Off to a 7-0 start, the West Columbus Vikings remain in second place in the current N. C. High School state 1A baseball poll.

Coach Ricky Young’s West Columbus team, which dropped to the 1A ranks this season after winning the Waccamaw 2A Conference regular-season and tournament championships last spring, has a talented group of seniors players and is the heavy favorite to win the Southeastern 1A-2A Conference this year.

The Vikings will open conference play today at 5 p.m. when it visits Fairmont in a game that was rained out Tuesday.

Manteo (6-0) holds the No. 1 ranking in the 1A poll. The top 10 is rounded out by Topsail (7-0), Ayden-Grifton (8-0), Rosman (4-0), West Wilkes (6-1), Princeton (4-2), Chatham Central (4-3), East Carteret and Pamlico (4-4).