Eight area high school lacrosse players, including four from Cardinal Gibbons, have been named to the U.S. Lacrosse All-America boys high school lacrosse team.
The Crusaders, 22-0 and the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A/2A/3A champion, placed attacker Gannon Morrison, midfielder Robbie Lavelle, defender Chris Lappin and keeper Kevin McKendry on the team.
East Chapel Hill attacker Ian Levin and midfielder Ellis Llewellyn also were chosen, along with Apex midfielder Colby Lallicker and Broughton defender Hayden Lovett.
The eight were also named to the N.C. Lacrosse Coaches’ all-state first-team.
Reid wins honors: Cardinal Gibbons High senior Morgan Reid was named the state girls soccer player of the year by the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association.
Reid scored 22 goals and had nine assists during the Crusaders’ 21-2-2 season despite missing two early-season games while playing basketball and two playoff games while training with the U.S. U-20 national tam.
She had been named as the N.C. Gatorade girls’ soccer Gatorade player previously.
All-state soccer: Chapel Hill, the NCHSAA 3A girls champion, landed three players on the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association 3A all-state team.
Senior forward Alex Kimball and senior defenders Megan Deli and Laura Sullivan were chosen by the coaches.
Joining them on the 3A club are Cardinal Gibbons’ Megan Goudy and Morgan Reid, and Erwin Triton’s Morgan Goff.
Leesville Road placed three players on the 4A team while NCHSAA 4A runner-up Panther Creek and Millbrook had two selections each.
Leesville seniors Mary Kate Bower and Sydney Wooten, and sophomore Madison Hoffman were joined by Millbrook senior Cailyn Boch and freshman Claire Griffiths.
Panther Creek, which lost in overtime to Cornelius Hough in the title game, landed junior keeper Celeste Barnard and junior midfielder Courtney Cash.
Other area 4A players on the team were Holly Springs senior Dominique Babbitt, Northern Durham junior Nicole Crutchfield, Wakefield junior Kat McDonald and Sanderson senior Amy Owens.
Recruiting: Khai Chandler of Garner, a 5-foot-10 girls’ basketball player, has signed with Francis Marion (S.C.) University. She averaged 15.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.0 steals per game as a senior and was an All-Greater Neuse River pick.
Baseball finals: The NCHSAA 1A and 3A baseball championship series will be played at Five County Stadium near Zebulon on Friday and Saturday. Whiteville (24-5) plays East Surry (30-0) in the first game of the 1A title series at 5 p.m., while Hampstead Topsail (19-8) takes on Monroe Piedmont (21-8) at 8 p.m., in 3A.
UNC Greensboro is the host of the 2A and 4A championships. Midway (25-4) plays Bunker Hill (26-5) at 8 p.m., in 2A and Richmond County (23-7-1) takes on West Forsyth (27-5) at 5 p.m., in 4A.
Softball finals: All of the NCHSAA softball championship series will be played at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek softball complex. The teams will begin the best of three series on Friday night and play the second game at 11 a.m. on Saturday. A third game, if needed, will be on Saturday afternoon.
The matchups are: Fayetteville Cape Fear (26-1) vs. Alexander Central (33-0) in 4A; Pikeville Aycock (21-3) vs. Monroe Sun Valley (24-5) in 3A; Siler City Jordan-Matthews (23-4) vs. East Rutherford (25-3) in 2A; and Whiteville (25-6) vs. North Stokes (26-3) in 1A.