Triangle golfers hoping to reclaim NCHSAA state championships this week
Eleven Triangle-area teams will aim at ending a recent state championship drought when they compete in the boys’ and girls’ state high school golf tournaments this week in the Pinehurst area.
No teams from the Triangle won state titles in the autumn 2019 season for the girls, or in the spring 2019 boys’ campaign.
The spring 2020 boys’ season was canceled during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Before that, Broughton had won 11 boys’ championships, and Cardinal Gibbons had finished first or second in several boys’ and girls’ state meets.
The area will be well-represented this week, with the boys playing Monday and the girls Tuesday.
High school golfers won’t have much room for error in state tournaments this season.
In the past, state golf tournaments have been 36-hole, two-day events, but the N.C. High School Athletic Association has cut those to 18-hole competitions this year. That is due to the condensed high school sports season resulting from COVID-19 restrictions.
Two teams qualified for the state tournaments from regional events held last week, along with top individuals from each regional who were not members of the qualifying teams.
Here is a look at this week’s state championships.
Boys
4A (at Pinehurst No. 2)
Apex Friendship and Wake Forest won regional titles last week, with the Patriots taking the Mideast crown and Wake Forest winning in the East. Green Hope (Mideast) and Cardinal Gibbons (East) qualified as regional runners-up.
Apex Friendship’s golfers are Daniel Adkins, James Baldauf, Justin Nagy and Will Underhill. Wake Forest has Liam Harris, Josh Buxbaum, Jace Barnes and Brant Datillo.
Green Hope’s team is Quin Polin, James Ricco, Will Mitchell and Nick Kleu. The Cardinal Gibbons team is John Beskid, Matthew McCarthy, Bradley McHugh and Ryan McCarthy.
Individual qualifiers were Owen Kose (Holly Springs); Daniel Boone (Fuquay-Varina); Hampton Roberts (Panther Creek); Ben Hays (Green Level); and William Webb and Jack Webster (Broughton).
Webb, a freshman, is a contender for the individual title, after shooting a 6-under-par 66 in the East Regional tournament at Cutter Creek Golf Club in Snow Hill.
3A (at Longleaf Golf and Family Club)
There are no Triangle-area teams in the event, but Northern Durham’s Brycen Swain and Clayton’s Foster Evans will compete as individuals.
2A (at Pinehurst No. 6)
The Triangle area does not have any teams or individuals in this event.
1A (at Foxfire Red)
Raleigh Charter and Falls Lake Academy, the top two finishers in last week’s Mideast Regional, are in the field.
Raleigh Charter’s team is Langdon Aronson, Michael Vick, Cooper Ruffin and Nick Foland. Falls Lake Academy has Aiken McDowell, Connor Jacobs, Camden Ross and Keyon Green.
Girls
4A (at Pinehurst No. 1)
Four Wake County teams have qualified, with Green Hope and Holly Springs finishing 1-2 in the Central regional tournament, and Cardinal Gibbons and Heritage topping the East event.
Green Hope golfers are Justine Pennycookje, Halynn Lee and Tyler Spriggs. Holly Spring’ golfers are Maria Atwood, Hayla Bryson and Anika Ouellette.
Ava Lucas, who led the East Regional with an even-par 72 at the Neuse Golf Club in Clayton, heads the Cardinal Gibbons team. Also competing are Kaitlyn Rand and Ella Perna. Heritage golfers are Mary Sears Brown, Heather Appleson and Erin Aiden.
Individual qualifiers are Megan Morris and Haylie George (Panther Creek); Sidney Renville (Green Hope); Maddy Linares (Green Level); Sophia Martone (Apex Friendship); Sadler Miller (Corinth Holders); Mary Hederick and Catherine Vivongsy (Wake Forest); Sloane Spessard (Millbrook); Annika Rogers (Leesville Road); and Terra Schmitt (Wakefield).
3A (at Beacon Ridge Golf and Country Club)
Raleigh Charter (Lily Rowe, Julia Greene and Jada Parker) will compete for the team title after finishing second in the East Region.
Individual qualifiers are Emily Krueger (Franklin Academy); Taylor Bond (Durham School of the Arts); Elisa Taylor (Woods Charter); and Jiya Patel (Research Triangle).
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
