Cardinal Gibbons, Apex and East Chapel Hill get first round byes in N.C. High School Athletic Association girls lacrosse playoffs.

Fuquay-Varina baseball pitcher Craig Mitchell and Broughton girls basketball player Emily Newton are among three athletes who will be honored next week with the  North Carolina High School Athletic Association's  A.J. “Tony” Simeon Courage Award.

Both of them have been profiled in the News & Observer this year.

Jenna Huff of North Stanly High, who helped an opposing cross country runner to the finish line, is  the first recipient of the North Carolina Spirit of Sport Award presented by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association

NCHSAA boys and girls lacrosse championships are scheduled for May 14.

NCHSAA golf regionals are scheduled for next Monday, May 2. Pinehurst No. 6 will be the 4-A championship course on May 9-10.

WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary will be the site of the NCHSAA girls soccer championship games on May 27-28.

NCHSAA softball championships set for June 4.

N.C. State and the Carolina Mudcats' Five County Stadium are scheduled to be the hosts of the NCHSAA baseball finals on June 3-4.

Broughton High boys and girls soccer coach Izzy Hernandez has been named as one of eight high school coaches in North Carolina who makes a difference.

Hernandez will be one of eight high school coaches presented the annual Homer Thompson Memorial Award by the NCHSAA at its annual meeting on May 5.

The North Carolina Athletic Directors Association held its annual conference this week in Wilmington.

Powell Latimer of the Wilmington Star-News was there to report on most of the NCADA's events, including some interesting quotes by N.C. High School Athletic Association president Davis Whitfield.