Nontraditional schools dominate basketball....and nearly all 1A sports
Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2016 11:45 am
J.J. SMITH | 1 comment
Welcome to the recent past, present and future of N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A sports where nontraditional athletic programs from charter, magnet and private Catholic schools dominate the state championship landscape.
A week and a half from now, we’re likely to have two matchups of nontraditional schools in the 1A state basketball final.
In the boys final, it looks as if Durham Voyager Academy is on course to face Winston-Salem Prep. In the girls final, it’s shaping up to be Roxboro Community School versus Winston-Salem Prep.
Durham Voyager Academy and Roxboro Community School are charter schools, while Winston-Salem Prep is a magnet school.
Four of the eight teams remaining in the boys regional semifinals on Tuesday were nontraditional programs, including Durham’s Kestrel Heights and Charlotte-area Lincoln Charter. Three of the final four teams remaining are nontraditional programs, including Lincoln Charter.
It’s been this way for a while now. And it’s going to this way for a very long time. Welcome to the future of 1A basketball, and sports, for that matter. Will a traditional 1A school ever win another basketball state title? It doesn’t look good.
If not for East Carteret beating Winston-Salem Prep last year in the boys state final, the Phoenix would be on track to go for their fifth straight state crown and sixth in the last nine years. The Phoenix girls also won a state ring last year to give the school five state basketball championships in its 12-year history.
That seems reasonable (please note obvious sarcasm).
They’ve made winning basketball state titles look easy.
I assure you, it’s not.
Although they aren’t in the 1A ranks, let’s take a look at our neighbors to the west in Craven County to see how difficult it is to win a basketball state crown. Havelock, New Bern and West Craven have each been around for more than 50 years, and each is known to produce outstanding athletes in a variety of sports. These athletic programs are absolutely stacked with talent. And they’ve never won a basketball state championship.
If Winston-Salem Prep and Durham Voyager Academy meet in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 12, it will give the 1A boys its second all-nontraditional matchup in the past three years. The Phoenix defeated Rocky Mount Prep two years ago in the state final.
And thanks to Winston-Salem Prep’s victory last year over Riverside, the 1A girls state championship has been won for 10 straight years by a nontraditional school. Kernersville’s Bishop McGuinness, a private Catholic school located less than half an hour from both Winston-Salem and Greensboro, won nine state rings in a row prior to last year. Bishop McGuiness also won the boys state title in 2009.
I don’t think all this winning in basketball has anything to do with the “R” word. Maybe I’m naïve, I’m not sure. But I don’t think these programs “recruit.” There is no need to because they already have an inherent advantage over the rest of the field.
They are metropolitan 1A schools, which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. There should be no such thing. Historically, 1A schools have been from mostly rural, small towns with clear and strict district lines. These charter, magnet and private Catholic schools enjoy open enrollment and can pull student-athletes from large population centers.
Hence the reason these programs win at such startling rates and in such short amounts of time after breaking ground.
There shouldn’t be 1A schools in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Rocky Mount, etc. This division should belong to Beaufort, Trenton, Bayboro, Chocowinity, Weldon, Plymouth, Camden, Williamston, Burgaw, Whiteville, Pilot Mountain, Robbins, Bryson City, Murphy, Cherokee and the other 50 or so small towns that make it up.
Unfortunately for these traditional schools, the charters, magnets and private Catholic schools are here to stay.
The charters, taxpayer-funded public schools that are exempt from some of the regulations that traditional public schools must follow, are growing at an amazingly high rate. There are 30 or so in the N.C. High School Athletic Association, and there are going to be more.
According to a story last week in the News & Observer, Wake County’s charter-school enrollment has increased 54 percent in the past three years to reach 9,577 students this school year. In Mecklenburg County, charter schools are projected to add 2,672 students next year. That is well ahead of the 504 new students projected for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
These nontraditional schools are here. They are here to win, and win big. And not just in basketball.
Take a look at spring sports.
Bishop McGuinness has won the last five boys golf state titles. Last year, five of the top seven teams at the state meet were nontraditional schools.
Nontraditional schools have won three state championships in a row in girls soccer with Lake Norman Charter, Community School of Davidson and Raleigh Charter earning titles. Two of those three were all-nontraditional matchups with Lake Norman Charter beating Raleigh Charter in 2013 and Raleigh Charter beating Bishop McGuinness last season. The last five state finals have involved a nontraditional school, as well as seven of the last nine.
The last two girls tennis state championships have been all-nontraditional school affairs with Bishop McGuinness winning both. The Villains defeated Raleigh Charter last season and Durham Voyager Academy in 2014. Singles and doubles state crowns have been won by players from nontraditional schools for four straight seasons. Two of the singles and one of the doubles matches were all-nontraditional contests.
Nontraditional schools have won the last two girls track and field state titles with Winston-Salem Prep taking last year’s meet and Bishop McGuinness claiming the top spot in 2014 . Winston-Salem Prep also won state championships in 2008 and 2009.
The fall isn’t any different.
Wake Forest’s Franklin Academy beat Community School of Davidson in the boys soccer state final last season.
Both boys tennis state title matchups the past two years have featured all-nontraditional programs with Raleigh Charter beating Charlotte-area Pine Lake Prep last season and Bishop McGuinness beating Raleigh Charter in 2014. The singles final was an all-nontraditional affair. Doubles teams from nontraditional schools have won four of the last five with Bishop McGuiness taking three (2011-2012, 2014) and Raleigh Charter winning last year.
Nontraditional schools have won the last five girls cross country state championships with Bishop McGuinness winning two (2012-2013) and Lake Norman Charter, Community School of Davidson and Gray Stone Day each claiming one. Nontraditional schools made up the top five finishers in 2013, six of the top eight in 2014 and five of the top six last year.
Nontraditional schools have won four of the last seven boys cross country state crowns with Gray Stone Day taking it all in 2009 and Bishop McGuinness earning three straight from 2012-2014. Nontraditional schools made up five of the top six finishers in 2013 and the top four in 2014. A traditional school actually won the state title last season (imagine that) with Walkertown gaining the accolade. The next four finishers were nontraditional schools.
Football is the just about the only sport left that hasn’t been dominated by the nontraditional schools. No charter school has ever reached a state championship game.
But just wait. It’s coming. And it’s coming soon.
Pine Lake Prep failed to win a game in its inaugural season two years ago, losing its 10 contests by an average of 37.8 points. The Pride went 10-2 last fall and qualified for the playoffs.
Community School of Davidson was also in its third season last fall. The Spartans went 12-3 and defeated Thomas Jefferson Academy (10-3) in the third round to advance to the east regional final where they fell just three points shy of advancing to the 1A state championship game, losing to Robbinsville 30-27.
There are plenty of 1A programs in this state that have been around for 50 years or more and never even gotten a sniff of a regional final. And this school did it in three years. I cannot express how difficult that is. It should serve as quite the reminder regarding the advantages these schools enjoy.
And when four nontraditional programs are vying for state titles in the 1A state basketball finals in a week and a half … well … that should serve as quite the reminder as well.
Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2016 11:45 am
J.J. SMITH | 1 comment
Welcome to the recent past, present and future of N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A sports where nontraditional athletic programs from charter, magnet and private Catholic schools dominate the state championship landscape.
A week and a half from now, we’re likely to have two matchups of nontraditional schools in the 1A state basketball final.
In the boys final, it looks as if Durham Voyager Academy is on course to face Winston-Salem Prep. In the girls final, it’s shaping up to be Roxboro Community School versus Winston-Salem Prep.
Durham Voyager Academy and Roxboro Community School are charter schools, while Winston-Salem Prep is a magnet school.
Four of the eight teams remaining in the boys regional semifinals on Tuesday were nontraditional programs, including Durham’s Kestrel Heights and Charlotte-area Lincoln Charter. Three of the final four teams remaining are nontraditional programs, including Lincoln Charter.
It’s been this way for a while now. And it’s going to this way for a very long time. Welcome to the future of 1A basketball, and sports, for that matter. Will a traditional 1A school ever win another basketball state title? It doesn’t look good.
If not for East Carteret beating Winston-Salem Prep last year in the boys state final, the Phoenix would be on track to go for their fifth straight state crown and sixth in the last nine years. The Phoenix girls also won a state ring last year to give the school five state basketball championships in its 12-year history.
That seems reasonable (please note obvious sarcasm).
They’ve made winning basketball state titles look easy.
I assure you, it’s not.
Although they aren’t in the 1A ranks, let’s take a look at our neighbors to the west in Craven County to see how difficult it is to win a basketball state crown. Havelock, New Bern and West Craven have each been around for more than 50 years, and each is known to produce outstanding athletes in a variety of sports. These athletic programs are absolutely stacked with talent. And they’ve never won a basketball state championship.
If Winston-Salem Prep and Durham Voyager Academy meet in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 12, it will give the 1A boys its second all-nontraditional matchup in the past three years. The Phoenix defeated Rocky Mount Prep two years ago in the state final.
And thanks to Winston-Salem Prep’s victory last year over Riverside, the 1A girls state championship has been won for 10 straight years by a nontraditional school. Kernersville’s Bishop McGuinness, a private Catholic school located less than half an hour from both Winston-Salem and Greensboro, won nine state rings in a row prior to last year. Bishop McGuiness also won the boys state title in 2009.
I don’t think all this winning in basketball has anything to do with the “R” word. Maybe I’m naïve, I’m not sure. But I don’t think these programs “recruit.” There is no need to because they already have an inherent advantage over the rest of the field.
They are metropolitan 1A schools, which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. There should be no such thing. Historically, 1A schools have been from mostly rural, small towns with clear and strict district lines. These charter, magnet and private Catholic schools enjoy open enrollment and can pull student-athletes from large population centers.
Hence the reason these programs win at such startling rates and in such short amounts of time after breaking ground.
There shouldn’t be 1A schools in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Rocky Mount, etc. This division should belong to Beaufort, Trenton, Bayboro, Chocowinity, Weldon, Plymouth, Camden, Williamston, Burgaw, Whiteville, Pilot Mountain, Robbins, Bryson City, Murphy, Cherokee and the other 50 or so small towns that make it up.
Unfortunately for these traditional schools, the charters, magnets and private Catholic schools are here to stay.
The charters, taxpayer-funded public schools that are exempt from some of the regulations that traditional public schools must follow, are growing at an amazingly high rate. There are 30 or so in the N.C. High School Athletic Association, and there are going to be more.
According to a story last week in the News & Observer, Wake County’s charter-school enrollment has increased 54 percent in the past three years to reach 9,577 students this school year. In Mecklenburg County, charter schools are projected to add 2,672 students next year. That is well ahead of the 504 new students projected for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.
These nontraditional schools are here. They are here to win, and win big. And not just in basketball.
Take a look at spring sports.
Bishop McGuinness has won the last five boys golf state titles. Last year, five of the top seven teams at the state meet were nontraditional schools.
Nontraditional schools have won three state championships in a row in girls soccer with Lake Norman Charter, Community School of Davidson and Raleigh Charter earning titles. Two of those three were all-nontraditional matchups with Lake Norman Charter beating Raleigh Charter in 2013 and Raleigh Charter beating Bishop McGuinness last season. The last five state finals have involved a nontraditional school, as well as seven of the last nine.
The last two girls tennis state championships have been all-nontraditional school affairs with Bishop McGuinness winning both. The Villains defeated Raleigh Charter last season and Durham Voyager Academy in 2014. Singles and doubles state crowns have been won by players from nontraditional schools for four straight seasons. Two of the singles and one of the doubles matches were all-nontraditional contests.
Nontraditional schools have won the last two girls track and field state titles with Winston-Salem Prep taking last year’s meet and Bishop McGuinness claiming the top spot in 2014 . Winston-Salem Prep also won state championships in 2008 and 2009.
The fall isn’t any different.
Wake Forest’s Franklin Academy beat Community School of Davidson in the boys soccer state final last season.
Both boys tennis state title matchups the past two years have featured all-nontraditional programs with Raleigh Charter beating Charlotte-area Pine Lake Prep last season and Bishop McGuinness beating Raleigh Charter in 2014. The singles final was an all-nontraditional affair. Doubles teams from nontraditional schools have won four of the last five with Bishop McGuiness taking three (2011-2012, 2014) and Raleigh Charter winning last year.
Nontraditional schools have won the last five girls cross country state championships with Bishop McGuinness winning two (2012-2013) and Lake Norman Charter, Community School of Davidson and Gray Stone Day each claiming one. Nontraditional schools made up the top five finishers in 2013, six of the top eight in 2014 and five of the top six last year.
Nontraditional schools have won four of the last seven boys cross country state crowns with Gray Stone Day taking it all in 2009 and Bishop McGuinness earning three straight from 2012-2014. Nontraditional schools made up five of the top six finishers in 2013 and the top four in 2014. A traditional school actually won the state title last season (imagine that) with Walkertown gaining the accolade. The next four finishers were nontraditional schools.
Football is the just about the only sport left that hasn’t been dominated by the nontraditional schools. No charter school has ever reached a state championship game.
But just wait. It’s coming. And it’s coming soon.
Pine Lake Prep failed to win a game in its inaugural season two years ago, losing its 10 contests by an average of 37.8 points. The Pride went 10-2 last fall and qualified for the playoffs.
Community School of Davidson was also in its third season last fall. The Spartans went 12-3 and defeated Thomas Jefferson Academy (10-3) in the third round to advance to the east regional final where they fell just three points shy of advancing to the 1A state championship game, losing to Robbinsville 30-27.
There are plenty of 1A programs in this state that have been around for 50 years or more and never even gotten a sniff of a regional final. And this school did it in three years. I cannot express how difficult that is. It should serve as quite the reminder regarding the advantages these schools enjoy.
And when four nontraditional programs are vying for state titles in the 1A state basketball finals in a week and a half … well … that should serve as quite the reminder as well.
