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Andover senior Sean Burke fired an exceptional 35 on the back nine yesterday to finish with a 72 and finish in a tie for fourth at the Division 1 state golf tournament at Brookmeadow Country Club in Canton.

Behind red-hot Eric Hooker's medalist 72 score, Andover's golf team tied Newton South for first with a 307 at the Division 1 North tournament at the Beverly Country Club.

Andover's Eric Hooker fired a 73 to earn the top spot at the Merrimack Valley Individaul Golf championship. Hooker led the pack of 27 golfers. Teammate Sean Burke fired a 75 to finish second overall. Haverhill's Tim LeBlanc finished sixth overall with a 79. Central Catholic's top golfer was Dylan Ryan (80).

Sean Burke fired a 4-under 32 to lead Andover to a 17.5-2.5 win over Chelmsford. It was the Golden Warriors' 50th straight MVC meet without a loss. Eric Hooker won 1-up to stay undefeated for the season.

Sophomore Jack Ronan had 31 points at Carriage Pines to lead Newburyport (12-4, 9-3) to its second outright Cape Ann League Division 2 title in five years.

Junior Ben Tyler tallied 26 points. Freshman Ben Caldwell had 24 points. Juniors Sam Jordan and Ryan Cutter scored 21 points each. Senior Tom Morris and freshman Cooper Hines had 19.

The Vikings prevailed over their Cape Ann League rivals, led by Paul Robinson (32 points), Phil MacArthur (28) and Kyle Keating (25). The Hornets were led by Mike Dodge (26 points), Zeke Gillette (23) and Alex Porter (23).

The day after compiling its best point total of the season, Rockport (4-10) stumbled to its lowest score of the season. Competing at Carriage Pines in Rowley, the Vikings were led by Paul Robinson (22 points), Jeff Piraino (17), Phil MacArthur (15), Brendan Wall (11), Caleb Tanson (10), Pat Frithsen (8).

The Newburyport Clippers (10-4) beat the Hamilton-Wenham Generals (6-6) yesterday, 145-118, winning their fifth match in a row, as well as making the state tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Clippers are one win away from winning their second CAL championship; their first was in 2004. Jeff Wile (29), Ben Tyler (26), Sam Jordan (25), Ryan Cutter (23), and Tom Morris (23) led the way for Newburyport.

The Triton Vikings (13-0) beat the Wilmington Wildcats (4-8) yesterday, 154-104, repeating as Cape Ann League champs and cementing themselves as one of the best teams in the state. The Vikings were also able to keep their league win streak of 28 games and counting alive and well. Tom Bashaw shot two over par and finished with 32 quota points, while Andrew Fecteau (28), Sam Velonis (28), and Mike Zappala (25) all added to the Viking cause.

The Clippers (9-4) jumped that much closer to becoming CAL Division II champs yesterday, as they edged out the Manchester-Essex Hornets, 137-124. Ben Tyler (26), Jeff Wile (26), Tom Morris (24), Sam Jordan (23), Cam Caldwell (21), and Ryan Cutter (18) led the way for Newburyport.