Senior running back Jaiden McDowell also returns and he recently ran a 4.47 at a skills combine camp.

Lake View’s Kaylynn Turner Named “NETC” Female Student Athlete of the Month Lake View — Kaylynn Turner is a senior who plays softball and volleyball at Lake View High School . Turner said she started playing volleyball in the seventh grade, but softball is her favorite sport, which she started playing in the 9 th grade. On the volleyball court, she played all around as a utility player and played left field in softball. Being a two-sport student athlete brought opportunities. Turner says this about team play, “My favorite part is being on a team with friends, forming new friendships, and the support from family.” In the classroom, she carries a 4.07 GPA, and she says that after high school she plans to major in Exercise Science with an end goal of a career in Occupational Therapy, or as an athletic trainer. While she has not ruled out continuing softball at the next level, if she gets that opportunity, her favorites teams are Coastal Carolina , USC , and Florence Darlington Tech .  For all her athletic and academic accomplishments, Turner has been chosen the “NETC” Female Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits, in various subjects, that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The NETC is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2024-25 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Currently, Turner is enrolled in two dual credit online courses offered by NETC. She already completed many basic requirements for her freshman year of college. She has focused on taking key classes for her major, like Medical Terminology, History, and Spanish. She added that she “already took care of many first-year classes and hopefully this puts me a semester ahead when I start college.”. When asked about what NETC did to help her, Turner said it “helped her develop important time management skills, especially while playing sports, attending high school, and taking college level classes online through the NETC. “Dual-enrollment classes really taught me the difference between in-person classes, versus online classes which prepared me for what’s I should experience in in college,” said Turner. When asked about the online class experience, Turner said the experience was a “confidence boost” that enhanced her time management skills. “The online classes were doable when I thought they weren’t,” she said. “Before taking online classes, I was more of a procrastinator, and I learned to be more on top of my work.” Turner recalled her favorite time playing softball “In the first game of the lower state playoffs this past season, I played a long ball off the fence and I was able to throw it back to the infield and we got the lead runner out.”

Lake View’s Kason Herlong Named “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month  Lake View — Kason Herlong is a senior two-sport athlete at Lake View High School , where he earned all-region honors in two seasons as the starting quarterback on the football team. He was recently named the Class A Baseball Player of the Year by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association and Herlong has signed a baseball scholarship to attend North Greenville College . He has also earned Class A all-state honors in baseball by the “The High School Sports Report” for the past three seasons. Herlong batted .418 with two home runs and 17 RBI’s this past season. On the mound he was 7-1 with 80 strike-outs in 50.1 innings of work. He had a .556 ERA also. Of the two sports, Herlong favors baseball. Baseball is a sport he has played since he was first enrolled in T-Ball. Herlong was also chosen to represent Lake View in the 2025 North-South all-star baseball game. He has a very bright future ahead of him in the sport of baseball. In the classroom he carries a 5.23 GPA. He has been taking dual credit online courses through the NETC since he started the ninth grade. Just a sample of his completed college course work includes College Algebra, Biology, English 1, English 2, Computing, and Economics. For all his athletic and academic accomplishments, Herlong has been chosen the “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The ”NETC” is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2024-25 school year to students in the three counties they serve. With his high diploma earned, and numerous college level courses completed with NETC, Herlong should start college as a sophomore when he reports to campus at the end of the summer. He plans to major in Accounting in college. “Taking NETC online courses had a huge impact, including being better at prioritizing my time,” said Herlong. “How you do one thing, is how you do everything. And it helps keep me focused on meeting priorities and deadlines in both academics and athletics,” said Herlong. When asked about the impact on starting his collegiate career, he commented, “By taking these online classes now, I’ve got extra credits completed to put me one step ahead. I’ve been very blessed to have this opportunity.” Herlong said that while baseball is his favorite sport, he also enjoyed playing football. As a two-sport athlete in high school, and dual enrolled for online college classes through the NETC, he feels better prepared to meet the challenges ahead of him as a student athlete at North Greenville University. Herlong has a favorite memory from his baseball career. ”This season, we won against Latta for the Lower State Championship,” he said. “Last season, we got beat by Latta for the lower state championship. We came back this season and turned that around by beating them twice on their field. Those two wins advanced the team to play for a State Championship.”

Cav’s head coach Quinn Hatfield.

Colleton Prep rising senior Ava Murray batted .543 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in her junior season.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR GOOSE CREEK – Goose Creek High School track and field coach Jason Winstead said hurdler Kourtney Horne was at her best in the Class 5A Div. II state track meet. Horne believed she was going to be challenged in the 100-meter hurdles May 15 at Spring Valley High School. Horne ran like it, too, making it look easy on the way to her first track and field state championship for the Gators. Horne cruised across the finish line in 14.2 seconds, 18 hundredths of a second ahead of the runner-up. “We saw her best,” Winstead said. Horne placed eighth in the event in 2024, more than a full second behind her winning time at state. “Her future is as bright as it possibly can be,” Winstead said. “Watching Kourtney run the last month or so has been fun. She’s such a competitor. She does a great job of getting ready to run. She just got off to a great start.” Horne became the third Gators hurdler in a row to win a state championship. Faith Jones finished first in 2024 and Robert Wheatley reached the top of the podium in 2023 for the Goose Creek boys. “We’ve had pretty good hurdlers around here for a while,” Winstead said. Horne also placed second by two hundredths of a second in the 400-meter hurdles. Wisdom Johnson added a runner-up finish for the Goose Creek boys in the 110-meter hurdles. More notable finishes for the Gators were turned in by long jumpers Julian Whitfield and Trevor Smalls . They placed second and third in the boys event. Kaprice Manigualt-Garrett finished second for the Gators' girls in the 400-meter dash.

Sophomore Briggs Gwozdo was named the SCISA 3A Boys All-State Team.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Spartanburg —It’s not often you get to build a football program from the ground up, but that is exactly what Spartanburg Day football coach Partick Moffitt (actually the Director of Football) has been experiencing for the past year as the school transitions from a middle school program into a varsity program by the Fall of 2026. This past May Coach Moffit worked out 36 candidates for the junior varsity program that the school will have in the Fall. By 2026, the Griffin’s will be playing varsity football likely at the AA level. “We went 3-3 in the six games we played with a group of middle schoolers in the fall and we were mildly shocked at the fan support we got at games and how unity starting a football program was bringing to the school,” said Coach Moffitt. “Having some success in the early going helped everyone’s confidence also.” Spartanburg Day played games against Christ Church , Southside Christian and St . Jospeh’s last season. “Our numbers have picked up in a year from 20 kids playing on our 5 th to 8 th grade team last year to now having 36 players competing to play at the junior varsity level and that is very positive,” said Coach Moffitt. “When we had May football drills it was like teaching some kids real basic fundamentals of the game because many of them had never played the sport before,” said Coach Moffitt. “It is a really hands on experience for sure.” Coming all of the May drill period into June Coach Moffitt has a really good idea of who his better players come August when the team plays even more competitive games. He starting quarterback will be Rutledge Hall described as a dual threat with a high football I-Q. He was a starting free safety on the middle school team last year. “Rutledge has a good arm and he uses his feet when he has to escape pressure also,” said Coach Moffitt. The likely starting running back out of the spread offense is likely rising freshman Bennett Johnson . Johnson gained 163 yards and scored two touchdowns last season as a middle schooler. The offense uses four receivers. Camden Teal , who recently won the 800 meters run at the SCISA State track meet, will be one starting receivers. He had seven catches for 99 yards last season. He will be joined by Tyler Fermanders , Chandler Wilson , and the team is still seeking that 4 th receiver. The offensive line will be comprised of left tackle Nicholas Quinn , right tackle Charlie Birch , center Sammy Crain , right guard Cale Willoughby and left guard Gibbes Montgomery. Many of the offensive players will flip to defense and play both ways. Quinn and Birch flip to defensive ends while Willoughby flips to defensive tackle. Newcomer Lawson Robinson will start at defensive tackle. “Lawson is an 8 th grader with a high motor and he plays a very physical type game,” said Coach Moffitt” The Griffins defense will consist of four linebackers. They are Charles Wilson , Mike Bennett , Heath Boyd , or Rutledge. Ben Visk could also see some action at linebacker. The three deep secondaries will consist of Fermanders, Camden Teel , and a flip between Rutledge and Visk. Charles Wilson is the place kicker and Charlei Birch is handling punting duties. “Our goals are to keep kids engaged in the sport and hope that they fall in love with practice,” said Coach Moffitt. “We just hope our young players continue to develop and build off our successes of our first season. We hope everyone of them develop into good football players.” Right now, Coach Moffitt has one assistant coach and he is Justin Crain who works with both lines. A little later this summer Chris Cormier will be joining the program as the defensive coordinator. Coach Cormier was a top athlete who played in the highly successful St. Aquinas Florida prep football program in the late 1990’s. The team will begin the season on August, 29 against the Greenville Hurricanes.

Pitcher/infielder RJ Hamilton is one of only two seniors on the Fort Dorchester roster this season.

Stratford's Jacob Deacon one of ten players the Knights have graduating this year.

 By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Denmark – The Denmark-Olar Vikings are coming off back-to-back region 4A championships and second round playoff appearances but since the end of last season there have been a couple changes in Denmark; one they have a new coach in Xzavier Goldsmith and they have moved to the lower state in realignment but their goals have not. Coach Goldsmith has a veteran squad returning with some of the top athletes at Denmark-Olar at his disposal, so his expectations are to continue to build Vikings soccer. “My expectations coming into my first year as the new head soccer coach at Denmark Olar is to build a team first organization and to build off the success of the previous outstanding years..” said Goldsmith. “I feel that we can compete well in the region if play fundamental soccer and compete to the whistle blows. We play some great teams and accomplish programs so we are ready for the challenge.” The Vikings are definitely holding their own as they are 5-4 overall and 2-3 in region 4A play. They have shut outs on the year and are solid position to earn another trip to the play offs. They have three region contest left and a match with another play off bound A team in region 3A Horse Creek Academy. The Vikings are led by seniors in Terence Hinton, Robert Bovain, Tykeem Ross, Reginald Youmans, Carlos Johnson, Charleston Brown, and Amari Keller . Bovain, a striker, is the top returning scorer for the Vikings. He tallied nine goals and seven assists for a total of 25 points. He was named all region last season and recently hoisted the class A State Basketball championship trophy. Hinton missed last season with an injury. “Agent Zero” as he is known as on the football field was the Vikings top scorer as a sophomore while earning all-region honors. He looks to pick up where he left. He was recently named All State in basketball by the HSSR and the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association. Keller and Johnson showed they could put the ball in the back of the net last season. Keller scored five goals and had 11 points on the year while Johnson scored three goals. Ross and Brown are imposing figures on the pitch as both weigh over 220lbs a rarity in the beautiful game. They have been solid on the pitch. Ross joined Hinton on the HSSR class A all state basketball team after being named all state in football in the fall. Youmans is the teams keeper. Last season he stopped 116 shots on goal and has three shutouts. He has had three shutouts so far this season. The rest of the Vikings starting lineup are Kenneth Hanberry, Josh Tackett, Geontae Staley, and Nyheeem Brimfield. Brimfield could the next star athlete at Denmark Olar. He started at QB and played a significant role on the basketball as a freshmen.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Chesterfield – Chesterfield High athletic director Kevin Kenny is quite pleased with the overall performance and efforts of the 2025 spring sports athletes. Kenny and the coaches of the baseball, softball and track programs recently honored the top performers with banquets celebrating their respective seasons. The top athletic awards are the male and female athletes of the year. The honorees this year were JaQuavis Clark and Kai Pace . The varsity baseball team finished this season with a 13-11 overall record and qualified for the Class AA Lower State playoffs. Unfortunately, a pair of one-run losses to Atlantic Collegiate and Academic Magnet ended the season. Selected all-region were John Brody Banasiewicz , Rocket Watford and Bryce Adams . Banasiewicz also was recognized for making the AA all-state team, He and Watford shared the offensive player of the year award for the team. Sky Courtney was the defensive player of the year and Brayden Burr was most improved player. Top pitching awards went to Adams and Max Gulledge while Avery Keith and Holden Lowry received Coach’s awards. The Stuart Rayfield award went to Trent Trexler , and the team player honor went to Parker Tolson . Will Evans was the team’s rookie of the year. The softball team got hot at the end of the season before a 1-0 loss to Saluda in the playoffs ended the run. The Lady Rams finished with a 13-15 overall record. All-region selections in softball included Kaylee Eubanks , Pace, and Michaela Lisenby . Eubanks and Ashton Cassidy shared MVP honors while Pace shared offensive MVP honors with Ariana Vanderpool and Jameson Miles . Lisenby and Brylie Harpe were the defensive most valuable players and Harley Hatcher was the most improved player. Jordan Evans and Sydney Sowell received the Heart of the Ram award. Jenna Stafford w as the overall MVP and offensive MVP for the jayvee softball team. Madison Vanderpool and Reagan Rivers shared defensive MVP honors while Camryn Horton and Shayla Evans were most improved. Madison Vanderpool and Addyson Hancock received the Heart of the Ram award. The track and field program also honored their top athletes. Several members of the team qualified for the Class AA state meet. In running events, the MVP’s were Josh Miller for the boys team, and Kinsley Lowe and Amrie Lowe for the girls team. In the field events, the MVP’s were Taye Diggs for the boys and Justyce Sellers for the girls. The track and field rookies of the year went to Levi Jones and Bria Lowe .

By David Shelton Senior Writer Pamplico - The Hannah-Pamplico boys golf team had a strong season but saved their best for the last event of the 2025 season. The Raiders came up a stroke short in the bid to win the region championship but turned in a strong performance at the Class A state tournament in Chester, South Carolina. Hannah-Pamplico shot 346 in the 18-hole event, good enough for second-place in the team standings. Dixie High won the state championship. “It was a good showing for our boys,” coach Jay Watson said. “This was a competitive group. We basically had six players for most of the season until right at the end we added one, Two of our top five players never played golf until last summer. They got hooked and then started putting in the work to get better.” Two members of the team finished among the top 10 individually, good enough to earn all-state honors. Senior Gage Foxworth shot 83 for his round, good for ninth-place. Eighth-grader Austin Taylor shot 86 to finish 10 th overall. “Happy for those two. Getting all-state is a big deal,” Watson said. Junior Tyler Bowen finished 13 th overall and freshman Zachary Turner finished 18 th . Mason Hanna, a first-year player who also played football and basketball, was 32 nd overall. Turner also played junior varsity baseball this spring and joined the golf team after that season was completed. Johnsonville, the team that edged Hannah-Pamplico for the region championship, ended up in fifth-place in the state tournament. “We share the same home course so the boys are friends and play a lot together,” Watson said. “It’s good competition between the two teams. We were disappointed to lose in the region but finishing second at state makes up for that.”  Watson has a long affiliation with Hannah-Pamplico athletics. His father, Tim, was a coach at the school for more than 40 years. Watson is the school’s resource officer.

Hartsville's rising senior Mayah Harvey hit .522 with 39 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Varnville – The Hampton County Hurricane football team has gone 20-5/7-1 since their inception in 2023 and like all schools they have graduated some talented players the past two years with several going to play in college so spring practice 2025 was about creating depth and finding new leaders. “Heading into spring practice we were looking to increase our eighth-grade participation and find depth throughout the lineup,” said head coach Rob Hanna. “We had a total of 66 guys participate in spring practices. With spring sports going on we were able to get in 14 practices with six being in pads. The guys worked hard and got better with each practice.” The Hurricanes will have to replace two of their leader from the past years in quarterback Chris Terry on offense and outside linebacker Mandrell Sanders on defense. “Both Chris and Mandrell did everything right for the past three years so it is tough to lose players like that from your team. They showed the commitment, drive and passion to their teammates and taught the young guys how to do it the right way,” said coach Hanna. Two juniors that are battling it out for the starting quarterback job are Tarell Grant and Jayvin Risher. They are both dynamic players that bring a different skill set to the Hurricanes offenses as they can make plays with their feet and score any time they have the ball. Grant has a strong arm and made a lot of progress during spring ball. Last season Grant had a team high 10 passes defended and made 29 tackles. “Tarell is an electric player with a totally different skill set then we had the past three years. He throws the ball very well and has the ability to take any play for a TD with his legs. He is one of the best athletes on the team,” coach Hanna said. Risher was the team’s second leading rusher last season with over 700 yards to go with 11 touchdowns. Defensively, he had 40 tackles and tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with 12. Coach said he is a true running back and the offense runs a little different when he is behind center. Wide receiver Karinton Sabb is a new weapon on the outside for the Hurricanes and he looked good during spring. Along the offensive line right tackle Ty'Quavian Jones adds depth to the offensive line while Cleavon Maxwell stood out at outside linebacker. “We are excited about this group of seniors and excited to be in year three of the program. We have been fortunate to win a lot of games in years one and two and hope we can continue to push towards being one of the best 2A programs in the state. We started a couple freshman and a lot of sophomores last season and hope that pays off for us the next couple of years,” said coach Hanna.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Greenwood —With 61 varsity football candidates working hard in May drills at Emerald High head coach Tad Dubose is hoping year six will be the yet season yet for the Vikings. “The May drills allow our us to identify potential newcomer players to replace our graduating seniors, and just to get a feel for what newcomers might can step up in situational roles if needed,” said coach Tad Dubose . “We have even had several players we thought would be returning to help us either quit football, or move away and you never benefit from that when it happens. “We have a lot of players working hard and competing for positions right now and that is a good thing,” said Coach Dubose. “Since May drills, we have transitioned into 7-on-7 drills and we have so many holes to fill on the back end of our defense that we are hoping to get our defensive backs a lot of work in the month of June. We are busy getting g way for the season that will be here before you know it.” Six starters are on back on offense. Rising sophomore Beau Hite returns at quarterback after passing for nearly a 1,000 yards last season. “We will have a more experienced group of receivers this year and it has been fun watching Beau play catch with several of them in drills,” said Coach Dubose. “We should be able to complete some deep balls down the field this season.” Two of those returning receivers are slot receiver Carson Wright and junior receiver Camelle Hill (6-2, 180). Running back Chris Dean also returns to lead the running game. Two offensive linemen return in senior Tyler Moss and John Michael Haynes . Varsity newcomer WR Colson Marino is a deep threat for the team this season with his excellent speed. Another go-to receiver might become basketball player Jardin Porter who has decided to give football a try also. On defense Markeith Anderson returns after he made all-region as a sophomore. Both defensive ends are back, in senior AJ White (5-10, 200) and Mylik Wright (6-1, 230). Jalon Dunlap (5-11,205) also returns at outside linebacker. The team’s top tackler also returns in senior inside linebacker Christian Foster (5-11, 190) who had 150 tackles in earning all-region honors last season. “Foster is getting a lot of interest from the colleges,” said Coach Dubose. Jeremiah Ramos-Chapman (5-11, 200) returns at insider linebacker as well. In the secondary the only returner is Carson Wright but help is on the way. Edmond Jennings and Charlie O’Chambers are competing for playing time at one safety slot. BJ Larkson and Markevious Coleman are holding down the corner back slots right now. Warren Wright is a combo licker for Emerald and he returns also. Emerald will scrimmage Batesville-Leesville and Barnwell in August. They will also participate in the Abbeville Jamboree where they play Dixie and in the Greenwood jamboree they will play Crescent. Coach Dubose is assisted by Thomas “Doobie” Dubose , Carson Smith , Jarrett Jones , Cody Cockrell , Tombo Hite and Austin Sergeant .

Coa ch Johnny Waters e nters his third season as the head football coach.

Melanie Edwards is one of three talented seniors the Summerville Softball Team will have to replace next season.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake City – Having led five teams to a state championship during his tenure as the softball coach at Carolina Academy , Scotty Phillips knows a good team when he sees one. Phillips felt early on in the 2025 season that his team had a chance to win big this spring. The Lady Bobcats did just that.  Carolina Academy swept Dorchester Academy in two games to earn their sixth state title under Phillips. The Lady Bobcats finished with a 23-8 record, winning their last five games. “We had some bumps along the way and nothing was easy before spring break,” Phillips said. “We lost a game to Cheraw and it was really bad. I kind of went off on them after that game. I was trying to shake them up, make them understand that we were not where we needed to be. If we wanted to win a state title, we had to turn it around.” The rant, that Phillips said brought tears to the players eyes, as well as some parents, worked like a charm. Carolina Academy won game one of the championship series with Dorchester in dramatic fashion. The Lady Bobcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game, 8-6, on a walk-off double by freshman Paisley Coker . This came after eighth-grader Natalie Braveboy tied the game with a homerun. Coker, pitcher Raylee Frye and freshman Ella Ham all had two RBIs in the win. “We don’t win game two had we lost game one,” Phillips said. “I felt like the loss the way it happened sort of took the life out of Dorchester. Had we lost, I think that would have been us.” Carolina won game two, 5-2, and was in control from the start. Braveboy had two hits and Savannah McCutcheon had two RBIs. “This was a fun team to coach,” the coach said. “They’re a competitive group, love the game. I had a good time with these girls.” Junior catcher Carly Ann Smith finished as the team’s leading hitter with a .481 batting average. Smith had 37 hits and 23 RBIs but was most effective behind dish. “She’s the best catcher I’ve ever had,” Phillips said. “She’s a gamer.” Frye, a junior, was the team’s top pitcher, posting a 2.25 earned run average. She also batted .452 with 38 hits and 37 RBIs, belting eight homeruns. Ham batted .364 with 27 RBIs and Coker hit .303 with 13 RBIs. Phillips did not have any seniors on the roster this spring and Carolina will be a strong favorite to repeat next year. While Phillips admits to be nearing the end of his career, he fully plans to return next season. “Hard to leave this group,” he said. “I don’t look too far ahead. Maybe we can win another but I ain’t taking anything for granted. We will work just as hard next year.” The Carolina Academy golf team nearly won a state championship, finishing as the runner-up in the AA state tournament. Blanding Franks was low scorer for the Bobcats, shooting 149 over 36 holes. Thomas McDaniel shot 165 and Cam Porter shot 174. Rounding out the scoring was Drake Morris with a 182.

By Billy Baker Publisher Ehrhardt— Following the state championship run by the Andrew Jackson Academy baseball team head coach Jason Mathys shared some of his thoughts about the team’s vast improvement this season with The High Schol Sports Report. “The MVP of the team was our senior leader Jack Walling,” said Coach Mathys. “He threw strikes on the mound and his base running speed were factors for him getting better, plus he was out top hitter.” “Our two 8 th graders made huge contributions to the team ( Channing Terry was our top pitcher in region and Kaiden Kinard was one of our top offensive players) We are losing four starters but five are returning Once we got in the play-off, we showed a lot of guts and kept fighting and coming from behind and I am very proud of the entire team,” said Coach Mathys. Walling hit .471 with 32 RBI’s including 15 doubles and two home runs. Hayden McClung hit /436 with 17 RBI’s and Kinard was at .424 with 23 RBI’s. In the pitching department Terry had 49 K’s in 47.2 inning pitched with an ERA of 2.64. Walling had 38 K’s in 31 innings of work. Landon Johnson pitched 24.1 innings with 47 K’s. Here are some key moments for AJA in their narrow 6-5 loss to Lee Academy in game one of the SCISA AA baseball finals. In the bottom of the 4 th , AJA pushed across a run. Johnson reached on a hit-by-pitch and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Eli Mathys to make it 5-1. In the top of the 5 th Lee Academy added a very important insurance run that ended up being the difference in the game. Rodgers reached on a hit-by-pitch, stole second, and scored on a throwing error to make it 6-1. In the bottom of the 5 th AJA plated two runs to trail 6-3. Kaiden Kinard struck-out, but the catcher dropped the ball and he was able to reach first safely ahead of the throw. Kinard then stole second and scored on Jack Walling’s single. Walling stole second and third and scored on a fielder’s choice RBI by Channing Terry to cut the deficit to 6-3. In the bottom of the 6 th inning, it was a picture of good and bad for the Warriors. Brad Hightower and Mathys led off with back-to-back singles, and then Hall Sease drew a walk to load the bases with no-outs. Hayden McClung singled in Hightower to make it 6-4 and then Kinard then drew a bases loaded RBI walk to bring in Mathy’s and a heads up play by Sease made it 6-5 when he ran in right behind Mathy’s on a throwing error.

Gray Collegiate's rising junior, Aspen Boulware on the diamond at short stop.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Johnsonville – Playing in perhaps the toughest Class A region in the state, the Johnsonville High baseball team ended up having a solid 2025 season. Region 6-A included three other teams that were ranked among the top 10 in Class A at some point in the season. The Flashes also earned top 10 status, giving the region four top 10 teams. Region member Lake View won the Class A Lower State title, beating region foe Latta. Johnsonville and Hannah-Pamplico of region six were among the final four teams in the Lower State bracket. Johnsonville was eliminated by Latta by a 9-8 final score. Second-year head coach Carson Carroll , while disappointed with coming up short of the goal of winning a state title, could praise his team for their efforts this spring. “I am very proud of them and with the effort they gave me this year,” Carroll said. “Obviously, we wanted to be playing in that final series but that just didn’t happen for us this year. We had a very good season though.” The Flashes finished the season with a 13-8 record, posting an 8-5 record in region play. The key to success was the offensive balance and production within the lineup. Leading the way was senior Landyn Cribb , who earned Class A all-state honors. Cribb finished the season with a .530 batting average and drove in 13 runs. Three others hit over .400 for the season. Jackson Eaddy hit .431 with 21 RBIs while Gavin Marlowe hit .404 with 15 RBIs. Larkin Powell finished at .403 with 13 runs driven in. The softball team also made the state playoffs and finished with a 10-11 overall record. Coach Walter Clark had a relatively young roster this spring and looks to be even stronger next season. “We have a good group returning so the future looks bright.” One key senior who will be missed is catcher Blair Coker, who earned all-state honors for the third straight season. Coker batted .462 with 18 runs batted in this season. Sophomore Peyton Wall , the third baseman, ended up hitting .439, while sophomore first baseman Mallory Prosser and eighth-grade shortstop Claire Cook each hit over .320. Junior pitcher Natalee Taylor batted .291 with 15 RBIs and provided solid work inside the circle. The only other senior on the roster was outfielder Sadie Stone . Junior Allison Eaddy played second base while juniors Brianna Lawrimore , Charley Tippett and CJ Smith worked in the outfield as well. Like in baseball, region six was a juggernaut in softball. Latta won the Class A state championship while Lake View and Hannah-Pamplico had deep runs in the playoffs. Several members of the track and field program earned their way to the Class A state meet through region and Lower State qualifying. Six girls and three boys got an opportunity to compete against the best in Class A. Malyric Singletary 13 th in the javelin and 11 th in the shot put. Teammate Michelya Doctor finished second in the javelin and Zykeria Skinner finished fourth in the high jump. Abigail Lambert finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles and Arkeria Cunningham finished sixth in the 400 hurdles. Harmony Gregg was eighth in the 200 meter dash ad 11 th in the 100 meter dash. Jamere Ross was the top performer on the boys team. Ross earned silver in the long jump, was fourth in the 200 meter sprint and fifth in the 100. Skylar Montgomery finished ninth in the triple jump and Ben Eaddy finished 14 th in the 3200 meter run.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Myrtle Beach – For the third time in the last four years, the Myrtle Beach boys tennis program is a state champion. The Seahawks capped another outstanding season with a 4-2 win over Riverside in the 2025 AAAAA Division II state finals in Columbia. Myrtle Beach is an eyelash from having four consecutive titles but lost to Riverside in 2023. And, the chances of winning another title next spring are pretty solid as most of this year’s team is expected back next year. This year’s No. 1 singles player was junior Spenser Green . The lone senior in the lineup, Ashiv Patel , played No. 2 singles. Brothers Foster Cahill and Caleb Cahill played No. 3 and No. 4 singles while seventh-grader Wyatt Anderson played No. 5. Freshman Kenneth Gunter and seventh-grader Gage Van Wagner formed the No. 2 doubles team and earned a win in the finals. The performance of the boys tennis team was the highlight of the 2025 spring sports season. The boys soccer team finished third in the region and posted an 11-13 record overall. The season ended with a 1-0 first-round playoff loss to Chapin. Senior Juan Rivera led the team in scoring with 14 goals and four assists. Senior River Shumacher tallied five goals and added five assists. Sophomores Yarin Bouskila scored four goals with four assists while sophomore Raul Lopez also scored four goals and had three assists. The girls soccer team posted a 4-14 record. Senior Tia Boatwright finished as the leading scorer with eight goals and four assists. Senior Karley McGonigal added seven goals and three assists while freshman Cameron Bary scored five goals and led the team with six assists. Senior Hannah Weidner scored five goals but spent most of her time in goal. The baseball team finished with an 8-18 overall record and the softball team finished with a 5-17 record. Lilly Langway led the team in hitting with a .414 batting average and had 12 RBIs. Shianne Needle batted .393 with 14 RBIs and Madison Ashmore hit .348 with 11 RBIs.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Columbia —In this Modern Turf recruiting article we will focus on Gray Collegiate rising junior softball player Aspen Boulware , her highly regarded rising senior football playing brother Michael Boulware , Jr., and Southside Christian junior left-handed pitcher Carson Boleman who struck-out 19 batters in his team’s state championship win over Oceanside Collegiate . As always, we would like to extend our appreciation to Mark Grainger and the fine folks at Modern Turf, in Irmo and Rembert, for sponsoring our monthly recruiting feature page. Having covered two recent Gray Collegiate softball games, this writer of 52 years, truly feels like rising junior Aspen Boulware, who plays shortstop for the War Eagles, was the best softball player in the state of South Carolina this past season, from any grade level. In all honesty, I think she may have been the top prep sophomore player in the United States, and that covers a whole lot of ground. This past season Boulware led the state of South Carolina in home runs (22), RBI’s (44), and runs scored (67). She hit .573 and was easily chosen the AAAA Player of the Year by the South Carolina Softball Coaches Association . She was the Region Player of the Year also.  And if we can all keep this a secret, due to the fact the HSSR, will not officially release our Spring Sports all-state teams until Monday, June, 16, Boulware was the top vote getter on all-state ballots returned from head softball coaches all around the state for 2025 Miss Softball honors. She will indeed be named Miss Softball in the state of South Carolina when the lists of honorees are made public by the HSSR at hssr.com in mid-June. After watching her play “live” on May, 6 in an early round play-off 15-0 win over Bluffton, it was time to meet this truly gifted athlete, and have her share some of her hopes and dreams she has as a softball player. “Absolutely, my number one goal right now is to help my team win a state title,” said Boulware after the Bluffton win. “My role is to help carry the team offensively and defensively. We are not a one- person team. It takes all of us playing together to have success. “I love being a part of this team, and we are all focused on competing hard, and hopefully winning a state title,” she said. “I have been playing softball competitively since I was 8 years old, and softball is the only varsity sport I play. I take a lot of pride in trying to lift up, and support my teammates. “One of my strong goals is to be on the USA softball team in the 2028 Olympics,” said Boulware. “That would be a dream come true if I could accomplish that goal.” Boulware has already played on the USA National 16-U softball team, and she has been promoted to the 18-U USA National team this summer, and this group of the best-of-best will play against other top teams for a three- week period over the summer. Less than 24 hours after helping her team defeat York 5-2, to capture the state title, with a towering home run over the right field fence in the first inning, Boulware has joined her elite travel team known as the Thunder Bolts based in Alabama. In that game she blasted another home run! By the way, after her first inning bomb against York she was walked the next two times she came to bat. In fact, Boulware was walked 35 times during her sophomore season, making her stats even more impressive. How many more home runs and RBI’s might she have had if teams were willing to pitch to her? Doug Frye is the highly regarded head softball coach at Gray Collegiate . He is an old school coach who rarely gets carried away talking about any one player he coaches. He breaks his own rule when talking about Aspen Boulware. “Her work ethic is what blows me away,” said Coach Frye. “Who gets in a car with her mother (former Florida State Softball Hall of Fame member Jessica van der Linden , who was named the National Softball Player of the Year in 2004), and drives 250 miles to Alabama to play with her travel team the next day? “Last year, the day after we won the AA state title, she and mother went to a local rec field and Boulware asked her mother to hit her 500 ground balls as hard as she could,” said Coach Frye. “I can say with confidence that she is the best high school softball player in South Carolina. With everything she brings to the table I do not think any other player can match her all around play. “She could easily play center field for us, and she can throw a softball 64 miles per hour, but she would rather play shortstop,” said Coach Frye. “You might say there is a little competition between she and her mother. Aspen studies pitchers like no player I’ve been around. She takes pride in knowing when the change-up is coming for example. “Well, one day her mother is pitching to her during one of their many practice routines, and Aspen tells her Mom (who won 67 games in the circle at FSU) that she could hit a home run against her best pitching,” said Coach Frye. “Well, the competition between the two began and after 30 pitches, or so, the Mom was winning the challenge. “Aspen figured out that her Mom’s next pitch would be a change-up and she guessed right,” said Coach Frye. “She blasted the ball over the fence, and deep into the woods, and I don’t even think they even went to look for the ball, as that was the end of that batting practice.” In conclusion, Coach Frye says Aspen is the fastest player he has ever coached. “Teams that walk her have to deal with the fact she will be on third base before they know it,” said Coach Frye. “As a shortstop she can get to balls hit deep into the hole, that few other shortstops can get to. She can make a very challenging play look routine and she throws many batters out by two steps from deep short.” The HSSR considers the top junior baseball prospect in South Carolina to be Carson Boleman a 6-3 LHP pitcher from Southside Christian who recently stuck-out 19 batters against Oceanside Collegiate to lead the Sabre’s to the AAA state title. Boleman is a commitment to Wake Forest but the Deacons could be competing with major league baseball for his services after he graduates next year. Southside Christian is head coached by Scott Freeman , and he was just appointed the athletic director for the Sabres as well. Coach Freeman has won five baseball state titles and he finished the 2025 with 307-110-1 career record. He has help develop numerous major college prospects, particularly when he heads coached Mauldin baseball for six years, earlier in his career. When asked if he had ever coached anyone better than Boleman, Freeman had a quick response, “No, I have not and I doubt that I ever will.” In the first inning of the state finals second game with Oceanside Collegiate, Coach Freeman said Boleman’s fastball was clocked at 95 mph. “Carson just doesn’t over power you on the mound because he has command of several pitches and he is very effective with his off-speed pitches as well. “He throws a slider, curve ball, and change-up and he is just a student of the game,” said Coach Freeman. “He began pitching for our varsity in the 8 th grade when he pitched game one against Johnsonville in the state championship series. He had elbow surgery his 9 th grade year and he returned to hit some late in the season, but he did not pitch at all his freshman year. “He came on strong his sophomore year on the mound and has been even better as a junior,” said Coach Freeman. “Coaches love it when their top player is also the hardest worker on the team. Carson never lets anything go to his head. The day after he had 19 strike-outs in the championship game he was back in the gym the next day working out.” As a junior, Boleman finished 12-0 on the mound. He had an unreal 135 strike-outs in 55 innings of work. He had an ERA of 0.00. Teams batted .039 against him. These are some impressive stats for any baseball pitcher. Boleman is a first baseman when he is not on the mound. He hit .352 with seven home runs and 38 RBI’s this season. He is under serious consideration for the Gatorade SC Player of the Year according to Coach Freeman. “I knew Carson was going to be a special player when I first heard about him in like the fourth grade,” said Coach Freeman. “You will never meet a more humble kid. He does not let success go to his head. He is a great team mate. In the class room he carries like a 4.65 GPA. “I would use adjectives like focused and confident when he is on the mound,” said Coach Freeman. ”He is smart on the mound and he is always thinking ahead of the batters he is facing. He is a kid that was born to play baseball at a very high level. If he does not get early round consideration for the major league draft, after next season, there should not even be a draft. He is everything you are looking for in a pitcher and he has been a pleasure to coach.” Boleman plays on a well-respected National Showcase travel team known as the Canes and his coach says he will be active with the canes this summer where he is surely to get scouted by numerous major league teams. “Honestly, Carson is really committed to Wake Forest and he loves the coaching staff in place in Winston Salem,” said Coach Freeman. “His family has ties to the Winston Salem area also. “”Carson has had interest from many major colleges like Clemon and South Carolina,” said Coach Freeman. “He has been to a lot of prospect camps over the past two summers but he fell in love with Wake Forest and the baseball staff and it would be hard for any college to get him away from Wake Forest right now.” When you watch film of Gray Collegiate 2026 linebacker Michael Boulware (6-2, 220), or watch him play on Friday night, it’s like a flash-back to the days his father ( Michael , Sr .) and uncle ( Peter ) played at Spring Valley, back in the 1990’s. Peter and Michael, Sr. went on to play at Florida State and both brothers went on to play in the NFL after college. The younger Boulware had 155 tackles, 8 TFL, two sacks, 11 hurries, and four interceptions as a sophomore when he helped lead Gray Collegiate to the AA state title. He followed up those outstanding accomplishments with 103 tackles, five sacks, 9.5 TFL, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks as a junior. Unfortunately, his team was put out of the play-offs by the SCHSL for using an ineligible player so he only played in 10 games as a junior. The question this writer has is likely the same questions the Boulware family has, now that the off-campus Spring evaluation period has come and gone. Despite his hard-work as a sophomore and junior, Boulware is yet to receive a major college football offer. He was even left off the 247 2026 in-state watch list for South Carolina. This writer had an in-depth conversation with Boulware’s high school coach DeAngelo Bryant and he is little disappointed also. After graduation from Silver Bluff Coach Bryant went on to enjoy a college career at Wake Forest . In fact, he played against Michael’s father in college. “Back in February I watched Michael play in a junior all-star showcase game at Airport High School with most of the top rising seniors involved in the game,” said Coach Bryant. “Michael had 12 tackles and he was the best linebacker in the game, on either team, hands down. “A couple months later he attends a Coaches Combine at Woodland High and he runs a 4.25 shuttle that measures how well at athlete runs from side-to-side and in all directions,” said Bryant. “When you run a shuttle that fast, carrying 218 pounds of weight, that is really separating you from the pack. No one at that event came close to that shuttle time.” Boulware runs a 4.65 laser times forty. He dead lifts 500 pounds with a 425 squat. He powers cleans 290 with a vertical of 32 inches. He has a 295- pound bench press. Having reported on top football players in South Carolina for nearly 40 years I companion with the Boulware family in asking this question. What else does Michale Boulware need to do on a football field to merit an offer from a major college football program? During the May evaluation period Coach Bryant said 32 different colleges came by to see him and he said several came by only to talk to him about Boulware. “I got the impression that while a lot of major colleges said they like the sheer athleticism of Michael, they have yet to elevate liking him, to loving him” said Coach Bryant. “There is no doubt in my mind that he is a power five football player. On a football field he has a high motor that all coaches love. “I think what has been lost by major college coaches is the fact that no one is going to out-work Michael Boulware, and I mean no one when I say this,” said Coach Bryant. “Trust me, this will be verified by the college that is fortunate to sign in.” At the present time Boulware has serious interest from Wake Forest , Virginia Tech , and Coastal Carolina . South Carolina has told him that he is on their radar and to date Clemson has not shown little interest but he did camp with the Tigers recently. He will be attending numerous one day prospect camps over the summer. The HSSR currently ranks Boulware as the 15 th over-all 2026 prospect in South Carolina. He is expected to have a monster senior season at Gray Collegiate and we wish him well. With football scholarships increasing from a total of 105, compared to the old allotment of 85 one would hope there is an opportunity for a truly talented player like Boulware to land a spot in a power five program. So, in this Modern Turf recruiting feature we have talked in-depth about top sophomore softball prospect Aspen Boulware of Gray Collegiate, rising senior football prospect Michael Boulware also of gray Collegiate, and Carson Boleman , one of the nation’s top junior pitchers this past season. The state of South Carolina continues to be a hotbed for next level prep talent as exemplified by these three outstanding athletes.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Spartanburg — Spartanburg Day varsity tennis coach Bob Allsbrook is returning a text from this writer while 30,000 feet in the air, on a flight to Barbados, where he has come to spend two weeks to work as a tennis instructor to guests at the resort island where he will also be staying. A month earlier, Coach Allsbroook was coaching the Spartanburg Day Boy’s tennis team to their second straight championship win over traditional power Hilton Head Prep at the Cayce Tennis Center in Columbia. The hard-fought matches lasted for nearly five hours and the Griffins finally won 5-4 with a win in number two doubles at the very end of the 9 match event. “Last year with SCISA realignment we were never in the same classification with Hilton Head Prep so we never played each other,” said Coach Allsbrook, who has been involved in the sport of tennis for most of his life, even playing on the pro tour for a while. “Our players got upset last season when witnessed one of the Hilton Head parents showing off some cupcakes she had made that was already congratulating them for winning the state championship, and that gave the team extra juice, and we won like five of the six singles matches. “So, we knew they would come loaded for bear this season, and they did for sure,” said Coach Allsbrook. “We spilt the six singles matches 3-3 and we had split two of the doubles matches so it was 4-4 with our number two doubles team left on the court in the last match.” During a break in the final match of the day, Coach Allsbrook went over to give a pep talk to Nathan Harris who was teamed with number one singles player Charlie Forgerty in the last doubles match of the competition. “I went over to Nathan and told him, You got this!” A short while later Harris hit a return volley shot for the game winner helping lift the Griffins to a 5-4 win, their second straight SCISA AAA win over Hilton Head Prep that had not lost a state title match in quite a while, prior to last year. The six-man singles team consisted of sophomore Charlie Fogerty at one single. He won his state title match 6-2, 6-2. Bradley Johnson Jr won at two singles 6-3 and 6-2. Price Nelson won at three singles 7-5 and 6-4. Hilton Head Prep won the next three matches over number four senior Lane Greer , number fiver Harris and number six Griffins performer Bennett Johnson, an 8 th grader , who lost in close competitive matches. John and Nelson played number one doubles while Johnson and Greer played number three doubles. Those matches went 1-1 so the two doubles team of Forgerty and Harris decided the match. “Winning this year was even sweeter because we didn’t sneak up on them this year,” said Coach Allsbrook. “They brought a lot more fans with them this year also. We are losing two seniors to graduation but we have several up-and-coming players as good as the one’s we are losing. These two up and coming players are freshman Henry Gosnell and 7 th grader Parker Wilson .” Coach Allsbrook said that none of the six players who competed in the state finals had lost a match this season. Since 1987 Coach Allsbrook has won 20 state titles high school tennis, 13 of them have been with teams from Spartanburg Day. “I guess we will meet Hilton Head Prep in the state finals once again next season and we know that both teams will bring their A game for sure,” he said. “I tell my players all the time that you can’t go undefeated if you don’t win the match, you are currently competing in.”

 By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Moncks Corner – St. John’s Christian Academy fell a little short of their goal to get into the SCISA AAA baseball championship series, as they fell in the state semi’s to state runner up Orangeburg Prep (4-1) in what was the rubber game for the teams this season. The loss dropped their record to 12-9. They finished second in region 4 AAA at 4-2 with their only losses coming to AAA state championship Hilton Head Prep. The Cavaliers had to come thru the losers bracket in the state tournament as they dropped their first game to Pee Dee Academy 4-0 before beating Spartanburg Christian (6-1) and Patrick Henry (3-2) to set up another game with Pee Dee Academy . Senior Mason Ritter, who pitched well in losing to Pee Dee in game one, pitched a four hitter and didn’t allow a run to cross the plate as SJCA won the game 1-0 setting the game with OP. On the season he went 4-5 with a 2.31 ERA. He struck out 50 hitters in 42.1 innings. Senior Sumpter Moorer was named to the SCISA all-state team after leading the Cav’s in batting at .388, in hits with 26, runs scored with 17, doubles with four, triples with three and one round tripper. He was second in RBI’s with 11. On the bump, he appeared in nine games and had a 0.91 ERA to lead the team. Tyler Black was solid all year on the bump, leading the team with five wins. His era was 1.91 and he had team high 60 strike outs. Senior Lucas Morrison led the team in stolen bases with 9 while senior Landon Chipman was second on the team in hitting with a .297 average. Jacob Glover has been outstanding behind the plate this season. The junior had two errors in a 156 chances for a .987 fielding percentage. He did a great job of handling the pitching staff all year. “We had a veteran group with seven seniors that have played a lot of baseball together and they knew what it would take to make a playoff run. They have set a standard for future teams, ” said head coach Stewart Pierce . “

 By David Shelton Senior Writer Ridgeland – As one of the youngest athletic directors in the state, Logan Thomas takes over as the leader of the Thomas Heyward Academy athletic department this fall. In fact, Thomas may in fact be the youngest in his position in the Palmetto State. Thomas is a 2018 graduate of Thomas Heyward and participated in several sports while a student/athlete. He matriculated to Wofford College and returned to his alma mater as a teacher and coach a few years ago. Thomas rejuvenated the boys golf program while assisting in the football program. Taking on a much bigger role can be a daunting task but Thomas says his familiarity with the school and the athletic program is making his transition a lot easier. “I definitely think having been here basically all of my life helps in terms of knowing our culture and commitment,” Thomas said. “I’m not here to make drastic changes because there is no need for that. My goal is to build upon the legacy and culture that some good people established before they left.” Thomas is replacing Al Boni , who was a long-time coach at Thomas Heyward and the athletic director for the last four years. Another area that Thomas has been prevalent in prior to his new position is the social media aspect, making sure the positive word about the happenings at the school are publicized. “We work to make sure people know what we are about and that main thing is to help our kids get the best experience as students and as athletes,” he said. “Of course we want to continue to provide our kids the resources to excel and hopefully earn an opportunity for college.” Thomas Heyward also will have a new head football coach this fall. Daniel Bryan , a 2002 graduate of the school, will move from his role as an assistant to direct the program. He will be the fourth head coach in four years. Bryan was a starting offensive tackle at Thomas Heyward and was the first tackle ever named SCISA player of the year for the 2001 season. He played collegiately at Mars Hill. “We are very excited to have coach Bryan as our head football coach,” Thomas said. “He also knows our culture and our community and he knows our players. Coach Bryan will continue our winning tradition.” Thomas Heyward is the defending state champion for Class A of SCISA.

 By: Gerald Doolittle Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. – W.W. King Academy closed the 2024-25 school year with their annual athletic banquet where the coaches presented their awards to the student-athletes. Coach Jessica Anderson presented the Varsity Girls Basketball awards. Kenzie Morse (jr) received the Most Valuable Player award . She also made the All-Region team. Milana Beale received the Iron Will Award . Coach Dennis Gibson presented the Varsity Boys Basketball awards. Spencer McCormick (jr) received the Most Dependable Award and Joseph Morse (fr) received the Most Improved Award . Coach Allen Guy and Assistant Coach Doug Massey presented the Varsity Softball awards to the SCISA Class A runners-up. Claire Massey received the Most Valuable Player Award . She also made the All-Region team and played in the North-South All-Star game . Zoey Livingston (so) received the Offensive Player of the Year award . She also was the Region Player of the Year and played in the North-South All-Star game. Emma Enlow (7 th ) received Defensive Player of the Year award. She also played in the North-South All-Star game. Blythe Buzhardt (7 th ) received the Rookie of the Year award . She also played in the North-South All-Star game. Abby Aull (jr) received the Most Improved Award. Coach Allen Guy was named the Region Coach of the Year . He and assistant coach Doug Massey coached the North team in the All-Star game. Coach Brian Kneece presented the Varsity Baseball awards. Tucker McGinty (8 th ) received the Offensive Player of the Year Award . He also made the All-Region team and played in the North-South All-Star game. Colton Buzhardt (sr) received the Leadership Award . Elijah Hutto (so) received the Pitcher of the Year Award . He along with Casen Buzhardt (so) made the All-Region team and played the North/South All-star team. The 2024-25 Senior Awards went to Colton Buzhardt (Male Athlete of the Year), Claire Massey (Female Athlete of the Year), Colton Buzhardt (Male Student Athlete of the Year), Faith Black (Female Student Athlete of the Year), Kevin Crapps (Male Christian Leadership Award) and Faith Black (Female Christian Leadership Award).

 By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston - The First Baptist boys soccer program won its first state title since 1991, winning the SCISA Class AAA state championship with a 3-2 win over Pinewood Prep . The championship win avenged a loss to Pinewood Prep in the 2024 state finals and capped the ’25 season with a 15-4 record. The two area powers split two games during the regular season. First Baptist coach Winston Helms took over as head coach just days before the season started but has been a part of the school’s soccer program, boys and girls, for more than a decade. Ironically, Helms won a state title as Pinewood Prep’s head coach 19 years ago. “These kids overcame a lot this season and this is well-deserved,” Helms said. “We lost some key seniors to injury and this group really impressed me with how they overcome the adversity. We knew this would be tough but I knew when we got off the bus that we were ready to win this thing.” The Hurricanes led 2-0 on early goals by juniors Wyatt Tisdale and Josh Laney , and went up by three scores with Lars Weiss’s goal in the second half. Pinewood rallied late with two goals in the final 12 minutes but the Hurricanes held on. “We have our top four goal scorers coming back next year so we hope this is the start of a long run of championships,” said Helms. Laney finished the season with 22 goals and six assists while Tisdale scored 15 goals and had 14 assists. Sophomore Ben Kaplanis led the team in scoring with 31 goals and 12 assists. Sophomore Lars Weiss added 14 goals and assisted on 13 others. Tyler wins gold at state track meet First Baptist distance runner James Tyler closed out his prep career with a strong performance in the 2025 SCISA Division I state track and field championship in early May. Tyler won gold in the 3200 meter run and earned a bronze in the 1600 meter run. Those two finishes matched Tyler’s performance in the 2024 state meet. Tyler also finished third in the SCISA state cross country meet. Tanner Honeycutt finished fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 1600. Bates Walpole finished sixth in the javelin and Edings Walpole was sixth in the 400 hurdles. Ellie Blitch had a good day for the girls team, playing third in the 1600 and fourth in the 800 meter run.

Head coach Shaun Wright, Cross High f ootball, built one of the top Class A programs in the state.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston - Porter-Gaud’s girls team went wire-to-wire as the top team in Class AAAA this season, completing a 24-2 season with a 6-0 win over Hammond School of Columbia. Zoe Molten scored three goals and Gracie McCabe added two goals to lead the Cyclones to their first title since 2019. “We’ve been shooting for this for several years but came up short. This team came into the season very determined and focused,” coach Hope Walters said. “They worked extremely hard. We knew we had a chance for a special season and today was just the final statement.” Molten’s goal in the sixth minute of play gave the Cyclones a 1-0 halftime lead. A red card on the Hammond goalkeeper left the Skyhawks short-handed and the Cyclones took advantage. McCabe’s tally in the 47 th minute made it 2-0. Less than a minute later, Spencer Hostetter made it 3-0 with a score, and Molten’s second goal pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the 53 rd minute. McCabe scored in the 57 th minute and Molten completed her hat trick with a goal in the in final minute of regulation. Molten, a junior, scored 55 goals this season, which was seventh most in the state overall. She has 107 career goals and was named the SCISA player of the year. McCabe, a freshman, finished with 22 goals and six assists. Senior Claire Trowbridge and freshman Ava Adams also were key midfielders. The Cyclones allowed only eight goals all season and out-scored their playoff opponents, 21-0. Senior captain and center back Anna Davis was the leader defensively. Davis started and played in 106 games during her career.  The Porter-Gaud boys were trying to unseat powerhouse Cardinal Newman in the AAAA boys championship but the Cardinals won their sixth consecutive championship with a 6-2 win. After falling behind on a Cardinal Newman goal in the first minute of play, the Cyclones evened the score on a penalty kick from Mateo Tozzi in the 19 th minute. But, the Cardinas answered with two goals over the next 10 minutes and led 3-1 at the half. A score early in the second half pushed the lead to 4-1. Trailing, 6-1, Porter-Gaud got a goal from Graham Winterfield in the 78 th minute of play. The Cyclones finished with a 16-7 record. Porter-Gaud sweeps SCISA lacrosse titles There have been eight state championship games in SCISA girls lacrosse and Porter-Gaud has won all eight titles. The private school powerhouse completed a perfect 19-0 season with an 18-2 win over Heathwood Hall. Porter-Gaud led early and held a commanding 13-1 lead at halftime. The Cyclones defeated Heathwood Hall three times this season. Scarlett Mayer finished with five goals and three assists and went over 100 goals this season. Ragan Stryker added four goals and Ravi Hawkins and Hila Tiller each scored three times. “The eight straight is a great accomplishment but the undefeated season is what really stands out to me,” said coach Brent Hilpert . “Getting to work with this amazing group of girls who came together and pushed each other every day was the highlight of my coaching career..” The Porter-Gaud boys team also won the state championship on Friday, taking care of Heathwood Hall, 16-5. It was their sixth title in the last seven years after seeing a five-year winning streak snapped in last year’s finals.

Midlands Top 10 Baseball 1. Airport (27-6) 2. Batesburg-Leesville (24-6-1) 3. Lexington (22-11-1) 4. Blythewood (24-7) 5. Ben Lippen (23-6) 6. Gilbert (26-6) 7. Dutch Fork (19-7) 8. Chapin (18-7) 9. A.C. Flora (19-9-1) 10. River Bluff (19-10) Softball 1. Gray Collegiate (32-3) 2. Gilbert (25-5) 3. Lexington (23-6) 4. A.C. Flora (23-7) 5. Blythewood (20-9) 6. Pelion (16-8) 7. Airport (15-11) 8. White Knoll (14-9-1) 9. Chapin (13-11) 10. Hammond (11-10) By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - The spring sports season in the Midlands featured dozens of teams going for state championships in baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, boys tennis, lacrosse, and track and field. Several Midlands teams played through the competition and claimed state championships. To note, Batesburg - Leesville baseball collected its first state title since 1949. Airport baseball went on a late-season hot streak and won its first state crown in the team’s history. Gray Collegiate softball got its first 4A state championship and third state title in four years.  In boys tennis, A.C. Flora won its first state title since 2021 and third in team history. In girls soccer, A.C. Flora earned their first state title. The Cardinal Newman boys soccer team picked up their sixth straight SCISA state championship, and the Lexington girls Lacrosse team won its first state crown. The South Carolina High School League’s state track and field championships showcased the Blythewood girls team , which won their second straight 5A championship; the Gray Collegiate Academy girls team , which won the 4A state title; and the Fairfield Central boys team , which won their second straight 2A state title. Batesburg-Leesville’s first state title since 1949 With an 8-5 victory over Philip Simmons at the University of South Carolina’s Founders Park May 31, the Batesburg-Leesville baseball team won their first state championship since 1949, winning the best-of-3 2A championship series two games to one. The Panthers (24-6-1) scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the second, and took a 6-2 lead into the fifth inning, where they picked up two more runs. The Iron Horses rallied for two runs in the sixth inning, but relief pitcher Landon Soper pitched an uneventful seventh inning to seal the win. “I can’t describe how it feels,” head coach Rob Bouknight said. “These kids have battled all year. (The six seniors) have been here since they were eighth graders. … We’re so happy and so blessed. It was amazing. It was supposed to be a neutral site. … Our whole town showed up and made it feel like a home game.” Philip Simmons won the first game of the series 5-3 May 24, but the Panthers won 3-2 May 28 to force the deciding game at Founders Park. Besides pitching four innings and getting the win for the Panthers, Braydon Hallman hit a 3-run double in the second inning that put the game out of reach. On the mound, Hallman gave up seven hits, walked two and gave up three earned runs, but struck out nine. Gavin Parish also doubled. Airport wins 4A championship, first state title Airport’s baseball team blew through the competition in the regular season and postseason to capture the team’s first state championship. The Eagles (27-6) won the Region 4-4A title. Then the already hot team turned it up a notch, winning nine straight games, most of them convincingly, en route to a 4A championship series 2-game sweep of Seneca . Airport won 3-2 at Seneca May 25, but closed out the series quickly with a 10-0, 6-inning victory over the Bobcats at home. “This was for a lot of people. We lost some good ones this year… We were playing for our community and friends and it was good,” head coach Casey Bradwell said. “We put pressure on people, that’s what we do all the time, make them make plays, and we did that. We put enough balls in play to make them make some mistakes and we capitalized on them.” Hunter Epps worked the entire six innings on the mound, giving up four hits and striking out six while walking just one. “That dude’s never in trouble, man,” Bradwell said. “He throws the ball over the plate, he’s the best competitor I’ve ever coached. I’m proud of him, he did great.” Epps also went 2-for-3 with a double, while Braden Gross went 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. Brice Gillette also had two hits. GCA softball wins third title in four years Gray Collegiate softball, competing in the 4A classification after years at the 2A level, didn’t miss a step. The War Eagles (32-3) stumbled in a lopsided loss to eventual 5A Division 1 champion Byrnes March 15, and lost a Region 4-4A game to rival Gilbert April 21. The rest of the regular season and postseason leading up to the 4A championship series against York was all victories. York’s ace, senior and Erskine signee Layla Clayton , got the best of Gray in game 1 May 27 as the War Eagles fell 2-1 in a game interrupted by rain and completed in York before the start of game 2 May 28. Clayton stayed in the circle for game two, but the War Eagles got a 4-0 victory to force a game three set for May 31. The Cougars took a 2-1 lead by the third inning of game three, but Maddox Long’s 2-run home run in the fourth inning and Kayley Anderson’s 2-run shot in the fifth inning sealed a 5-2 win and 2-1 series victory for the War Eagles. “They work so hard. People wouldn’t believe how hard these kids work,” Gray Collegiate head coach Doug Frye said. “There ain’t that many teams that can outwork us. They may beat us, but they don’t outwork us. We lose, we come back and get better. We’re done today, and I’ll bet half these kids will be practicing tomorrow, trying to get better. They’re hungry for it.” Long also was the starting pitcher and worked three innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits. She made way for Makenzie Sease , who pitched a complete game in game one and returned to pitch four innings of 1-hit ball to get the win. Besides Long’s and Anderson’s home runs, sophomore Aspen Boulware hit her team-leading 22 nd home run in the first inning. AC Flora girls soccer The Falcons took only two shots on goal in their 4A state championship final May 10, but Samantha Lowther’s shot 22 minutes into the game hit the back of the net, and the Falcons defense ensured a 1-0 win for the team’s first state championship. A.C. Flora head coach Eric Navarro , in his first year as varsity coach after serving as the junior varsity coach last year, said he knew the team’s potential. “I knew there was something special about this group,” Navarro said. “As we progressed through the season we had some bumps, some hiccups. Every single time we faced a challenge, they stepped up. They got closer and stronger This was the best defensive performance we’ve had all season.” Flora keeper Kennedy Bagley held up her end with a clean sheet despite Bishop England getting 13 shots on goal. Bagley is in her second year as a soccer player. “With every save I got more and more confident. I just didn’t want to lose because this team worked so hard for this,” Bagley said. Cardinal Newman boys soccer Playing on their home field, St. Sebastian Stadium, the Cardinal Newman boys (13-8) beat Porter Gaud 6-2 to claim their sixth straight SCISA state championship. “That was by far our most complete game,” head coach Will Eudy said. “With the weather and the field and the way things were going, we knew we had to change the way we played a little bit, plus we knew they were going to press and try to counter, so we went with a lot of long balls, diagonals into space, and we were really, really lethal with those today.” Junior Tanner Battafarano led the way with three goals, the third straight state championship match where a Cardinal Newman player achieved a hat trick. Sophomore Chase Nelson , Senior Dakota Venugopal , and junior Brayden Roth scored one goal apiece. Junior Quade Wilson two assists, sophomore Frankie Marion two assists. Boys tennis The seasoned A.C. Flora boys team (21-1) weathered a stoppage of play due to rain at the Cayce Tennis Center and a change of venue to the USC indoor tennis facility and battled to a 5-1 victory over Bishop England May 10. The Falcons’ third state championship is the first since 2021. “I don’t know how it works but each one gets sweeter and sweeter,” head coach Amy Martin , who won four state championships, three with the boys and one with the girls, said. “This was the middle school team from 2022, we grew them up from 2021 and they have come out and gotten exactly what they needed to get done this year.” Bishop England No.1 player Dante Naud defeated James Smyth 6-1, 6-4, but the Falcons notched a victory in every other match. No.2 Jude Smyth defeated Roland Wier 2-6, 6-1 (10-3), No.4 Vijay Sinha defeated Colin Murphy 6-1,6-2; No. 4 Will Hewitt defeated Parker Murphy 6-2, 6-4; and No.5 Wiliam Beasley defeated Lucas Kizzetto 6-2, 6-4. In doubles, the No.2 team of Will Trumpeter and Tripp Van Vlake defeated Andrew Hamilton and Caleb Watson 6-1, 6-0. The doubles match was the first win on the board for the Falcons, and once that victory was notched, the hassle of weather and moving from venue to venue disappeared. Girls Lacrosse Lexington beat Spartanburg 12-7 at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium May 3 and won the first state title in program history. Goalkeeper Emersin Clamp held off most of the Spartans’ assaults and racked up 15 saves. Lenoir-Rhyne signee Izzy Saville scored five goals, finishing the season with 68 goals. Track and field Several Midlands teams took the top spot in the state track and field meets. The Blythewood girls team blew away the 5A Division 1 competition early with its sprinting depth May 17. The Bengals finished with 107 points on the day to claim their third straight state championship and first in the 5A Division 1 classification. “From Blythewood, the high school, the parents, the younger brothers and sisters come out, it’s just wonderful,” head coach Aleshia Hawkins said about the team’s atmosphere. “Everyone takes everything seriously. They want to get to the next level, and I tell them, you work. You don’t work, you can’t make it to the next level.” Peyton Hightower won gold in the 400 dash and won gold as a leg in the 4x400 relay team. Her sister, Hayley Hightower also ran a leg for that state championship team to go along with her basketball state championship the Bengals won in March. Brooke Bramlett won gold in the 100 hurdles, Amina Rhone won gold in the 400 hurdles in addition to running a leg on the 4x400 team. The Gray Collegiate girls track team won the 4A championship at Richland Northeast High School May 16 with 61 points, edging second-place Daniel’s 58 points and third-place Seneca’s 55 points. “I’m really proud of these girls, they worked hard all year. The coaches did a great of preparing our kids to come out here and preform at a high level,” Head Coach Jackie Robinson said. “First time getting a AAAA state championship at Gray Collegiate, we did it with only seven girls making it so for them to come out here and maximize all the individual and relay events I just can’t say enough good things. We had several personal records; they picked themselves up and delivered in a big way.” Senior Tamara Steward took home the gold in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.83 seconds. She also took first in the long jump with a mark of 5.48 meters. She finished second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:03.23. The Fairfield Central boys track and field team faced competition May 16 from Philip Simmons , the 2024 3A state champions who came down to 2A this year. While the Iron Horses got close, the Griffins sprinted past them and claimed their second straight state 2A championship at Spring Valley High School’s Harry Parone Stadium . “We broke through last year with a lot of young kids,” Fairfield Central head coach Raymond Harrison said. “We returned a lot of kids who scored points last year, so I knew we had a pretty strong chance to win it again this year. All season long, I knew Philip Simmons was going to be tough to deal with.” With wins and top placings in the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter dashes and runs, Fairfield Central collected 65 of its 101 points on the night. Philip Simmons finished second with 82 points. Senior Tydarion Grier won the 100 and 200 dashes, and won gold as a leg on the team’s 4x100 relay team with junior Jamie Brown , who also won gold in the 400 dash. Brown also won gold as a leg on the team’s 4x400 team. Hank White won gold in the 800 run.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake View – It did not come as a big surprise when Lake View’s head baseball coach Kip Herlong retired after 32 seasons at the helm. Herlong certainly still has the energy and passion for the game but there comes a perfect time to step away. Expressing a desire to follow his son Kason’s college career at North Greenville, Herlong is ready to hand over the reins of the program. Kason Herlong capped a solid prep career by hitting .417 with 40 hits and 31 runs scored. He also was 7-1 with two saves and a 0.56 earned run average on the mound. He was selected as the Class A player of the year and played in the North-South all-star game where he was named the most valuable player for the 1A/2A/5A South all-stars. Herlong also played football and was the starting quarterback for three seasons. “It was a real blessing to coach my son for six seasons, and he worked hard and is all about this community and his teammates,” the coach said. “Because I was coaching I missed out on a lot of my daughter (Morgan) playing in college. My wife (Liz) and I are looking forward to following his college career.” Herlong, already a member of the state’s baseball coaches hall of fame, leaves behind a legacy that will not likely ever be matched at Lake View. He won 633 games and eight state championships since taking over in 1993. His teams also were state runner-up five times, including this season when the Wild Gators lost to McBee in the Class A state championship series. One of the traits that made Herlong such a success was his humility and even keel attitude. While sometimes feeling disappointment, the coach always used the game as a teaching tool to his players. After the game three loss to McBee, Herlong took the time to thank those who helped the program be a success. “It has been a great ride in such a great community,” he said. “We have met with failure and we have met with success, and we treat them the same and move forward. Our motto this season was ‘keep moving forward’ to keep one foot in front of the other and keep going. “It would have been great for our players and for our fans had we won but things don’t always turn out like you would like.” Lake View finished 2025 with a 23-7 record. Several other players had solid seasons for the Wild Gators. Chase Price contributed five wins on the mound with a 1.76 earned run average. Senior Chris McGill batted .342 with two homeruns and 23 RBIs while senior Braden Borders batted .341 with 17 RBIs. Senior Bryce King hit .311 and senior Ian Capps hit .287 with 22 RBIs. McGill, Borders and Capps were three-year starters. “We have great kids here at Lake View and they work really hard. We always have a chance with these kids. Baseball is really important to them,” Herlong said earlier this spring. Lake View has moved quickly to replace Herlong, hiring former Lancaster coach Will Celmer to the position. Celmer is a 2008 graduate of Dillon High and was coach at Lancaster from 2019-2024. Softball posts another successful season The Lake View softball program continued its winning ways in 2025, posting 17 victories and making the district finals of the Class A Lower State playoffs. Chloe Cox finished the season with a .423 batting average on 30 hits and 14 RBIs. Sarah Price hit ,435 with 12 RBIs and Hollie Scott hit .373 with 19 RBIs. Scott also handled pitching duties and had a 2.15 earned run average with 187 strikeouts. Hanna Coburn finished with a .356 batting average, adding 16 RBIs, while Kaylynn Turner hit .356.

 By David Shelton Senior Writer Hilton Head – At the rate things are going, Hilton Head Prep may need a new, bigger trophy case to memorialize their continued run of athletic success. Athletic Director Shon Hardy was quite pleased with the efforts of the school’s athletes as Hilton Head Prep contended for multiple state championships during the 2024-25 school year. In several sports, not only did Prep contend but they also won state championships. Among those championship teams were girls tennis, boys basketball, boys golf, baseball and girls soccer. The girls soccer program won its third consecutive state title, as did the boys basketball team. The boys golf team won the Class AAA title earlier this spring. Cade Kriscunas was the state medalist, shooting 139 over the 36-hole event. Max Diamond shot 150 and Jeff Adams and Tag Graziano each shot 155. Nick Kupper shot 168 over two days. At the year-end athletic banquet for winter and spring sports, Diamond received the Most Improved award and Graziano received the Coach’s Award. Kriscunas was tabbed the Most Valuable Player. In girls soccer, the most outstanding player was Courtney Campbell and sharing the Coach’s award were Callah Dando and Sophia Schlieman . “From the first day we get on the field, winning a state championship is the focus,” coach Risa McMillan said . “This is what it all comes down to.” Calvin Middleton was named most improved on the baseball team. Jackson Stanyard was the most outstanding player and Brody Hausher earned the Coach’s award. This year’s state title was the first in school history after several near misses. “We don’t have elite D1 talent from top to bottom. We’re just a gritty bunch of guys from Hilton Head and the Lowcountry who fought tooth and nail and earned it,” coach Chris Wells said. For sailing, Ella Jones received the coach’s award. The boys soccer team advanced to the state finals before suffering a heart-breaking defeat. Brandon Moore was the most improved player and Aden Parsick was most outstanding player. Tony Fernandez received the coach’s award. Sharing most improved honors in boys tennis were Cole Mustard and Gabe Arnold . Wyatt Harmer was most outstanding player and Clayton Emmert received the coach’s award. Softball is the newest varsity program at Prep. The team honored three players with the coach’s award. The honorees were Jenna Oremus, Gabrielle McFadden and Bella Johnson . In track and field, Matthew Moe was most improved on the boys team and Levi Wright was most outstanding . Casey Signorello received the coach’s award. Sarah Elizabeth Phillips was most outstanding in girls track. In basketball, Courtney Campbell was the most outstanding player on the girls team. Sophie Moe was the most improved player, and Erin Cleary received the coach’s award. The boys basketball team handed out only coach’s awards. Recipients included Alston Adams, Billy Barron, Tyler Britschge, Connor Campbell, Luke Eanes, Finn Gregory, Ty Harpring, Brendan Moore and Jake Sheahan .

By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – Great players thrive on the big moment and love to produce on the biggest stage. James Island senior Jake Amman took full advantage of his moment in the sun. With the 2025 baseball season hanging in the balance, Amman’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Collin Anderson to lift James Island to a 6-5 win over Lexington in game three of the Class AAAAA Division I state championship series. The Trojans, 30-4, win a state title for the second straight season, capturing the AAAA crown in 2024. “We just needed to get to Jake with a chance to do some damage. Ethan Stein had a great at bat and drew a walk. I felt really good about chances with Jake up there,” James Island coach Matt Spivey said. “I can’t say enough about this team, their heart and determination. We faced some major adversity today and we handled it. Really proud of them.” Anderson also played hero in the win. He started the game on the mound before moving to centerfield in the sixth inning. Anderson was recalled to the mound in the eighth inning, snuffing out a potential big rally by Lexington after the Wildcats scored one run to take a 5-4 lead. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would bring Collin back but we were getting a little desperate,” Spivey said. “We had trouble throwing strikes and we just went with our gut. Collin’s been that guy all year.” Anderson then doubled in the tying run in the bottom of the eighth, finishing with two hits and two RBI in the game. Amman also tallied a pair of hits, giving him five hits in the series. Trip Ostergard and Connor Dantzler also had two hits in game three. In addition to Anderson, the Trojans used five more pitchers and ended up walking eight hitters while hitting three. Lexington, down 4-2 in the seventh, used a double, three walks and a hit batter to tie game. “I definitely think our experience helped us,” Spivey said. “We returned a lot of guys from last year and this team had a target on their back from day one. It was a lot of pressure but these guys thrive on pressure. We were tough on them but they worked their tails off. We won 30 games but it wasn’t easy.” A three-peat is possible but the Trojans lose Anderson, Amman and catcher Stow Rogers . Amman and Rogers each hit over .370 this season and combined for 40 RBIs. Junior Taj Marchand , an Ole Miss commit and one of the top prospects in the state, hit .530 with 12 doubles, eight homers and 42 RBIs. Sophomore Trip Ostergard hit .470 with 33 runs scored and junior Connor Dantzler hit .370 with 33 RBIs. Anderson finished with seven wins on the mound. Marchand added six wins while sophomores Cooper Jones and Dawson Beldner saw a lot of work and will be counted on in 2026. But 2026 can wait. Spivey plans to enjoy this season for a little time before getting back to the grind.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Hemingway – Class A sports are always tricky when it comes to team numbers no matter what sport is in season especially at schools like Hemingway where it is a challenge sometime to field a team and in track and field the issues usually how many events will your team be able to compete in at each meet. The Tigers track and field team is small in numbers but they have some very competitive athletes that work hard every day to get better. They are also young and hungry for success with all them being underclassmen. Two juniors lead the boys team in Akiem Holman and Alexander Timmons. Holman runs the 400 meters and long jumps for the Tigers while Timmons is the top 100-meter man. Holman has a personal best of 1:01.53 and Timmons has a personal best 12.59 in the 100. Freshmen Deandre Cooper and Daveon Gamble an eighth grader that are making an impact in the 100 and 200. Cooper just posted another personal best at the Hannah Pamlico meet with a time 12.94. Cayden Hannah is a sixth grader who has shown he can compete at the varsity level already. He has posted personal best in the 100 of 13.25, 200 of 27.12 and 400 of 1:06.07. On the girls side junior Elisha Singletary. In her career she has thrown the Javelin, long jumped, ran the 100, 100 hurdles and the 200 for the Tigers. Her personal best in the Javelin is 15.47. She is also an all-region volleyball and basketball player. Junior Shakiya Cooper is the Tigers top sprinter. She recently placed second at Carvers Bay meet in the 100 meter in a personal best of 12.91. She also runs the 200 (PR 27.15) and the 400. Kennedi Hayward and Leanna Washington are freshmen and Jaela Lewis is a seventh grader who run the 100, 200 and 400 meters The hurdles (100 and 400) are in good hands with eighth grader Honesty Anderson who also runs the open 400. She ran a personal best of 21.17 at the lower state meet.  Junior Zaniya Woods, junior Terriana Turne r and eighth graders Shaesha Turner and Jasmir Taylor handle the throwing events and continue to improve each meet. Shaesha set new personal best in the discus (17.9m) and the shot (7.63m) and Terriana set a new personal best in the discus of 18.71.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR HANAHAN – Hanahan High School’s baseball team waves goodbye to seniors Riley Ballard , Joe Furse and Garrett Brown after finishing the 2025 campaign in the Lower State championship game this spring. Ballard, a Citadel signee, missed a portion of the season but was the Hawks’ ace when healthy. Furse, who batted leadoff and patrolled the outfield, garnered all-region and all-state nods, and Brown contributed to the infield. “It was an awesome season,” second-year Hawks coach Skylar Hunter said . “I think the bottom line is that we competed very well and had great senior leadership. You don’t do what we did without guys like Riley, Joe and Garrett. You’ve got to give it to them.” Hunter’s team capped the year with a 21-11-2 record and finished second in the region. Hanahan won a postseason district title. As for the 2026 season, the Hawks can return a veteran group led by junior catcher Hudson Sprovero , junior second baseman Bo Brabham and eighth-grader pitcher/infielder Nolyn Nickels . All three earned all-region nods, with Sprovero also joining Furse on the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association’s all-state squad. Sprovero was one of the Lowcountry’s top power hitters this season and finished in double digits home runs. “We’ve seen how these kids can compete with all the chips on the table,” Hunter said. “There are six or seven more months before we get back on the field, and you look forward to seeing what kind of development they’re going to make. We’ll get into the weight room and see what happens.”  More returning starters are sophomore pitcher/infielder Chris Polm , sophomore shortstop Wyatt Muirheid , junior outfielder/pitcher Gunnar Haulbrooks and freshman outfielder Tripp Gallus . Sophomore infielder Zac Jimenez , freshman infielder Richard Atencio and freshman outfielder Charlie Wood were regulars in the lineup, too.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – It was a sour taste that lingered for a year in the mouths of every player on the Holly Hill Academy softball team. Winning is better than mouthwash. The 2025 Raiders completed a 16-4 season by winning the SCISA Class A state championship, defeating W.W. King in two games (6-4, 15-4) in a best-of-three championship series. Holly Hill won their last seven games of the season. The victory makes Holly Hill state champion for the second time in three years but it was not winning the championship in 2024 that fueled the fire this spring. Though heavily favored last season, the Raiders were upset in the state tournament, eliminated by Jefferson Davis Academy. “We didn’t get it done last year but we still felt we were the best team in the state,” coach Kally Knight said. “Losing last year was all the motivation this team needed. They had a great focus all through the offseason and it carried over into the season. We weren’t perfect by any means but the four losses came to good teams and it helped us stay focused.” In the game one win, Holly Hill banged out nine hits. Kaylee Brabham collected three hits and Kloie Mizell had three runs batted in to lead the offense. Pitcher Taylor Wright had two hits and threw a complete game while allowing four runs. The bats stayed hot in game two as the Raiders totaled 12 hits and took advantage of six King errors. King took a 3-1 lead after the first inning but Holly Hill posted eight runs in the second inning and had a five-run fourth inning to close the deal in five innings. Wright had five RBI on three hits, including two doubles. She again tossed a complete game inside the circle. Kaley Bell had two hits and three RBI while Peyton Strickland and Chloe Wren each added a pair of hits and each had an RBI. “We were a good hitting team really all season and a lot of girls contributed from game to game,” Knight said. “We knew if we cut down walks and played good defense, we were going to be tough to beat. “This team deserves this. They worked hard and they built a strong chemistry. It’s great to see them celebrate being champions again.” Rounding out the roster were Milly Kate Prescott, Ariel Stanley, Abby Burleson, Shelby Hanson, Bethany Martin and Kaylee Cuttino. Brabham and Wren are the only seniors on this year’s team so expect the Raiders to be a contender once again.