NCHSAA championship recap: 5 Charlotte-, 2 Raleigh-area teams claim state titles
The 2024-25 high school sports season in North Carolina is complete.
On Saturday, five Observer-area teams won state championships.
State champions included: North Lincoln baseball, Union Academy softball and three girls’ soccer teams: Mountain Island Charter, Pine Lake Prep and Ardrey Kell.
We’ve got a complete report from all the championships below.
Quick links
Ardrey Kell wins second 4A girls soccer title
Mountain Island Charter wins 1A girls’ soccer
Pine Lake Prep wins 2A girls soccer
Cardinal Gibbons tops Lake Norman, wins 4A boys’ lacrosse
Cardinal Gibbons tops Weddington win 4A girls’ lacrosse
Western Alamance stops South Point in 3A girls’ soccer
Croatan stops Lake Norman Charter in boys’ lacrosse
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North Lincoln wins NCHSAA 3A baseball title
North Lincoln scored on a bunt in the seventh inning to win the N.C. 3A state championship, in three games, over Greenville’s JH Rose.
In Game 1, North Lincoln lost a three-run lead in the final inning, but shut Rose out in two games Saturday — 2-0 in Game 2 and 1-0 in Game 3 — to win the state title.
Beckett Rinkus had the game-winning RBI in the deciding Game 3, and North Lincoln pitcher Cason McGinnis threw a two-hitter.
Rose, which won the 2021 3A state title, ends its season at 28-6.
At one point this season, North Lincoln was 9-8, but the Knights ran off 12 straight wins to get to the state championship. They end the season at 23-9.
Ardrey Kell soccer wins another state title
Ardrey Kell won the NCHSAA 4A state title for the second time in three years Saturday at Matthews Sportsplex, beating Wilmington’s Ashley High 2-1 in the final.
Ashley, which lost to Ardrey Kell in the 2023 final, has lost three straight state finals by one goal each.
Union Academy wins NCHSAA 1A softball title
Union Academy won its second NCHSAA state championship in three years Saturday, beating Perquimans in two games during the teams’ best-of-3 series in Durham.
Friday night, Union Academy dominated, winning Game 1, 10-0. Saturday, Union Academy won 4-1, but it was a little tougher.
The Cardinals (29-1) were up 4-0 in the sixth of seven scheduled innings and cruising, but that’s when Perquimans (27-6) made it interesting.
The Pirates ended Union Academy’s 50-inning streak of not giving up a run, scoring in the sixth inning when it got runners on the corners and the runner on first feigned stealing second, bringing the Union Academy catcher out of the box and forcing a throw to second. That allowed the Perquimans runner to score from third.
With a runner on first and one out, Perquimans got its second hit of the game and got runners on first and second with one out. On a 3-2 pitch, Coastal Carolina commit Avery Wilson got her 18th strikeout of the weekend and forced a foul ball pop fly out with her very next pitch.
Wilson finished with 20 strikeouts for the weekend, including 11 Saturday.
Pine Lake Prep wins 2A soccer title
Pine Lake Prep is a girls’ soccer state champion.
The Mooresville school stayed hot with a 2-1 victory over Franklin Academy to win the North Carolina 2A girls’ soccer title Saturday at Mecklenburg County SportsPlex.
Cardinal Gibbons boys’ lacrosse stops Lake Norman in 4A final
Cardinal Gibbons scored four third-quarter goals and hung on Saturday for a 10-8 victory over Lake Norman in the boys’ 4A lacrosse state championship in Durham.
It was the second consecutive state runner-up finish for Lake Norman.
Cardinal Gibbons girls’ lacrosse stops Weddington in 4A final
Gibbons scored 11 goals in the second half of an easy state championship win.
Mountain Island Charter soccer wins 1A state soccer title
Mountain Island Charter’s girls’ soccer team won its first NC state championship Saturday at the Matthews Sportsplex, beating Wake Prep in the NCHSAA 1A final.
Western Alamance wins 3A soccer
Western Alamance 1, South Point 0, 3A finals: Western Alamance, making its first appearance in the NCHSAA state finals, beat South Point in Matthews Friday.
Western Alamance’s boys also won the state title during the 2024-25 school year.
Croatan stops Lake Norman Charter in boys’ lacrosse
Croatan ended Lake Norman Charter’s three-year reign as NCHSAA state champions Friday in Durham. The Cougars scored a goal with 20 seconds remaining and became the first team from outside the Charlotte or Raleigh metro areas to win a boys’ lacrosse state championship.
Union Pines wins 1A/2A/3A girls’ lacrosse
Union Pines beat Bishop McGuiness 18-8 Friday night to repeat as NCHSAA girls’ 1A/2A/3A girls’ lacrosse state champions. It was a rematch of the 2024 final.
Ellie Powell scored three times and assisted on two other goals in the second to push the Union Pines lead to 10-3 at halftime. Powell, who was named the Most Valuable Player for the game, added two more goals to start the third quarter. The Vikings led 15-3 after Rachel Adams’ goal with 3:43 left in the third quarter, capping a 12-0 run.
Bishop McGuinness’s Kathleen Dennen and Morgan Aho scored the final five goals for the Villains as they outscored Union Pines 5-3 once the run ended but they could not overcome the deficit.
Baseball recaps
CLASS 3A
Game 1 (Friday) — Greenville Rose 5, North Lincoln 4: J.H. Rose scored four times in the bottom of the seventh inning and stunned North Lincoln in Game 1 of the Class 3A finals.
North Lincoln committed two throwing errors on the final play of the game, allowing Rose to get the tying and winning runs.
North Lincoln, which entered the game on a 10-game winning streak, had scored twice in the top of the seventh for a 4-1 lead. Grayson Evans singled, stole second, then scored when Cason McGinnis singled to right field. The J.H. Rose outfielder allowed the ball to get past him, and McGinnis ran around the bases to score.
The Knights lifted starting pitcher Jack Wuerdeman for reliever Brady Rinkus in the bottom of the seventh, and J.H. Rose came alive. Owen Simmons drove in one run with a triple, then scored on a fielder’s choice. That cut North Lincoln’s lead to 4-3.
DeMarcus McCray walked, and John Robinson followed with a walk. McGinnis entered in relief of Rinkus and struck out Ethan Simmons. But catcher Elliott Dellinger dropped the third strike, and Simmons took off for first base. Dellinger’s throw went into right field, and McCray ran home for the tying run. The throw to the plate was wild, too, and Robinson came home with the winning run.
CLASS 4A
Saturday (Game 2) T.C. Roberson 8, Laney 7: Roberson became the first 4A team ever to win three straight state championships, rallying for a Game 2 victory and a series sweep Saturday.
Laney led 4-0 early, but the Rams battled back. They went ahead 7-5 in the sixth inning on Caden Davidson’s two-run home run and added an eighth run later in the inning on a bases-loaded walk. Laney scored twice in the seventh but couldn’t tie it up.
T.J. Zierman hit a triple and a two-run homer for Laney.
Friday (Game 1) T.C. Roberson 12, Laney 0: Two-time defending 4A state champion T.C. Roberson moved within one victory of a three-peat, blanking Laney in a game called after six innings due to the 10-run rule.
Rams’ pitcher Micah Simpson fired a three-hitter, striking out seven, and he led the offense with two hits and three RBI. Parker Filipek also had a pair of hits and three RBI, and Zeb Swangim scored three times.
Game 2 of the series will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday at Burlington Athletic Park.
CLASS 2A
Game 2 (Saturday) East Rutherford 11, South Lenoir 0: The Cavaliers completed a 30-1 season by sweeping South Lenoir for the state championship. East Rutherford broke it open with five runs in the second inning. Jacob Lee pitched a complete-game victory,.
Matthew Pinkerton had three hits, drove in two runs, and scored once. The series Most Valuable Player was Malachi Dato, winning pitcher in Game 1. Dato had a hit and an RBI Saturday.
Game 1 (Friday) — East Rutherford 4, South Lenoir 3: East Rutherford (29-1) took Game 1 of the 2A finals with a close win. The Cavaliers won their third straight game, as Malachi Dato pitched a complete-game victory.
CLASS 1A
Game 3 (Saturday) — Uwharrie Charter 6, Perquimans 0: The Eagles came back with two victories Saturday and captured their third consecutive 1A state championship in three games. Uwharrie Charter also won the 1A baseball title in 2019.
Grant Dalton led the Eagles in the third game, with a third-inning RBI groundout and a two-run homer in the fourth. Jake Hunter pitched a complete-game six-hitter, walking just one and striking out five.
Game 2 (Saturday) — Uwharrie Charter 6, Perquimans 4: Uwharrie Charter scored six times in the first inning and held off Perquimans in Game 2 of the series, forcing a third game Saturday night. Alex Carver, Landon Zephir and Ty McAuley each had RBI hits for the Eagles in the first inning. Logan Wilkins pitched a complete game for Uwharrie Charter, scattering eight hits.
Game 1 (Friday) — Perquimans 4, Uwharrie Charter 1: Making their first appearance in a state championship series, the Pirates played solid baseball and won their 1A series opener.
Perquimans (26-6) scored once in the first inning, on Jacob Askew’s RBI single, then added three runs in the second on a Maddux Thach RBI single and a Alex Carver two-run triple.
Uwharrie Charter (18-12) loaded the bases in the sixth inning, but Perquimans starter Will Rucker retired the side with a strikeout and flyout.
Softball recaps
CLASS 4A
Game 2 (Saturday) — South Caldwell 6, D.H. Conley 3: The Spartans pulled away from Conley in the final innings for a victory and a sweep of the 4A best-of-three series. The big hit was Sydni Woodward’s two-run double in the fourth inning that broke a 2-2 tie.
Clemson commit McCartney Harrington, who had a key two-run hit in Game 1 and another RBI Saturday, was named Most Valuable Player of the Series.
Starting pitcher Maddy Moore got the victory, working 5 1/3 innings and scattering six hits.
It was the second state championship for South Caldwell, which also won in 2019.
Game 1 (Friday) — South Caldwell 3, D.H. Conley 1: South Caldwell won the opener of the 4A series at Duke Softball Stadium, scoring twice in the top of the seventh for the winning runs. Mallory Winebarger and McKenna Yount singled in the seventh, and McCartney Harrington then drove the ball to the right-center field wall, scoring Winebarger and Yount.
Spartans’ pitcher Zalee Brown retired Conley on seven pitches in the bottom of the seventh to get the complete-game victory.
CLASS 3A
Game 2 (Saturday) — Rockingham County 1, Scotland County 0 (9 innings): Lily Strittmatter doubled, and Kennedy Kirby followed with a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth innings Saturday, lifting the Cougars to a victory and their first softball state championship.
Ava Grace Pruitt pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out 10. Rockingham County (28-1) finished the season on a 27-game winning streak. Scotland County finished 29-3.
Game 1 (Friday) — Rockingham County 5, Scotland County 2: Macey Hardy went three-for-four, driving in three runs and scoring two, as Rockingham County won the opener of the Class 3A finals. Ava Grace Pruitt pitched a complete game for the winners, scattering five hits and striking out 12.
CLASS 2A
Game 2 (Saturday) — West Wilkes 3, North Lenoir 2: The Blackhawks completed a sweep of the series and won their second softball state championship. The first was in 2016, when West Wilkes was a 1A school.
The Blackhawks got their three runs in the fourth inning, on an RBI single by Leah Greene and then a series of errors that allow Greene and Aubrianna Nichols to score.
Game 1 (Friday) — West Wilkes 9, North Lenoir 1: Winning pitcher Kelsey Madden slammed a three-run home run in the third innings, went three-for-four, and drove in four runs for the Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Class 2A finals. Maddie Rouse homered for North Lenoir in the top of the first, but Madden allowed only three hits the rest of the way.
NCHSAA finals schedule
BASEBALL
State championship best-of-3 series
CLASS 4A
(at Burlington Athletic Park)
TC Roberson (27-6) vs. Laney (25-7)
Game 1: TC Roberson 12, Laney 0
Game 2: TC Roberson 8, Laney 7
CLASS 3A
(at Ting Stadium, Holly Springs)
North Lincoln (23-9) vs. J.H. Rose (28-6)
Game 1: J.H. Rose 5, North Lincoln 4
Game 2: North Lincoln 2, JH Rose 0
Game 3: North Lincoln 1, JH Rose 0
CLASS 2A
(at Burlington Athletic Park)
East Rutherford (30-1) vs. South Lenoir (23-6)
Game 1: East Rutherford 4, South Lenoir 3
Game 2: East Rutherford 11, South Lenoir 0
CLASS 1A
(at Ting Stadium, Holly Springs)
Uwharrie Charter (20-12) vs. Perquimans (26-8)
Game 1: Perquimans 4, Uwharrie Charter 1
Game 2: Uwharrie Charter 6, Perquimans 4
Game 3: Uwharrie Charter 6, Perquimans 0
SOFTBALL
State championship best-of-three series
CLASS 4A
(at Duke Softball Stadium, Durham)
South Caldwell (32-2) vs. D.H. Conley (23-7)
Game 1: South Caldwell 3, D.H. Conley 1
Game 2: South Caldwell 6, D.H. Conley 3
CLASS 3A
(at UNCG Softball Stadium, Greensboro)
Rockingham County (27-1) vs. Scotland County (32-2)
Game 1: Rockingham County 5, Scotland County 2
Game 2: Rockingham County 1, Scotland County 0
CLASS 2A
(at UNCG Softball Stadium, Greensboro)
West Wilkes (26-3) vs. North Lenoir (20-8)
Game 1: West Wilkes 9, North Lenoir 1
Game 2: West Wilkes 3, North Lenoir 2
CLASS 1A
(at Duke Softball Stadium, Durham)
Union Academy (29-1) vs. Perquimans County (27-6)
Game 1: Union Academy 10, Perquimans 0
Game 2: Union Academy 4, Perquimans 1
GIRLS’ SOCCER
CLASS 4A
Saturday’s state championship
(at Matthews Sportsplex)
Ardrey Kell 2, Ashley 1
CLASS 3A
Friday’s state championship
(at Matthews Sportsplex)
Western Alamance 1, South Point 0
CLASS 2A
Saturday’s state championship
(at Matthews Sportsplex)
Pine Lake Prep 2, Franklin Academy 1
CLASS 1A
Saturday’s state championship
(at Matthews Sportsplex)
Mountain Island Charter 5, Wake Prep 0
BOYS’ LACROSSE
State championship at Durham County Memorial Stadium
Cardinal Gibbons 10, Lake Norman 8
CLASS 1A-2A-3A
State championship at Durham County Memorial Stadium
Croatan 13, Lake Norman Charter 12
GIRLS’ LACROSSE
CLASS 4A
State championship at Durham County Memorial Stadium
Cardinal Gibbons 17, Weddington 7
CLASS 1A-2A-3A
State championship at Durham County Memorial Stadium
Union Pines 18, Bishop McGuinness 8
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 4:46 PM.
