RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - Eight North Carolina school principals are on pins and needles this week as they await Thursday's announcement of which one will be named the 2016 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year.

The finalists from each region of the state are:

Northeast: William Peele, Bertie Middle (Bertie County Schools)

Southeast: Molly White, Lincoln Elementary (Brunswick County Schools)

North Central: Matthew Hunt, Northern High (Durham Public Schools)

Sandhills: Melody Chalmers, E.E. Smith High (Cumberland County Schools)

Piedmont-Triad: Wayne Duggins, South Stokes High (Stokes County Schools)

Southwest: Maureen Furr, South Mecklenburg High (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools)

Northwest: Kelly Nicholson, Oxford Elementary (Catawba County Schools)

Western: Peggy Marshall, Sugarloaf Elementary (Henderson County Schools).