Weddington High rehires former state championship winner as boys basketball coach
A state championship boys basketball coach is returning to the sidelines at Weddington High.
Weddington athletic director Michael Hart said the school has hired Gary Ellington to replace Richard Carsner, who resigned from his position as a teacher and coach in Union County Public Schools.
Ellington, who has remained at the school as a teacher, resigned from his coaching job in May 2022 after leading the Warriors to back-to-back N.C. state championships, one in 3A and one in 4A. During that run, Weddington had a 49-game win streak.
The Warriors won the N.C. 3A state title in the 2020-21 season and won the 4A title in 2021-22, when they finished No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 poll.
After winning the 4A state title, Ellington, who coached at Weddington for 16 years, left to become a volunteer assistant coach at Queens University. He remained as a teacher at Weddington.
As a high school coach at Weddington, Ellington had a record of 285-139. In the 2021-22 season, Weddington was ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation.
Last season, under Carsner, the Warriors finished 13-12. The Warriors lost four of their final five games, including a first-round playoff contest with Lake Norman.
