Final WRAL Basketball Poll Yields 1 Surprise

Raleigh, N.C. — The final WRAL.com Top Ten Poll of the year has been posted, and there was at least one surprise.

The Tri-Eight Conference held the No. 1 spot the entire season, including the pre-season poll, and in that period of time, the Middle Creek Mustangs were the the No. 1 team each week except for one. The Panther Creek Catamounts held the No. 1 spot the other week, while Middle Creek was tied for second with Clayton.

The Apex Cougars never cracked the Top Ten Poll. That didn't stop Coach David Neal and his team from making a post season run all the way to the state championship game, and that was enough to propel the Cougars into the No. 1 spot in the final poll of the season.

After starting the season 4-9 overall, and 0-4 in the conference, the Cougars ended up tying for second place with Panther Creek. With the No. 3 seed in the Tri-Eight Conference Tournament, Apex lost to Cary in the first round.

The time off before the state tournament was long enough for Coach Neal to spark a fire under his players. In the first round, Apex traveled to Laurinburg where they knocked off No. 2 Scotland County. After that, Apex beat four No. 1 seeds on their way to the state championship.

During that stretch, Apex beat Terry Sanford and Jack Britt. The Bulldogs knocked out Apex's conference foe Panther Creek, while the Buccaneers beat Green Hope and Middle Creek.

Apex ended their season on Saturday night with a nine-point loss to East Mecklenburg in the state championship game in Raleigh. The Cougars have a final record of 19-12.

On the women's side of things, the Wakefield Wolverines continued their Triangle dominance in the post season before advancing all the way to the Eastern Regional Final. Coach Danielle Blackburn and company fell to eventual state champion Westover in the Regional Final.

Wakefield maintained the No. 1 seed in the WRAL Top Ten Poll the entire season. The Wolverines were undefeated until they lost to Westover, and they have many accomplishments to show for it.

Besides being undefeated in the regular season, Wakefield won the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational, the Cap-Seven regular season title, the Cap-Seven conference tournament, and they were Sectional Champions.

Wakefield has been a dominant force in women's basketball for several years, and Coach Blackburn told WRAL last week that their run in the post season has helped put their program on the map across the state.

The Wolverines had a very balanced attack, and they were also balanced age wise. Wakefield will return several key players next season, and they will likely be one of the top teams in the Triangle once again.

Wakefield finished their season with an impressive 30-1 overall record.

The 2008-09 WRAL.com Pre-Season Top Ten Poll will be released in November. To see who else made the final poll, click either the men's or women's link at the top right of this page.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN