Often lost in the plenitude of spring high school sports in the Wilmington area is boys golf.
The program at Ashley has played a particularly understated role in recent memory as the Screaming Eagles have thrashed old reputations and become one of the area's best in baseball, girls soccer and football in recent years.
Now, however, the Ashley golf team is making some noise, and it is ready to join fellow Screaming Eagles programs in the limelight.
"We're doing really good this year, the best that I've seen in my four years at Ashley," golfer Max Boyle said.
Boyle was the first of two Ashley golfers to hit a hole-in-one this season. He did so at River Landing Country Club in a Mideastern Conference tournament on March 26.
Ashley coach Mike Busick says he and other area coaches can't recall the last time an athlete achieved the feat during a league competition.
"It's rare to hit one. It's even more rare to hit two, and it's even rarer for the same two to come on the same team," Busick said. "I don't think two guys from the same team have hit two (holes-in-one) during the same season in matches."
Boyle's shot came from 170 yards out on hole No. 3. He couldn't tell if his ball actually found the hole initially, but he knew his shot was perfect.
"No one saw it go in because there was a shadow covering the hole," he said. "I looked (in the hole), and it's in the middle of the cup. I screamed. I couldn't get a smile off my face the rest of the day."
Two weeks after Boyle's shot, fellow Ashley senior Liam Rountree recorded a hole-in-one from 144 yards on the par-3 No. 4 hole at Pine Valley Country Club on April 7.
"(The wind) was blowing like 25 miles per hour that day, which is kind of crazy," Rountree said. "I ended up dunking it from 144 yards with a gap wedge. It was a pretty fun hole."
The Mideastern Conference golf championship is slated for Monday, April 28. While Rountree already has a spot at regionals that is nearly guaranteed, Boyle needs another strong performance to advance.
Whatever the outcome, both players ...
