Western Harnett Eagles Coverage

Croatan beats reigning champion Franklin in 3A boys indoor track state championship
Croatan had five first-place finishes in the 3A indoor track state championship, winning its second title in three years.

Here are the 2023 holiday basketball tournaments in North Carolina
Here is a list of each tournament, the teams that they feature, and where they take place. Many will start on Dec. 26.

The 2023 HighSchoolOT All-State Boys Cross Country Team
The fourth-annual HighSchoolOT boys cross country all-state team features 10 runners making a second, third, or fourth appearance on the team, including two runners who were repeat first-team selections.

Schools with the most NCHSAA girls cross country team and individual championships
Cardinal Gibbons has the most team titles (13) followed by Chapel Hill (12), T.C. Roberson (11), and Murphy (eight). Gibbons has the longest streak of championships, winning nine in a row from 2010-18.

Orange's Gabriel Schmid repeats as 3A cross country champion; Croatan wins team title
Gabriel Schmid gives the Panthers their first repeat individual champion since Bradsher Wilkins in 1997 and 1998, finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of second place.

South Central wins NCHSAA 3A girls golf title; South Brunswick's Fatkin claims individual championship
Some school history was made at South Central and South Brunswick in the NCHSAA 3A girls golf championships as one got its first team girls golf title and the other got its first individual girls golf champion.

Boys Soccer Watch List: the 910 area's best heading into 2023
The 910 boys soccer HSOT Watch List features one returning honorable mention all-state player.

Every reported NC high school football scrimmage happening this August
Send in information about scrimmage matchups, times, and locations to HighSchoolOT.

Western Harnett's Ian Bristow wins Stuart Scott Courage Award at HSOT Honors
Western Harnett senior Ian Bristow had a standout high school career in three sports before a car accident left him paralyzed from the chest down shortly after his junior year. But Bristow remained part of the athletic department this year, using his camouflage all-terrain wheelchair on the sidelines of football games - where he was also named homecoming king this year.

Western Harnett's Ian Bristow wins 2023 Stuart Scott Courage Award at HSOT Honors
Western Harnett High School's Ian Bristow was named the winner of the Stuart Scott Courage Award at the 2023 HSOT Honors ceremony in Downtown Raleigh.

New Western Harnett head football coach Michael James has connections to the area
Western Harnett High School hired Michael James to be the new head coach of its football program. James has spent a number of years under one of NC's top head coaches in Paul Hoggard, won a state championship in his year at Crest, and recently led Green Hope's strength program. He sat down with HighSchoolOT to share what attracted him to the job and his long-term plan for the Eagles.

New statewide softball rankings ahead of conference tournament week
HighSchoolOT has released its final Statewide Top 25 and area code softball rankings of the 2023 regular season. Conference tournaments start this week and state playoffs will begin the week after. There are not many changes to the Top 25. Bandys, Swansboro, East Columbus, and East Wilkes were the only schools to drop out.

Highlights: Neel, DeBerry combine for 34 strikeouts as Western Harnett defeats E.E. Smith softball
Katie Neel and Kevana DeBerry combine for 34 strikeouts as Western Harnett defeated E.E. Smith softball on April 27, 2023.

Red-hot Western Harnett softball downs E.E. Smith in strikeout showcase
The Western Harnett Eagles visited the E.E. Smith Golden Bullettes in All American Conference softball action on April 27, 2023.

Updated Softball Rankings: Six undefeated teams remain through Mid-April
HighSchoolOT has released updated statewide top 25 and area code top 15 softball rankings. There are some big changes after a couple of weeks of intense competition during spring break. Mutliple teams have fallen out of the statewide poll after losses: West Johnston, East Columbus, Richlands, South View, Mooresville, East Rowan, Scotland, and Southern Nash. D.H. Conley, East Lincoln, Bandys, Northside of Beaufort County, South Stokes, North Davidson, Marvin Ridge, and Bear Grass Charter joined.

Here are the top returning NCHSAA 3A receivers for the 2023 season
HighSchoolOT is diving into North Carolina-wide football preview content throughout the month of April. Today, we have a list of the top returning receivers in the N.C. High School Athletic Association's 3A classification.

Extra Effort: Family helps WHHS's Sydney Jackson develop into leader
Sydney Jackson is a team captain in softball, volleyball and basketball at Western Harnett High. But Jackson had to learn to be a leader, because she has two twin sisters, Olivia and Morgan, who are two years older.

New Softball Rankings: West Johnston climbs into statewide top 5
HighSchoolOT has released fresh softball rankings for the week of April 3. Multiple teams in last week's statewide Top 25 suffered a loss: Swansboro, South Stokes, South Caldwell, West Forsyth, Union Academy, Northwest Guilford, Richmond, and Roanoke Rapids. As a result, many teams have soared up this week's rankings.

Lucky 13: Trent Botts honors teammate by wearing his jersey, then leads team to comeback for first win
Western Harnett entered the week 0-7 overall and with an interim head coach. It started Friday's game down 18-0 to E.E. Smith after the first quarter. And yet, something special was brewing.