Raiders claim first Cup

Published 3:45 pm Monday, June 26, 2023

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For the first time in school history, Pungo Christian Academy is a Wells Fargo Cup Champion.

PCA was announced as the 1A winner at the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s annual summer Athletic Director and Sports Medicine conference at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Athletic Director Logan Van Staalduinen was there to receive the award, along with AD’s from the other winning schools: O’Neal School (2A), Forsyth Country Day (3A) and Providence Day school (4A).

“This has been a goal of ours since I stepped foot on campus and I’m so proud of our athletes and coaches for all the work they put in to help our school win this award,” said Van Staalduinen. “I can’t take any credit for it; the kids are the ones who won the games and took PCA to the top of 1A athletics in our association.”

To win a Wells Fargo Cup, a school must advance to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs to earn points. The farther the teams go in the postseason, the more points each school earns.

PCA was in fifth place at the end of the fall season, with volleyball earning 50 points for winning the state title, while boys soccer and girls tennis combined to earn 45 points for advancing to the quarterfinals.

The Raiders moved into fourth place after the winter season, with girls basketball earning 37.5 points for their Final Four run and boys basketball earning 22.5 points for their quarterfinal appearance.

It was the spring sports that brought home the trophy for Pungo, as softball won the 1A state championship (50 points) while girls soccer and baseball combined to score 75 points for their Final Four runs to bring PCA’s final score to 280, which is also a school record.

Cape Fear Christian Academy of Erwin (260) finished second, while Crossroads Christian School of Henderson was third (242.5)