PrepsNow best of the week: NCHSAA ready for ‘super meet’ track and field championships

If you plan on going to the N.C. High School Athletic Association track and field state championships this weekend, pack more sunscreen than last year.

This year the NCHSAA is returning to a format where two state championships will be held concurrently. The 1A and 3A classifications will compete Friday at North Carolina A&T and the 2A and 4A classes follow Saturday.

The first field events and the 4-by-800 relay are slated for 10 a.m. while all other running finals start at 1:15 p.m.

Combining state meets allows athletes to get more rest between events and sychronizes the sport’s calendar. Previously, it was the only NCHSAA sport that split championships into two different weeks. All classifications held regionals on the same weekend last week.

SWAC soccer: There are four Southwest Wake Athletic Conference girls soccer teams left in the state playoffs, but not the four you’d think. The SWAC’s top three teams – Green Hope, Fuquay-Varina and Apex – were top-20 seeds and were each eliminated in the second round while teams 4-7 are moving on.

Champion history: When Middle Creek’s Nick Stachowiak won his third 4A singles title, he became the eighth NCHSAA player to ever do so. The most famous player made his name in basketball. Hillside’s John Lucas won three titles before playing basketball at Maryland and being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.

Harnett record: Overhills sophomore Haleigh Stackpole scored 63 goals this season, the most by a Harnett County player in a single year. It’s tops among NCHSAA players so far this year and second-most among NCHSAA sophomores all-time.

Performers of the week

NCHSAA golfers: South Johnston’s Patrick Stephenson won the 3A title and Leesville Road’s Doc Redman won the 4A. Pinecrest’s Eric Bae was second in 4A and Panther Creek’s Viraj Garewal was tied for fourth.

Lee County’s Walter Brinker was tied for seventh in the 3A championships and Beddingfield’s Stephen Abrams was tied for third in the 2A title.

NCHSAA tennis players: Middle Creek’s Nick Stachowiak won the 4A singles title while Enloe’s Michael Ogundele and Rohan Chandrasekhar were doubles semifinalists.

Raleigh Charter’s Harrison Tseng and Revant Birla defeated teammates Brandon Wacaser and Arjun Juneja for the 1A doubles title.

In the 2A championship, Carrboro’s Brian Freiburghouse and Jason Wykoff won the doubles title while N.C. School of Science and Math’s Depei Yu and Carrboro’s Zach Anderson were singles semifinalists.

In 3A, Union Pines’ Ben Williams and Will Hart were doubles semifinalists.

Regional track team champs: Winning regional titles on the girls’ side were Southeast Raleigh (4A Mideast), Pinecrest (4A East), Cleveland (3A East) and Chapel Hill (3A Mideast). Boys’ champs included Broughton (4A Mideast), Hillside (4A Midwest) and Carrboro (2A Mideast).

Baseball: Triton’s Logan Bender no-hit Lee County 3-0 in the first round. D.H. Conley’s Phillip Sanderson did the same to Rolesville in a 4-0 first-round win.

Orange’s Bryse Wilson needed just 72 pitches to toss a perfect game against Eastern Wayne in a 2-0 win.

Corinth Holders’ Kody Cyr worked a four-hit, complete-game shutout in a 2-0 second-round win against Fike.

Softball: Orange’s Mia Davidson, a junior, blasted three home runs in 20-1 win against Fike in the first round. One more ties the NCHSAA single-season record. Two more matches the career mark.

In the second round, Cleveland’s Alexis Ivey blasted a two-run homer to defeat West Carteret in extra innings and Northwood’s Carson Shaner hit a walk-off solo shot to down J.F. Webb 4-3.

Girls soccer: Wakefield’s Morgan Nanni had four goals in a 9-0 rout of Overhills in the first round. Holly Springs’ M.D. Atkins stopped a PK to send her team to a 2-1 victory in the second round against Fuquay-Varina.

Grace Wagner had the OT winner in the first round for Green Hope, which beat Ashley 3-2.

Boys lacrosse: Middle Creek’s Owen Caputo had 11 goals and four assists in two games. Leesville Road’s Parker Beebee had five goals including the OT winner against Holly Springs on Tuesday. Cardinal Gibbons long-stick midfielder Chris Wozencroft helped hold Leesville and Apex to their lowest scoring totals of the year.

Girls lacrosse: Cardinal Gibbons’ Erica Skowron scored six goals and Jordan Lappin had five in a 17-7 victory against Hoggard in Friday’s fourth round.

Track and field: Hillside’s Marcus Krah was the only area triple-winner at the weekend regional track and field meets, taking the long jump, triple jump and 110 hurdles.

Middle Creek’s Terrell Adams hit a fence 200 feet away in the 4A Mideast regional, which automatically set a new state record. He also won the shot put.

Send nominations each Saturday to mblake@newsobserver.com.

Best of this week

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 1:08 AM with the headline "PrepsNow best of the week: NCHSAA ready for ‘super meet’ track and field championships."