The eagles traveled to Chockoyotte Country Club on Monday March 27th in their quest to seek another number one finish for the year. The golf team came up short of their mark in this match but managed to come in third overall and second in the conference. Though the other teams shot low and show no signs of doing slowing down, the Eagles are going to continue to grind it out in order to hopefully another first place finish.

Chockoyotte Country Club is located in Weldon and the home course of Halifax Academy and was originally designed by Donald Ross and Ellis Maples. The course incorporated a decent amount of water, tiny greens, and large sand traps. This course was by no means easy, however it is not quite as challenging as other courses of conference play throughout the season. The match took place on the back nine holes which posed a challenge to the Eagles. Also, the relative flatness of the course contributed to the scores being fairly low. The wind was a 2-3 club wind at roughly 15mph. This really came into play while the eagles were off the tee and though the wind was not in our favor, the team never gave up. The conference only plays Chockoyotte once this year and thankfully the Eagles made their first and last trip to Weldon.

The CIC conference requires four scorers for the team but teams are allowed to bring six players. The top four lowest scores count towards the team score. The RMA golf team works diligently each week to be sure that the best boy players travel to compete in the matches. There are three spots up for grabs for each match because the lowest three scorers from the previous match are automatically guaranteed spots. The golf team is very competitive and this competition ensures that the top six have worked to make the match. Last Monday’s performances were all pretty good, even though no one really dominated the course. Coach Randy Davis gave some good pointers about the wind before the match that helped all the players adjust to the conditions. Throughout the match he would also check in on players to examine their performance and make suggestions. The number one seed Chris Gardner put up a 43 and greatly helped the eagle’s team score of 182. Chris Gardner is definitely a force to be reckoned with this year on the course. He is a very consistent player and continues to work hard every day at practice.  Caleb Lambert chipped in a 45. His long drive and accurate approach shot helped him to average a bogie per hole. Rob Turnage shot a 46, a solid performance by the senior captain. Senior Thomas Moore, sophomores Paul Larimer and Josh Rich, all shot 48 for the final fourth score. Thomas would have ended up with a 49 but thankfully due to his scrappy attitude and never give up mentality shaved a stroke off his score by getting in the pond up to his knees and hitting a brilliant shot within 50 yards of the green. Epiphany School of New Bern placed 1st out of all of the competing teams followed by Crossroads Christian School of Henderson in second place. Crossroads is a 1A school, so technically RMA came in second place out of the conference.

Also, the conference recently has added an all-girls league which allow the golf team’s girl competitors to compete together. The Lady Eagles also put in work at Chockoyotte CC. Senior Emily Cheston and Junior Lexi Reams shot a 53 to tie for overall low score for the girls. This overall low score is also referred to as medalist. Senior Maxwell Miller put up a 56 with a smile on her face. Players that play with Maxwell enjoy playing with her because of her happy go lucky attitude on the course. Ann Margaret Taylor contributed with a 61, not bad for her second ever high school match.

Overall this was a very solid round by all of the eagles and the season is just getting cranked up. From now on it is all gas and no brakes for the RMA golf team.