PINETOWN — The goal has always been to put Northside golf on the map. In doing so, senior Tucker Mooring put himself on the map and attracted the attention of collegiate golf programs.

It all paid off Friday morning when Mooring, surrounded by his family and coaches, put pen to paper to commit his golfing talents to North Carolina Wesleyan.

“It’s pretty exciting for me. I think it’s going to be a really good experience,” Mooring said. “It’s a different level of competition. It’s going to be interesting to see how I perform at that level.”

Mooring’s time golfing in a Panther polo has prepared him to make this transition. Northside is coming off a 10th-place finish in the 1-A state championship last year. It was the first time the program sent a team to compete for the state title.

Mooring, then a junior, played a pivotal role. He was a leader on a relatively young team. He finished with a team-low 30 over par and tied for 31st place among all golfers participating.

The postseason experience is but one thing from Mooring’s time at Northside that has prepared him for the collegiate level.

“It’s helped me mature a lot as a golfer. It’s just helped me improve,” he said. “My teammates encourage me all the time. I can’t ask for anything better than that. … Probably my favorite memory was going to states. Last year we were the first team to do it. That’s just something special that you’ll never forget.”

The bar is set higher this year. Mooring hopes to go out with a bang and thinks the group they’ve put together this year has the ability to make an even bigger impact at the state level.

“I feel like we’re good enough this year that we can really do something special at states,” Mooring said. “Hopefully we’ve got a good shot at winning regionals.”

The recruiting process started with Mooring and coach Jared Adams getting together to make a tape. They weren’t sure what, if any, attention it would yield.

“I honestly didn’t think I was going to hear anything,” Mooring said. “I just said, ‘Sure, let’s do this.’ We made the video and a couple weeks later, we heard some things from some smaller teams. Coach (Gred) Ripke at Wesleyan made the effort to recruit me. That stood out to me. He wanted me.”

Mooring has a friend, Grady Anderson, that golfed for Coastal Plains foe Lejeune that went to Wesleyan and loved it. That helped sway his decision. He’s also played with a few of the other men.

Efforts are being directed entirely toward this season. Mooring is excited to see what Northside can accomplish this year and, while he’s excited, he isn’t thinking too far down the road.