Goldsboro High claims ECC 2A men's golf championship

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on April 15, 2014 1:48 PM

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Goldsboro junior golfer Matt Hall made a swing change last week he hopes will pay off in big tournaments down the stretch.

He experienced some growing pains Monday, shooting nine-over par during a stretch of four holes on the back nine in the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference regular-season golf finale.

"I couldn't get comfortable standing over the ball on those holes," Hall said.

He hit the reset button.

"I had to get back to the basics of golf," he said. "I couldn't try to hit the perfect shots for birdies or eagles I just needed to try to hit pars.

Hall played the last five holes at 1-over par and finished with an 85. Although it was one of his highest rounds of the year, Hall finished third on the team and helped Goldsboro claim its first-regular season conference championship since 1976.

Hall's ability to rebound for the final five holes prevented what could have been a disastrous score and though his team didn't need the strokes, that ability may play a big role in the Cougars performing well at regionals.

"His mental game is beyond anyone that I've seen at this level," Cougars coach Ray Lippert said. "He opened regionals with a 10 last year and parred-out the rest of the way. He's going to be just fine."

Goldsboro finished first in the match with a score of 336. Rosewood scored a 326, led by Nick Adams' 70, but participated to get in some extra work with spring break approaching net week.

South Lenoir finished third on the day with a 372, good for second in the conference -- 77 strokes behind the Cougars. Ayden-Grifton shot a 368 to take second in the match, and Greene Central (383) and North Lenoir (385) rounded out the scoring.

Senior Carlin Thomas led the Cougars with an 80 to finish second overall behind South Lenoir medalist David White (76).

Thomas and Hall have been the catalysts for Goldsboro all season. But Luke McAulduff shot an 82, while freshmen Ruben Quiroz and Caleb Keel each shot an 89.

Goldsboro has nipped at the heels of a conference championship for the past few seasons, but hasn't been able to finish. This year, with Thomas being a senior, doing so is a little extra special.

"It's a big accomplishment," Thomas said. "Ever since (my) freshman year being conference champion has been the goal, so it was nice to get it done.

After the match, Hall took to the driving range to work on his new swing. He wants to make sure he gets it perfected before regionals on May 5th.

"It's all about just getting comfortable with it to make sure I can help the team do well and then qualify for states," Hall said.