Princeton HS receives NCHSAA Sportsmanship Award

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 1, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

CHAPEL HILL -- School administrators from Princeton High School received the 2014 Sportsmanship Award during the N.C. High School Athletic Association annual meeting held this morning at the Smith Center.

A Carolina 1-A Conference member, Princeton says its athletic program is based on the foundations of "integrity, honor, class, dignity, sportsmanship, team and love of family." Those roots begin with the coaching staff and extend through the athletes and fans.

"Like any competitive school, we desire to win," PHS athletics director Marty Gurganus said. "But winning in itself is not enough. We want to win with integrity and if we happen not to win, we want to be gracious in defeat. Our slogan is 'Princeton Pride - A Way of Life.'

"Princeton Pride is not just a slogan, but those words represent who we are. It is the way we feel and the principles we live by. Sportsmanship is about honoring each other and our opponent, along with the officials who help bring order to each event."

School administrators encourage the cheerleaders to cheer for their teams and never against the other team. They also encourage their cross country runners while out on the trail if an opponent is hurt and needs someone to care for them, then caring for them is more important than crossing the finish line.

Freedom HS received the Exemplary School Award.

"Freedom and Princeton have set themselves apart during the 2013-14 academic year by earning these prestigious honors," said Goldsboro native Davis Whitfield, commissioner of the Association. "We applaud their commitments in the areas of sportsmanship and overall excellence."

The awards are given as a cooperative venture among the NCHSAA, the N.C. Coaches Association and the N.C. Athletic Directors Association. In addition to a trophy and a banner for display at the respective schools, each school receives a $1,000 cash award.

* Also:

-- During its spring meeting Wednesday, the NCHSAA Board of Directors adopted mercy rules for football and basketball effective in 2014-15. Running clocks will now be implemented during football games when a team is ahead by 42 points and in basketball when a team is ahead by 40 points.

The Association added that the coaches can mutually agree to end the game once a team invokes the mercy rule. The only difference in basketball is that the clock will stop on timeouts.

-- More than 80 percent of school principals surveyed requested the Association to eliminate the pod seeding system from the 1-A (small-school) football playoffs. The motion was passed.