A decade of champions

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Other national titles

North Carolina NCAA team championships: Men's basketball: 2005, 2009 Field hockey: 2007, 2009 Men's soccer: 2001 Women's soccer: 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008 NCAA individual championships Women's gymnastics: 2004: Courtney Bumpers, floor exercise; 2005: Courtney Bumpers, floor exercise Women's swimming: 2003: Jessi Perruquet, 200 freestyle Women's tennis: 2007: Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long, doubles Men's cross country/track & field: 2003: Adam Shunk, indoor high jump; 2006: Vikas Gowda, discus; Justin Ryncavage, javelin; 2007: Justin Ryncavage, javelin Women's cross country/track & field: 2002: Alice Schmidt, outdoor 8,000; Shalane Flanagan, cross country; 2003: Shalane Flanagan, indoor 3,000; Laura Gerraughty, indoor shot put; Shalane Flanagan, Alice Schmidt, Anissa Gainey, Erin Donohue, indoor distance medley relay; Alice Schmidt, outdoor 800; Shalane Flanagan, cross country; 2004: Laura Gerraughty, indoor shot put; 2006: Sheena Gordon, indoor high jump; Brie

Triangle sports are hot

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is ranked the 17th best sports "city" in the past year, ahead of Charlotte, which is ranked No. 23, by Sporting News in its list of 399 best sports cities released Tuesday.

Achievement seemed to be the biggest factor in the rankings, though large sports markets such as Chicago (4) and New York (6) fared well despite not winning any championships.

Pittsburgh, which raised both the Lombardi Trophy for winning the Super Bowl and hockey's Stanley Cup, is ranked No. 1, and Philadelphia, home of the World Series champion Phillies, comes in second.

UNC: NCAA women's soccer, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008

The North Carolina women's soccer team won NCAA titles in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008. The program also won nine ACC championships during the decade, including this season.

Heather O'Reilly, who played for UNC from 2003-06, talks about the 2006 title:

"A championship is really special. When you think about it, not too many varsity athletes get to go out on top. To go out a champion was really, really meaningful.

Standing the test of time

The Triangle is not only blessed with a rich sporting history but fortunate that many of the stadiums, arenas and gymnasiums where that history was made are still in use today.

With a brief pause to note North Carolina's Carmichael Auditorium, Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium and Dorton Arena, here's one man's list of the Triangle's most historic active sporting venues -- Tuesday's Top Five.

5. RBC Center: Despite being only a decade old, the big arena -- home of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State's men's basketball team -- was the site of a Stanley Cup-winning Game 7, one of the great finals games ever played (triple-overtime Game 3 in 2002) and Stephen Curry's 25-point second half for Davidson to beat Georgetown in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

High school champions

Players

Wayne Davis, Southeast Raleigh, track and field, 2008-09: Set world records and won international and national championships in the hurdles. Holds most NCHSAA hurdles records.

John Wall, Raleigh Word of God, basketball, 2009: The top-ranked boys basketball recruit in the country chose Kentucky.