The regular-season conference finish determines NCHSAA playoff berths for the most part, but league tournament champions also get automatic bids.

Regardless of a team's record right now, it can win the state championship if it does not lose another game.

LOCAL TEAMS RANKED: The Wakefield girls basketball team moved into USA Today's Top 25 this week.

Coach Danielle Blackburn's 24-0 Wolverines completed their regular season Tuesday night with a 65-60 win over Broughton.

Raleigh Word of God is No. 19 in the USA Today boys poll and has been in the top 25 since winning the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational in December.

The Rams are 24-3 but have lost two of their last three games.

OFF TO NAVY: Garner quarterback Kameron Smith expects to be challenged in new ways at the U.S. Naval Academy this summer.

Smith, 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, passed for 1,898 yards and rushed for 571 yards during the Trojans' 12-1 season.

He signed with Navy last week.

"I like everything about the Naval Academy," he said. "The players I talked to say it is very rough -- physically, mentally and academically -- but that I can handle it.

"They say the first year is the toughest. I know it will be challenging, but I'm ready for that challenge."

Smith spoke to former Garner linebacker Trey Grissom, a freshman at the Naval Academy.

"He told me that it was very hard -- there is no question about that -- but that going to the academy is worth it," said Smith, who expects to report to the academy on July 2.

FROM TRACK TO FILM: Former NCHSAA state track champion Jake Goodchild is making his motion picture debut on Friday, less than two years after helping West Henderson to the state 4x400 relay title.

Goodchild, now a freshman at Appalachian State, is in the film, "Me & You, Us, Forever."

He had no acting experience before filming but was approached by producer Dave Christiano, who lives in Hendersonville and is a self-described fan of track and cross country.

Christiano was looking for an actor with a particular look who could realistically portray a high school runner.

Goodchild plays a 17-year-old track runner -- which isn't a stretch -- but he had to learn to act.

"It was difficult at times because we would shoot several takes of a certain scene, trying to get what Dave was looking for," Goodchild said.

Which was a better feeling, winning a state title or making a movie?

"To tell you the truth, I can't see how anything can compare with the state championship," he said.

"I loved making the film and it was wonderful. But my teammates and I had worked for years to win that one race. To work that hard and that long and achieve it was an unbelievable feeling. It wasn't just me. It was our team winning."