olivia Lugar (Viera) 69; T-2. Ashleigh Ryals (Gulf Breeze) 70, Jessica Schall (Lake Mary) 70, Juliana Herrera (CB) 70; 5. Carlton Kuhlo (Chiles) 71; 6. Victoria Trapani (STA) 72; 31. Kalyn Safreed (MS) 81; 33. Lucia Garcia (CB) 83; 36. Jessica Sirianni (West Broward) 85; 55. Gabriella Montes (Pal) 91; 61. Lauren Krueger (CB) 94; 71. Molly Barlow (Pal) 99; 74. Sherrell Buckley (CB) 101; T-80. Brittany Stolzenberg (CB) 105, Emilee Heider (MS) 105; 82. Jeisevette Del Barro (MS) 106; 83. Ciera Delgado (MS) 107; 86. Jessica Trujillo (111); 89. Kayla Campbell (Pal) 113; 90. Erin Bowers (Pal) 122; 91. Christina Healy (Pal) 123;

Class 1A: American Heritage 296; 2. Northside Christian 298; 3. Naples Community 312; 4. Lake Highland 320; 5. St. Andrew's 321; 9. Cardinal Gibbons 351.

Individuals: 1. Shelby Coyle (AH) 69; T-2. A.J. Newell (Northside) 70, Lauren Gros (Oak Hall) 70; T-4. Kyle Roig (AH) 71, Abbey Carlson (Circle Christian) 71; 9. Ashley Malinchak (Westminster Academy) 73; 15. Kristen Sammarco (AH) 76; 26. Marisa Messana (AH) 80; T-33. Katlyn Kennedy (AH) 83, Madeleine Tham Johansson (CG) 83; 36. Sarah Anthony (CG) 85; 45. Danielle Welker (CG) 88; 58. Jennifer Lindquist (CG) 95; 72. Bridgette Wilson (CG) 106;

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