By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SOUTHERN PINES —It wasn’t what the Mustangs wanted, but it was still pretty good.

Led by coach Rhett Teems and seniors Bryson Sprinkle and William Garland, East Rowan turned in another solid golf season. East played eight shots better on Tuesday on the second day of the 3A State Championships at Longleaf and moved up a couple of spots to finish in seventh place.

The Mustangs, second in 2015 and 2016 and fourth a year ago, shot 327-319 — 646. They finished 36 strokes behind team champion Charlotte Catholic (305-305 — 610).

East has graduated outstanding players in recent years, notably Logan Shuping (East Carolina) and Nick Lyerly (UNC Greensboro), but has maintained its status as one of the better programs in 3A.

“I guess I’m a little bit disappointed right now because if we’d played Monday like we did Tuesday, we might have been in it,” Teems said. “We played a whole lot better Tuesday. We really had a chance for a great round, but we lost about seven strokes on the last three holes.”

Clayton took runner-up honors at 629. Midwest Regional runner-up Mount Tabor was third at 633. Midwest Regional champ Marvin Ridge shot 634.

The individual champion was West Carteret’s Ethan Hall. He fired a 4-under 68 on Tuesday after shooting 75 on the first day. He won by three shots over Kings Mountain’s Alex Goff (74-72 — 146). Scores were generally stronger on Day 2, with more favorable weather conditions and fewer jitters.

Sprinkle was still in contention for individual honors after his 75 in the first round. He shot 79 on Tuesday, although he played better than it sounds.

“Bryson had double bogeys on the two par-5 holes  (5 and 8) on the front — he had a par and a birdie on those holes Monday — and that knocked him back some,” Teems said. “But after those two doubles, he couldn’t have played much better than he did.”

Sprinkle made a birdie on No. 17 for 41-38 — 79. He tied for 13th.

Garland shot 78 on Tuesday to go with his first-round 79. He had a birdie on No. 8 and made the turn at 37. His 41 on the back side included a double bogey on No. 13. He tied for 23rd.

Sophomore Austin Miller had the most volatile day. For much of the morning and early afternoon, he was doing everything right and was on a roll. He birdied No. 5 and made the turn at 35. When he birdied 11, he appeared on the road to a spectacular round.

“It really looked like Austin was going to shoot 73 or 74,” Teems said. “But then he three-putted 16 and 17 and he had a triple on 18. But he really played great today.”

Miller, who made 10 pars, settled for a 78, but that score benefited the Mustangs. He’d shot 87 on Monday. He tied for 52nd in a field of 84.

Freshman Colby Patterson shot 39-45  — 84, two shots better than he did in Monday’s round. Patterson made six pars, but he had three double bogeys and a triple. He tied for 66th.

Junior Alex Miller shot 40-46 —86 on Tuesday, shaving one shot off his effort on Monday. He made the turn at 40, but he began the back nine with a triple bogey and had another triple on No. 16. In between, he made a birdie on No. 12. He tied for 73rd.

“All our guys did well,” Teems said. “They all struck the ball better today, and I was really proud of all of them. It was a lot of fun, another good year for us.”

It was team-effort season, with Sprinkle leading East to the North Piedmont Conference championship, Garland setting the pace in the Rowan County tourney, and Patterson enjoying a breakout performance in the 3A Midwest Regional to get East back to the state tournament.

Sprinkle and Garland won’t be easy to replace, but Teems is optimistic the Mustangs have more talent on the way.

“And we’re looking forward to our girls season in the fall,” Teems said. “We’ll have a lot of seniors. We could be outstanding.”

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In the 2A State Championships at Whispering Pines, Salisbury senior Alex Antosek and sophomore Hank Robins were competing as individuals.

Antosek turned in another steady round on Tuesday with an 82. He made two birdies, with one coming on the No. 15 hole that he triple-bogeyed on Monday.

Tuesday’s round included seven pars, but he made a  triple on No. 12 and a double on No. 16.

His 83-82 — 165 in his final match as a Hornet placed him in a tie for 15th overall.

Robins shot 86 on Tuesday, four shots better than Monday’s round. He had a birdie on No. 15 and finished strong after taking double bogeys on 4, 5 and 11.  Robins tied for 40th at 176.

Midway cruised to the team championship with scores of 319-320 — 639. Midway’s Logan Patrick shot 71-73 — 144, even par, and took individual honors by six shots.