PINEHURST — Northside’s successful season came to an end this past week as the Panthers finished ninth out of 12 teams competing for the 1-A golf state championship. Senior Tucker Mooring led his team by shooting 161 (78+83) through the two-day event. He finished tied for 25th in the state in the final match of his high school career.

The strong showing on the statewide stage was a proper way to send Mooring off. He’ll continue his career at the collegiate level with NC Wesleyan.

“It was good considering his (sophomore) year at states was a learning experience and he didn’t play too well,” coach Jared Adams said. “Last year, the first day was very shaky and the second day he shot a little better. Scoring pretty decently in two rounds of golf on a course you’re not too familiar is a pretty good note to go out on.”

For the rest of the young Northside squad, the trip to the state championship served as a learning experience. Mooring is the only player graduating from this year’s squad. Six of the team’s eight golfers are underclassmen, too.

“It was a learning experience for a lot of the newcomers on my team, like Bryson (Radcliffe) and Brennan (Baldwin),” Adams said. Baldwin, a freshman, shaved two strokes off his first-day score and finished with a 180. Radcliffe, who concluded his first season golfing, shot a 210.

“For them, they were able to see what it takes to score well and compete at the state level. … Basically, a lot of the courses in eastern North Carolina are pretty flat. When we travel to the middle of the state, you never have a flat shot. Every shot they had was different and it was a lot more difficult. … It was an eye opener.”

Even though the season just wrapped up, Adams and the Panthers are already excited for what’s in store next year. Adams is hoping Riley Vanstaalduinen can step in as the team’s No. 1 golfer next year. He’s also eager to see improvements made by the likes of Baldwin and Radcliffe.

“I’m only losing one senior, so Riley can step up next year and carry the team in scoring,” he said. “Brennan can hopefully fill that No. 2 spot. His averages this year have been the next lowest (after Vanstaalduinen). If I can have my other golfers step up and fill those other spots, we can have another go at it next year.”

Adams is hoping that this trip to the state championship will help Vanstaalduinen grow much like Mooring did a few years back. After shooting in the high 70s throughout most of the season, he finished in 46th place this year, shooting a 172.

“He’s got a great swing. He’s got the skillset to be a scratch golfer, but he needs to mentally tougher,” Adams said. “He needs to grind and not let the bad shots affect his next shot. If he’s able to do that, eliminate the pressures and stresses that tournament play brings, he could be a very good golfer.”