Prep notebook: Cardinal Gibbons wins PAC-6 boys golf ttile, Northern Durham’s Michael Wicker wins POTY

The Cardinal Gibbons boys golf team wrapped up the PAC-6 Conference title on Tuesday, edging runner-up Northern Durham 42-37 on the year. East Chapel Hill (36) was third and Riverside (33) was fourth in the seven-team league.

Northern Durham senior Michael Wicker earned player of the year honors for a third straight time, beating out Riverside’s Campbell Rand and Connor Moore.

Cap-8 golf: Broughton clipped Leesville Road for a fifth straight Cap-8 boys golf championship as the league wrapped up its regular season on Tuesday. By winning the finale at Olde Liberty Golf Course in Youngsville, Broughton won 61-59.

Leesville Road’s Doc Redman, who shot a 36 on Tuesday to share individual medalist honors with Broughton’s Jimbo Stanley, earned player of the year honors. Redman finished with a 36.14 stroke average, with Stanley second at 36.71 and Leesville Road’s Corey Wilson third at 38.0.

“It’s great, it means that I played well which is always nice,” Redman said of top player honor. “But a team title would have been really nice, and we were really close but Broughton played really well.”

Heritage finished third (45.5 points) and Wakefield fourth (34) in the final Cap-8 team standings and will join Broughton and Leesville Road at the Mideast 4A Regional on Monday at The Neuse Golf Club in Clayton. The top four individuals not on those four teams also earned berths based on stroke average, those spots going to Wake Forest’s Matt MacDowell, Enloe’s Justin Miller, Millbrook’s Matt Mills and Sanderson’s Jonathan Bettenhausen.

Two Rivers 3A tennis: In their first years as tennis players, Corinth Holders’ Grayson Adams and Brady Best are Two Rivers 3A doubles champions after downing Smithfield-Selma’s John Ashley and Nathan Holt 6-3, 6-3 for the title on Tuesday.

“I didn’t think we’d win it, for sure,” Best said. “I didn’t even know if I’d be good enough to play in the top six. I just wanted to play the best that I could. Today we just concentrated on finishing games and sets, closing out matches.”

On the singles side, Cleveland senior Dylan Betancourt continued his domination of the league, notching his second consecutive title and the third of his career.

Betancourt took the singles title when Nikhar Patel of Corinth Holders was forced to bow out with cramps in his legs and stomach in the second set of their match.

Betancourt is 15-3 on the season with his only losses to 4A players. He went 14-0 in conference.

The top four finishing teams in singles and doubles advanced to the individual regionals. Smithfield-Selma’s Tim Jones was somewhat of a surprise qualifier for regionals in singles play, advancing to the semifinals before falling to Betancourt. Cleveland’s Jay Waltman also made the semis, earning a regional trip as well.

GNRC golf: Clayton finished the Greater Neuse River Conference boys golf season strong to beat out Harnett Central for the team championship on Tuesday after the league’s conference tournament at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek.

Rolesville senior Blake McShea made his nine-stroke advantage entering the final round stand up to take the individual championship, the second in his career.

The Comets totaled 55.5 team points on the season, just a half-point ahead of Harnett Central. Rolesville, which also had a mathematical chance at the league title on Tuesday, finished third with 53 points. That trio will join Garner as the Greater Neuse’s quartet of representatives at the 4A Mideast regionals.

McShea posted a 74, one stroke behind individual medalist Brice Connors of West Johnston.

“It’s all just been about playing consistent golf this year,” McShea said. “Staying out of trouble off of the tee and not making more trouble for myself after one bad shot.”

The four individual regional qualifiers were a trio from West Johnston – Connors, Max Leyland and Grayson Kiefer – and Knightdale’s Chris Sabestiani.

GNRC tennis: To no one’s surprise, Clayton picked up both the singles and doubles titles at the Greater Neuse River Conference individual boys tennis tournament on Wednesday. The Comets’ senior class has never dropped a league dual match.

Senior Klein Evans, a University of Richmond recruit and the 2015 state runner-up, turned back teammate and fellow senior Naren Guha in the singles championship, 6-1, 6-0, in just under 30 minutes to finish his career in Greater Neuse River singles matches with a 72-0 record and four league singles titles.

“It’s been a great year with my fellow senior captains (Guha and Campbell),” Klein Evans said. “I came in just trying to learn from the upperclassmen on the team and to build on what Clayton tennis is. Now I hope I’ve helped the young guys realize what it takes.”

Senior Brooks Campbell and freshman Banks Evans, Klein’s younger brother, made nearly as quick of work in the doubles championship. They beat East Wake’s tandem of Jake Clement and Brooks Stancil, 6-0, 6-1, in the championship match.

Garner’s Jordan Hudson and David Stewart, team co-captains, earned third place in the conference with a three-set win over Clayton’s Chris Riley and Dillon Hyde. Riley and Hyde prevailed in an marathon opening-set tiebreaker, 11-9, but Hudson and Stewart charged back to take the next two sets, 6-4, 6-2.

Garner’s Jared Ingram shook off cramps and the speedy Laquan Gilchrist of Southeast Raleigh for a 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-4 victory for the league’s No. 3 singles spot in regionals.

The league will send five entries into the regional singles and doubles tournaments both next weekend. Southeast Raleigh’s Prudencio Munoz took fifth place in singles and West Johnston’s John Simon and David Atik will be the final entry in doubles play.

Povse outduels Tenuta: On Tuesday, Green Hope graduate Max Povse outdueled Apex grad Matt Tenuta as the Carolina Mudcats defeated the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks 5-2. Povse struck out seven in 7 and 2/3 innings pitched.

Tenuta finished the start with a walk and four strikeouts in six innings while taking his first loss of the season.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Cardinal Gibbons wins PAC-6 boys golf ttile, Northern Durham’s Michael Wicker wins POTY."