When the West Charlotte High School boy’s basketball team won the N.C. 4A championship some two weeks ago, few were more delighted than Elise Harris, a member of the school’s booster club.

Harris, who works for the N.C. Department of Transportation, said she helped the school verify the boys’ academic eligibility before the season began. She said she was impressed by what she saw.

“It touched my heart to see young, black men with high grade-point averages – some of them over 4.0,” she said.

Indeed, as good as the West Charlotte team is on the court, those who know them say they are equally determined in their respective classrooms.

West Charlotte Principal Shelton Jefferies said the boys carry an average GPA of 3.2.

“They are outstanding students,” he said, noting that some are enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program.

At a pep rally Thursday to honor the team, Harris fought back tears as she talked about what the state title has meant to West Charlotte – West Charlotte the school and west Charlotte the community.

“I can’t put it into words,” she said. “It means we still live on. With all the odds staked against us, we are still winners.”
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West Charlotte High School Principal Shelton Jefferies said members of the boys varsity basketball team, shown here, who recently won the N.C. 4A title, carry an average grade point average of 3.2. (Photo: Qcitymetro.com)
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Harris said she attended West Charlotte High in 1984 and now has a daughter who played on the girls varsity team and will graduate this spring. She said the state basketball championship has helped to remind the school of its proud legacy.

Sophomore Kennedy Meeks, who was voted MVP of the basketball tournament, said this season taught him a lot about what it takes to win.

“It was hard practicing everyday,” he said. “The only time you see your family is at night. You have to be organized.”

Coach Baronton Terry said he knew at the start of the season that his team held championship potential if they could avoid injuries and distractions.

“I knew we had the ability,” he said. “I just wanted everything to come together for us.”

Since beating Raleigh Millbrook 78-69 in Chapel Hill to capture the school’s first state title since 1999, Terry and his team have been constantly feted by one of the state's most storied fan bases. West Charlotte has visited with popular Power 98 (WPEG-FM) DJ No Limit Larry and had visits with many prominent community leaders. Terry said the team also will meet with Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, a West Charlotte alumnus.

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Charlotte Observer sports reporter Langston Wertz Jr. contributed to this report.

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