Next athletic  season will be different than ever before because of a new conference realignment. 

Cardinal Gibbons, originally placed in the 6A classification, was allowed to move up to 7A after petitioning. The highest classification next year is 8A, as the number of classes is set to double.

For a student-athlete at Cardinal Gibbons, they have spent many years competing against the five other teams that competed along with Gibbons in the Cap-6 Conference, playing in the 4A class.

For many of these student-athletes, they have competed against friends who attend Broughton, Sanderson, Leesville Road, Enloe, or Athens Drive. This is changing as Gibbons will now compete against Cary, Holly Springs, Felton Grove, Middle Creek, and Sanderson in the Triangle Six Conference. 

Impact on the Athletes

Current sophomore basketball player Ty Lange is excited about the new rivalries in the new conference and the chance to play on new teams. 

“Playing in a strong conference will help me to reach my goals of playing at the next level,” said Lange.

Men’s lacrosse has been one of the most dominant teams in the state for the past years. Another dominant lacrosse team, Middle Creek, will be one of the teams in the Triangle Six Conference. This will create a conference rivalry that will build on the previous non-conference rivalry that these teams shared. 

“I think it will be good to have better competition in our conference like Middle Creek who we usually see late in the playoffs and we will now play twice a year,” said sophomore lacrosse player Carter Tupis.

Overall, the conference realignment will not change how our players play, but it will change the level of competition, while exposing us to new teams that we may not have played as often or played at all.

Impact on Football Coach, Steven Wright

For a coach, this also brings change to your program. Head football coach Steven Wright talked about the impact, change, and legacy left regarding his football program. 

Wright does not see an impact on his players or coaching staff regarding the conference realignment, however he detailed the new challenges and legacy left from his team.

“Like the coaching staff, I don’t really see the new alignment impacting our student-athletes in any significant way. We’re looking forward to the new challenge,” said Wright.

Wright is most looking forward to the new realignment’s non-conference, conference, and playoff challenges.

“I will miss the rivalry we had with Leesville through the years,” he added.

Regarding the team’s legacy in 4A overall, Gibbons football left quite the mark, winning a state championship in 2021 and participating in numerous regional finals.

 “We experienced a lot of success in the 4A classification, and certainly in the Cap-6 Conference,”  Wright said. “We played in five of the last six state semifinal games, three of the last six state championship games, and won nine of the last 10 conference titles and one of the state’s most successful 4A football programs over the last decade.  Our players dedicated a lot of time and effort to leave a legacy like that.”

Wright is excited for the upcoming year for the program and looks forward to the continued opportunity of proving themselves. 

Impact on the Athletic Director, Tonya Holmes

As athletics director, Tonya Holmes has to face many challenges regarding a big conference realignment.                                                      

From things such as scheduling and figuring out what’s best for the student-athletes, Holmes has a huge responsibility and has been the most significant factor in the realignment’s success for our school.

As a team that has won many state championships in the past few years, Gibbons wanted to be in a higher class than 6A. 

Holmes was a part of the team that petitioned to move Gibbons from their initial position in 6A to 7A. 

“The idea was to level out the playing field and give more opportunities for state championship caliber teams,” she said.

“It was really important to me and our staff, and our community to make sure I put us in a better position to be able to compete and to be able to stay amongst those schools that may not look like our size, but we have similar athletic opportunities.”Holmes also valued our school’s mission when petitioning Gibbons. 

“Being true to what our mission is and how our athletic program has done over the years, it was easy to sell and communicate why it would be beneficial for the state and for Cardinal Gibbons to play up,” Holmes said.

“It provides us an opportunity to reevaluate where our athletic program is and what we’re trying to accomplish, but it also keeps us in a really competitive opportunity.”

Holmes is excited to see new teams and build rivalries within the new conference, which will also promote a competitive nature across all sports.

Breaking Down the Landscape

Cary: Cary will provide a challenge for our men’s soccer team as they went 11-8-2 last year. In other sports, Cary has struggled based on their record, but they still work hard as an overall athletics program. 

Holly Springs: Holly Springs is strong in many sports and will create new rivalries in almost all sports. Holly Springs is strongest at soccer, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, softball, and volleyball.

Felton Grove: Felton Grove has not competed in sports so far because they will be opening in Apex at the beginning of the 25-26 school year. They will begin with only freshmen and sophomore students.

Middle Creek: Middle Creek is another very strong athletics program who have won multiple state championships in the past years. Middle Creek is strongest at baseball, men’s soccer, and lacrosse. They will, however, be a 6A team and Gibbons will not see them in the playoffs.

Sanderson: Sanderson is a team that was already in the same conference as Gibbons. Sanderson is best at men’s basketball as they made the state final four this year. This is long-lasting will be continued.

7A teams: Other notable teams that will be in the 7A Class are Grimsley, a powerhouse football team from Greensboro who won the 4A State Championship and boasts the number one player in the country. Baseball powerhouse D.H. Conley will be in 7A as well.

Weddington and Marvin Ridge, two all-around great athletics programs, will also be in the 7A West.