Staff report
Salisbury’s golf team bounced back from a subpar first day and finished fourth in the 2A championships held at Longleaf in Southern Pines.
The Hornets’ total of 308 on Tuesday was second only to team champion North Lincoln, which completed the 36-hole event at 305-295ó600 to win by 18 strokes over runner-up McMichael.
Salisbury, which was in seventh place after posting a 319 on Monday, finished at 627 and beat fifth-place Cardinal Gibbons by one shot. South Lenoir was third overall with a 621.
Four freshmen, one sophomore and one senior competed for the Hornets.
“We played a whole lot better,” Salisbury coach Dale Snyder said. “We dug a hole that was a little too much to come back from, but we did the best we could under the circumstances.
“We have such a young team and they’re happy, but they’re also a little disappointed. They thought they could have done better, and they probably could have the first day, but we did the best we could.”
Freshman Alex Nianouris (76-76ó152) tied for 10th place individually, and sophomore Roy Dixon (78-75ó153) tied for 13th place.
“Alex was steady both days, and he finally made some putts today,” Snyder said. “Roy stayed steady all day. His 75 probably should have been more like a 71 or 72.”
Salisbury’s other scorers were Troy Beaver (82-76ó158) and Clark Alcorn (83-81ó164). Alex Lee (86-85ó171) and senior Randy Almeida (90-84ó174) also participated.
Beaver was 3 over after four holes Tuesday, and he stayed there thanks to 11 consecutive pars. He bogeyed two of his final three holes.
“It was great to see him at 3 over for the longest time,” Snyder said.
“It was a really good season. With a lot of young guys coming back, they know what it takes now.”
West Davidson’s Justin Clement (72-64ó136) won the individual title by seven strokes over North Lincoln’s Miller Capps. Clement, playing one group ahead of Almeida, shot a 30 on the back nine of the par-71 course and produced the lowest-scoring round in NCHSAA championship history. His two-round total is second in NCHSAA history behind the 134 registered by East Davidson’s John Carter III in 1999.