Davidson Day athletic director to step down

Davidson Day announced that athletic director Tim Weir will be stepping down at the end of the school year for family reasons.

Weir along with his wife, Christina, who works as a second-grade teacher at Davidson Day, and their two children plan to move to New England to be closer to family.

"It's been a wonderful opportunity to work with such great people - the students, faculty, staff and parents," said Weir, who also serves as the Patriots' track and field coach, in a school release. "I know Davidson Day will be successful as it continues to grow and move forward in its athletics program."

Weir was hired at Davidson Day last May after a stint as associate dean of students at Leysin American School in Leysin, Switzerland. Weir served as an assistant track coach at UNC Charlotte in the 1990s.

Davidson Day also announced that it will undertake a national search for a new athletic director. Michael Smith, the head of Davidson Day's upper school, will serve as interim athletic director. He served in an AD position at Winston-Salem's Summit School for eight years. Catherine Fulton, a physical education teacher and the Patriots' volleyball coach, will serve as interim assistant athletic director.

Bynum, Gulley win I-Meck track MVP honors

Hopewell's Cheyenne Hutchinson (center) won the girls'
100-meter hurdles at Friday's I-Meck track and field championships
held at Mallard Creek High. Deidra Laird - dlaird@charlotteobserver.com

The I-Meck track and field championships were held Friday. Here are a few highlights:

Girls

• Lake Norman's Jenny Galligher won the 1,600-meter race. She also finished second in the 800- and 3,200-meter races.

• Mallard Creek's Lauren Gulley was named girls' MVP after winning the 400 meters and finishing second in the 200. She also helped her team to a first-place finish in the 4x100 relay.
• Kaitlyn Shetler, a Mallard Creek junior, won the 800- and 3,200-meter races while also finishing third in the 1,600.
• Hopewell's Cheyenne Hutchinson won the 100-meter hurdles.

Boys

• West Charlotte's Mark Blackmon won the 800- and 1600-meter races.
• Mallard Creek's Getisso Dentamo and Lake Norman's Michael Mashburn finished second and third respectively in the mile.
• Hopewell sprinter Anthony Bynum was named boys MVP. He won the 100- and 200- meters, while leading the Titans to a 4x400 relay victory.
• Tyriq Jackson, Hopewell, won the 110-meter hurdles. His teammate, Michael Bankhead, finished second.
  

For more, check out freelance writer Herb White's article from Saturday's Observer and a picture slideshow.

Local teams play in spring break baseball tourney

With Mecklenburg County Schools on spring break this week, several area teams will participate in East Mecklenburg's Spring Break Classic, which starts today.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, April 18

11 a.m. - Marvin Ridge vs. North Mecklenburg
1:45 p.m. - Hough vs. Independence
4:30 p.m. - Butler vs. Hopewell
7:15 p.m. - East Mecklenburg vs. Weddington

Tuesday, April 19

11 a.m. - Butler vs. Hough
1:45 p.m. - Independence vs. Weddington
4:30 p.m. - East Meck vs. North Meck
7:15 p.m. - Hopewell vs. Marvin Ridge

Wednesday, April 20

11 a.m. - Independence vs. North Meck
1:45 p.m. - Hopewell vs. Weddington
4:30 p.m. - Butler vs. Marvin Ridge
7:15 p.m. - East Meck vs. Hough

Titan senior reaches 100th win

Hopewell tennis player John David Curlis reached his 100th career win Wednesday at the I-Meck Conference tournament. Curlis, who's playing doubles in the tournament, is a four-year varsity starter and state qualifier for the Titans. The senior's record is 100-44.

Curlis, Hopewell's No. 1 player, led his team to an undefeated 7-0 I-Meck season and another conference regular season title. The Titans are ranked 10th in this week's N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association 4A poll.

Curlis and doubles partner Brian Andersen will play teammates Tyler Roberts and John Armato in the I-Meck tournament finals today.

On the singles bracket, Hough freshman Ryan Wydra will face Mooresville junior Jake Combs for the title.

Lake Norman has up-and-down night

Lake Norman High had a big win and a couple of upset losses Tuesday night.

The baseball team earned a share of the top spot in the I-Meck Conference standings with a key 3-0 win against Hopewell. For my story from this morning, click here.

The Wildcats' softball team, which was undefeated going into yesterday and was No. 1 in the Observer's Sweet 16 poll, had its first loss of the season, a 3-1 Hopewell upset. The Titans' Lindsey Russell struck out four and hit two-for-three, while Bre Blakley hit two-for-two with a home run.

On the soccer field, previously unbeaten Lake Norman suffered another upset, losing 4-3 to Hopewell. The Titans were led by Katelyn Faucette's three scores. Brooke Arey scored the other goal. The Wildcats were ranked No. 3 in N.C. 4A girls' soccer coaches' poll.

Husky wins I-Meck Conference golf title

Hough's David Sargent shot an 18-hole 74 to claim the I-Meck Conference boys' golf title Monday at Northstone Country Club in Huntersville.

Sargent as well as Conner Lewis, Mace Timberlake and Peyton White, who all shot 75s, led the Huskies to the I-Meck tournament championship. Hough finished the day with a tournament-low 299. Mallard Creek (324), North Mecklenburg (330), Mooresville (333) and Lake Norman (341) rounded out the top five. Hopewell finished sixth with a 383.

Other individuals who stood out, included Mallard Creek's Mac White (77), Mooresville's Luke Robbins (78) as well as North Meck's Danny Pizetoski and Phillip Parrish, who both shot 79s.

With the regular season coming to an end, Hough, Mooresville, Lake Norman and Mallard Creek qualified as teams to May 2's regionals. Pizetoski, Brandon Holst (Hopewell) and Seth Priester (North Meck) qualified as indivials. North Meck's Danny Flemming and David Barkley were tied for the last individual-qualifying spot and a tie-breaker will be determined to decide who will play at regionals.

The all-conference team was also announced Monday. Here is a list of the golfers who were honored:

• Brandon Holst (Hopewell)
• David Sargent (Hough)
• Conner Lewis (Hough)
• Mace Timberlake (Hough)
• Peyton White (Hough)
• Clay Brown (Hough)
• Austin Peticca (Lake Norman)
• Andrew Johnson (Lake Norman)
• Mac White (Mallard Creek)
• Luke Robbins (Mooresville)
• Ian Harper (Mooresville)
• Danny Pizetoski (North Meck)

Skeen returns to North Meck Saturday

Former North Mecklenburg star Jamie Skeen in 2005. JEFF SINER - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

North Mecklenburg students, staff and PTSA members will celebrate the accomplishments of former Vikings' star Jamie Skeen Saturday at a special clean up at the Huntersville school. Skeen is coming off leading Virginia Commonwealth on a trip to the NCAA Final Four. The senior averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for the Rams.

During the event, the group will spruce up the school's grounds and plant flowers while also celebrating Skeen's accomplishments. The clean up begins at 8 and Skeen is expected to attend at 11 a.m.

Titans hold event to raise money for breast cancer research

Hopewell High will host its spring Hope for a Cure night Friday. The school's booster club will raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a non-profit that funds breast cancer research, by holding auctions, selling pink ribbons, taking up donations and by giving portion of their concessions and ticket sales to the foundation.

The Titans, which hosted similar events during the fall and winter seasons, will take on Hough High in softball, baseball as well as boys' and girls' lacrosse Friday. Only one ticket is required for all games.

Here is a schedule of the games.

• J.V. baseball - 4:30
• Softball - 5:30 p.m.
• Girls' lacrosse - 5:30 p.m.
• Boys' lacrosse - 7 p.m.
• Varsity baseball - 7 p.m.

Hopewell: Power forward to sign letter of intent next week

Hopewell senior power forward Elliott Pope will sign his national letter of intent to play collegiate basketball at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. The signing ceremony will take place in the Hopewell media center April 14 at 2 p.m.

Pope has been a three year varsity letterman, serving as the Titans' captain for his senior season. He was named first-team I-MECK all-conference and first-team All-Lake Norman News. This season, Pope received an all-tournament team selection at the Prep All-Star Holiday Classic. He was selected to play in the 20th annual Charlotte Pro Am All-Star game last week and led the West team in scoring while being named Scholar Athlete for the highest overall grade point average. Pope is a member of the National Honor Society and DECA.

Check out the story we wrote on Pope in February here.

We're back!

Sorry for the long period of inactivity! I will be again posting news and links about Lake Norman area sports that I come across on here. I get a lot of information that we can't fit in our papers, so expect regular updates.

Since we last posted, we started a Mooresville News publication, so it made sense for us to compile what we find in one place. Expect sports news from Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Denver and Mooresville on our blog.

If you have any information or tips, let me know. Just e-mail me at stovar@newsoflakenorman.com. Look forward to hearing from you!