Hough reaches state baseball semifinals

In only its second year as a program, Hough will play in the 4A regional finals after defeating I-Meck foe Mallard Creek 4-2 in the fourth round of the playoffs Wednesday.

With the game being postponed because of storms Tuesday night, the Huskies (21-10) were able to bring ace pitcher Brandon Gragilla onto the mound.

Despite being on short rest, having pitched against South Caldwell Friday, the 6-foot-5 junior left-hander, who’s 11-1 for the year, had another strong performance.

“He wanted it tonight,” said Hough coach Jimmy Cochran. “He did what he’s done all year for us.”

But Gragilla had a slow start, allowing the first Maverick batter he faced in the game, Jamel Harbison, to lead off with a triple. After the Huskies got the next two batters out, Kyle Bynum drove in Harbison to get Mallard Creek (20-9) the early 1-0 lead.

But Hough answered in its next outing, as A.J. Girting, who reached first on a walk to start the second inning, was driven in by a Nick Daddio single to tie the game.

In the top of third, the Huskies got the lead when Jared Sobo scored off a Johnny Piedmonte sacrifice fly. Daddio would go on to again score Girting.

Mallard Creek’s David Folk scored in the bottom of the inning, but Hough would add to its buffer in the fourth, when Eric Siler reached home off a Maverick error at first base.

Gragilla, whose only lost of the year came against the Mavericks, was glad to get the key win.

“It’s a great accomplishment to get this far,” he said. “Our team has done a good job. It feels good.”

Hough will face East Forsyth in the best-of-three, home-and-away state semifinal series, which begins Thursday.

“It’s amazing,” said Cochran. “I’m happy beyond belief for my guys. Last year we struggled and it wasn’t really a fun experience for our guys, but they stuck it out and came back hungry. It’s paid off.”

Hough plays Mallard Creek for spot in state semifinals

Mallard Creek, the I-Meck regular-season champion, will host the I-Meck tournament winner Hough at 7 p.m. in the fourth round of the 4A playoffs.

Mallard Creek, the conference's top seed, goes into the state quarterfinals with a 19-8 record after a tough 4-2 win on the road at Asheville T.C. Roberson Friday.

Hough also won on the road, defeating South Caldwell 3-2 Friday, heading into the game with a 20-10 mark.

Regardless of who wins Tuesday night between the two teams, the I-Meck will be represented in the regional finals. The winner will play either West Forsyth or Mount Tabor.

Davidson Day's Brown wins state titles

Jordan Brown claimed three state track championships this past weekend for Davidson Day.

Brown won the 100- and 200-meter titles as well as the 4x200 relay championship (along with Aaron Seward, Miles Boone and Jordan Young) at the 1A/2A independent school track and field championships.

State champs Lake Norman lead the way in all-conference lacrosse team

Lake Norman's Danny Brown and coach Kevin Gowin were named Conference 10 player and coach of the year, respectively.

Here is the entire boys' lacrosse all-conference team:

Goalie: John Clark, Lake Norman Charter; CJ Schiemer, Lake Norman

LSM: Randon Hassell, Lake Norman Charter; Cole Maxon, Lake Norman

Midfield: JT Del Tufo, Lake Norman; Jake Koferi, Lake Norman Charter; Micharl Hart, Hough; Andrew Gobble, Lake Norman Charter; James, Hopewell (no first name listed); Bryan Kos, Lake Norman; Brendan Friss, Mooresville; Ben Craig, Hough; Sanders Poff, Hough

Attackers: Danny Brown, Lake Norman; Will Scott, Lake Norman; Josh Ford, Lake Norman Charter; Matt Wine, Lake Norman Charter; Hunter Howe, Hough; Joey Ruggerio, Hough

Defenders: Kyle Gradert, Lake Norman; Ryan Breman, Lake Norman; Ben Douglas, Hough; Ian Radcliff, Lake Norman; Taylor Day, Lake Norman Charter; Zachary Friss, Mooresville

I-Meck's all-conference tennis, golf teams announced

Hough's David Sargent was named I-Meck golfer of the year, while Mooresville's Jake Combs and Hough's Ryan Wydra split the conference boys' tennis player of the year honors.

Lake Norman's Chris Carroll was tennis coach of the year. No coach of the year for golf was announced.

Here are the rest of the all-conference teams:

Boys' golf

PEYTON WHITE                HOUGH

CONNER LEWIS                HOUGH

SETH GANDY                     HOUGH

DAVID YANG                     HOUGH

PHILLIP PARRISH              NORTH MECK

CLAY BROWN                   HOUGH

NOLAN WATTS                 MOORESVILLE

ANDREW JOHNSON        LAKE NORMAN

TYLER MURPHY               MALLARD CREEK

ALEX COHLMA                 LAKE NORMAN

BRANDON HOLST            HOPEWELL

Boys' tennis

Armato, John (Hopewell)

Black, Collin (Hough)

King, Noah (Hough)

Ciuffo, AJ (Hough)

Duncan, Marquis (Vance)

Jacobo, Jeff (North Meck)

Llewellyn, Spencer (Mooresville)

Lowery, Patrick (Lake Norman)

Rajan, Shravan (Lake Norman)

Coody, Hamit (Lake Norman)

Dow, Greg (Lake Norman)

Gallagher, Sean (Lake Norman)

Two area teams in soccer semis

Hough's undefeated girls' soccer team will host Providence at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Cornelius. The Lady Huskies are playing in the4A  state semifinals. The winner will face either Wilmington Hoggard or Raleigh Green Hope.

South Iredell will host Cuthbertson in the 2A state semis Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Lake Norman Charter lost to Thomas Jefferson in the state semifinals Saturday. 

North Lincoln is lone area team left in softball playoffs

North Lincoln will travel to Madison High in Marshall Tuesday to play its fourth-round 2A playoff game Tuesday.

The Knights (17-6) defeated West Lincoln 3-2 in the third round.

Lake Norman to play for lacrosse title Friday night

Lake Norman's boys' lacrosse team will face Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons at 7:30 p.m. in Cary for the state championship.

The Wildcats, which defeated Myers Park 13-7 Wednesday, go into the title game with a 22-0 record. Cardinal Gibbons is also undefeated this season with a 20-0 mark.

Lake Norman has outscored its opponents 350-76 this year.

Playoff update (May 18)

Other sports' playoffs are well under way, here are the games scheduled for Friday and Saturday (local teams in bold):

Baseball (third-round games to be played Friday)

2A
East Davidson at East Lincoln


4A
Hough at South Caldwell

Softball (third-round games to be played Friday)

1A
Lake Norman Charter at Bessemer City
Lincoln Charter at South Stanly

2A
West Lincoln at North Lincoln


4A
Hough at Alexander Central

Girls' soccer (fourth-round games)

1A
Thomas Jefferson at Lake Norman Charter (state semifinal to be played Saturday)

2A
South Iredell at Shelby (Saturday)

4A
Lake Norman at Hough (Friday)

*For full playoff brackets, follow the links in each subhead.

Two Lincoln County athletes claim state titles

East Lincoln's Marcus "Bubba" McDowell and North Lincoln's Allie Castro both won individual state championships at last weekend's 2A track and field meet.

McDowell, a senior, won the 400-meter title with a 48.72. Castro's 11:18.62 time in the 3,200 meters allowed her to claim her state title. She was more than eight seconds faster than the state runner-up.

North Lincoln's Andrew Fea was second in the 1,600 meter run with a 4:27.80, while Ryan Shannon was third in the 3,200 meters (9:54.30).

Lake Norman Charter participated in the 1A state meet, where they were led by Stephanie Zaino's third place finish in the 3,200 meters as well as the boys' 4x800 meter relay team (Michael Westbay, Nathan Farber, Stephen Hack, Chris Hack) that finished as state runner-up. Here are the full 1A results.

South Iredell tennis player is state runner-up

South Iredell’s Patrick Hensley had a good weekend at the 2A boys’ tennis state championships, winning three matches to reach the state final match.

Hensley, a senior, defeated Central Davidson’s Levi Bruff 6-3, 6-1 in the first round before coming back from behind to beat Hillsborough Cedar Ridge’s Zac Marion 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

On the second day of the tournament, Hensley defeated Eben Wells (Kill Devil Hills First Flight) 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinal before losing to Salisbury freshman Michael Ogden 6-4, 6-0 for the state championship.

Hensley was state runner-up for a second year in a row.

Other Lake Norman area players didn't fare as well.

Jake Combs (Mooresville) dropped his first-round match 6-1, 6-0 to Greensboro Page’s Austin Ansari, while Greensboro Grimsley’s Will Albright and Graham Pearson defeated Ryan Wydra-Collin Black (Hough) 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of doubles play.

Lake Norman playoff update (May 14)

This past weekend was a busy one in playoff action. Here is a recap of results (Lake Norman area teams in bold).

Baseball

1A

Lake Norman Charter def. North Moore 5-3

2A

East Rutherford def. North Lincoln 2-1

East Lincoln def. South Iredell 3-2

Bandys def. West Stokes 20-3

4A

Mooresville def. Olympic 7-3

Hough def. Porter Ridge 2-1

Lake Norman def. Sun Valley 3-0

Asheville Roberson def. Hopewell  6-5

Tuesday's second round games:

Lake Norman Charter at Hendersonville

Shelby at East Lincoln

Bandys at Wilkes Central

Lake Norman at Mallard Creek

Mooresville at Hough

Click here for full baseball brackets.

Softball

1A

Lincoln Charter def. East Montgomery 5-2

Lake Norman Charter def. Hiwassee Dam 5-3

2A

Chase def. East Lincoln 5-4

North Lincoln def. South Iredell 3-1

Bandys def. West Davidson 11-1

4A

Olympic def. Hopewell 10-1

Hough def. Sun Valley 5-4

Lake Norman def. Butler 13-0

Asheville Roberson def. Mooresville 22-2

Tuesday’s second-round games:

Lincoln Charter at North Moore

Lake Norman Charter vs. Cherokee/Mitchell

Polk County at North Lincoln

West Lincoln at Bandys

Hough at Olympic

Porter Ridge at Lake Norman

Click here for full softball brackets.

Girls' soccer

1A

Lake Norman Charter def. Union Academy 5-0

2A

Shelby def. Bandys 4-1

Polk County def. East Lincoln 3-2 OT

South Iredell def. Wheatmore 8-6 OT

4A

Lake Norman def. Olympic 4-1

Hough def. Sun Valley 3-1

Tuesday’s third-round games:

Central Academy at Lake Norman Charter

Polk County at South Iredell

Lake Norman at Asheville A.C. Reynolds

Hough at Asheville T.C. Roberson

Click here for full girls' soccer brackets.

Boys' lacrosse

Lake Norman's 18-3 win against Greensboro Grimsley Friday will send the Wildcats to the state semifinals against Myers Park.

Lake Norman (21-0) will host the Mustangs (17-3) Tuesday night. The winner of that  game will play for a state championship against either Raleigh Athens Drive or Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons.

Girls' lacrosse

Lake Norman dropped a 16-7 game to Marvin Ridge in the state quarterfinals Friday to end their quest for a state championship.

The Lady Wildcats finished the year 13-6 after being runners-up in Conference 7 to Myers Park, which dropped the other western quarterfinal to Charlotte Catholic. For a bracket, go here.

Independent school brackets released

The N.C. Independent School Athletic Association released its baseball, girls' soccer, boys' tennis and boys' lacrosse playoff brackets.

Check out these links to see who made these postseason tournaments:

• Baseball
• Girls' soccer
• Boys' tennis
• Boys' lacrosse

Baseball, softball playoff brackets released

The N.C. High School Association released its baseball and softball playoff brackets Wednesday morning. First-round play is slated to be played by Friday.

Here are the first-round match-ups for Lake Norman area teams (in bold):

Baseball

1A
No. 3 North Moore (13-8) at No. 2 Lake Norman Charter (10-12)

2A
No. 3 North Lincoln (13-13) at No. 1 East Rutherford (17-5)
No. 5 South Iredell (12-11) at No. 1 East Lincoln (20-4)
No. 4 Bandys (16-7) at No. 1 West Stokes (20-3)

4A
No. 2 Porter Ridge (8-17) at No. 2 Hough (17-10)
No. 3 Mooresville (15-7) at No. 1 Olympic (19-5)
No. 4 Hopewell (14-10) at No. 1 T.C. Roberson (24-2)
No. 5 Lake Norman (13-9) at No. 1 Sun Valley (12-13)

Softball

1A
WC Lincoln Charter (15-2) at East Montgomery (20-5)
No. 4 Hiwassee Dam (10-10) No. 3 Lake Norman Charter (11-8)

2A
No. 3 East Lincoln (10-12) at No. 1 Chase (14-3)
No. 5 South Iredell (7-14) at No. 1 North Lincoln (14-6)
No. 3 West Davidson (9-12) at No. 1 Bandys (17-5)

4A
No. 4 Butler (14-11) at No. 1 Lake Norman (22-1)
No. 2 Sun Valley (7-13) at No. 2 Hough (17-4)
No. 3 Hopewell (14-7) at No. 1 Olympic (14-5)
No. 4 Mooresville (10-9) at No. 1 T.C. Roberson


For complete baseball and softball brackets, click on the respective links.

Boys' tennis championships set for this weekend

Singles and doubles titles are up for grabs this weekend as the N.C. High School Athletic Association holds its annual boys' tennis individual tournament championships May 11-12.

Semifinalists in both singles and doubles at the regional level qualify for the state championships.

The 4A championships are scheduled for Millbrook Exchange Park in Raleigh, while both the 1A and the 2A championships are set for the Cary Tennis Center. The 3A championships will be held at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Here is a list of qualifiers (Lake Norman area players in bold):

1A-Cary Tennis Center

SINGLES--FIRST ROUND

Matt Kessler (Mount Airy) vs. Tommy Arline (Gates County)

Harrison Tucker (Franklin Academy) vs. Tyler Macy (Elkin)

Dillon Cuttington (Rosewood), default

Jacob Fuqua (Hendersonville) vs. Jin Kang (Durham N.C. School of Science and Math)

DOUBLES--FIRST ROUND

Mitch Kessler-Jordan Lawson (Mount Airy) vs. Coy Cameron-Harrison Stone (Durham Voyager Academy)

Dakota Capiz-Chase Conner (Riverside-Martin) vs. Kevin Weckworth-Lane Kiser (Kernersville Bishop McGuinness)

Jonathan Tseng-Houston Parks (Raleigh Charter) vs. Jeremiah Morrison-David Bullins (Elkin)

Brackin Kirkland-Charles Colhoun (Hendersonville) vs. Tanner Lynk-Evan Guthrie (East Carteret)

2A -Cary Tennis Center

SINGLES--FIRST ROUND

Eben Wells (Kill Devil Hills First Flight) vs. J.P. Gemborys (Durham School of Arts)

Garrett Lakey (Wilkes Central) vs. Grant Buckner (Burnsville Mountain Heritage)

Zac Marion (Hillsborough Cedar Ridge) vs. Lane Long (Tarboro)

Patrick Hensley (South Iredell) vs. Levi Bruff (Central Davidson)

Ray Webb Parker (Shelby) vs. Lucas Shelton (West Stokes)

Max Fritsch (Carrboro) vs. David Beard (Newport Croatan)

Michael Ogden (Salisbury) vs. Zach Huffman (Maiden)

Anthony Brennan (Swansboro) vs. Drew Guerra (Durham School of Arts)

DOUBLES--FIRST ROUND

Hunter Lane-Dallas Hollingsworth (East Duplin) vs. Aaron Stafford-Jordan McClure (Trinity Wheatmore)

Jesse Massucco-Evan Day (Wilkes Central) vs. Bobby Decker-Eli Hile (Black Mountain C.D. Owen)

Kia Brewington/Nathan Woolard (Siler City Jordan-Matthews) vs. Edson Garcia-Ben Jones (East Duplin)

Miles Poage-Joseph Hendrick (Shelby) vs. Josh Walker-Ben Lunning (Cuthbertson)

Ryan Lampe-John Tate (Newton-Conover) vs. Shaun Howell-Roland DesLauriers (Cuthbertson)

Owen Ryan-Camil Craciunescu (Durham School of Arts) vs. Foster Hawkins-Brady Trevison (Hampstead Topsail)

Alan Lebowitz-Abraham Post (Salisbury) vs. Oscar Zamora-Ben Keefer (Black Mountain C.D. Owen)

Kirk Robertson-Parks Tompkins (Hampstead Topsail) vs. Chris Cole-Zafer Estill (Pittsboro Northwood)

3A -Burlington Tennis Center

SINGLES--FIRST ROUND

Chaz Fitzpatrick (Eastern Wayne) vs. Pierce Beary (Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons)

Joey Hatala (Waxhaw Marvin Ridge) vs. Daniel May (Hickory)

Matt Daly (Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons) vs. Soren Wonde (Cleveland)

Paul Hogan (Lenoir Hibriten) vs. Victor Nechar (Concord Cox Mill)

Chaney Barnes (Kings Mountain) vs. Hayden Faulkenbury (China Grove Jesse Carson)

Eric Greene (Western Alamance) vs. Nick Jones (Wilson Fike)

Kyle Johnson (Charlotte Catholic) vs. Isaac Sluder (Waynesville Tuscola)

Russell Turner (Eastern Wayne)) vs. John Dangerfield (Cameron Union Pines)

DOUBLES--FIRST ROUND

Will Hoff-Michael Kearney (Pikeville Charles B. Aycock) vs. Ricky Ydrovo-Thomas Freeman (Thomasville Ledford)

Matthew Martinez-Zach Sachee (Charlotte Catholic) vs. Alex Arditti-Luke Kessel (Hickory)

Killian Steer-Matt Galush (Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons) vs. Julian Marrero-Eric Joyner (Northern Nash)

Sandler Gensch-Logan Andrew (Belmont South Point) vs. Bobby Hatala-Woody Watson (Waxhaw Marvin Ridge)

Tito Poplawski-David Howerton (Asheville) vs. B.J. Beecher-Mason Croley (Concord)

Aaron Weber-Bryan Zhang (Chapel Hill) vs. Edwin Burnett-Patrick Evans (South Brunswick)

Parks Thompson-Julian Hawkins (Statesville) vs. Michael Turlington-Adam Greer (West Henderson)

Phillip Packard-Drayton Williams (Wilson Fike) vs. Andrew Stephenson-Jack Harrison (Burlington Williams)

4A - Millbrook Exchange Park, Raleigh

SINGLES--FIRST ROUND

A.J. Stilwell (Wilmington Laney) vs. Kelly Patch (Cary Green Hope)

Scott Gallimore (Davie County) vs. Jim Fan (Charlotte Ardrey Kell)

Graham Duncan (Apex) vs. Josiah Boda (Scotland)

Michael Smith (Watauga) vs. Warren Bryan (Greensboro Page)

Mike Roberts (Charlotte Ardrey Kell) vs. Matt Tutton (High Point Central)

Tyler Pyle (Durham Jordan) vs. Alex Gaines (Wilmington New Hanover)

Austin Ansari (Greensboro Page) vs. Jake Combs (Mooresville)

Grey Hamilton (Southern Pines Pinecrest) vs. Matt Stachowiak (Apex Middle Creek)

DOUBLES--FIRST ROUND

Noah Milliken-Matt Johnson (Wilmington Hoggard) vs. Brad Meir-Ricky Meir (Raleigh Millbrook)

Will Albright-Graham Pearson (Greensboro Grimsley) vs. Ryan Wydra-Collin Black (W.A. Hough)

Bo Boyden-Jensen Martin (Raleigh Wakefield) vs. Jordan Frazier-Stephen Gay (Greenville Rose)

Karthik Arunkmar-Thomas King (Charlotte Ardrey Kell) vs. Mitchell Lewis-Ben Stern (Greensboro Grimsley)

John Kruszka-Michael McGowan (Charlotte Providence) vs. Austin Lynk-Vivek Dakoriya (Southwest Guilford)

Chris Mahan-Sean Carmean (Raleigh Millbrook) vs. Jake McDonough-Will Schoolfield (Wilmington Laney)

Chad Hoskins-Paul Yamane (Winston-Salem R.J.Reynolds) vs. Nicholas Cottrill-Matt Coats (Charlotte Providence)

Alex Auman-Colt Auman (Richmond) vs. Andrew Waddell-Patrick Longest (Raleigh Broughton)

Wildcats wins I-Meck softball tournament title

Lake Norman, the regular-season I-Meck champs, added the conference tournament title to its impressive season Monday with a 9-7 win against Hough during a double-header at UNC Charlotte.

For a full recap, read my story in today's Observer.

Hough claims baseball tourney championship

After dropping its last three games of the regular season, Hough has turned it around and won its last three games on its way to winning the I-Meck 4A baseball tournament title.

The Huskies won the title in a close 1-0 game against Hopewell. For more, see Corey Inscoe's story on Monday's game.

Girls' soccer playoffs announced

Several area teams made the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoff brackets, which were released Monday. First-round games are slated to be played Wednesday.

Hough, the I-Meck champions after going 20-0-1 in the regular season, will host South Mecklenburg in 4A tournament. No. 2 Lake Norman (19-2) will play Porter Ridge at home, while No. 4 Mooresville (9-9-2) and No. 5 Hopewell (7-11-2) will travel to Asheville T.C. Roberson and Sun Valley, respectively.

In 2A, the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A will have East Lincoln (13-6-3) and North Lincoln (9-8-1) as its representatives. They will host East Burke and Wheatmore, respectively.

South Iredell, the Catawba Valley champions after an 18-2 season, will host East Davidson, while Bandys (15-3-3) will travel to Sylva Smoky Mountain.

Lake Norman Charter (17-1) will be the No. 1 seed out of the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A in the 1A bracket. The Knights will host Lincoln Charter (11-5-2) Wednesday.

For full girls' soccer playoff brackets, visit the NCHSAA website.

Davidson Day names basketball coach

Joel Justus is Davidson Day's
new boys' basketball coach -
COURTESY OF DAVIDSON DAY

Davidson Day named Joel Justus as its new boys’ basketball coach Friday.

Justus, who will also serve as the school’s dean of students, has coached Woodberry Forrest (Va.) for four seasons. He guided that team to a Virginia Prep League regular season title in 2010 and two appearances in the conference championship game during his stint at the school. This past season, Woodberry Forrest was 10-15 (7-5 in conference).

"We were seeking to hire not only an outstanding basketball coach but a dynamic and high integrity mentor of students," said Bonnie Cotter, Davidson Day's head of school, in a statement. "That is exactly what we found in Joel and I feel privileged to be having the opportunity to bring him to our school for the benefit of all our students and families."

Six players coached by Justus will be playing collegiate basketball in the 2012 season, including four at the Division One level.

Justus is a 2004 graduate of UNC Wilmington, where he played basketball and was part of two NCAA tournament teams.

Before his tenure at Woodberry Forrest, Justus served as an assistant basketball coach at Elon.

Justus, a Winston-Salem native, replaces Ron Johnson, who announced his departure in March to take an assistant job at Marist College (N.Y.).

"The excitement and vision at the school is contagious and I am excited to be a Patriot," said Justus in a statement.

Lacrosse playoff brackets released

The boys' and girls' lacrosse championship brackets were released Wednesday by the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

On the boys' side, Lake Norman and Lake Norman Charter reached the playoffs from Conference 10.

The Wildcats, the conference champions, will host Providence Friday. Lake Norman has started the year with an 18-0 record.

Lake Norman Charter, the conference runners-up, will travel to Morganton Patton Friday. The Knights finished the regular season with a 13-5 record.

Lake Norman and Hough, the No. 2 and 3 seeds out of Conference 7 respectively, are the lone area qualifiers in the girls' championships.

The Lady Huskies (10-5) will travel to Marvin Ridge, while the Wildcats  host Northwest Guilford  for first-round action Friday.

Myers Park, the Conference 7 champions, have a first-round bye.

Check out the full  boys' and girls' brackets by following the links.

NCHSAA approves soccer mercy rule, 12-week football schedule

From the NCHSAA:

CHAPEL HILL-- The N.C. High School Athletic Association Board of Directors completed its spring Board meeting on Wednesday at the NCHSAA offices. Items which the Board studied and approved included:

- adoption of a "mercy rule" in soccer; if a goal differential of nine is reached by halftime or at any time in the second half, the game shall be terminated, to go into effect for 2012-13; at least one half of game must be completed

-  approved going back to 12 weeks to play 11 football games, starting with 2013 season, and approved two-year football calendar for 2013 and '14

- approved additional scheduling allowance for wrestling for one tri meet and one "multi team event" per week

- approved moving starting date for two-pound growth allowance for wrestling from January 1 to December 25

-approval of four booking agents, including Mark Kadlecik in soccer, Triangle Officials Association; Leigh Harris in wrestling, Mountain Officials Association; David Culbreth in wrestling, Southeastern Officials Association; Brad Allen in basketball, Southeastern Officials Association

-approved requiring each non-faculty coach and newly hired coaches to take "Fundamentals of Coaching" course through the National Federation to coach a team at an NCHSAA school; recommend all coaching staffs be certified in this area within three years

-added fine of $250 to Handbook if schools have non-compliant uniforms to NFHS rule codes

- discussed NCHSAA's 100th Anniversary Celebration and timeline of events

- approved additional ways to return additional revenue to member schools; take operating budget overage and also review any extra interest income from Endowment, and half of that, based on a formula, will be distributed to schools which participated in bracketed team sports playoffs. Schools traveling would receive full share, hosting school would receive half share

- adopted structured rate of expense reimbursements for football playoffs from first round through regionals

- reviewed 2011-12 budget

- approved four-year contract for commissioner

- approved NCHSAA strategic plan after presentation from Dr. Larry Price, who helped to facilitate the process

- a report from Paige King of Eastern Alamance High School of the NCHSAA's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC)

For a final list of 2013-17 conferences, visit the NCHSAA's realignment page.

I-Meck teams have mixed luck in tennis playoffs

Lake Norman defeated Davie County 6-3, while Hough dropped a 5-2 decision to Greensboro Page in the first round of the 4A boys' tennis dual-team playoffs Tuesday.

The Wildcats, the I-Meck champions, will host Greensboro Grimsley May 8.

Lake Norman Charter, which had a first-round bye in the 1A bracket, will host Mt. Airy May 8.

Tennis dual-team playoffs get under way

Three Lake Norman-area boys' tennis teams will take part in first-round playoff matches Tuesday afternoon.

In 4A, Hough and Lake Norman were the two I-Meck qualifiers. The Huskies, which finished second in the conference, will travel to Greensboro Page. They are led by No. 1 Ryan Wydra, a sophomore, and No. 2 Collin Black, a senior.

The regular-season champion Wildcats host Davie County. They're led by freshman Greg Dow, the conference tournament runner-up, as well as junior Shravan Rajan.

In the 1A tournament, Lake Norman Charter earned a first-round bye. The team will face the winner of the Mt. Airy-East Wilkes match May 8.

For full boys' tennis dual-team brackets, visit the NCHSAA website.

The individual boys' tennis regional tournaments take place Friday and Saturday. The 1A West tournament will be held at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, while the 2A West regional will be held at Brevard College. Hough will host the 4A West regional.

Playoff schedule

The boys' tennis dual-team playoffs are just the first of many postseason tournaments getting under way in the coming weeks. Here is the full NCHSAA playoff schedule.

Boys' golf
Regional:  May 7
State: May 14-15


Boys' tennis
Individual
Regional:  May 4-5
State: May 11-12

Dual team
1st round: May 1
District: May 8
Sectional: May 14
Regional: May 16
State: May 19

Track and field
1A/2A
Regional: May 5
State: May 11-12

3A/4A
Regional: May 12
State: May 18-19

Lacrosse
1st round: May 4
District: May 8
Sectional: May 11
Regional: May 15
State: May18-19

Girls' soccer
1st round: May 9
2nd round: May 12
District: May 16
Sectional: May 19
Regional: May 23
State: May 25-26

Softball
1st round: May 11
2nd round: May 15
District: May 18
Sectional: May 22
Regional: May 24-26
State: June 1-2

Baseball
1st round: May 11
2nd round: May 15
District: May 18
Sectional: May 22
Regional: May 24-26
State: June 1-2

Stay tuned for the independent school schedule later in the week.

I-Meck tournament schedule announced

May 3 - First round at higher seeds

May 4 - I-Meck semifinals
4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Mallard Creek High

May 7 - Finals
7:30 p.m. at UNC Charlotte