GOLDSBORO -- The Fike High boys golf team strutted its stuff. Hunt came to play.
And golfers from the archrival schools, playing partners in six different foursomes, encouraged one another from start to finish in the annual N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A East Regional on Tuesday at Lane Tree Golf Club.
The result was a red-letter day for the Wilson County tandem -- a one-two finish.
Fike, the NEW 6 Conference champion, reigns as the regional champion for the sixth time in the last seven years after firing a 296 total for its low four individuals.
Hunt, the Eastern Carolina Conference king and the beneficiary of a sizzling start, claimed the runner-up spot at 312.
The county rivals will advance into the NCHSAA 3-A Championship in the same year for the first time since 2000. The state appearance for the Warriors will be their first since 2002.
Jubilant first-year Hunt head coach Glenn Jones was proud of the fact that the ECC's top two teams, his Warriors and Eastern Wayne's Warriors, landed state berths.
"More important," he added, "this says a lot about the Wilson County schools and the golf they play."
FIKE DEEP, BALANCED
The Golden Demons proved true to their reputation as a deep and balanced team, posting no score higher than 78 over the par 36-36--72 Lane Tree layout.
Senior Zach Gliarmis paced Fike with a 37-35--72. The even-par performance vaulted him into a three-way playoff for the runner-up medal.
A bogey on the first hole eliminated Gliarmis. Eastern Wayne senior Kyle Ham conquered West Craven junior Bobby Baysden on the third hole. Ham fired a 37-35--72 in regulation, while Baysden carded a 38-34--72.
Northern Nash junior Daniel Claytor, the NEW 6 Player of the Year, added the regional medalist accolade to conference individual supremacy with a 2-under-par 70. His 35-35 included birdies at Nos. 1, 7 and 14 and a lone bogey at No. 2.
Claytor was joined by Baysden and D.H. Conley senior Jared Taunton (40-33--73) as individual qualifiers for the state championship next Monday and Tuesday at Foxfire Village.
Eastern Wayne, the ECC runner-up, claimed the third -- and final -- team slot with a 313 as Ham, with three birdies, was complemented by seniors Eric Huetter (76) and Nick Barrow (79).
11 BIRDIES FOR DEMONS
However, Fike was all business from the outset, posting 11 birdies. Gliarmis, sophomore Spencer Whitt, junior Robert Yarbrough, sophomore Matthew Ellis and freshman Coalter Paxton each registered two birdies. Freshman Bailey Rose added one.
Paxton shot a 39-35--74, followed by Whitt at 37-38--75, Yarbrough at 40-35--75, Rose at 37-38--75 and Ellis at 40-38--78.
Gliarmis, with birdies at Nos. 12 and 14, declined to take credit for leading the Demons to their third regional crown in his four years.
"Everyone really led themselves," he said, "and, in the end, we all played good as a team. We have a good team, and all the other guys played good."
Fike achieved another goal.
"We came in to break 300 at least," Gliarmis revealed. "We would have liked to put up a score around 290, but you can't complain about a 296."
Head coach Jim Boykin described Fike's performance as "really good. I really liked the way they handled things mentally. We have got some young kids, but they were tough and focused. Even Matthew, who started out with a triple bogey, held his act together."
HUNT'S ROUTE
Hunt's runner-up route was more flamboyant. Seniors Lawrence Webb and David Hesmer each claimed an eagle. Junior Robert Byrd hole a shot from a hazard for birdie, and Matt Sullivan chipped in for a par. Jones' Warriors tallied six birdies.
Byrd, in just his second match after rehabilitating from an injury, jump-started Hunt with birdies at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in fashioning a 1-under 35 the front nine.
"That would be huge," Hesmer said of the prospect of Hunt heading to the state tournament.
Sullivan, a sophomore left-hander, led the way with a 37-40--77. Byrd and junior Paul Howell, the ECC Player of the Year, each came in with a 78. Also counted was a 79 from Webb.
Sullivan, Hunt's youngest player, was frequently in viewing range of his coach.
"I just wanted to make sure they understood to grind it out and that every shot counted," Jones explained. "Sullivan played like a senior today. On the way over here, I told him he was 10 strokes better than last week (a disappointing showing in the final conference match)."
The Hunt team, among the early finishers, spent an anxious hour or so before celebrating its runner-up finish.
Eastern Wayne and Northern Nash each had three players on the course and could have erased Hunt from the state qualifiers with a fourth score of 78 from the Knights and 84 from Eastern Wayne.
RIVAL SUPPORT
In the early going, Boykin constantly commented on Hunt's play and mentioned the archrival as a definite threat to his Demons.
"I felt like, if they didn't implode, they would do well," Boykin commented.
Added Hunt's Jones: "We played well and picked a good time to do it. That was great! I'm ecstatic about the way we played. We played lights out!
"I told our guys there wasn't any pressure on us. The pressure was on Fike. And Fike lived up to the pressure. They proved everybody else was playing for second."
However, Claytor emerged the individual champion by a two-shot margin. He resisted the temptation to hit his driver, except on par-5 layouts.
"I mostly hit 3-irons and 5-woods off the tee," Claytor noted. "I hit it more consistently today. It feels pretty good -- a lot better than at Maccripine (Country Club in the final NEW 6 match last week)."
Conley's Taunton surged into medalist contention with a back-nine spree -- an eagle on No. 13 and birdies on Nos. 14 and 15.
Baysden set the pace in birdies with four -- at Nos. 3, 7, 13 and 14.
"I didn't make a lot of putts," the West Craven junior reviewed, "but it was a solid round."
However, the "solid round" description fit Fike perfectly.
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