Four Cabarrus County wrestlers win titles

Central Cabarrus, Jay M. Robinson and Hickory Ridge wrestlers claimed state championships at Saturday's N.C. High School Athletic Association wrestling tournament at Greensboro Coliseum.

The first champion of the night was Robinson 160-pounder Kenan Robertson. The senior defeated Hillsborough Orange's David Peters-Logue in a hard-fought 2-1 decision to win his weight-class title.

“This is the best,” said Robertson. “Everything I’ve done in my life – every practice I went to – all comes up to this moment: winning tfhis, being a state champ.”

Robertson, who also won the 160-pound South Piedmont Conference and 3A Midwest regional titles, finished his senior season with a 47-3 record.

His teammate, Robinson 106-pounder David Cline, was next county wrestler to win a championship.

Cline, a freshman, pinned his opponents, Orange's Joe Scott, in 55 seconds.

"He just walked into that one," said Cline. "He went out there and he gave me my best move."

Cline, who finished his year 53-6, credited his fellow Bulldogs for his early success.

"I had great practice partners who helped me get better, get through everything," he said. "If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be here."

Robinson also placed Morris Andujar (sixth at 120), Jonah Swinson (sixth at 126), Hamilton Jones (fourth at 138) and Jake Glunt (third at 152) to finish as 3A team runner-up.

"We've worked really hard," said proud Bulldogs' coach Jerome Davis. "You couldn't ask for a better group of kids."

At 113 pounds, Central Cabarrus' Heath Gleaton became the first Viking wrestler to win a state title since 2005 by defeating East Rowan's Jason Deutsch 11-4.

"It's amazing," the junior said. "I've worked all season as long as hard as I could, trained hour after hour and this is the results. It's paid off."

Gleaton was tied 2-2 at the beginning of the third period, but his aggressiveness allowed him to get a few takedowns and a near fall to build up a 11-2 lead.

"I just kept pushing myself," said Gleaton, who was 45-2 this season. "I figured that if I took him down one time, I could take him down again and break his will."

In the last match of the night, Hickory Ridge junior Troy Gregor won the 120-pound 3A title.

"It's a dream," said Gregor, who defeated Asheboro's Sawyer Davidson 8-2 to finish his year 43-2.

"I'm really proud of myself. I just want to keep working hard, keep achieving goals. ... It starts from here. This is just the beginning."

Gregor is the Ragin' Bulls' first-ever state wrestling champion.

"It means the world," said Hickory Ridge coach Patrick Helm. "He's a great kid. ... He leads our team by example. He's not a real big 'rah-rah' type of guy, but when he steps on the mat, he's all business.

Four individual state champions is one of the best performances Cabarrus County wrestlers have ever had in one year.

Gleaton credits that to the competition area wrestlers face.

"We've got a real tough conference," he said.

Concord ousted in sectional final

Concord's boys' basketball team lost to Harding 71-65 in the third round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs to end its season on Friday night.

The Spiders, the SPC regular-season champions, finished their year 24-3.

Spider reach sectional finals

Concord's boys' basketball team defeated Weddington in Wednesday's second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs to move on to the sectional finals.

The Spiders will host Harding Friday at 7 p.m.

Jay M. Robinson, the only Cabarrus County girls' basketball team to get out of the first round, lost a close game to Carson to end its season. The Lady Bulldogs finish their year 23-6.

Second round scores

3A boys

(1) Concord def. (9) Weddington at 68-56

3A girls

(11) Carson def. (3) Jay M. Robinson 59-57

Third round (Friday)

3A boys

(5) Harding (15-10) at (1) Concord (24-2)

Black named to all-star game

Concord senior guard Darren Black will represent North Carolina at the Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic.

Black, who was chosen by the N.C. Coaches Association, and his North Carolina team will face South Carolina's all-star on March 23 at Socastee High (S.C.).

Black is second for the Spiders in scoring, averaging 15 points per game. Only junior Connor Burchfield averages more, with 18.8 a game.

Click here for more on the All-Star Basketball classic and for full boys' and girls' rosters.

Spiders, Bulldogs move on to second round

Cabarrus County high school basketball teams didn't have much luck in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.

Of the 10 boys' and girls' basketball teams that qualified for the playoffs, only two won first-round games on Monday night.

On the boys' side, South Piedmont Conference regular-season champion Concord defeated Central Cabarrus in the first round. The Spiders, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region of the bracket, will host Weddington on Wednesday in the second round.

Jay M. Robinson was the lone girls' team to reach the second round, defeating Ledford Monday. The Lady Bulldogs will host Carson on Wednesday.

Here are the first-round score and second-round matchups for local teams (in bold):

Boys tournament

(1) Concord def. (16) Central Cabarrus 89-39
(3) Statesville def. (14) Northwest Cabarrus 104-64
(6) North Forysth def. (11) A.L. Brown 82-75

(10) Charlotte Berry Academy def. (7) Cox Mill 58-57

Wednesday's second round

(9) Weddington (15-12) at (1) Concord (23-2)

Girls tournament

(1) Ledford def. (16) A.L. Brown 51-28

(4) Weddington def. (13) Northwest Cabarrus 55-32

(3) Jay Robinson def. (14) East Rowan 62-45

(7) Southwestern Randolph def. (10) Concord 62-48

(2) Harding University def. (15) Central Cabarrus 60-36

Wednesday's second round

(11) Carson 20-7 at (3) Jay M. Robinson (23-5)

For more, see the full 3A boys and girls brackets.

Chargers win SPC tourney, have coaches reinstated (updated)

Cox Mill hit a half-court shot in the closing seconds of the South Piedmont Conference boys' basketball tournament championship to defeat A.L. Brown 54-53 and win its first tourney title.

The Chargers, the tournament's No. 4 seed, defeated the top-seeded teams - Concord and Brown, respectively - to win the title.

Cox Mill's celebration didn't last long. The Chargers will allegedly be without coach Brad Hinson and assistant coach Jody Barbee for their first playoff game in school history.

The coaches were allegedly suspended after taking part in a Harlem Shake video with their players. NBC Charlotte sportscaster Chris Clark has the video on his Facebook page.

UPDATE: Our friends at WCNC are now reporting that Hinson and Barbee have been reinstated.

Just talked with Cox Mill officials. They told me Brad Hinson and Jody Barbee will be on the sidelines coaching tonight against Berry.
— Chris Clark (@Cdclarksports) February 25, 2013

Cox Mill will host Berry Academy on Monday for a first-round 3A playoff game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Lady Bulldogs claim SPC crown

Jay M. Robinson defeated Concord 43-28 in the SPC girls' basketball tournament finals.

The Bulldogs, which have not lost a game to SPC opponents this season, also won the regular-season conference title.

Robinson will host East Rowan today at 7 p.m. to open postseason play.

Local playoff matchups 

The N.C. High School Athletic Association released its basketball playoff brackets during the weekend. Here are the first-round matchups for local teams (in bold):

Boys tournament

(16) Central Cabarrus (10-15) at (1) Concord (22-2)

(14) Northwest Cabarrus (15-9) at (3) Statesville (20-3)

(11) Kannapolis A.L. Brown (19-7) at (6) North Forysth (20-6)

(10) Charlotte Berry Academy (13-10) at (7) Concord Cox Mill (17-10)

Girls tournament

(16) Kannapolis A.L. Brown (9-15) at (1) Ledford (23-3)

(13) Northwest Cabarrus (12-12) at (4) Weddington (20-6)

(14) East Rowan (15-10) at (3) Concord Jay Robinson (22-5)

(10) Concord (16-9) at (7) Southwestern Randolph (19-5)

(15) Central Cabarrus (10-16) at (2) Charlotte Harding University (18-4)

Eagles are state runner-up

First Assembly's boys' basketball team was the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 2A runner-up, losing to back-to-back state champion Northside Christian Academy 84-63 in Saturday's finals.

The Eagles reached the finals with a 49-43 win against Gaston Day School.

First Assembly was led by all-state senior Kriston Beasley.

The Lady Eagles also had an all-state selection. Eighth-grader Zaria Wright was also honored.

Bulldogs lead way at 3A Midwest wrestling regionals

Robinson wrestlers David Cline (106 pounds), Jake Glunt (152) and Kenan Robertson (160) won individual wrestling titles at the 3A Midwest regional tournament this past weekend to lead the Bulldogs' six state qualifiers

Central Cabarrus' Heath Gleaton (113), Hickory Ridge's Troy Gregor (120), Mount Pleasant's Ryan Johns (182) and Concord's Michael Simpson (195) also claimed regional championships.

Here are the full 3A Midwest results as well as the list of 3A state qualifiers and the 3A championship brackets.

The 3A state tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday in Greensboro.

Rirst ead more here: http://lknprepsports.blogspot.com/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://lknprepsports.blogspot.com/#storylink=cpy

First Assembly reaches 2A semis

First Assembly's boys' basketball team defeated Westchester Country Day 59-52 on Thursday to reach the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association's 2A state semifinals.

The Eagles, the tournament's No. 3 seed, will face second-seeded Gaston Day today at 5:30 p.m. at Charlotte Country Day. The winner will face either No. 1 Northside Christian or No. 5 Calvary Baptist Saturday at 4 p.m. at Providence day.

On the girls' 2A bracket, First Assembly was eliminated in a 53-44 loss to third-seeded Calvary Baptist. The Lady Eagles finish their season 22-6.

For more, see the full NCISAA tournament brackets.

Hickory Ridge hosts 3A Midwest wrestling regional

Local wrestlers will convene at Hickory Ridge Friday and Saturday for a chance to earn a spot at next week's 3A state tournament.

The 3A Midwest regional tournament kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday. Wrestling resumes Saturday at 9 a.m.

For more, see the full brackets for the 3A Midwest and the rest of the regional tournaments.

SPC tournament gets under way Monday

The South Piedmont Conference basketball tournaments start today.

On the boys' side, Concord finished as the top seed after claiming the regular-season title with an unblemished 14-0 mark in SPC play. A.L. Brown (12-2) lost to the Spiders 68-66 in a dramatic regular-season finale on Friday to end up as the No. 2 seed.

Jay M. Robinson's girls are their bracket's No. 1 seed after also finishing 14-0 in conference games. Northwest Cabarrus (11-3) enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.

First-round games are scheduled for today at the higher seeds. The boys' semifinals are slated for Tuesday, while the girls are set to play on Wednesday. Finals are scheduled for Friday. Semis and finals will be played at Concord high.

Here are the brackets:

South Piedmont Conference 3A

Girls

(8) Mount Pleasant at (1) Jay M. Robinson

(5) A.L. Brown at (4) Central Cabarrus

(6) Hickory Ridge at (3) Concord

(7) Cox Mill at (2) Northwest Cabarrus

Boys

(8) Mount Pleasant at (1) Concord

(5) Central Cabarrus at (4) Cox Mill

(6) Jay M. Robinson at (3) Northwest Cabarrus

(7) Hickory Ridge at (2) A.L. Brown

Eagles ready for playoffs

First Assembly's boys' and girls' basketball teams both earned spots in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association's 2A playoffs.

The Lady Eagles earned the tournament's No. 6 seed. They's slated to host No. 11 Caldwell Academy on Tuesday. The winner of that game will face No. 3 Calvary Baptist at Charlotte Country Day on Thursday in a state semifinal.

First Assembly's boys earned a first-round bye by claiming the tournament's No. 3 seed. The Eagles will face either O'Neal School or Westchester Country Day at Country Day on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Both championships are scheduled for  Friday and will be played at Country Day.

Cannon's girls, a 12th-seed in the 3A bracket, will play Charlotte Christian on Tuesday. No. 4 Cary Academy awaits the winner. The 3A semifinals and finals will be held at Charlotte Latin.

Click here for full brackets.

NCISAA swim meet to be held Monday, Tuesday

The 1A/2A/3A independent schools' state swim meets are  scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Finals are slated to start at 3:30 p.m.

Read more here: http://lknprepsports.blogspot.com/2013/02/southlake-trio-wins-wrestling-titles.html#storylink=cpy

Robinson falls in 3A semifinals

Jay M. Robinson barely got by host Southwest Randolph 32-31 Thursday night in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A dual-team wrestling quarterfinals.

But the Bulldogs couldn't muster a win against Fred T. Foard in the semis, dropping the match 38-27.

Robinson, the SPC regular-season and conference champions, finish the year 28-7.

The Bulldogs and other local wrestlers will compete in the 3A Midwest individual regional on Feb. 22-23 at Hickory Ridge. The top four wrestlers in each class will qualify for the 3A state meet in Greensboro on Feb. 28-March 2.

Eagles named all-conference

The Metrolina Athletic Conference announced its boys' and girls' all-conference basketball teams. Five First Assembly players – Cassidy Crawford, Zaria Wright, Kriston Beasley, Nate Cantadore and Stefan Fundic – were honors.

Here is the complete all-conference lists:

2012-13 Girls MAC All-Conference

Hannah Adamczyk – Hickory Grove Christian School

Catherine Casey – Westminster Catawba Christian School

Cassidy Crawford – First Assembly Christian School

Catherine Crouch – Covenant Day School

Amanda Dobner – Hickory Grove Christian School

Veronica Dzuik – SouthLake Christian Academy

Kianna Funderburk – SouthLake Christian Academy

Hannah Griffin – Hickory Grove Christian School

Jayla Joyner – Hickory Grove Christian School

Nora Logan – Metrolina Christian Academy

Morgan Mosteller – Covenant Day School

Nina Okoroji – Gaston Christian School

Giselle Verville – SouthLake Christian Academy

Zaria Wright – First Assembly Christian School

2012-13 Boys MAC All-Conference

David Airing – Covenant Day School

Kriston Beasley – First Assembly Christian School

Nate Cantadore – First Assembly Christian School

James Demery – Northside Christian Academy

Dustin Dodd – Hickory Grove Christian School

Josh Dominguez – Metrolina Christian Academy

Stefan Fundic – First Assembly Christian School

Keith Griffin – Hickory Grove Christian School

AJ Jackson – Westminster Catawba Christian School

Luke Morrison – Northside Christian Academy

Tyrell Nelson – Metrolina Christian Academy

Phillip Reed – Northside Christian Academy

Jalen Sanders – SouthLake Christian Academy

Keyshawn Woods – Northside Christian Academy

Bulldogs reach 3A wrestling quarterfinals

Jay M. Robinson beat North Iredell and Asheboro Tuesday night to get to the N.C. High School Athletic Association's 3A dual-team quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs, the South Piedmont Conference champions, defeated North Iredell 38-33 in the first round before dropping Asheboro 57-19 in the second.

Robinson will travel to Southwest Randolph on Thursday for the state quarterfinals. The winner will face Fred T. Foard or Ashbrook for a shot to wrestle at Saturday's 3A state championship match.

Cabarrus County's other playoff representative, Concord, lost in the first round. The Spiders dropped their match 42-25 to West Iredell.

Concord upsets Cox Mill to earn spot in SPC finals

Concord's volleyball team knocked the No. 2 seed in the South Piedmont 3A volleyball tournament to reach Wednesday's finals against top-ranked Hickory Ridge.

After dropping both regular season meetings to the Chargers, the Spiders defeated Cox Mill 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-22) Tuesday in the semifinals.

Hickory Ridge defeated Northwest Cabarrus 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) in the other semifinal and will host Concord at 6 p.m. for the tournament title.

Trojans roll to second round

Northwest Cabarrus, the SPC girls' tennis champions, reached the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team playoffs after a 5-4 win against Gastonia Ashbrook Tuesday.

Jay M. Robinson, the conference runners-up, dropped its first-round match-up against Hickory 9-0 to wrap up its season.

The Trojans will host Marvin Ridge Oct. 23 in second-round play.

The 3A midwest individual regionals will be held Friday and Saturday at Concord. The top six singles and doubles players from the conference will participate.

Area athletes have good 3A track and field meet

Several Cabarrus County athletes had good showings at the 3A track and field meet last weekend.

Cox Mill's Tori Elliott finished second in the girls' 100-meter dash with a 12:06. The senior also placed fifth in the 200 meter with a time of 25.09 and third in the long jump with a jump of 16-9.75.

Jay M. Robinson's Madison Fulfrd was fourth in the girls' 300-meter hurdles. His teammate McCann Sheridan finished fourth in the boys' 800 meter runs.

Samara Tisdale was third in the girls' shot put with a 36-4.5 for A.L. Brown. She also placed 12th in the discus.

Hickory Ridge's Elizabeth Olesen was state runner-up in the girls' high jump, while teammate Nora Shafer placed fourth.

The Ragin' Bulls' Mikayla Kinloch was state runner-up in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.

On the boys' side, Northwest Cabarrus' Will England was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles and runner up in the 300-meter hurdles.

A.L. Brown's Damien Washington was third with a 21.82 in the 200-meter dash. He was also fifth in the long jump with a 21-10.

Aaron Sandifer was third in the 110-meter hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles for Hickory Ridge. Teammate Jordan Warren was fourth the boys' triple jump.

Northwest's Josh Marco was fifth in the boys' pole vault. He had a 13-feet jump in the event.

Cox Mill's Ryan Hill was forth in the boys' 100 meters, while Elijah Goins was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.

These are the meet's final standings for local squads:

3A girls

8. Hickory Ridge
17. Cox Mill
22. Jay M. Robinson
35. A.L. Brown

3A boys

12. Northwest Cabarrus
15. Hickory Ridge
16. Cox Mill
17. A.L. Brown
24. Jay M. Robinson
53. Concord
53. Mount Pleasant

For full results, go here.

Playoff update (May 22)

The spring high school season in Cabarrus County is officially done.

Hickory Ridge fell to South Rowan 8-2 to end its season in the third round of the 3A baseball playoffs, while First Assembly lost in the independent schools' 2A state semifinals 8-3 to Caldwell Academy.

In softball, both Jay M. Robinson and Central Cabarrus lost in the third round. The Bulldogs dropped a 5-1 game to North Iredell while the Vikings lost 7-1 to Weddington to wrap up their years.

Cabarrus is down to one team in baseball playoffs

With South Piedmont Conference champion Northwest Cabarrus losing 1-0 to Carson Thursday night, Hickory Ridge is the lone conference team to make the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

The Ragin' Bulls defeated conference foe Mount Pleasant 14-4 Tuesday to reach the district round.

Hickory Ridge will host South Rowan Friday night in Harrisburg.

Eagles playing in independent school semifinals

First Assembly's baseball team faces Caldwell Academy in the 2A independent school semifinals Friday afternoon at Rocky Mount Academy.

The Eagles, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, goes into the game with a 13-7 game. Caldwell Academy is the No. 1-seeded team in the bracket with a 20-4 mark.

The winner will face either Harrells Christian or Westchester Country in a best-of-three series starting at 7 p.m and continuing Saturday.

Robinson, Central still playing softball

The top two SPC softball teams, Central Cabarrus and Jay M. Robinson, both won their second-round games this week.

Robinson defeated Marvin Ridge 4-3, while Central Cabarrus won 4-3 against Carson to reach the 3A district round.

The Vikings will host Weddington, while the Bulldogs travel to North Iredell Friday night.

SPC girls' soccer teams all eliminated

Cox Mill was the only South Piedmont Conference team to reach the third round of the playoffs. The Chargers lost that game 4-0 to Charlotte Catholic.

A.L. Brown and Jay M. Robinson won their first-round game, but were ousted in the following round. Hickory Ridge and Mount Pleasant didn't get out of the opening round.

For full brackets: check out the baseball, softball and girls' soccer pages on the NCHSAA website.

Cabarrus playoff update (May 14)

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

Baseball

3A

Hickory Ridge def. East Rowan 8-7

Mount Pleasant def. Harding 11-0

Asheboro def. Jay M. Robinson 2-0

Northwest Cabarrus def. North Guilford 6-3

Charlotte Catholic def. Cox Mill 12-5

Tuesday's second round games:

Mount Pleasant at Hickory Ridge

Jesse Carson at Northwest Cabarrus

Click here for full baseball brackets.

Softball

3A

North Iredell def. Northwest Cabarrus 13-0

Hickory Ridge def. Berry Academy 22-0

Jay M. Robinson def. South Guilford 6-0

Central Cabarrus def. Burlington Williams 7-2

Mount Pleasant def. Charlotte Catholic 5-0

Tuesday’s second-round games:

Hickory Ridge at North Iredell

Jay M. Robinson at Marvin Ridge

Jesse Carson at Central Cabarrus

Mount Pleasant at Weddington

Click here for full baseball brackets.

Girls' soccer

3A

West Rowan def. A.L. Brown 2-0

Marvin Ridge def. Jay M. Robinson 5-0

Cox Mill def. Parkwood 6-1

Tuesday’s third-round games:

Cox Mill at Charlotte Catholic

Click here for full girls' soccer brackets.

Boys' tennis

All of Cabarrus County representatives to the boys' tennis 3A state championship dropped early matches.

Victor Nechar (Cox Mill) lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to Lenoir Hibriten’s Paul Hogan in the first round of singles play.  B.J. Beecher and Mason Croley (Concord) also lost in the first round of doubles play, dropping their match 6-3, 6-2 to Tito Poplawski-David Howerton (Asheville).

Five Cabarrus squads reach softball playoffs

As promised, here are the first-round match-ups for the five South Piedmont 3A teams that qualified for the softball playoffs (local teams in bold).

No. 5 Burlington Williams (9-8) at No. 1 Central Cabarrus (22-2)
No. 4 Southern Guilford (13-8) at No. 2  Jay M. Robinson (16-4)
No. 3 Hickory Ridge (13-7) at No. 2 Berry (7-11)
No. 4 Northwest Cabarrus (13-8) at No. 1 North Iredell (17-3)
No. 5 Mount Pleasant (11-11) at No. 1 Charlotte Catholic (17-6)

As in baseball, first-round games are slated to be played by Friday.

For full 3A and other classifications' brackets, visit the NCHSAA website.

Baseball playoff match-ups announced for five Cabarrus squads

Five South Piedmont Conference teams made it into the 3A baseball playoffs when the N.C. High School Athletic Association released its brackets Wednesday.

Here are the Cabarrus County teams' first-round match-ups (with local teams bolded):

No. 5 North Guilford (12-10) at No. 1 Northwest Cabarrus (22-4)
No. 4 Asheboro (10-12) at No. 2 Jay M. Robinson (16-11)
No. 3 Mount Pleasant (14-10) at No. 2 Harding (3-12)
No. 4 Hickory Ridge (14-12) at No. 1 East Rowan (10-12)
No. 5 Cox Mill (13-13) at No. 1 Charlotte Catholic (15-8)

For complete 3A and other classification brackets, visit the NCHSAA website.

Check back later this morning for softball playoff brackets.

Five Cabarrus teams reach girls' soccer playoffs

South Piedmont Conference girls' soccer champion Cox Mill and four other Cabarrus County teams reached the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A playoffs.

The Chargers (13-6-1) will host Rockingham in the first round, which is slated for Wednesday.

No. 2 seed Jay M. Robinson will also have a first-round home game, hosting Southwest Randolph.

No. 3 A.L. Brown will travel to Charlotte to play Berry Academy, while No. 4 Hickory Ridge and No. 5 Mount Pleasant will play at West Rowan and Charlotte Catholic, respectively.

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

Trojans win SPC tourney title

Northwest Cabarrus added a SPC tournmanent title to its regular season conference crown Thursday, defeating Jay M. Robinson 12-2 in five inning. Northwest was impressive in the conference tournament, defeating its opponents 30-5 in its three games.

The Trojans will be the top seed out of the SPC when the 3A playoffs get under way Friday. Brackets are expected to be released Tuesday.

Central wins softball tournament

With an 8-1 win against Jay M. Robinson, Central Cabarrus capped its season undefeated against SPC opponents and claimed the SPC softball tournament title.

The Vikings finished their season 21-2 and will be the No. 1 seed out of their conference in the playoffs. The 3A softball brackets should also be released Tuesday. First-round games are scheduled for Friday.

Three Cabarrus tennis teams make 3A dual team playoffs

Concord, Jay M. Robinson and Central Cabarrus will begin play in the 3A dual-team boys' tennis playoffs Tuesday.

The South Piedmont Conference champion Spiders will host Charlotte Catholic. Senior Mason Croley and junior B.J. Beecher lead Concord.

The young Bulldogs, the second-place SPC finishers, are led by sophomore Ky Mu Baek and junior Mike Messina, will travel to face the North Piedmont champion Statesville.

Central Cabarrus, a wildcard team led by seniors Eli Lowder and Justin Morgan, travels to Marvin Ridge High.

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

The individual boys' tennis regional tournaments take place Friday and Saturday. The 3A Midwest regional, which is hosted by Concord, will take place at Les Myles Park.

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

3A

Regional: May 12

State: May 18-19

Lacrosse

1st round: May 4

District: May 8

Sectional: May 11

Regional: May 15

State: May 18-19

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.

Postseason update (Feb. 21)

SPC teams stuggle in first round
After the first round of basketball playoffs, only four of the 10 Cabarrus County teams that made either the boys' or girls' 3A playoffs remain in their respective tournaments.

Concord's boys, which were coming off only their second loss of the year, and South Piedmont Conference tournament champions Jay M. Robinson are still alive in the 3A brackets. On the girls' side, the Lady Spiders and the Lady Bulldogs also won their first-round games Monday night.

Here are the scores for local teams (in bold):

Boys
Concord def. MC Michael 100-53
Charlotte Catholic def. Central Cabarrus 71-41
Jay M. Robinson def. East Rowan 66-40
Harding def. A.L. Brown 81-55
North Forsyth def. Hickory Ridge 82-69

Girls
Parkwood def. Hickory Ridge 63-43
Jay M. Robinson def. West Rowan 74-42
Anson def. Northwest Cabarrus 55-27
Concord def. Carson 68-59
Ledford def. A.L. Brown 56-20

These are the second-round match-ups (to be played Wednesday):

Boys
West Rowan at Concord 7 p.m.
Jay M. Robinson at Statesville 7 p.m

Girls
Jay M. Robinson at Anson 7 p.m.
Concord at North Iredell, 7 p.m.

Athletes gear up for wrestling championships
Five Cabarrus County wrestlers who claimed 3A Midwest regional titles this past weekend - Robinson's Garrison White (126) and Kenan Robertson (152), Hickory Ridge's Troy Gregor (113) and Josh Chapman (285) as well as Mount Pleasant's Ryan Johns (182) - will compete at the 3A state championships, which will be held Thursday through Saturday in Greensboro.

The five regional champs will be joined by the top four finishers in their respective weight classes at regionals. Here is a complete list of state qualifiers.

Bulldog junior wins state swimming title

Junior Griffin Fiedler won the 100-yard butterfly 3A title.
Photo by freelance writer Joe Habina

Jay M. Robinson’s Griffin Fiedler won the boys’ 100-yard butterfly 3A state championship with a time of 51.37 Thursday.

The junior, who also finished second in the 200-yard freestyle, led the Bulldog boys to a fifth-place finish at the state meet. Cox Mill and A.L. Brown finished sixth and seventh, respectively, at the championships. Concord was 10th.

Kannapolis sophomore Davied Sanchez also won a state title in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.44.

Jay M. Robinson’s girls, led by Hunter Rogers’ fourth-place 100-yard freestyle finish, were sixth. The Lady Charger tied for eighth, while the Lady Spiders placed 12th. Mount Pleasant is 14th and Northwest Cabarrus was 16th.

For full results, check the N.C. High School Athletic Association's website.

Robinson barely misses championship match

Robinson wrestling team lost to Southwest Randolph by one point in the regional match of the NCHSAA 3A dual-team playoffs Thursday.

The Bulldogs, which beat Gastonia Ashbrook, West Henderson and North Gaston on the way to the regional championship, finishes the year 21-2.

But the wrestling season if far from over, as the state's individual regional will be held Feb. 17-18.

Cabarrus athletes ready for state indoor meet

Six of the South Piedmont Conference's eight teams will have athletes competing at Saturday's N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A/2A/3A state indoor track meet at UNC Chapel Hill's Eddie Smith Field House.

A.L. Brown, Cox Mill, Hickory Ridge, Jay M. Robinson, Mount Pleasant and Northwest Cabarrus will all be represented at the event, which kicks off at 9 a.m.

Here is a list of the local athletes participating by school:

A.L. Brown: Jose Navarette (boys' 3,200-meter run), Timmy Hall (boys' 500-meter dash), Samara Tisdale (girls' shot put), Talvanisha Lawing (girls' 55-meter hurdles, 55-meter dash), Natalie Tresslar (girls' 3,200-meter run), Lexie Petty (girls' 1,000-meter run), boys' 4x400 relay, boys' 4x800 relay, girls' 4x800 relay.

Cox Mill: Tori Elliott (girls' 55-meter dash, 300-meter dash), Alicia Tapp (girls' 1,000-meter run), Ike Washington (boys' 300-meter dash), boys 4x800 relay.

Hickory Ridge: Elizabeth Olesen (girls' high jump), Aaron Sandiffer (boys' 55-meter hurdles).

Jay M. Robinson: Clifford Buck (boys' 3,200-meter run, 1,600-meter run); Taylor Bowers (boys’ pole vault), Shay Bossard (girls' shot put), Alyssa Lashway (girls' 1,000-meter run); Brooke Johns (girls' 1,600 meter run), Natalie Andejchak (girls' 3,200-meter run, 1,600 meter run), girls' 4x800 relay, boys' 4x800 relay.

Mount Pleasant: Kayleigh Norris (girls' pole vault), Brooke Mcelwain (girls' pole vault), Colby Miller (boys' shot put).

Northwest Cabarrus: Josh Marco (boys’ pole vault), Will England (boys' 55-meter hurdles, 300-meter dash).

For a full list of qualifiers to the 1A/2A/3A state meet, check out N.C. Runners' website.

Bulldogs, Wonders earn 3A dual playoff spots

Two South Piedmont 3A teams - Jay M. Robinson and A.L. Brown - made the N.C. High School Athletic Association's dual team 3A wrestling playoffs. First- and second-round dual match-ups will take place Tuesday. Regional matches are slated for Thursday while the state championships are scheduled for Saturday.

Here are the western part of the 3A bracket (local teams in bold):

At Jay M. Robinson High

No. 1 West Henderson (17-7) vs. WC East Rowan (19-5)

No. 1 Robinson (18-1) vs. No. 2 Ashbrook (19-6)

At North Gaston High

No. 1 North Gaston (26-8) vs. No. 2 Ledford (33-11)

No. 1 Freedom (13-6) vs. No. 1 Charlotte Catholic (26-7)

At Fred T. Foard High

No. 1 Enka (27-5) vs. No. 1 Fred T. Foard (28-1)

No. 1 Weddington (22-20) vs. No. 2 West Iredell (12-7)

At North Iredell High

No. 1 Southwest Randolph (32-3) vs. No. 2 A.L. Brown (19-14)

No. 1 North Iredell vs. WC St. Stephens (26-7)

For the full brackets , check out the NCHSAA's website.