Thank you to all the teams that participated this weekend. We dodged the weather all the way up to the final, which was played in a steady rain.
All coaches, players and parents were very supportive and everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.
Congratulations to Irmo (coach Josh Puryear) and TL Hanna who were fantastic all weekend and gave us a great final match. Very sorry that TLH coach Katelyn Davis had to miss today's championship due to a death in the family. Big props to my friend Craig Joyner for hopping in the car early this morning (after what had to be a late night of St. Patrick's Day "fellowship") and covering for Katelyn.
Thanks to Mark Weaver for bringing back Ashley Ridge for a second consecutive year and BIG THANKS to Chris Fryland who brings Lexington every year. Chris always asks for the toughest matches I can give him and come May, his Lady Wildcats are ready for a run at the 4A state title.
As always, many thanks to our four York County teams: Fort Mill, Nation Ford, Northwestern and Clover. Nation Ford and Clover also provided us with a very competitive 3rd place match this afternoon.
First Presbyterian Day (Macon, GA) was a first-class team as usual and we are grateful that the 14 North Carolina teams cleared room on their schedules in order to participate. Charlotte Catholic, Myers Park, Weddington, Providence, Marvin Ridge and South Mecklenburg were all exceptional. AC Reynolds (Asheville, NC) would be in that category as well but they have been decimated by injury, most recently losing Shenny Lenhart (CESA Premier 94) and Sydney Maddox (CESA Premier 93). We wish both girls a speedy recovery.
Many thanks to our sponsor, Wells Fargo (Vilda Bird - the tents came in handy!), the staff at Manchester Meadows (Bill Berry, Richard Stutts), Fort Mill athletic trainers (Ben Merritt, Katie Runyon), Fort Mill Invitational Tournament Committee (Beth Parker, Gary Hatherly, Jamie Van Buskirk, Stephanie Rich), all of the Fort Mill parent volunteers (too many to list), volunteer scoreboard operators (Rick Fielden, Grayson Bagwell), ball girls (Fort Mill girls JV team), referees (Rick Rogers), tournament program designer (Jerry Howell) and printer (Mike Brown) and The Rock Hill Herald (Jason Chisari).
Last, but certainly not least, special thanks to the tournament photographers Phil Polito (Fort Mill) and Mike Witherspoon (Nation Ford) who worked the entire event and posted thousands of pictures available for viewing and downloading for FREE at:
http://www.mcwimages.com/Sports/Fort-Mill-Invitational-SoccerCan't thank these two guys enough!