North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championships in cross-country for both men and women and women’s dual team tennis will be contested on Saturday.
The eight cross-country championships, one in each of the NCHSAA’s four classifications for men and women, will be held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, while the 16th annual women’s dual team tennis finals are scheduled for the Burlington Tennis Center.
Top runners from across the state qualified from regional competition last week to the state finals in each classification. The first race of the day will be the 1-A men’s championship at ten o’clock Saturday morning, followed by the 1-A women, 2-A men and 2-A women at thirty-minute intervals. After a break, the program will gear back up at 2 p.m. with the 3-A men’s final, followed by 3-A women, 4-A men and 4-A women.
Asheville’s T.C. Roberson is the defending 3-A team champion in both men’s and women’s competition and returns five of its top seven runners from each of those state championship squads. In fact, Roberson has won six of the last eight women’s titles in that classification.
Surry Central is working on a string of four straight 1-A men’s crown while Hayesville is the two-time defending 1-A women’s champ. Charlotte Catholic has won three straight 2-A women’s titles and Charlotte Providence has earned the last two 4-A women’s championships.
In tennis, the 3-A and 4-A finals will start at nine o’clock Saturday morning with the 1-A and 2-A matches starting at 1 p.m.
The morning session will feature two unbeaten teams going for the 4-A title as Raleigh Broughton (18-0) takes on defending champion Greensboro Page (19-0). Page and Broughton are meeting for the fourth consecutive time in the championship match, and a 5-1 win by Page in the 2004 final snapped a six-year reign by the Capitals as the state champs.
Broughton will make its 11th straight appearance in the championships.
The 3-A match sends Pikeville Charles B. Aycock (20-1) against undefeated Jamestown Ragsdale (20-0). Aycock is the last 3-A team other than East Chapel Hill (which moved up to 4-A classification in the current realignment) to win a women’s dual team crown, back in 1997 before East Chapel Hill ran off seven straight state titles.
In 2-A, Greene Central won the Eastern championship for the eighth straight year but is still looking for its initial state title in the sport. Greene Central (23-1) will take on Salisbury (21-1) for the crown. Salisbury won three consecutive combined 1A/2A titles from 1994-96.
The 1-A match is a rematch of last year’s final as two unbeaten teams collide. Hampstead Topsail (10-0) battles North Stokes (19-0), trying to avenge the result in the 2004 championship when North Stokes scored an 8-1 triumph.
Wendy’s and the Carolina Ford Dealers are the presenting sponsors of the NCHSAA sports program. The Greater Winston-Salem Sports Commission and the Winston-Salem Convention and Visitors Bureau serve as the host city sponsors for the cross-country championships.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
16th Annual Women’s Dual Team Tennis Championships
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
Saturday’s Schedule
3-A championship: Pikeville Charles B. Aycock (20-1) vs. Jamestown Ragsdale (20-0), 9 am
4-A championship: Raleigh Broughton (18-0) vs. Greensboro Page (19-0), 9 am
1-A championship: Greene Central (23-1) vs. Salisbury (21-1), 1 p.m.
2-A championship: Hampstead Topsail (10-0) vs. North Stokes (19-0), 1 p.m.
Cross-Country Championships
Tanglewood Park, Clemmons
Saturday’s Schedule
10:00 am: 1-A men’s championship
10:30 am: 1-A women’s championship
11:00 am: 2-A men’s championship
11:30 am: 2-A women’s championship
2:00 pm: 3-A men’s championship
2:30 pm: 3-A women’s championship
3:00 pm: 4-A men’s championship
3:30 pm: 4-A women’s championship
