Top High School Teams for next season

I know it's a little early but I wonder who some of you think will be the teams to beat and who may be on the upswing in the coming High School season. According to an earlier thread Ally is leaving CC before the season that along with the other players who have graduated seems to mean there will be a shift in power in the MECA conference.

 

At the 1A level I am pretty sure that East Surry and North Moore will be very good again this year and 1 of them should end up in Raleigh. They usually play each other to see who goes.

 

East lost several important position players but they bring back Shelton who as a soph pitched the state championship game win and last I heard was pitching well for Rick's Cardinal TB team and gaining some valuable experience... this bodes well for ES for the next two years. East has a tremendous feeder program and a terrific coach. This means year in and year out they are perennial fav to go back to the Creek.. especially since they are 1A.

 

Oh-Uh !!

---Here we Go !!!

 

In the CVAC, look for Foard and Saint to dominate. Hibriten and Bandys will make things interesting in the 2A race.

 

Change of Power in MECA.

I agree with earlier post that Central Cabarrus will not be nearly the team that they have been for the past several years. It appears that N. Meck will be the favorite to finish atop the MECA, and they should go very far in the playoffs, and possibly all the way to State 4A finals. Last year N. Meck finished third in the MECA behind Central Cab. and Hopewell, and then made a deep run into the playoffs getting knocked out in the 4th round by state runnerup N. Davidson. Hopewell will still be very good again, but the loss of Christina Melton and Janna Lewis will be big shoes to fill. Both Melton and Lewis will be playing D1 college softball this spring at Campbell and USC Upstate respectively.

In the SW 4A, Butler will still be a strong state championship contender, and Providence, Ardrey Kell and Weddington should be tough foes to play against. I think that AK actually has the best and deepest pitching of this entire group, and great pitching will take you far at the high school level.

Of course, N.Davidson will be just as tough as ever. I think they only lost one senior off of last years team.

 

With Monte back at the helm Alexander Central is now getting back to where they were before he left. Just shows what a difference coaching makes. Got a really good young pitcher who could possiblly take over the reigns this year. She can dominate a game. Offensively and defensively we are solid. Most of the girls played together this summer and were hard to handle. In 4a I see us going very far maybe all the way. Only thing that will hurt is lack of competition in our conference. Freedom may be decent and Maybe Mcdowell but Watagua and Reynolds I think will be down this year, EB just can't get a program developed there and SC who used to give us some tough competition is still heading in the wrong direction. In the Catawba Valley area In 3a if Fred T Foard is ever going to make a big run this should be their year. They return a solid team and I saw most of their girls playing and improving this summer. Also think that St. Stephens will be pretty good. In 2a I saw Hibritens team several times this summer They looked mighty impressive competeing with only their schools girls. Couple pretty good pitchers and the whole team looked to improve as the summer went on. Being coached this summer by a long time friend who knows the game will be a big help. They should do well in 2a. I look for them to battle Foard for the top spot in the cvac. About all I know from our part of the state.

 

Alexander Central will be one of if not the best team in 4a. I had the honor of coaching some of their players in Rock Hill and they are a special group of girls. Kirsten Morris and Chelsea Sherrill played in a couple tournaments with our Cobra team in the summer and done very well. I look for a big year out of Morris, this kid is a great athlete with tremendous speed. Also they are very deep in pitchers. And of course they have the best coach in high school,his knowledge, dedication and attention to detail is second to none. This team has the total package. There you go Monte, no pressure! See ya soon.

 

You might want to consider changing your signature--there are kids that read these posts!!

 

4a- North Davidson -Alexander Central Coach Lambros I hope wins the STate title.

3a I think the pithcer is back at SWRandolph. I know St. Stephens will be very good. Hickory Ridge did not have a Senoir and there should be improvement there.