Mitchell Oakley: State championships abound this spring

My daughter and her family live in the foothills of western North Carolina. Since becoming a member of the opposite side of the state her allegiances, which used to be Ayden-Grifton High School and the east side of the state, have gradually shifted.

Of course, with two boys in the family, both of whom played football and wrestled at the school they attended, I suppose it is to be expected for her to root for western teams and believe they are always the best in the state. And she has a daughter who will be in high school next year who has a propensity toward playing volleyball and softball.

Over the past four years my daughter has repeatedly said that wrestling in western North Carolina is much stronger on the 2A level, specifically, than in eastern North Carolina. She’s been right on that point. The western 2A teams seem to outgun the eastern teams during the four years that I’ve followed my wrestling grandsons.

I guess I still possess my loyalty for our eastern teams for the most part. Of course, I will always be happy if my grandkids’ school does well. I pull for them, no doubt.

The spring championships in North Carolina among high schools have just been completed. The East and West split the championships in softball. Garner won the 4A women’s softball championship while South Brunswick won the 3A title. Of note, Pitt County’s own South Central lost to South Brunswick in the eastern championship round. Softball seems solid in the east. The western teams of Southwestern Randolph (2A) and East Wilkes (1A) won their respective state softball titles.

In baseball Uwharrie Charter, a western team, won over eastern neighbor Northside Pinetown, the eastern victor for the 1A title. Our Greene Central High School won the 2A baseball crown. East Rowan, another western team, defeated Pitt County’s South Central for the 3A baseball title. Finally, the 4A state title was won by T.C. Roberson over a Wilmington Ashley squad. That’s three western victors to just one eastern winner. Should I suggest that one section of the state is better than the other? Of course, from this list I suppose we could ask eastern teams to tighten up and do what it takes to get all four titles next year. But I won’t.

I have been around sports for much of my life in one way or another. I’ve covered a variety of sports, from little league to high school, starting in my junior year of high school. I have coached and helped coach sports to include young men and women teams. I have worked football and basketball games as a PA announcer at Ayden-Grifton. I enjoyed my interactions in all the areas I’ve mentioned. In my retirement years, I haven’t been around to personally view those things as I once did. Yet, I continue to follow sports in other ways.

I write all this to simply say that all things can change in sports on a dime. I’ve seen winless teams go undefeated the next season. I’ve seen dynasties built, like the one going on with Farmville men’s basketball right now, only to see those dynasties to become one of the average teams again. Great players and great coaches do not always happen together and neither come along every year. Whether a team wins or loses from one year to the next is sometimes very unpredictable. One negative occurrence can end a team’s chances and one positive thing can make a team a title contender.

So, is the west better than the east in sports? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to name every state champ in every sport for this school year just to find out who outperforms whom. Instead, I’m going to wish ’em all well.