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Olympic's High's nationally ranked boys and Harding's powerhouse girls won N.C. state championships Saturday - and both made Mecklenburg County history.
Olympic's 56-53 win over Raleigh Broughton was the Trojans' first state title in basketball and just the second in school history. Olympic won the 1988 softball title. Olympic also became the first Mecklenburg County 4A team to go unbeaten since West Charlotte beat Broughton in the 1986 state championship game.
Harding's girls beat Chapel Hill 56-52. The Rams were only the second Mecklenburg County public school team to reach back-to-back NCHSAA state finals.
West Charlotte's girls lost in the 2008 N.C. 4A final, and the Lions won the 2009 state title.
Harding, which won the 2012 state title, became the first Mecklenburg County public school team to repeat as state champion. Harding ended its season at 24-4, on a 19-game win streak.
After going without an NCHSAA championship from the 1986-87 school year through 2004-05, Mecklenburg County has had a girls' team in either the 3A or 4A final in six of the past eight years, capturing five state titles: South Meck (4A, 2006), West Charlotte (4A, 2009), Butler (4A, 2010), Harding (3A, 2012, '13).
