The rankings are back but they're not always what they seem

Here's a glance at some of the high school spring sports rankings and Wilson Daily Times readership-area teams' involvement.

In the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association 1-A poll, North Johnston is No. 13.

With back-to-back losses in The Brittany, Hunt fell out of the 3-A poll.

Southern Nash continues to occupy the top spot in the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association 3-A boys tennis rankings, while Charles B. Aycock is seventh. Greene Central is fifth in the 2-A rankings.

No area teams are currently ranked in the N.C. Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association poll or the Impact Baseball rankings.

Like most polls, all of these must be taken with a grain of salt because they are created by a small group of voters without much exposure to the body of teams around the state. I probably put more stock in the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association poll because its Web site is so well-run and up-to-the hour on game results. But the NCSCA all-state teams are only represented by teams whose coaches pay dues and participate in the voting meetings so keep that in mind.

I vote in the weekly Associated Press football rankings each fall and even that is not even close to being an accurate assessment of teams in the NCHSAA's four classifications. I only get to see a handful of teams each season and go on whatever info I can glean about other teams. Once the initial rankings are set, I just adjust based on what each team does each week.

Rankings are fun for us in the media and fans but don't mean a thing ultimately.