by Chris Hunt

Davidson Day students make All-American Bowl

Davidson Day football players Ronald Albritton and Mark Fields have been selected to play in the 2011 Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl.

The game will be played in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 9. Albritton, an eighth-grade offensive tackle, and Fields, an eighth-grade cornerback from Huntersville, were scheduled to be honored with a special jersey presentation Oct. 14 at Davidson Day.

The Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl honors the top seventh- and eighth-graders in the nation. The event is modeled after the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, one of the nation’s premier high school football game for 12th-graders.

Hopewell lacrosse coach resigns

Hopewell boys club varsity lacrosse coach Dan McMahon has resigned.

Hopewell athletics director Jamie Billings said in an e-mail that McMahon left the program to take a “job as a youth lacrosse director” elsewhere.

McMahon led the Titans to five victories in the program’s first two seasons. The Titans finished 4-11 last spring.

North Meck girls soccer honored

Members of the North Mecklenburg High School girls soccer team were honored with the presentation of their Class 4A state championship rings during halftime of the football team’s home game against Providence High on Sept. 17.

Nineteen of the 22 Vikings returned for the event, including four of six players who graduated in June and six more who transferred to newly opened Hough High. Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain and North Meck Principal Joey Burch presented the awards to the players.

“It was really fun because it was a reunion of sorts for our team,” North Meck soccer coach Neil Roberts said.

Iron kids return home

On Oct. 3, seven Huntersville and Cornelius youth triathletes made the trip to the IronKids National Championship in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Riley Gallagher (Huntersville), Hallie Amat (Huntersville), Hannah Wilder (Cornelius), Taylor Hughes (Huntersville), Brandon Ellington (Cornelius), Malia Ellington (Cornelius) and Hannah Ellington (Cornelius) qualified for the event for children ages 6 to 15 this summer after finishing at least eighth in regional meets in Raleigh and Alpharetta, Georgia.

Malia Ellington brought home the gold with a time of 42 minutes, 24 seconds in the 300-meter swim, 8-mile bike ride and 2-mile run race for girls ages 12 to 15. Taylor Hughes finished fourth (45:55) and Hannah Ellington was 13th (50:28) in the 12-year-old girls division.

In the 9- to 11-year-old race, which included a 150-meter swim, 4-mile bike ride and 1-mile run, Hallie Amat finished 36th with a time of 29:11, while Riley Gallagher came 21st (27:38) in the 10-year-old girls race. Brandon Ellington cracked the top 10 in the 10-year-old boys event, turning in a ninth-place effort (25:33).

Cornelius-Davidson set for youth basketball

The Towns of Cornelius and Davidson will hold registration for their 14th seasons of youth basketball. Sign-ups for the 2010-11 season will start Oct. 31, a Sunday. The program is open to boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18. Eighteen-year-old players must still be enrolled in high school to be eligible for competition.

Registration is available by visiting www.corneliuspr.org, in-person at Cornelius Town Hall or the Davidson Parks & Recreation office. The fee is $55 for residents in the 5- and 6-year-old instructional division and $70 for all other divisions. The non-resident fee is $75 and $90, respectively.

Skills assessments will be held

Nov. 10-15. Practices and games begin in December, with practices being held on weeknights and games played on Saturdays. For more information, visit www.corneliuspr.org or contact the Cornelius PARC Department at 704-892-6031 ext. 160, or the Davidson Parks and Recreation Department at 704-892-3349.

Meineke bowl tickets on sale

Tickets for the ninth-annual Meineke Car Care Bowl now are on sale.

College football’s first bowl game to call the Carolinas home, the Meineke Car Care Bowl takes place Dec. 31 at Bank of America Stadium. The 12 p.m. game features the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Big East Conference.

Upper-level seats are $40, while lower-level seats are $75. Individual tickets can be purchased by visiting any TicketMaster outlet in the Southeast, visiting www.ticketmaster.com or calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the Carolina Panthers’ box office at Bank of America Stadium.

Club Level seats are only available through ticket and sponsorship packages by calling1-800-618-8149 or visiting www.meinekecarcarebowl.com.