East golfers repeat as county champs

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 2, 2008

By Bret Strelow
Salisbury Post
East Rowan had one golfer qualify for all-conference honors, and five teammates received individual recognition after making sure the Mustangs repeated as county champions.
East, led by Bryce Corbett’s 8-over-par 78, finished with a 320 total at McCanless Golf Club on Thursday. South Rowan was second with a 330, and freshman medalist Roy Dixon helped Salisbury take third with a 333.Aaron Mothershead and Tyler Buckwell were the only returning East players who made the all-county team last year, and Buckwell was East’s lone NPC honoree this season. He tied for 17th place Thursday by posting an 87, the Mustangs’ sixth-best score.
Corbett filed in behindDixon, who shot a 5-over 75, and tied South Rowan’s Ben Fesperman for second place. Daniel Plummer (79, fourth place), freshman Mason Preslar (81, tie for fifth) and Mothershead (82, tie for seventh) also contributed to the team’s stroke total. Wil Torrence gave East five all-county representatives when he tied for 10th place with an 84.
“The team had to step up,” Plummer said. “You never know what they’re out there doing because it’s an individual sport, but you still have to focus on the team and keep it together.”
Mothershead, who won the county title as a freshman in 2005 and took second behind Will Collins as a junior, helped the Mustangs claim three team championships in four years.
Corbett, a junior, missed two matches earlier this season because of an injury to the middle finger on his left hand. He was listed as East’s third-ranked golfer on the scoring sheet.
“Coach is happy, and all of us are happy to maintain our two-year streak,” Corbett said. “I was glad they all stepped up, and I stepped up. I’m just glad we could finish it off.”
Torrence was listed fourth in East’s order, followed by Preslar and Plummer.
Plummer is often East’s fourth-best golfer, but coach Rhett Teems said he had struggled recently.
“He had a couple of weak matches, and he made up his mind he wanted to go for all-county,” Teems said. “He got out and practiced hard the last week or so and achieved his goal. That’s what it’s all about.”We had some real good scores today from guys that don’t normally play in the No. 1 and 2 spots.”
South’s Fesperman, who started playing golf last summer, led the Raiders to their strongest showing of the season.
Seth Walker (83, ninth place) and Addison Corriher (84, tie for 10th) joined Fesperman on the all-county team.
Salisbury, which lost the top five players from last year’s squad, had the medalist for the third straight season. Clint Riddle (82, tie for seventh place) was the Hornets’ other all-county performer.Dixon overcame a slow start to beat everyone in his top-seeded foursome by at least seven strokes.
He made a bogey at No. 1 and a triple-bogey on the next hole. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 3.
“I started off real bad,” Dixon said. “To be honest, I played awful today.
“I got rolling a little bit on the third hole, and after that I was just kind of stable with a couple birdies here and there, a couple bogeys.”
Carson, led by Justice Schenck’s 81, edged West Rowan by two strokes in the battle for fourth place. West’s Matt Meek, who shot 84, was also part of the three-way tie for 10th.
Miller Sokolowski fired an 88 to pace sixth-place North Rowan.
NOTES: The all-county photo will appear in a future edition of the Post.
Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com.


County match

McCanless Golf Club, par 70
Team scores
1. East Rowan 320
2. South Rowan 330
3. Salisbury 333
4. Carson 352
5. West Rowan 354
6. North Rowan 377

All-county individuals
1. Roy Dixon, Salisbury 75
T2. Bryce Corbett, East 78
T2. Ben Fesperman, South 78
4. Daniel Plummer, East 79
T5. Justice Schenck, Carson 81
T5. Mason Preslar, East 81
T7. Aaron Mothershead, East 82
T7. Clint Riddle, Salisbury 82
9. Seth Walker, South 83
T10. Matt Meek, West 84
T10. Wil Torrence, East 84
T10. Addison Corriher, South 84

Scorers by team
East Rowan
Bryce Corbett 78
Daniel Plummer 79
Mason Preslar 81
Aaron Mothershead 82
Wil Torrence 84
Tyler Buckwell 87
South Rowan
Ben Fesperman 78
Seth Walker 83
Addison Corriher 84
Holden White 85
Josh Lowder 85
Andrew Moody 95
Salisbury
Roy Dixon 75
Clint Riddle 82
Zack Kirchin 87
Wade Butner 89
Randy Almeida 89
Joseph Jones 104
Carson
Justice Schenck 81
Tyler Crossen 85
Colby Smith 88
Austin Addis 98
Peter Vaeth 99
Tyler Corriher 100
West Rowan
Matt Meek 84
James DeCoster 86
Spencer White 87
Myles Moore 97
Coleman Phifer 97
North Rowan
Miller Sokolowski 88
Jon Robertson 93
Dillon Mason 98
Billy Fordyce 98
Kyle Collins 101
Seth Lewallen 116