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Western Alamance senior Connor Massey hits from the fairway on hole three during the NCHSAA 3-A Mideast Regional at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington.
A Western Alamance High School golfer putts on hole 18 during the NCHSAA 3-A Mideast Regional at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington.
Times-News
Luke Johnson For The Times-News
The sting of just missing out on a chance to compete at the NCHSAA state championships a year ago has been harnessed and turned into fuel by the Western Alamance boys’ golf team.
The Warriors will get their shot at state championship glory this time around after winning the NCHSAA Class 3-A Mideast Regional.
“We were all pretty disappointed we didn't make it last year,” Warriors senior Jake Clayton said. “We felt our team was pretty good last year. Our top three and our fourth man now, we've all come back a little bit stronger. Going into this season, one of our expectations was to make state championship and have a chance of winning. That's really what's fueled us the most, just being able to compete and get to the state championship. Now that it's finally here, we're really excited.”
Western Alamance is one of 12 teams that will compete Monday and Tuesday at Pinehurst No. 6 for the NCHSAA Class 3-A state championship.
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The Warriors shot a 6-over-par 286 as a team earlier this week at the Mideast Regional at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington to beat out Fayetteville Terry Sanford by three strokes, securing the Warriors the regional team title. That score registered as the Warriors’ best of the season. Clayton finished as the individual runner-up by carding a 1-under 69.
“These guys have worked really hard,” Western Alamance coach Michael Pennington said. “The success comes from all the efforts that they put in in the offseason. They all played a lot of tournaments over the summer and got better and better and better. It's just been fun to watch them come out and experience what they experience.”
Western Alamance senior Connor Massey hits from the fairway on hole three during the NCHSAA 3-A Mideast Regional at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington.
Times-News
Luke Johnson For The Times-News
Each of Western Alamance’s top four players this season (Clayton, Brad Grajzar, Connor Massey, Zach Wilson) were members of last season’s team that finished third at regionals. Due to COVID, the NCHSAA only sent the top two finishers from each regional to the state championships. In any other year, including this one, the top three teams of each regional advance to play for a state title.
“We believe that we thought that the top three teams in the state were all in that region and we didn't get to go,” Pennington said.
Charlotte Catholic and Waxhaw Marvin Ridge were the two teams to qualify for the state championships from Western Alamance’s regional a season ago. Charlotte Catholic went on to win the NCHSAA Class 3-A state championship while Marvin Ridge finished as the runner-up.
“We really missed out last year,” Grajzar said. “The two teams that came in first and second were really, really strong teams. We have a lot better chance this year, in my opinion.”
The Warriors made a trip to Pinehurst during spring break to get a feel for the course, figuring they’d be playing it in the future for a chance at a state title.
“I’d say the biggest challenges that Pinehurst has is off the tee, you’ve got to be hitting your driver pretty well,” Clayton said. “Finding fairways is a premium pretty much at any golf course, but especially in Pinehurst. When we went down during spring break, the greens weren't really that difficult, but I'd imagine that getting them prepared for a big tournament that the greens will be pretty difficult. So, it'll be a good test. I feel like all of our guys, I feel like we're all ready. It's just a matter of if we do it or not.”
Last season, Clayton competed at the state championships as an individual. He finished tied for ninth with a 2-over 74 in the one-round event. This year, the tournament is back to two rounds.
The Warriors won’t be the only representatives from Alamance County at Pinehurst. Christos Katsoudas of Williams High School will compete as an individual after shooting a 3-over 73 at the Mideast Regional.
David Kehrli is a sports reporter at the Burlington Times-News and USA Today Network. You can reach him at david.kehrli@thetimesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidKehrliTN. Subscribe to the Burlington Times-News here.
