Hunt wins fifth ECC golf match

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 21, 2009 1:50 PM

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Defending champion Wilson Hunt kept its stranglehold on the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference men's golf race with a convincing outing Monday afternoon at Lane Tree Golf Club.

The Warriors battled windy conditions, passing thunderstorms and eventual darkness for a four-player total of 314. Kinston, led by medalist Jesse Shimer, placed second with 340 and Southern Wayne carded a third-place score of 344.

Wilson Beddingfield (350), Eastern Wayne (385) and Charles B. Aycock (405) completed the six-team field.

"I was really proud of how my guys handled the conditions today," said Southern Wayne head coach Jeremy Joyner. "It was really windy and the greens were pretty slow, but I thought we handled it well."

The Saints' resurgence was sparked by season-best rounds from John Graham (81) and Jonathon Lawhorn (88). A fortunate final hole highlighted Lawhorn's 18-hole outing.

"I hit driver about 275 yards in the fairway, but then I hit a hybrid into the sand," said Lawhorn. "I sliced the sand shot off the green and then chipped the ball in from about 35 feet to save par."

"If it hadn't hit the flag and fallen in, the ball would have been over the green. That's how hard I hit it."

Will Bunch (85) and Rob Herring (90) completed the Saints' scoring.

Ryan Lake paced Eastern Wayne with an 83, while Caleb Jones contributed an 86. Keith Gregorcyk (93), Hidematsu Sueki (96) and Matt Baker (96) helped keep the Warriors within striking distance of a regional bid.

The blue-and-gold Warriors, directed by head coach Scott Waller, have 1,759 stokes in match play. Eastern Wayne trails Beddingfield by eight shots and leads Kinston by six shots.

The top three teams qualify for the N.C. High School Athletic Association eastern regional, scheduled for May 4 at Maccripine Country Club near Pinetops.

Hunt has a league-low 1,637 strokes.

"We are going to have to play well in the final regular-season match and the conference match if we want to qualify," said Waller. "We are going to have to save every stroke we can."

Charles B. Aycock is not involved in the season standings due to a lack of golfers in the opening two matches of the season. Senior C.P. Cranford emerged the Golden Falcons' top performer with an 82.

Chase Parnell added a 91, while Ian McClanahan fired a 108. Jeremy Lipscomb's round of 124 completed Aycock's scoring.

The teams play their final ECC regular-season match Monday at Goldsboro Municipal Golf Course. The season-ending tournament is April 30 at Willow Springs Country Club in Wilson.