Both East-West girls’ soccer and girls’ basketball teams will have Southeast player
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
It has come full circle for Abby Stadnicar, who’ll represent Southeast Alamance in the North Carolina East-West All-Star Game for girls’ soccer next week.
She enjoyed a state championship during her first year of high school and ends her high school endeavors in an all-star event.
“Not every kid gets to experience all that,” Stadnicar said. “It makes you feel grateful for where I’m at.”
The distinction as the first North Carolina East-West All-Star participant for a Southeast alum will belong to girls’ basketball player Shaniya Paylor, who’ll play for the West in Monday night’s game in Greensboro.
The next night, Stadnicar will become the second athlete from the school to be an East-West All-Star.
Southeast completed its third school year in June since opening 2023.
Stadnicar’s high school soccer career began earlier that year when she played for Eastern Alamance’s state championship team as a defender. But with the new school opening and redistricting, she was pegged for Southeast.
“It was weird to meet everybody (that first year of high school) and then leave,” Stadnicar said.
Stadnicar and Nadia Navarro were freshmen on Eastern’s title team, then had to transition to Southeast.
It turned out to be a rewarding experience at a new school, Stadnicar said.
“A lot of first-time things, for sure,” she said. “It feels great.”
Stadnicar played in the inaugural Triad All-Star Classic for girls’ soccer in June at Forsyth Country Day School. The selection to this summer’s statewide and long-running event has more significance.
“I was very surprised because I hadn’t heard much about it,” Stadnicar said, pointing out that when her selection was announced she received lots of congratulatory feedback. “On my gosh, this has to be really big. It made me think about how far I have come.”
Stadnicar, 18, is heading to Division II Belmont Abbey to play soccer.
For Stadnicar, there’s more dots to connect related to next week’s competition. She’ll be playing on the West team coached by Western Alamance’s Camden Brooks. His younger brother, Jackson Brooks, was the Southeast coach for the program’s first two years.
The need to ramp up training and the chance to meet new players have been part of Stadnicar’s build-up to the game.
“I’m excited for the whole experience,” she said. “It feels like I’m on top.”
The game is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Truist Point in High Point.
Paylor, Southeast’s other participant in an East-West All-Star Game, has been on big stages, as well. She was a key member of Southeast’s 2024-25 state championship team and followed that with helping the Stallions reach a state championship game again during the past year. The guard is going to Division II Wingate to play basketball.
Paylor played as a freshman at Southern Alamance.
The girls’ basketball game begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Novant Health Field House, which is located at the coliseum complex in Greensboro.
