EAST LANSING -- One more time, the Saline High School boys golf team peaked at the right time.

The Hornets improved by five shots on the second day of the Division 1 MHSAA finals, and carded a two-day total of 617 to finish in fifth place as a team Saturday at Forest Akers West Golf Course at Michigan State.

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After a disappointing first day that left Saline tied for seventh, a hot start to the second day propelled the Hornets two spots up the team standings to their best finish in five years.

“We were definitely disappointed in one regard, but one thing that for sure happened is we didn’t play ourselves out of it,” Saline coach Debbie Williams-Hoak said. “We made our job a little bit tougher today, we would have to be close to perfect today to really make a big move. We were still in a position to finish high. That’s always a good thing.”

Battle Creek Lakeview and Plymouth both shot 601, and Lakeview won the team title on a tiebreaker.

A week ago, Saline shot a 297 at regionals and edged Plymouth by one stroke to take the title. That led to some high expectations going into the weekend -- ones that were dampened a bit by Friday’s 311.

Through the early holes Saturday, though, the Hornets seemed like they might be able to turn in that near-perfect performance, with every player within a stroke or two of par.

“It was really exciting,” Williams-Hoak said. “We got off to a really good start, we were stable, nothing crazy happened between the five guys. We had a lot of pars to begin with, even my number four guy (James Alcock) was one-under for a while."

Fifth place still marked Saline’s third straight year of improvement. Two years ago, Saline finished in 12th. Last year they were ninth. Saturday marked the Hornets’ best finish since they were runners-up in 2008.

“In our minds we knew that if we played well we could be right up there with everybody else,” junior Ian Martin said. “But improving from last year and improving from two years ago, I think we’re pretty pleased."

Martin shot a 74-75-149 to finish sixth overall among individuals and land a spot on the all-tournament team. He was the top Washtenaw County finisher.

Martin said he felt he left shots on the course, particularly on the putting green. But he also finished his MHSAA postseason with two incredible shots. On the fourth hole Friday, Martin holed out for eagle from 80 yards out. The shot came two weeks after he holed out from 100 yards away for eagle during district play.

“I was more than pleased,” Martin said.

Martin’s 75 on Saturday was matched by senior Caleb Wittig. Although a first-day 79 kept Wittig from walking out with a medal around his neck, he still finished his season with an individual SEC title, a regional title and a district runner-up finish.

“I had a great year towards the end, especially, winning SECs and regionals, I think I’ll always remember it,” said Wittig, who plans to try out for the golf team at Miami (Ohio next season). “It’ll always be a good memory.”

The Hornets turned in two other 78’s Saturday, one from senior Ryan Peruski, who will play at Saginaw Valley State next year, and one from senior Matt de Irala. After sitting out the first day of the tournament, de Irala was inserted into the fifth spot of the lineup for the final day and finished his high school career with a 78.

“We gave Matt a chance to play and he came through,” Williams-Hoak said.

Junior Connor Lang of Skyline also qualified for the tournament, and shot 77-82-159.

After finishing the SEC regular season unbeaten, Saline was upset in the league tournament by Skyline and finished runner-up. Williams-Hoak said wet early weather made for a hectic month of May, and combined with an already tough schedule the Hornets ended up playing for 10 consecutive days at one point. By the time the league tournament came around, the energy level was low.

“It was just a brutal stretch, guys were wiped,” Williams-Hoak said.

But following some rest and practice, the Hornets rebounded with a runner-up finish in districts and its strong regional performance to take the momentum into the state finals.

In the end, they settled for fifth place, and a continued trend of improving in the state tournament and playing the best golf of the season at the end.

“We put it into gear at the end of the season and prepare better,” Wittig said. “Mentally, we’re more focused.”

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.