From January to December, a slew of eastern Wake County teams put in countless hours in an effort reach their goals — in many cases league titles and state playoff appearances.

Several teams did just that, while others took their skills as high as the national level. Here’s a look at how things panned out in 2011.

Three teams make postseason court appearance

While the Lady Knights (12-14) trailed by as few as 2 points in the fourth quarter of their Feb. 23 second-round basketball playoff game, the Clayton girls punched their second straight ticket to a sectional final with a hard fought 55-50 win over fellow Greater Neuse River Conference member.

Knightdale, a No. 5 seed, upset Southeastern No. 1 Richmond to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

East Wake (19-7) trailed South View by just a couple of points with three seconds to play in their Feb. 23 second-round playoff game.

But the Tigers fought for possession and came up with a jump ball under the Warriors’ goal to secure a 52-48 victory and bring an end to a hard-fought East Wake season.

East Wake defeated E.A. Laney 53-52 in overtime to advance to round two.

The Knightdale boys (14-13) made the state playoffs as a No. 4 seed. The Knights were defeated 62-49 by Mid-South No. 2 Jack Britt in the first round.

Busy times on the diamond

Three out of the four local high school baseball and softball teams made the state playoffs in May.

The Lady Knights (15-8) upset Cape Fear 9-3 in the first round. It marked the first playoff win for coach Adam Hamrick, and the first playoff win for the Lady Knight softball team in school history.

Any hopes of a Knightdale softball Cinderella run were cut short after the Ashley High crew shut out the Knights 9-0 in the second round later in the week.

The East Wake boys (13-9) were defeated 10-7 by Ashley in the first round and the Knightdale boys (10-13) were defeated 5-1 by Pinecrest in the first round.

Girls make playoff appearances

Despite suffering a 9-0 loss to Pinecrest in the first round of the state playoffs, the East Wake’s girls soccer team (7-9-1) made the state playoffs for the first time in school history in May.

Knightdale (10-11) was dismissed from the state playoffs in a 4-0 second-round loss to Hoggard in May after upsetting Cape Fear, the No. 2 seed out of the Mid-South Conference, in the first round.

Hoggard was a No. 1 seed out of the Mideastern Conference, while the Knights competed as a No. 4 team out of the Greater Neuse.

On the right track

When a team wins everything from a conference title to a national title there’s a lot to mention. That’s the case with the Knightdale High School boys track team.

The Knightdale boys dominated the Wake County Championship track meet on April 9 and continued to show why they were the best in the state on April 14 in the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference meet.

The Knights’ Joshua Dunston was the conference meet MVP with a win in the 110 hurdles (15.00), a runner-up finish in the 300 hurdles and another runner-up spot in the long jump.

Knightdale overcame a melancholy day and rolled to the boys championship of the Eastern 4A Regional Track and Field Championships in the John Williams Stadium at Pinecrest High School in the first week of May.

Topping the Knights’ efforts was a sweep of the top three finishers in the 200-meter dash, won by Burkheart Ellis Jr., in a time of 21.66 seconds. Following Ellis were teammates Da’Quan Smalls in 21.76 and Mar-Keo Jones in 22.25. Ellis also won the 400-meter dash in a time of 49.34 seconds and led the 800-meter relay team to victory in 1:27.69.

The Knightdale boys dedicated the state title that followed the next week to Andre Milandu, a former Knightdale track athlete who passed away in August from heart complications during an open track and field team tryout at the same Irwin Belk Track on the campus of N.C. A&T State University that hosted the state championships.

The Knights won state titles in the 4x200 relay and 4x400 relay. Ellis, Jones, Smalls and Devin Johnson teamed up to win both relays. Knightdale finished in 3:15.41 in the 1,600 relay and 1:26.05 in the 800. Ellis also won an individual state title in the 400 (48.05) and ran eighth in the 200. The state title marked Knightdale’s first in school history.

The track stars proved they were a force to be reckoned with on the national level in June as they took the national team title with 28 points, as well as a pair of event victories at the New Balance Nationals at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

The relay team of Joseph Horton, Smalls, Jones and Ellis won the boys 4x100 at a time of 40.93. It marked the fastest North Carolina team time in history, and it was the first North Carolina time under 41 seconds. It was the eighth-fastest time recorded in the national event.

Piranhas go perfect

The Planters Walk summer swim team completed a perfect 6-0 season after the July 19 284-224 win over TCC @ Brentwood.

The win secured the Piranhas’ title as Tarheel Swimming Association Division 6 champions, and various individual and team accomplishments made the title possible for the Knightdale team. Among those were the 7-8 boys relay teams, which were undefeated all summer aside from one disqualification and one individual race lost.

Mudcats on the move

The Carolina Mudcats’ first-half record of 23-47 was the worst ever recorded by a Southern League team and tied that of the 2002 Chattanooga Lookouts for the worst record for a half season.

But Carolina finished the first half with momentum, winning four of the five games against Jackson on the road to end the rocky first half.

Still, the team’s overall record of 53-86 through September placed it last in the league for the season.

Mudcats owner Steve Bryant announced in December 2010 the High-A franchise affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, currently operating in Kinston, will replace the current Double-A franchise affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds for 2012. The Zebulon team, however, will still be called the Carolina Mudcats after the transaction.

Spikers make playoffs

2011 marked the second year in a row Knightdale made it to the state volleyball playoffs.

The Lady Knights (9-13) fell, 3-1, to Terry Sanford High School in the first round.

East Wake’s girls (7-14) also made the 2011 state volleyball playoffs in October and bowed out after a 3-0 sweep by Wilmington Hoggard in the first round.

Football seasons end in October

There were signs of brilliance throughout the season, but the East Wake and Knightdale football teams came up short of making playoff appearances in 2011.

East Wake (3-7, 1-6 Greater Neuse 4A) looked to have a promising season after starting 2-0, including a win over then-area No. 1 Wake Forest-Rolesville, but only won one more game — a 59-13 win over Smithfield-Selma — all season long.

The Knights (4-6, 3-4) had a chance to play their way into a playoff spot in the final game of the season against Clayton, but the Comets edged Knightdale 19-17 to earn the berth.

Soccer on the ball

For the first time ever, both East Wake and Knightdale earned the right to host first-round games in the 4A boys state soccer playoffs.

The Greater Neuse River 4A champion Warriors (17-2-2) opened the postseason with another Wilmington school, Ashley High School, on Nov. 2.

After a pair of convincing wins over Ashley and Lumberton, East Wake was dismissed in a battle of No. 1 seeds at E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington on Nov. 9.

In its first-ever appearance as a No. 2 seed, Knightdale hosted Wilmington’s New Hanover High School, the No. 3 seed from the Mideastern Conference, on Nov. 1. Knightdale (12-6-3) defeated New Hanover 4-2 in the first round, but was given the boot by Southeastern No. 1 Pinecrest in the second round a few days later. Pinecrest went on to win the state title.

Warrior coach DeLane Hayes was later named the Greater Neuse boys soccer Coach of the Year.