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School Sports
Fike trails Forestview after first round of 3-A golf championship By Tom Ham | Senior Staff Writer WEST END -- Fike High's opening-day 307 total for its low four individuals left Zach Gliarmis, its only senior, "pumped up" about today's final round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A Championship boys golf tournament. Gliarmis and his teammates eagerly looked forward to the final 18 holes -- although the Golden Demons trailed front-running Gastonia Forestview by two shots. "I don't want to get too pumped," Gliarmis cautioned, "but I am kind of pumped. It's a good thing we're not leading because we don't want to become overconfident. "Considering the wind, we played solid. Nobody lit it up, but nobody blew up. We didn't play ourselves out of it." Elsewhere, Monday's round in gusting winds and cool temperatures left the Hunt team with the approach that today's final round can only be better. After 18 holes, the Warriors, Eastern Carolina Conference champions and East Regional runners-up, ranked last among the 12 teams with a 351 total. "We started off good," reviewed first-year Hunt head coach Glenn Jones. "The front was a little easier and everything seemed to be going along fine. But my guys find it hard to make adjustments. We can't go anywhere but up." Forestview, a regional champion that was denied the 2007 state crown by Hickory on the basis of the fifth-best score for each team, set the pace at 305, 17-over-par over the 6,500-yard, par-72 East Course at Foxfire Resort and Golf Club. The Demons, Southeast Guilford (315) and Southern Lee (316) entered as regional champions. INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Charlotte Catholic senior Michael Muscatell, the 2006 medalist, owned the individual lead with a 1-under 71 (32-39). Williams freshman Robert Register matched par with a 37-35, followed by Southeast Guilford senior Billy Barham with a 36-37--73. Grouped at 74 were Forestview senior Harold Varner (36-38) and Hickory freshman J.T. Poston (36-38). Fike junior Robert Yarbrough deadlocked for sixth place with a 35-40--75, while Gliarmis tied for 10th with a 37-39--76. The Demons also counted 78s from freshman Coalter Paxton (39-39) and sophomore Matthew Ellis (39-39). Gliarmis grinded in a round of no birdies. "At first, I couldn't find my stroke," he noted. "Then, all of a sudden, it came together." On a day of infrequent sunshine, the 84 golfers fared significantly better on the front nine. YARBROUGH ON FRONT Yarbrough thrived with birdies at Nos. 3, 4 and 6. He also birdied No. 17. Playing the front nine last, Yarbrough was 3-under until bogeying his final two layouts. "(Being 3-under on the front) felt a lot better than the back," Yarbrough assured. "I just wanted to finish it strong with some pars, but I got a little nervous." Fike head coach Jim Boykin Jr. commended his golfers for doing a commendable job of battling the conditions. However, he noted: "We left a lot of shots out there," pointing out his players' struggles were primarily around the green. The Demons' six golfers played the final two layouts at 8-over. For Forestview, Varner was complemented by Garrett Haney with a 76, Thomas Chapman at 77 and Phillip Boheler at 78. Hickory was triggered by Poston (74) and Andrew Keller (75). Aside from Register, Burlington Williams got 78s from Nelson Nance and Griffith Chandler. Junior Paul Howell, the ECC Player of the Year, paced Hunt with an 83. The Warriors were forced to count a pair of 89s and one 90. HUNT'S ROUGH DAY Senior David Hesmer listed the Warriors' individual scores and reasoned: "That pretty much speaks for itself. I'm not sure what happened. It was a rough day. The wind was rough and we may not have expected the course to be as tough as it was." Muscatell, when he won the individual title in 2006, started with a 1-under 71. That effort Monday was spearheaded by a sizzling 4-under 32 the front nine. The Charlotte Catholic senior eagled the No. 3 layout and birdied Nos. 6 and 7. Muscatell registered bogeys at Nos. 11, 15 and 16. What will be Hunt's final-round approach? "I'm not sure yet," Hesmer responded. "Just improve. We are going to be about 30 strokes back if not a lot more (actually 46)." The players assured they will be more relaxed as seniors Hesmer, Cole Stoiber and Lawrence Webb play the final round of their high school careers. "I hope the approach will be the same as when we came here," Jones commented. "We're here, and I hope we have fun and enjoy it. I hope we learn something from it. This is a very exciting time for me; it's an honor to be here." CHEERING FOR FIKE And the Warriors will be wishing the best for their archrival. "We will be pulling for Fike," Jones assured. "We hope they finish it, pull something out and do something good for Wilson County." That's the intent of Gliarmis and cohorts. "Each person needs to make a few more birdies," Gliarmis emphasized, "not do anything stupid and understand we're playing team golf." Gliarmis, Yarbrough and sophomore Spencer Whitt were members of the 2007 team that finished eighth. hammer@wilsontimes.com | 265-7809
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