By Patrick Love

Sports Editor

Fall results for the Wachovia Cup and the Wachovia Conference Cup races have been announced, and two Moore County high schools figure prominently in the standings.

Pinecrest sits atop the Wachovia Conference Cup standings for the Southeastern 4A Conference, while Union Pines is in first place in the Wachovia Conference Cup standings for the Cape Fear Valley 3A Conference.

Furthermore, Pinecrest ranks among the top 15 in the race for the overall Wachovia Cup awarded in the 4A classification.

The 31-year-old Wachovia Cup program recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall athletic performance in each of the N.C. High School Athletic Association's four classifications. The Wachovia Conference Cup, formerly known as the Wachovia Trophy, is a companion to the Wachovia Cup that is awarded to schools with the best overall athletic performance in each individual conference.

Fueled by a state semifinal appearance in boys' soccer, Pinecrest accumulated 87.5 Wachovia Cup points in the fall, good for a 14th-place showing in the Class 4A Wachovia Cup standings.

The team that ousted the Patriots from the boys' soccer playoffs, Green Hope, is in first place among 4A schools with 197.5 points, 42.5 points ahead of second-place Asheville T.C. Roberson (155).

Conference championships in boys' soccer and girls' golf, as well as a first-place tie in girls' tennis, propelled Pinecrest to the top of the Wachovia Conference Cup standings in the Southeastern Conference. The Patriots posted 38 points to second-place Lumberton's 25, followed by Scotland (24), Richmond (22), Purnell Swett (17.5) and Hoke (15.5).

Union Pines posted first-place finishes in boys' cross country and girls' tennis to accumulate 35 Wachovia Conference Cup points in the Cape Fear Valley Conference. Overhills is in second place with 32 points, followed by Western Harnett (29.5), Southern Lee (29), Gray's Creek (28.5), Westover (18) and Douglas Byrd (14).

Chapel Hill is in first place in the Class 3A Wachovia Cup standings with 247.5 points, five points better than second-place Cardinal Gibbons (242.5).

With 252.5 points, East Montgomery sits atop the Wachovia Conference Cup standings in the Yadkin Valley 1A Conference, fueled by a first-place finish in girls' tennis and a first-place tie in boys' soccer with Gray Stone, which is in second place in the Wachovia Conference Cup standings with 242.5 points. South Stanly is in third place with 235 points, followed by Albemarle (220), Chatham Central (202.5), North Moore (190), North Rowan (160) and South Davidson (160).

Three Yadkin Valley Conference schools are ranked in the top 15 in the Class 1A Wachovia Cup standings, led by Albemarle's fourth-place showing. Sparked by a 1AA state championship in football, the Bulldogs accumulated 140 Wachovia Cup points in the fall.

West Montgomery ranks 11th in the Class 1A Wachovia Cup standings with 90 points, while East Montgomery comes in 12th with 80 points.

Hendersonville sits atop the Class 1A Wachovia Cup standings with 182.5 points.

Standings in both races will be updated after the winter sports season.