Princeton is Carolina 1A leader in Wells Fargo Conference Cup competition

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 22, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Two conference championships and runner-up finishes in two additional sports has made Princeton the hunted upon completion of the Wells Fargo Carolina 1-A Conference Cup fall season.

The Bulldogs swept the men's and women's cross country crowns, and took second in volleyball and football. The four strong performances helped account for a 32-28 advantage over archrival Rosewood.

"We are very happy to finish the fall sports season leading in the Wells Fargo (Conference) Cup points," Princeton athletics director Marty Gurganus said. "We have a great respect for all the schools in the Carolina 1-A Conference, so we know what a privilege it is to be leading at this time.

"Our fall coaching staff did a great job preparing our athletes for conference competition and our kids performed well. But we know we have to work hard to keep that lead and finish on top by the end of the year."

Lakewood, the regular-season and tournament champ in volleyball, leads Sampson County rival Hobbton by one point -- 25-24 -- for third place. Spring Creek, which won the boys' soccer title for the seventh time in the last nine years, is two points back in fifth place.

Regular-season football champ James Kenan is sixth with 20 points. North Duplin (15 points) and second-year member Neuse Charter (2) complete the eight-team league.

North Lenoir has emerged as the Eastern Carolina 2-A front-runner after claiming first in women's cross country. The Hawks lead Greene Central by two points after the Rams earned regular-season crowns in boys' soccer and girls' tennis.

South Lenoir is third with 17 points. Football champion Ayden-Grifton (13 points), Kinston (10) and Goldsboro (9) round out the six-team conference.

Charles B. Aycock is the leader among the 3-A schools in the split-classification Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference. The Golden Falcons won their 31st league title in women's tennis and accrued 21.5 points.

Eastern Wayne wound up in a three-way tie for second place in football and collected 18 points. Southern Wayne has 13 points.

New Bern is the overall leader with 40.5.

The Wells Fargo Conference Cup recognizes schools with the best overall interscholastic athletic performance within individual conferences. In most conferences, points are awarded based on participation and standings in conference play.

Each league determines its own method of awarding points.