Hawkettes will face either Crescent or Belton-Honea Path for state title next week

Billy Baker's been on a 40-year pursuit to discover the South Carolina’s best high school athletes and recognize their achievements in this unique statewide prep sports only publication. 

Christ Church's senior SS/3B Bo Lowrance (6-5,200) with a 6.6 time in the sixty and he can move left or right with same dexterity plus he is currently batting .433 with 39 RBI’s, including 12 home runs and three triples.

Bennettsville — Lila English is a rising senior student athlete at Dillon Christian School, where she has been a cheerleader since the sixth grade. English has also been playing volleyball since the seventh grade, basketball since the grade, and plans to play again in her senior season. Not to mention that she is a sport over achiever, when she started playing soccer as a junior. She plans to enjoy her upcoming senior year, being a multiple sport athlete, while continuing to take NETC online classes to help prepare for college. English said her childhood dream was being a varsity cheerleader. Being a multiple sport athlete just adds to her enjoyment of her school experience. With all the demands of sports, high school academics and the NETC online courses, English says her “time management skills” improved by having to balance preparation for multiple classes, with practices and games each week. After high school, English plans to focus on her studies instead of playing sports at the next level. Currently, she is weighing her options of either attending Clemson University’s Agricultural Mechanization and Business Program , but she is also considering attending the Darla Moore Business School at USC. In the classroom, she carries a 4.2438 GPA and says the NETC courses, “Have opened doors to provide me college level work academic learning experiences that have given me a glimpse of what to expect in the future, when I am actually at college,” she said. For all her athletic and academic accomplishments, English 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 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Currently, English is enrolled in dual credit online courses offered by NETC. She started taking classes during her junior year and she completing classes that will fulfill basic requirements for her freshman year at college. She has taken US History, World History, and Medical Terminology to date. English looks forward to going to college and preparing for a career. When asked about the NETC experience, English said “NETC has been great,” she said. “I was worried about starting these courses because I had never done anything like it, but the layout is easy to understand, and my professors were always flexible, and willing to help when I needed it.” Considering she only has two semesters of classes completed, English commented “I haven't taken many classes yet, that could reduce my course load in college, but plan on taking some online courses this summer and again during my senior year.” As a high school student, playing sports year-round, and taking NETC online classes, English had this to say about that challenge. “I have to plan, so there is a balance in everything between school, sports, and life,” she said. “I put together a schedule that enables me to get all the course work completed, so I don’t have to give up on doing other things.  When asked if all this can be stressful, English summed it up this way: “Time management can be hard with multiple games, or assignments due, but pacing myself has always helped,” she said. “I try not to load myself down, and I try to space my work out throughout the week to avoid stressing myself out.” English reflected on favorite memories as a student athlete, “Some of my favorite sports memories happened at practices,” she said. “The hard work behind the scenes with all the fun, smiles, and laughs can’t be beat. A different type of bond is formed within a team where you are pushing others, and yourself to be better while also having fun doing it.”

Bennettsville — Reese Bracey is a senior three-sport athlete at the Dillon Christian School, where he participates in the sports of football, basketball and soccer. He readily admits that football is his favorite sport among the three. He started playing football in the fifth grade, and he has played multiple positions as a receiver, tight end, running back, and also at linebacker. In the eighth grade, he started playing basketball as a small forward. In the ninth grade, he started playing soccer. During his prep school career, he twice earned All-Region honors as a running back in football with over 1,000 all-purpose yards achieved. He has also earned All-Region honors in soccer. Bracey closes his high school athletics having played all three sports in his senior year. He says one lesson being a multi-sport athlete taught him is to be on time. “If you are late to practice, you will have some type of punishment,” he said. “This translates well to schoolwork, when it comes to scheduling, doing, and turning in assignments on time.” In the classroom, he carries a 5.2 GPA, while maintaining his online course load, and participating in sports. After graduation, he plans to attend USC and pursue a career in the medical field. For all his athletic and academic accomplishments, Reese Bracey 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 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Bracey is currently enrolled in dual credit courses offered by NETC. He has completed classes in Psychology, Public Speaking, English 101 and 102, plus History 101 and 102. By taking the online courses through the NETC, Bracey says, this, “Helps prepare me for the workload and schedule I can expect with college work once I get to college,” he said. It has taught me always to use any free time to complete assignments. I apply this lesson, whether that be at home, or at school.” When asked about a memorable moment in his sports career, Bracey said, “That was involved a play that I will never forget,” he said. “We made the football playoffs and with our first snap of the game, we scored a touchdown!”

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR  Columbia – Bamberg-Ehrhardt high school and Calhoun County high school are 33.9 miles apart on US-601 with a lot in common as they are two of the top Class A athletic programs in the state and now they share back-to-back class A track and field state championships. The Red Raiders beat the Governor’s School to capture the girls title while Calhoun County defeated Blackville-Hilda to win the boy’s title. “I felt if we did what we are capable of doing today we had a good chance to repeat,” said BE head coach Travis Wilson . “I want to make sure we to get the race, do our job and focus. Coach Wilson continued, “Motivation was a big thing coming into the year. Winning last year put us in the hunted role and so we tried to stress it is harder to repeat. The girls started picking it up at the region and lower state meets.” Calhoun County head coach Wayne Farmer is no stranger to back-to-back state championship as this is the third school that he has led to back-to-back class A state championships, the others being Allendale Fairfax and Scott’s Branch. It was also the 10 th state championship in his career. “Our focus was to come back and repeat. The challenge this year was that we became the hunted instead of the hunter. The biggest thing is the kids performed with no hick ups. We scheduled a lot of big meets to learn how to compete and it paid off today,” said coach Farmer. The girls meet started off perfect for the Red Raider as their 4x100 team of Zyasia Whiley, Carmyn Folk, Keyaunjanay Corbit and Daisha Etheridge blazed around the track in a season’s best of 50.38 to win gold in the day’s first running event. The 4x800 relay team also won gold in a time of 10:56.16. Kymyhia Jamison, Jayda Sanders, Nilayah Edwards and Rashida Quattara made up the team. Sanders picked up a silver medal when she finished second in the 800 meters. Ezariah Williams won a gold and silver medal for the Red Raiders in the Discus and shot put, respectively. She threw the discus 36.73 meters for a new personal record and set another personal best in the shot put with a put of 11.39 meters. Both events earned her Silver Elite performance. She also scored in the Javelin by finishing seventh. Briaunjenai McMillian won a bronze medal in the Javelin with a toss of 32.94. She also scored in the shot put finishing eighth. There were a few individual double gold medal winners. Bethune Bowman’ s Makiyah Johnson won the 100 and 200 meters. Her winning time in the 100 of 12.17 was a silver elite performance. “It feels great to win two gold medals. I want this for a long time. Last year I came in second in both events. I put in a lot of hard work and it paid off,” said Johnson. Riverwalk Academy’s Emme Herring won gold in both the 800 and 1600 meters while Blackville Hilda’s Breyanna Williams won gold in both hurdle events as well as winning a silver medal in the 200. The Saints were led by Wofford signee Kamari Kelly. Kelly won the 400 meters in a time of 48.56 and then won the 800 meters in 2:03.55. He ran the second leg of the gold medal winning 4x800 meter relay team. He also ran the second leg on the 4x400 meter relay team which won a silver medal. “These last couple of years to see all the hard work pay off. I very grateful for coaches and family and I just want to thank God,” Kelly said. Joining Kelly on the 4x800 meter relay team were Kamron Johnson, Traveon Baker, and V’Jay Thomas while Baker, Eddie Coleman and Thomas were on the 4x400 relay team with Kelly. Jamani Canty won two golds in the discus and shot put. His toss of 49.17 in the discus was a new personal best. Also winning medals for the Saints were St. Julian Johnson won two silver medals in the shot put and the Javelin. He set personal best in both events with a toss of 45.68 in the Javelin and he put the shot 14.22. Bringing home bronze medals were Kamron Kelly (800), Eddie Coleman (400 meter hurdles), and Darren Ben (Triple Jump). Ben also scored points in the high jump (4 th ) and in the long jump (8 th ). In the 100 and 200 Da’Shaun Albany of Ridgeland Secondary School and Camari Brown of Hardeeville Jr-Sr high finished one-two in each race with Albany winning the 100 and Brown taking the 200. Hunter Willis of Riverwalk Academy won gold in the 1600 and silver in the 800. Blackville-Hilda’s Da’Montray Allen was a double gold winner as he won the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.84 and the 400 hurdles in 58.16. Jordan Strong of Lewisville won two bronze medals in the long jump and high jump while capturing a gold in the triple jump

By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer  Columbia --Just after the AA state track and field meet in 2025, when the Philip Simmons girls dominated the field with 148 points, the boys were runners up to state champion Fairfield Central , Iron Horses track and field coaches Emma Santor and Ryan McCauley got married. Together, the couple packed the field with Philip Simmons runners and field athletes in the 2026 meet, and while the girls scored 159 points in their repeat victory, the boys scored 106.5 points and claimed their second state championship in three years. The girl’s total was 107.67 points higher than runner-up Landrum’s 51.33 points. “We have a huge team that’s full of depth, and we’ve got an amazing group of girls who are always willing to rally around each other, and they know when to show up when it’s time,” said Coach Emma McCauley. “They trust the training, they trust the process, and fortunately for us they all peaked at the right moment, and we were able to pull off another state title.” The boy’s team’s point total was 59.5 points higher than runner-up Fairfield Central’s 48, and that was after the Griffins 4x400 team of Jamie Brown , Brenton Mack , Kenyan Douglas , and Da’Qwan Kelly closed out the meet with a winning time of (320:41) “I think we had a little chip on our shoulder from last year and the boys really wanted it this year,” said Ryan McCauley. “The boys really showed up in big ways in multiple events.” The girls’ team led early and never looked back, just as the Iron Horses did last year. Sophomore distance runner Laura Perry took gold in the 1600 (5:11.73) and 3200 (5:11.73) runs. Behind Perry in the 1600 were teammates Flynn Taylor , second, Stella Wininger placed 5th, and Avah Mallek was 7 th . In the 3200, Wininger took 2 nd and Keziah Varner took 6 th .. “It’s actually insane, it’s like so much support,” Perry said about running events with teammates as opposed to running solo. “If there are so many people, it makes you feel like you’re so much better, and it pushes you to be better.” Taylor took gold in the 800 (2:16.30), and the 4x800 relay team of Taylor, Mallek, Varner, and Samantha Watson won gold in 9:47.92. Julia Reilly won the triple jump (10.91) meters 5 th in the long jump. Ashley Roush won the pole vault (3.8-meters). Averi Cable took 4 th . Roush was second in long jump and third in high jump. Other placers for the girls were Chloe Woods , Jordyn Washington - Spencer , and Cora Gabriel , who took 4 th , 5 th , and 6 th in the Javelin, respectively. Lilah May took 4 th in high jump. The 4x100 team of Madison Cobb , Roush, Reilly, and Ashlynn Johnson finished third, and so did the 4x400 team of Paris Harrison , Riley Payne , Elle Corbin , and Taylor . In the boy’s events, Philip Simmons won gold in just two events, but their depth often had two or three competitors earn points. Jeremiah Richardson took first in the 200 dash with a time of 21.79 and the 4x800 relay team of Brian Stanbaugh , Keaton Stuart , Gavin Conjurski and Stone Sweatman won gold with a time of 8:09.41. “I just wanted to put it all out for my team, especially the seniors,” said Richardson. “I was so proud of everybody who raced, all the coaches who helped us throughout the whole season.” The 4x100 team of Luke Chambers , Brady Cobb , Cameron Steed, and Richardson took second and the 4x400 team of Steed, Connor Roberts , Montrell Mungin , and Zack Venning took 6 th . In the rest of the events, several Iron Horse runners competed with one another. Richardson was 4 th 100, in front of Brady Cobb’s 5 th place finish. Luke Chambers took 8th place. Behind Richardson in the 200 dash were Cobb (second) and Chambers (seventh). Sweatman placed fourth in the 800 and Grady Castiglia was 7 th and Trent Manning (8 th ). Manning also took 4 th place in 1600, with Griffin Tollison just behind in 5 th ). Brian Stanbaugh placed 3 rd in the 3200, while Tollison was 4th and Castiglia was 6 th . Mungin took 2 nd in 400 hurdles. In field events, Omonte Taylor placed 4 th he high jump and Cole Tonon took eighth in the pole vault. In javelin Jack Robinson placed 3rd and Luke Robinson was 4 th . “We’re super fortunate to have two awesome middle school’s feeder programs that go into our school,” said Emma McCauley. “Every year we get around 40 middle schoolers that will come out and try out for the team. We’re returning a really strong junior class as well, which we’re excited about.”

Mountain View Girls and Waccamaw Boys Earn SCHSL State Track & Field Titles.

 Since the school was opened in 2005, South Pointe High School has been known as a football school, with eight state championships in nine appearances at the 3A and 4A classifications, most recently last December. On Thursday night at Richland Northeast, the Stallions added a boys track and field win, holding off a late charge from May River to win the 4A boys track and field state championship by a half a point. “Half a point winning the state championship? Can’t get no better than that,” South Pointe head coach Calvin McCullough said. South Pointe’s win came after an unfortunate injury. While qualifying in the 4x100 meter relay for the state meet last week, Devin Isley , one of the state’s top sprinters in any classification, got injured. “He tweaked something, so he didn’t run today,” McCollough said. “We were counting on winning the 100, 200, and 4x1. We came in fifth in the 4x1, but we only got one point in the 200.” Instead of counting on the sprinters for a high score, the Stallions turned to the crew of distance runners who just happened to claim the school’s boys 4A cross country title last fall. “We figured we were pretty good in the distance,” McCullough said. “They actually pulled through and got us not only the top points, but they also got some of the low-end points as well that kept added up.” South Pointe took the lead with strong distance-running finishes. Senior Keller Brown finished first in the 3200-meter run with a time of nine minutes, 21.13 seconds. Brown finished just over 10 seconds faster than May River’s Talan Farrington . Stallions sophomore Copeland Crawford finished seventh to give South Pointe 12 points in the event. Brown took second behind May River’s Jackson Wright’s 4:16.54 time in the 1600 run with a time of 4:16.71. Reece Adams and Luke Stralow finished fifth and sixth in the race as well to give South Pointe 15 points in the event. “The 1600 I was coming in with a PR (personal record) of 4:18 and it was a 4:11 guy (Wright),” Brown said. “I knew that one was going to be more tactical. I was going to have to work for that one. I felt really good about my execution and just got past him at the last second. I got beat by .2 seconds, so I felt pretty good about that. “But in the 3200 I ran it really well all season, I felt like I had the legs to just go and run hard and eventually people would drop off,” he added. Jayden Finney took fourth place in the 800 run for an additional five points. The team of Finney, Gray Shelton , Jett Shelton and Felix Cassidy took gold in the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:06.59, after the 4x100 team of Cash Truesdale , Ethan Howze , Jalen Davis , and Isley’s replacement took fifth place. South Pointe gained 14 points on those finishes. Houze was the only top finisher for South Pointe in the dashes, taking eighth in the 200 dash for one point. The Stallions picked up 14.5 points In field events. De’onta Watson took first in the long jump with an effort of 6.72 meters. Jalen Davis placed seventh and Cain Cousar eighth in the event. Jayden White tied with Darlington’s Donte McCray for seventh place in the high jump for the 1.5 points that clinched the win. South Pointe had all of its points with several track and field events still being contested. The Stallions led May River 48-42, then 60-50, and then with White’s high jump result posted, 61.5-50. The Sharks’ 4x400 team of Antonio Corvato , Daeton Z . Altacho , Braihilin Paylor and Brennan Chase finished second to boost the team score to 58. Zavier Polite’s sixth-place finish in the triple jump gave May River its total of 61 points. Earlier in the afternoon the Sharks got first-place finishes from Wright in the 800 run (1:56.88) and the 1600 run. Farrington took fourth place in the 1600 and second place in the 3200. In the dashes, Jeremiah Grant finished fourth in the 200 and Corvato placed eighth in the 400. The 4x100 team of Mason Sweigart , Edward Cooper , Chase, and Grant placed fourth, and the 4x800 team of Farrington, Altacho, Xavier Flores , and Polite took third. Hilton Head Girls win first title since 2017 On the strength of two golds in the relay races and distance runner Julia McKenna , who won gold in the 1600, second place in the 800 and fifth place in the 3200, the Hilton Head girls track and field team held off a late charge from Westside to claim its first state championship since 2017 and fifth in school history. Seahawks head coach Frank Holland credits McKenna as being a big help in boosting the middle distance and distance runners. “She is a dynamic runner,” Holland said of McKenna, who took a warm interest in track by her sophomore year but really got into the sport as a junior. “She fell in love with it and all of a sudden her times were incredible to a point where she couldn’t get enough running. She encouraged other girls to compete and train with her. She’s a big inspiration.” McKenna, a senior and University of Tampa signee, finished atop the field in the 1600 run with a time of 5:00.96. With her finishes in the 800 and 3200, she earned the Seahawks 22 points. Also finishing in the 800 for Hilton Head were Aly Saleme and Stella Morgan , who placed fourth and fifth respectively, to give the Seahawks an additional nine points in that event. McKenna was also part of the 4x800 team that took gold with a time of 9:41.33. Her teammates were Ava Pankuch , Saleme, and Autumn Pearson . “I felt like I did really well considering all four events even though it can get really tiring,” McKenna said. “I just wanted to end it in a really good way and that’s why I decided to do all four. I’m really happy about how my mile and 4x8 went.” The 4x400 team of Jourdyn Mootry , Pankuch, Saleme and Kyndal Cohen beat out second place Bishop England by less than two seconds with a time of 3:58.29. Cohen won the 400 dash with a time of 55.26. She also took eighth in the 100 dash. Mootry took eighth in the 200 dash. Helana Fister tied with May River’s Lily Gluck for fifth place in the pole vault for 2.5 points. The Seahawks totaled 65.5 points to the Rams 58 points. Hilton Head overtook host team Richland Northeast midway through the event, holding a 51.5 lead to the then-second place Cavaliers. Bishop England later vaulted into second place with 41 points to Hilton Head’s 55.5 points. Westside’s highest track finishers were Na’ima Jackson , who took fourth in the 100 hurdles, and the 4x100 relay team of Jamy’a Tucker , Ta’Nijah Speed , Gervonna Williams , and Amber Henry , which also placed fourth. Henry took sixth in the 100 dash. The Rams’ push for the title did not come until the field events scores started to fall onto the scorer’s table. Janilah Rhodes took gold in the long jump with an effort of 5.35 meters and won another gold in the triple jump with an 11.52-meter jump. Behind Rhodes in the long jump was Williams, who finished fifth, and in the triple jump Williams placed second and Brooke Bryant placed sixth. Bryant placed fourth in the high jump, and Rhodes took eighth in that event. Madison Richardson took fourth in the shot put. All tolled, 46 of Westside’s 58 points came from field events. While the Rams’ scores came late enough to bolt into second place, Hilton Head stockpiled enough points to have a 7-plus point cushion on the evening. “We all trained really hard as a team, probably like any other team, but we all really love each other as if we’re a family,” McKenna said. “We all support each other, the sprinters support the distance runners and the distance runners support the sprinters.” Holland said that while McKenna graduates, she has left a mark on the program. Among returners are Cohen, whom Holland noted broke three school records just as McKenna did this year, and Mootry, along with several underclassmen and seventh- and eighth-graders. “We’ve got some young athletes coming up as well, so we’ve got a pretty good solid future,” he said.

By Thomas Grant Jr. Special to the HSSR Columbia - Harry Parone Stadium has served as a fitting site for the S.C. High School League track and field championships. The past four years has seen main resident Spring Valley and fellow Richland District Two schools Blythewood and Ridge View come away with Class 5A boys and girls’ titles. On Thursday, the Lady Bengals made it a 4-peat enroute to dominating the final Division I championship. Their 125 total points exceeded second place Dorman by 50 points and produced gold medals by sisters Peyton Hightower (400 meters) and senior Hayley Hightower (800 meters). This marked their second repeat title team up at the school. Back in March, they helped Blythewood win its second straight girls’ basketball title. “This journey has been really amazing,” said younger sister Peyton, who’s a junior. “I’m just blessed to share with my sister and run with the same track team. I really love her and I’m super proud we’re both state champions in our last year.” The Lady Bengals also won both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays in building a large lead. Junior Alexis Jones placed second and third, respectively, in the long jump and high school and Brooks Bramlett (100-meter hurdles) and Romell Garway (triple jump) added to the point total with runner-up finishes. Head coach Aleshia Hawkins credited her team with maintaining their intensity and overcoming the pressure of a 4-peat. “Our girls are real committed,” Hawkins said. “The goal is to just always give something to our young girls to look up to and so, with the older girls and mid-age girls, they just keep coming.” While Dorman finished a distinct second place with 75 points, it did not a record-setter. Senior hurdler Rebecca Okebe became the first female at the S.C. High School League track and field championships to finish the 400-meter hurdles in under a minute. Her time of 56.70 seconds broke the previous mark by Summerville’s Imagine Patterson by four seconds. “I like it because it’s what I’ve been working on for the past four years of high school,” said Obebe, who also won the 110-meter hurdles. “Especially the previous two years and the summer, we’ve been working really hard to perfect my race and kindly get me the right things to work on alternating and staying consistent in my hurdles. So, I get to see all the hard work pay off.” Other multi-medalists were A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), Ella Nighbor (Clover) and Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg). The boys’ title quite literally came down to the final two field events. Wando had developed an early lead on defending champion Ridge View before winning by a small margin. The Blazers were looking to make it five straight years a Richland Two school was boys’ champion. Spring Valley had won champion from 2021-24. “It’s a battle to the end and we knew it was going to be that way coming into this meet,” head coach Jason Doorman said. “And it was awesome to see. We had pretty step up in places we didn’t expect. We had people just bring their ‘A’ game throughout the entire meet and it was an awesome finish. “Taking out Ridge View is something because they’re a very good team and they’ve been beating the state over and over and over. So, to be able to defeat them, hey that’s an honor to take them down and be able to be in the ranks there on top of the state.” Junior Dylan Carey was the lone individual champion for the Warriors in the 400 meters. Wando did have several medalists in the field events that helped in its points total. Multi-medalists in the boys’ division included Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes) and Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs). S.C. HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE CLASS 5A TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (Top 5 Finishers) GIRLS 100 METERS 1. A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), 2. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman), 3. Trinity Jones (Summerville), 4. Oliver Taylor (Blythewood), 5. Ciara Williams (Lexington) 200 METERS 1. A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), 2. Ciara Williams (Lexington), 3. Kendell McFadden (Fort Dorchester), 4. Olivia Taylor (Blythewood), 5. Alexandra Francique (Blythewood) 400 METERS 1. Peyton Hightower (Blythewood), 2. Patience Grant (Stratford), 3. Olivia Taylor (Blythewood), 4. Akyra Webster (Spartanburg), 5. Zy’keyia Halley (Spring Valley) 800 METERS 1. Hayley Hightower (Blythewood), 2. Ana Laurient (Wando), 3. Rowyn Martens (Wando), 4. Gretchen Kale (Mauldin), 5. Marley Wall (Dutch Fork) 1600 METERS 1. Ella Nighbor (Clover), 2. Ava Jagielski (Clover), 3. Callie Rohm (Mauldin), 4. Kendra Miles (Lexington), 5. Taylor Blackwelder (Summerville) 3200 METERS 1. Ella Nighbor (Clover), 2. Taylor Blackwelder (Summerville), 3. Avery Griffith (Mauldin), 4. Anna Cavallon (Wando), 5. Anna Kelly (Blythewood) 110 METER HURDLES 1. Rebecca Okebe (Dorman), 2. Brooke Bramlett (Blythewood), 3. Gabrielle Cherry (Blythewood), 4. Romell Garway (Blythewood), 5. Sidra Berry (Ridge View) 400 METER HURDLES * 1. Rebecca Okebe (Dorman), 2. Katelyn McNeil (Spring Valley), 3. Arriana Dooley (Mauldin), 4. Tatiana Dooley (Mauldin), 5. Madison Ross (Blythewood) 4x100 METER RELAY 1. Blythewood, 2. Summerville, 3. Dorman, 4. Spartanburg, 5. Spring Valley 4x400 METER RELAY 1. Blythewood, 2. Spring Valley, 3. Dorman, 4. Ridge View, 5. Wando 4x800 METER RELAY 1. Wando, 2. Mauldin, 3. Blythewood, 4. Spartanburg, 5. Dorman HIGH JUMP 1. Miracle McLean (Carolina Forest), 2. Danabella Jackson (Sumter), 3. Alexis Jones (Blythewood), 4. Trinity Hall (Clover), 5. Oprah Tchuendem (River Bluff) LONG JUMP 1. Ciara Williams (Lexington), 2. Alexis Jones (Blythewood), 3. Alahna Valentine (Ridge View), 4. Simone Wells (Sumter), 5. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman) TRIPLE JUMP 1. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman), 2. Romell Garway (Blythewood), 3. Naadia Rampersant (James Island), 4. Miracle McLean (Carolina Forest), 5. Oprah Tchuendem (River Bluff) DISCUS THROW 1. Addilyn Elrod (Summerville), 2. Olivia Parker (Spartanburg), 3. Maddie Sanders (Mauldin), 4. Emmie Otto (Carolina Forest), 5. Darcy York (Rock Hill) POLE VAULT 1. Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg), 2. Skylar Singleton (James Island), 3. Emiya Victor (James Island), 4. Mattie Bandy (Dorman), 5. Harmoni Harris (Spartanburg) JAVELIN THROW 1. Elle Cocco (Wando), 2. Morgan Carter (Fort Dorchester), 3. Hailey Greatrex (Fort Dorchester), 4. Kyleigh Moore (Fort Dorchester), 5. Jaylyn Maley (Lexington) SHOT PUT 1. Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg), 2. Emiya Victor (James Island), 3. Harmoni Harris (Spartanburg), 4. Lainey Myers (Lexington) 5. Elle Cocco (Wando) TEAM SCORES (Top 10) 1. Blythewood (125), 2. Dorman (75), 3. Summerville (60), 4. Wando (59.50), 5. Spartanburg (53), 6. Lexington (45), 7. Mauldin (42), 8. Clover (36), 9. Spring Valley (33), 10 (tie). James Island and Fort Dorchester (30) * S.C. High School League record BOYS 100 METERS 1. Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes), 2. Grant Garrick (Lexington), 3. Jeremiah Calhoun (Boiling Springs), 4. Ke’Shon Tate (Spring Valley), 5. Thaddius Rush (Ridge View) 200 METERS 1. Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes), 2. Jeremiah Calhoun (Boiling Springs), 3. Grant Garrick (Lexington), 4. Devan Erby (Rock Hill), 5. Aidyn Wiggins (J.F. Byrnes) 400 METERS 1. Dylan Carey (Wando), 2. Larry Davis (Blythewood), 3. Jaderion Moore (Rock Hill), 4. Brody Johnson (Wando), 5. Jaden Davis (Wade Hampton) 800 METERS 1. Josh Voegele (Lexington), 2. Ari Laurient (Wando), 3. Wesley Heimbach (Lexington), 4. Joseph Robinson (Spring Valley), 5. Jack Butler (Wando) 1600 METERS 1. Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs), 2. Jacob Powers, 3. Joseph Robinson (Spring Valley), 4. Sammy Joudeh (J.L. Mann), 5. Evan DeMassi (Dutch Fork) 3200 METERS 1. Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs), 2. Jacob Powell (Blythewood), 3. Hudson Kennemore (J.L. Mann), 4. Ben Elliott (Mauldin), 5. Noah Taylor (Spring Valley) 110 METER HURDLES 1. Grayson Crowe (Boiling Springs), 2. Quency Grant (Ridge View), 3. Elijah White (Ridge View), 4. Justin Elliott (Mauldin) 400 METER HURDLES 1. Elijah White (Ridge View), 2. Quency White (Ridge View), 3. Justin Elliott (Mauldin), 4. Andy Metz (Spartanburg), 5. Grayson Crowe (Boiling Springs) 4x100 METER RELAY 1. J.F. Byrnes, 2. Spartanburg, 3. Ridge View, 4. Carolina Forest, 5. Ashley Ridge 4x400 METER RELAY 1. Ridge View, 2. Blythewood, 3. Wando, 4. Carolina Forest, 5. Spring Valley 4x800 METER RELAY 1. Lexington, 2. Wando, 3. Spring Valley, 4. Clover, 5. Summerville HIGH JUMP 1. Cameron Hughes (Spring Valley), 2. Evan McCullough-Bryant (Dorman), 3. Jamarius Brown (Dorman), 4. Jonathan Wilson (Carolina Forest), 5. Isiah Kennedy (Ridge View) LONG JUMP 1. Torrean Davis (Spartanburg), 2. Gage Stewart (Dutch Fork), 3. Jahmari Malone (Wando), 4. Jamier Gaston (Dorman), 5. Miles Williams (Carolina Forest) TRIPLE JUMP 1. Jamarius Brown (Dorman), 2. Jahmari Malone (Wando), 3. Torrean Davis (Spartanburg), 4. Amari Stevenson (Ridge View), 5. Jamier Gaston (Dorman) DISCUS THROW 1. Aiden Graham (Rock Hill), 2. Jaden Roberson (Dorman), 3. Jay Morris (James Island), 4. Collin Ash (River Bluff), 5. Preston Iagulli (Carolina Forest) POLE VAULT 1. Lukas Kowlok (Stratford), 2. Mayson Samuel (Cane Bay), 3. Caleb Berry (Mauldin), 4. Luke Lasher (James Island), 5. Walker Ferguson (Mauldin) JAVELIN THROW 1. Walker Ferguson (Mauldin), 2. Ben Eikenberry (Wando), 3. Gryson Greenberry (Summerville), 4. Zach Teachman (Wando), 5. Nate Dixon (Lexington) SHOT PUT 1. Aidan Graham (Rock Hill), 2. Henry Camps (Wando), 3. Collin Ash (River Bluff), 4. James Porter (Dorman), 5. Jimmy Jones (James Island) TEAM SCORES (Top 10) 1. Wando (84), 2. Ridge View (78), Dorman (52), 4. Lexington (50), 5. Spring Valley (48), 7. Mauldin (41), 8. J.F. Byrnes (40), 9. Blythewood (38), 10. Spartanburg (35.50)

Fort Mill boy track team.

Knights Baseball Champions 2026. (Photo WW King athletics).

Woodland High School's Track and Field Seniors '26.

Andrews — East Clarendon High Schol out-hit Andrews 6-5 on May 20 on the road in the AA Lower State softball semifinals, but the Yellow Jackets took advantage of two errors and six walks to come out on top 5-1 to they advance to play Chesterfield on Friday in the Lower state finals. Joy Weisner is the Andrews head coach, and she told High School Sports Repor t after the game: “What we have tried to do all season is take advantage of any opportunities a team gives us. We hit the ball better today and that is very important.” Andrews last won a state title in 20218. Andrews had five players earning All-Region honors. They are centerfielder Sarah Jennings , pitcher Addyson Davis , who will also play in the North-South game, junior catcher Chloe Skipper , who was the Region Most Valuable Player, senior outfielder Addison McCants and talented sophomore shortstop Tori Smith. Andrews lost to Chesterfield 7-3 on May 18. “We have to hit the ball better when we go to them this Friday,” said Weisner. “We didn’t hit the ball well at all this past Monday when we played Chesterfield. We hit the ball well today, so we just have to keep that momentum going into Friday. “We have to go to Chesterfield and beat them twice. We have to play some of our best softball this season in order to do that, so I hope we are focused. We need to start the game with momentum and end the game with momentum when we play at Chesterfield." East Clarendon head coach Jason Newsome closed out his third season with a 25-8 record with the loss. “I thought our pitcher ( Addyson Davis ) hung tough today and she is just a freshman and she has been learning by fire all year long,” said Newsome. “She is extremely talented and she is a good pitcher now, but she is going to be an even better pitcher in the future. “In the playoffs the margin of error is very thin and the mistakes we made, they took advantage of. On the other hand, the mistakes they made and the opportunities they gave us, we didn’t take advantage of them and that was a key in the game. They did a good job of keeping us off balance.” All-Region 7 players from EC included Region POY Peyton Hanniford , Bailey Hicks , Riley Atkinson , Layke Jeffords , and Zoey Culick . The score was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the third when Andrews scored four runs. Karaline Gainey singled to start the inning and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Stump. Sarah Jennings next singled to left field, advancing Gainey to third. Torian Smith drew a walk to load the bases before Jenna Cook hit a ball deep into the corner down the first base line that resulted in an inside the park grand slam. Andrews added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Briana Walker singled and advanced on a single by Gainey. Stump was then Hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jennings then hit an RBI ground out that brought in Walker to account for the Yellow Jackets’ five runs. East Clarendon’s lone run came in the fifth inning. Linsey Robinson had a leadoff triple, and she scored two batters later on a ground put by Megan Brown .

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By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – The Wilson Hall softball team came up short of reaching the SCISA AAAA state championship series, which is a goal for everyone at the start of the season. Only two can get there though, so while not fun to come up short, it is bearable. However, the way things went down for the Barons this season didn’t help at all. Wilson Hall just needed one victory on Day 2 of the state tournament at Patriot Park SportPlex in Sumter to punch its ticket to the title series. Instead, the Barons lost to archrival Laurence Manning Academy twice by the scores of 12-0 and 6-4. LMA advanced to the best-of-3 series instead and swept Pinewood Prep to win a third straight championship. In retrospect though, Barons head coach Teresa Alexander finds it hard not to be proud of the season her team had. “The season’s ending didn’t turn out how we had hped, but I’m really proud of the tough schedule we played and the success we had all year.,” said Alexander, who guided Wilson Hall to a 21-7 record. “I’m excited to see this young bunch return with the experience they now have under their belts. But we will truly miss our seniors, Addie Griffin and Marymae Lampron .” The Barons had four players selected to the All-Region 3-AAAA team in Griffin, freshman pitcher Marsha Kate Skey , sophomore shortstop Mary Paisley Geddings and junior catcher Caroline Moorman . Griffin, who played left field, had a .279 batting average to go with an on-base percentage of .423. She had one double, one triple, one home run, 13 runs batted in and 18 runs scored. Skey was a standout in the circle as Wilson Hall’s primary pitcher. Shd had a `1.69 earned run average to go with 115 strikeouts. At the plate, Skey batted .400 with an OBP of .489. She had three doubles, two triples, 17 RBI and 33 runs. Geddings batted .317 with a .406 OBP to go with seven doubles, one triple, four homers, 26 RBI and 28 runs. Moorman had 14 RBI, 17 runs and four doubles to go with a .354 batting average and an OBP of .429. Other returning starters are freshman second baseman Tatiana Erichsen , freshman outfielder Anna Meldrim , sophomore third baseman Lilly Grace Przybyla , freshman outfielder Emmie Williamson and eighth-grade centerfielder Caroline Andrews . Meldrim hit .412 with three homers, 31 RBI and 24 runs, Przybyla hit .373 with 21 runs and 15 RBI, Williamson batted .263 with an OBP of .500, and Erichsen batted .324 with 19 RBI and 23 runs.

Williamsburg runners makes diving slide for the plate in the playoffs. (Photo by Mara Feagin)

Lady Patriots Katherine Trotter, Bailey Sturkie, Ellie Yonce, Taylor Hilll and Brianna McNeill (not pictured) were selected to the North-South All-Star Team!

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR ST. STEPHEN - Timberland High School’s boys track and field team finished fourth in the state Saturday, May 15, at Richland Northeast High School. The Wolves, who finished with 45 points, produced state champions in multiple events. They placed three points out of a tie for second place. Hurdler Malyk Goodman won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.63 seconds and jumper Carter Hawkins soared to victory in the triple jump with a mark of 14.24 meters. Goodman also placed third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.82 and Hawkins finished second in the long jump with an effort of 6.65 meters.  Timberland’s boys sent three more to the awards podium. Hurdler Day’vian Bennett placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.89 seconds. Jumper Antaun Faison finished sixth in the long jump with a mark of 6.51 meters. The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team posted a time of 43.17 seconds to place seventh. For Timberland’s boys, jumper Robert Roberts finished 11th in the triple jump with an effort of 12.11 meters, while the 4x800-meter relay placed 11th and 4x400-meter relay team 13th. The Timberland girls finished 10th in the state and sent quite a few to the awards podium (top 8). Kennahdi Murrell placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and seventh in the high jump. Kemani Lampkin finished fifth in the 800-meter run and Jermanee Washington placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. China Greene recorded a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles and teammate Kiana Glenn was two spots back in eighth. Tiana Jefferson finished 12th in the long jump and 13th in the 400-meter dash. Zoe Cooper was 13th in the discus. Timberland’s girls placed eighth in the 4x400-meter relay and 10th in the 4x100 relay.

The THA golf program is relatively new but interest seems to be gaining each year.

Senior Jayden Bennett has had some key turns at bat for Summerville during the playoffs.

Lukas Kowlok headlined by repeating as the state champion in the pole vault soaring over the bar at 4.85 meters.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - The pain of falling out of the 5A Division 2 District 4 tournament May 11 was still fresh when longtime White Knoll softball head coach talked about the season the next day.  The Timberwolves (14-13, 7-3) faced Berkeley for the second time in the tournament. The Stags held a 6-3 lead but White Knoll rallied for two runs in the seventh. After Melinda Veler drew a walk, Reginae Porterfield swatted a 1-out double to put runners at second and third. Lillian Priest lined out on the next at-bat, but Berkeley first baseman Emma Drawdy misplayed Adelynn Lewis’ ground ball, enabling Veler and Porterfield to score and cut the Stags’ lead to 6-5. With Lewis on base representing the tying run, Jaida Gray struck out swinging to end the hopes of an upset, and close out an otherwise great Timberwolves season. “It’s hard to shake it off. In the season you go to the next game but at the end of the season you can’t,” said Farr, who watched her team take a 3-0 lead only to be hit with Berkeley’s run in the third and a five-run fourth. “I could see my kids kind of feeling it, you could see it in my kids eyes,” she added. “We’ve got to fight to survive and they rallied around those seniors. They knew their time was coming and for two outs we were down 6-5. And that last pitch, it’s a hard way to go out. We’ve got to regroup and build off of what we did this year.” White Knoll beat Socastee 8-7 May 4 to get into the bracket, then upset Berkeley 3-2 May 6. West Florence , led by phenomenal pitcher Annie Eliason (19-0, 0.00 ERA, 309 strikeouts; who gave up two hits and struck out 20) beat White Knoll 7-0 May 8 to set up the rematch with the Stags. While the season ended on a sour note, there was much to praise about a team that Farr said few people would look to as contenders. After a young Timberwolves team battled through trials and tribulations, injuries and other issues, Farr said she watched her team come together in the second half of region play. “On senior night we really started playing for each other and giving it everything we had,” Farr said. “They worked their tails off to get better every single day and it showed. We have 12 players who fought their hearts out. We got to that fourth game, and our losses were close. We were right there, and it really was just one lucky pitch and that’s how the runs ended up.” White Knoll loses just two seniors in Priest and Gracie Fisher , but those seniors made a huge impact on the team. Priest had three home runs, 11 RBI, 34 hits and a .405 batting average. Fisher batted .311 with a double and 14 RBI. “Those two seniors have left their legacy, and we’ll continue with what they started on this swing upward,” Farr said. “We’re really excited that everyone else is returning.” Among the returners are freshmen Veler and Porterfield, and sophomores Charity West and E.G. Birchmore . Porterfield finished with a .393 batting average and a team-leading four home runs and six triples, six doubles and 20 RBI. Veler had 31 hits and 17 RBI to go with a .360 batting average an a .415 on-base percentage. West hit .323 with 11 hits and 10 runs batted in. “Mindy Veler started out in left field since seventh grade and she’s fantastic,” Farr said. “She’s got speed and runs down everything in the outfield but she’s really a good infielder, can play shortstop without missing a beat. An unbelievably great kid who won’t talk very loud but she’s a leader. “Reginae, that kid is small but she’s strong and compact. She can fly and you can’t get anything past her in centerfield,” Farr said. “Charity has been our DP and catcher. She puts the ball in play and has quality at-bats.” Birchmore caught fire in the circle late in the game and finished the season with a 2.23 earned-run average. She was 3-1 in five appearances. “E.G. is a pitcher and utility player, one of those kids in the past couple of years who was always there,” Farr said. “We didn’t expect her to be our starting pitcher but in the back half of the season she started to pour it on and keep us in games. She’s a battler along with our other pitchers.” The White Knoll baseball team finished 10-14 and 5-5 in Region 4-5A, but had a bounce-back season after going 7-22 and 0-10 the year before. The Timberwolves reached the play-in series of the 5A Division 2 District 3 tournament, but fell two games to zero in the best-of-three series with Lugoff - Elgin . White Knoll fell 4-1 in game one, but rallied for six runs in game two after falling behind 7-0. The Timberwolves had a 4-run rally going on in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and two men on, but a strikeout closed out the game and the season. Senior Dillon Woods led the team with a .465 batting average, five home runs and a .573 on-base percentage. Senior Jean Maldonado batted .364, and junior Tra Johnson batted .329. The team loses six seniors but has plenty of younger hitters, fielders, and pitchers to put together another successful season next year.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Florence —Saving their best game of the season for the third game tiebreaker in the SCISA AA softball finals, The Carolina Academy Bobcats defeated The Kings Academy 14-1 on the Florence Christian softball field to win their second straight state title. The Kings Academy had won game one in Lake City while the Bobcats won game two on the road, so a third game tiebreaker was needed. For Bobcat head coach Scotty Phillips, it was his 7 th state title in 27 seasons as the team’s head coach.  The Bobcats pounded out 16 hits, from 8 different players in their line-up, and their five- run spot in the first inning set the tone for the rest of the game. After the game, Coach Phillips told the HSSR, “I will tell you what we did on the way over here on the bus,” said Coach Phillips. “We sang to Jesus, one song was Gratitude, plus several others and this team truly believes in the Lord. I will tell you that this is a great group of girls who have a lot of faith and they also have a lot of faith in each other. “Getting five runs in the first inning was huge for us and I will take that every day,” said Coach Phillips. “ Carlie Ann ( Smith ) had a fire cracker tonight (went 5-for-5) and she played a great tournament along with EllaHam (3-of-4 & 2 RBI’s) played here tail off and came on strong late in the season and she was the tournament MVP in Sumter as far as I am concerned and she had a great game tonight. “I feel awesome for the team winning two in a row and they worked their tails off to have success,” said Coach Phillips. They have been up and down throughout the season, and we kept telling them that they could be an awesome ball club and they came over here (Florence Christian) and put it all together tonight.” Carolina Academy senior pitcher/center fielder Raeley Frye will be named the HSSR-SCISA AA Softball Player of the Year when the publication’s softball all-state team is announced around June 1. She has been the ace pitcher in the circle for the Bobcats the past two seasons. Coming into the game she had pitched 84.2 innings with 108 strikeouts with an ERA of 2.48. At the plate she batted .352 with a team leading 32 RBI’s and seven home runs. Frye was a happy senior captain after the game. “If you had told me years ago (7 th grade), when I first started playing softball under Coach Scotty, that we would be where we are today, I probably would have told you no way,” said Frye. “It has been a lot of hard work.” Frye was asked what the difference was between game one, when the team lost 5-2 to The Kings Academy, and this third game that they dominated? “In the past two games we just started playing better as a team, and we started trusting each other more,” said Frye. “You can’t have a team not trusting everyone and you can’t play well if you are divided. This team has been together for a long time and we trust each other.” Frye went 1-of-2 in the game including an inside the park home run that produced the Bobcat’s first two runs in the first inning after Smith led off with one of her four doubles and five hits during the game. In the circle Frye worked four innings, allowed five hits with three strikeouts before being relieved by Ham for the final two innings when the Bobcats had built an 8-1 lead. Other Bobcat hitters in the state championship win included center fielder Ham, a sophomore, who went (3-of-4 & two RBI’s) and in her two innings of relief in the circle Ham allowed one hit while striking out three batters. Sophomore third baseman Lauren Sims went (2-of-4 & 2 RBI’s). Sophomore first baseman Lexi McCutchion had a hit and two RBI’s, while freshman shortstop Paisley McCutcheon went (2-of-4). Freshman second baseman Natalie Brayboy contributed a hit and senior right fielder Savannah McCutcheon had a hit with two RBI’s. After the game, The Kings Academy head coach Jennifer John told the HSSR. “I am really proud of my team, and this was the first time we have been in the state finals,” she said. “Our two senior starters are our third baseman Lauren Mills and out first baseman Kate Buckley and our two senior subs are Maddie Cottrill and Maddie Creveling and we will miss all four of them. “ We really have a young team and with this game today it will fuel our returners to want to play harder and get back here again with a better result,” said Coach John. “We will have seven starts back including our sophomore pitcher Addison Bescher .” While the bobcats had perhaps their best overall game of the season this game was certainly not one of the better ones for The Kings Academy. “We got behind early and we just never recovered from the five runs they scored in the first inning,” said Coach John. “I feel like, you know what, that this game will motivate us to come back stronger next season.” The Lions got six hits in the game. Bescher led the team with two hits. She also had 9 strikeouts in the circle. Center fielder Emma Taflinger had a hit as did catcher Emma Atkinson . First baseman Kate Buckley and shortstop lead-off batter Ava Grace Keefe provided a hit. For the season, Carolina Academy had six starters bat .292 or better. Prior to the state championship game, the top hitter was Ham at .459 with 28 RBI’s. Smith was next on the hit index at .432 and 10 RBI’s. Fyre was at .352 with a team leading 32 RBI’s and seven home runs. Sims came into the final game batting .328 and 15 RBI’s for the Bobcats. Sophomore OF/Catcher Paisley Coker was batting .317 with 17 RBI’s while Braveboy was at .315 with 14 RBI’s. Paisley McCutcheon came into the final game batting .292 with six RBI’s. Other members of the Carolina Bobcat team include junior Katherine Holliday , left fielder Ema Amos , and 9 th grader Kaylee Lyerly . Ham had 53.1 innings with 78 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.41 coming into the final game.

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By Dennis Brunson Hssr.com Associate Editor Manning – The Dorchester Academy baseball team came into the SCISA AA state playoffs with a 7-13 overall record. The Raiders’ run in the playoffs came to an end on Thursday with them sporting a 13-15 record – oh, yeah – and the state championship trophy. DA beat defending state champion Lee Academy 9-5 in the third and deciding game of the best-of-3 championship series at Laurence Manning Academy’s Tucker Belangia Diamond . “These guys here we struggled all season long, but we never lost our composure,” said Dorchester head coach Brent Jackson . “We just came out here in the playoffs and started playing baseball like we should have.” The Raiders won their second title in three years, claiming the 2024 crown. Jackson pointed out an important distinction. “We just had one guy back from that (’24) team,” he said. “This was a new bunch of guys who did it.” The Cavaliers, who finished the season with an 18-6 record, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. However, DA broke through for four runs in the third. LA got within 4-2 in the fourth only to see Dorchester match the run in the top of the fifth. Lee put up two in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 5-4. That set the stage for Raiders senior third baseman Wyatt Byrd . DA’s Reed Almers reached on an infield single to start the top of the sixth. He was forced out on a fielder’s choice, and it appeared Cavaliers relief pitcher Myles Frye had the second out when he got Landon Holly to pop up in foul territory down the first base line. The ball wasn’t caught though, thus extending the at-bat. That would be fatal for LA. Holly came through with a single before Warren Judy struck out for what would have been the third out. Instead, it was just the second and that brought the right-handed swinging Byrd, the No. 5 hitter, to the plate. He lofted a fly ball right down the right field line. The outfield on Tucker Belangia Diamond is pretty spacious with the exception of down the two lines, with right reaching 295 feet. Byrd’s poke ended up clearing the fence for a 3-run home run that made it 8-4. “When I hit it I thought I had a double,” said Byrd, who not only hit his first homer of the season but also hit a homer in his final high school at-bat. “I just got very excited when I saw it was a homer.” Lee head coach Danny Price couldn’t undersell the significance of that scenario. “If we make that play we’re getting out of the inning without them scoring,” Price said. “If we do that, then we really have the momentum going for us. But baseball can be a funny game.” Dorchester would add another run as John Quattlebaum drew a walk, went to third on an Abe Shuler single and stole home to make it 9-4. Lee got a run back in the bottom of the inning, but Judy retired the side in order in the seventh to get the complete game. “I was just out there competing,” said Judy, who finished the game with 90 pitches. “I wasn’t getting a lot of strikeouts. I was just relying on my defense, and they did a great job.” Judy allowed seven hits, but didn’t walk a batter while striking out four. “Warren pitched a heck of a game,” Jackson said. “He just went out there and battled.” The Raiders finished with 12 hits, all of them coming over the last five innings. Shuler led the way in terms of hits, going 3-for-4 with one run batted in. Byrd was 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run scored. Holly was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Judy was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Austin Varn had a hit, two runs and an RBI, Carter Beeks had a hit and two runs, and Almers had a hit, a run and an RBI. “We got the clutch hits when we needed them,” said Jackson, whose team didn’t hit a home run in the regular season but hit four over the course of the eight playoff games. Olson had two of LA’s seven hits to go with a run and an RBI. Chance Entzminger had a hit, two runs and an RBI, Andrew Bowers had a hit and an RBI, and Cash Holloway had a hit and a run. Tucker Rogers and Aiden Fitzgerald each had a hit, while Frye scored a run and picked up an RBI. “We had a great season,” Price said. “We hit and pitched well most of the season, but we just didn’t seem to play our best in this series. You have to tip your cap to them (Dorchester). They played well.” Lee got out to the 1-0 lead in the first when Entzminger reached on a 1-out error, stole second and scored on an Olson single. Tyler Gilbert started on the mound for the Cavaliers. He walked Almers to open the game before retiring six batters in a row. However, he walked Beeks to begin the third and wasn’t as lucky this time around. Gilbert struck out Bryce Marchant before getting Almers to hit a ground ball. All hands were safe on an error, and Varn and Holly followed with RBI singles to make it 2-1. Judy had a ground-rule double to drive in a run, and Byrd followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. LA cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth. Olson singled with one out, reached third on an Aiden Fitzgerald single and scord on a sacrivifce fly by Frye. Dorchester got the run back in the fifth when Judy and Byrd started the inning with singles. Shuler followed with a 1-out single to score courtesy runner Graham Varnadoe . Holloway led off the Lee fifth with a single and was sacrificed to second by Cary Privette . Entzminger delivered Holloway with a 2-out single, and Bowers followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-4.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Orangeburg – The Orangeburg Preparatory School girls track and field program has now started putting state championship rings on the other hand. The Indians won their sixth consecutive state championship on May 1, winning the SCISA Division II crown at the Orangeburg Prep Athletic Complex . Orangeburg Prep head coach Brooks Smith said bringing home state title trophies never gets old. “tt’s always nice to win,” Smith said. “This one was a little tougher for as coaches because we knew we had a strong team. It was hard for us to lose on paper, so that made it more stressful for us as coaches whereas we were able to use the underdog role the last couple of years.” The Indians won with 130 points with First Presbyterian of Shannon Forest finishing second with 112. Spartanburg Day School was third with 91while Thomas Sumter Academy finished fourth with 40 and Greenwood Christian School fifth with 28. Orangeburg Prep used its depth to pick up the victory as 13 athletes scored points. The Indians were led by junior Mary Legare Delaney , who was the high point scorer in the state meet for the second consecutive year. Delaney won two events and finished second in two others to score 36 points. She won the 400-meter dash in a time of 1 minute, 00.48 seconds and won the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 1 inch. She finished second in the 200 in 26.61 seconds and second in the triple jump in 33-05. “Mary Legare brings a lot of points to the table,” Smith said with a laugh. “She’s just such a competitor. She trains hard and expects to go out and win.” Smith said Delaney’s victory in the 400 along with sophomore Naomi McCutchen’s fifth-place finish were pivotal in Orangeburg Prep coming away with a comfortable victory. “When we were trying to figure out who to put where, we the 400 is where we decided she needed to be,” Smith said of Delaney, who owns the school record in the 400 but didn’t run it as much this year as in years past. “The coaches said, ‘We need you there.’ We have a vigorous 400-meter program that we do. “Picking up 12 points (10 for Delaney and 2 for McCutchen who also had a fifth-place finish in the javelin at 88-09)) in that event was huge. It took the pressure off of when it came to the final even of the 4x4(00-meter) relay.” Freshman Blakely Garrick had the Indians’ other first-place finish. She won the 400 hurdles in 1:09.80. She finished second in the 100 hurdles in 17.88 and fifth in the triple jump at 29.05 1/4 to finish with 20 points. Sophomore Gee Gee Riley finished second in points with 22. She finished second in the 400 hurdles (1:10.31) and third in both the long jump (16-02 7/8) and the triple jump (31-08). She also ran a leg on the second-place 4x100-meter relay team (52.53) along with seventh-grader Carson Cue , McCutchen and junior Emmaline Dangerfield . “Gee Gee is like our Swiss Amry knife,” Smith said. “We’ll try her at one event this week and have her in our back pocket when we might need her for something else.” Morgan Newsome was the lone senior to score points. She finished second in the pole vaul with a height of 08-06. Eighth-grader Jordyn Baldwin was fourth at 06-11 7/8 and freshman Ella Sarvis was fifth (06-11 7/8). Eighth-grader Kennedy Lawtson finished third in both the 100 hurdles (18.15) and the 400 hurdles (1:14.19. Cue finished fifth in the 800 run (237.22). The 4x400 relay team of McCutchen, eighth-grader Erika Martin , Lawton and Cue finished second (4:26.16) and the 4x800 team of Cue, Laston, eighth-grader Delilah Howe and eighth-grader Hannah Bair finished third (11L01.56). Smith said the secret to Orangeburg Prep’s success is how it works together as a unit. “There is no doubl that this is a team that works together,” he said. “These girls all pulled for each other, believed in each other and helped each other out.”jUNI LIVINGSTON, WILLIAMS, JUDY BASDEBALL ALL-REGION Junior Marshall Livingston , junior Maxx Judy and sophomore Cholly Williams were selected to the All-Region 1-AAA baseball team. Livingston led the Indians in hitting with a .360 batting average. Judy finished with a .325 average and Williams finished at .320. After losing its entire starting lineup from last year’s AAA state runner-up team, Orangeburg Prep finished the year with a 13-13 record. The Indians went 1-2 in the state tournament. They lost to Hilton Head Prep , the team they lost to in the championship series, 5-0 in their first game. Orangeburg Prep rebounded to beat Patrick Henry Academy 5-4 in an elimination game. Freshman Cam Jolley hit the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning for a game-winning home run. The Indians were eliminated with a 4-3 loss to Spartanburg Christian Academy . SCHURLKNIGHT, LAMBRECHT, HARTZOG SOFTBALL ALL-REGION PICKS Senior shortstop Prestan Schurlknight , senior catcher Hannah Lambrecht , junior second baseman Calee Hartzog and sophomore pitcher Natalie Hall were named to the All-Region softball team. Schurlknight, who will be playing collegiately at Lander, was chosen as the Co-Region Player of the Year. She finished with a .521 batting average. Lambrecht batted .491, Hartzog hit .449 and Hall batted ,421, Orangeburg Prep finished the season with an 11-14 record. The Indians went 1-2 in the state tournament. They beat Spartanburg Christian 10-6 in the opener before falling to now 5-time state champion Pee Dee Academy 12-2 in five innings and fell to Williamsburg Academy 8-7.

By Rob Gantt Special to The HSSR HANAHAN - Making solid contact at the plate and, with it, winning games has become contagious for Hanahan High School's softball team. The Hawkettes completed a dominant run through the district tournament Wednesday, May 13, with a 10-0 victory over visiting Georgetown High School . Hanahan took control from the outset, plating eight runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Hawkettes, who won for the 11th time in 12 games, finished off the victory by mercy rule with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. "We've been talking about it since Friday, that we need to get right on it from the start," Hanahan coach Katrina Bezdek said. "I think it took us a little bit more time in our other games because we hadn't played for a while. Now that we're playing more consistently, they were really fired up. They jumped on it first thing." The Hawkettes, who have tallied 60 runs in their past five games, recorded six hits in their initial set of hacks. Infielder Camryn Fowler sparked the scoring with a RBI single. After going up 3-0 on a wild pitch and fielder's choice groundout, Hanahan pitcher Maggie Priddy dropped a RBI single into shallow right field to make it 4-0. Outfielder Briar Mros and infielder Dria Tolbert then connected on two-run triple to make the home team's advantage a very comfortable 8-0. "That first inning, it felt like it was everyone pretty much," Bezdek said. The uprising was plenty of run support for Priddy, who hurled a one-hitter for the Hawkettes with five strikeouts. "We decided to go with Maggie because they hadn't seen her yet, and I thought she threw really, really well," Bezdek said. "She was hitting her spots. She was moving the ball, and then our defense backed her up." First baseman Aubrey Cribb singled in Hanahan's ninth run in the bottom of the fourth inning and Tolbert ended the game with a RBI double in the fifth inning. Mros, Tolbert and Riley each collected two hits for Hanahan. Mros scored three times from the leadoff spot. The Hawkettes also blanked Marlboro County (14-0) and cruised by Georgetown (12-5) in their first two district games. The postseason district title was the eighth for Bezdek. Hanahan (19-6) hosts Dillon High School in the first game of the Lower State tournament Friday, May 15. "It feels like every year we play Dillon," Bezdek said. "They're always good competition. The way we're playing right now, I feel like our confidence is growing. That's going to be the key going into the next round." Dillon secured its district crown with a 3-0 win over Waccamaw Wednesday. The Wildcats (14-12) also knocked off Battery Creek (8-0) and Silver Bluff (9-6) in their district.

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Swampcats complete a three-peat in SCISA AAAA softball.

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Walterboro – It’s official. The Pee Dee Academy softball program can now say it has been able to bear the title of state champion for the past half decade. The Golden Eagles won their fifth consecutive state crown on Tuesday, beating Colleton Prep Academy 8-1at the CPA field to sweep the best-of-3 SCISA AAA championship series. PDA, which beat the War Hawks 10-0 in five innings on Monday in Mullins , finished the season with a 28-2 record. This is the ninth straight season Pee Dee played in a state title series. It also claimed a championship in 2017. In Monday’s win, senior Maddie Coward tossed a 1-hit shutout. Coward, who has started in the circle for each of those five title teams, struck out nine, walked one and hit a batter. She threw 52 pitcheas, 43 for strikes. Pee Dee scored two runs in the first inning, one in the second, three in both the third and fourth and closed it out with a run with one out in the fifth. Dinah Johnson had a 2-run single in the first inning, while Lilly Grace Rowell had a sacrifice fly that scored Carly Carroll in the second. e The Eagles scored three runs in the third before Addison Hasty had a 2-run double in the fourth followed by an RBI double by Azeleigh Arnette to make it 9-0. The game-ending run came on a triple by Careoll Hasty and Arnette both had two hits to lead PDA’s 8-hit attack. Coward added a double, and Rowell had a single to go with her sac fly. Carroll and Johnson had the other hits. Carolina Academy beats The King's Academy 8-7 to force deciding game in AA Carolina 8 The King’s Academy 7 Florence – Carolina Academy kept alive its hopes of defending the SCISA AA title with an 8-7 victory over The King’s Academy on Tuesday at the TKA field. The deciding game in the best-of-3 series will be played at Florence Christian School on Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. Raeley Frye and Ella Ham did the work in the circle for the Bobcats, who improved to 15-10. Ham smacked a home run, while Paisley Coker had two multiple-run hits. Addison Bescher had 12 strikeouts in the circle for the Lions. Bescher also had 12 strikeouts and allowed just two hits in The King’s Academy’s 5-2 Game 1 win on Monday in Lake City . TKA head coach Jennifer John said Emma Atkinson had a great game catching Bescher, and that Emma Taflinger , Scarlet Rose Rivers and Chloe Ritter backed her in the field with great catches.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Winnsboro – It wasn’t an easy path, but Holly Hill Academy is the 2-time defending SCISA Class A softball state champion. The Raiders tied the game in the top of the sixth inning and then scored four runs in the seventh to defeat Richard Winn Academy 12-8 on Tuesday at the RWA field to sweep the best-of-3 series. “I’m worn out,” said a happy HHA head coach Kally Knigh t. “We had two crazy games (winning the opener on Monday 11-8), and it was wild on Saturday (in the state tournament. I’m just proud of this team and the way it battled and fought back, really all season long.” Holly Hill tied the game at 8-8 in the sixth. Senior Shelby Hinson came on in relief of starting pitcher Taylor Wright in the bottom of the inning and held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way. Senior Kinlee Steigler had the go-ahead double in the 4-run seventh. Wright was 2-for-3 with three rusn batted in. In the circle, she worked into the sixth before being relieved by Hinson, who got the victory. Senior Kayley Bell was 2-for-3 with a triple. On Monday, Hinson got the victory as well. She started and worked the first four innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. Wright worked the final three innings, giving up three hits and three runs while earning the save. Milly Kate Prescott led the offense, going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Senior Abbigail Burleson had a hit and three RBI. Freshman Kaila McLean and sophomore Megan Guzzi led Richard Winn, both going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman Hayley Ann Prevatt was intentionally walked five times.

Pee Dee, Laurence Manning, Holly Hill softball, Calhoun baseball win titles on Tuesday.

Calhoun Academy wins first baseball title since 2016 Lee, Marlboro force deciding games; Hilton Head Christian, Cardinal Newman rained out Kingstree – Calhoun Academy won its first SCISA baseball state championship since 2016 by beating Williamsburg Academy 6-4 in eight innings on Tuesday at the WA field to sweep the best-of-3 AAA title series. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 26-1 record. The Stallions closed out with a 20-4 record. Lee Academy 5 Dorchester 3 Bishopville – Lee Academy kept alive its hopes of defending its AA state title with a 5-3 victory over Dorchester Academy on Tuesday at the LA field to even the best-of-3 series at one game apiece. The third and deciding game is scheduled to be played on Thursday at Laurence Manning Academy’s Tucker Belangia Diamond beginning at 7 p.m. Andrew Bowers picked up the victory for the Cavaliers, who improved to 18-5. Landon Olson led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles. The Raiders won the opening game on Monday in St. George by a 6-2 count. DA is 11-15. Marlboro Academy 13 W.W. King 7 Bennettsville – Marlboro Academy evened the best-of-3 Class A title series with a 13-7 win over W.W. King on Tuesday at the MA field. The deciding game will be played on Thursday at Wilson Hall’s Tommy Jones Field in Sumter at a time to be determined. Landon Edge was the winning pitcher for the Dragons, who evened their record at 11-11. Nolan Caulder was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in to lead the offense. Elizabeth Sheppard had five stolen bases. Tucker McGinty and Casen Buzhardt both had a hit and two RBI for King, which finished with eight errors. Greyson Rikard was 2-for-4. The Knights won Monday’s opener in Batesburg by a 9-3 count. WKA scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break the game open. Elijah Hutto picked up the win, striking out eight in six innings. Hutto was also 2-for-2 with a double, and Rikard also had a double. Edge and Matthew Taylor both had two hits for Marlboro. Colson Smith pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs. Hilton Head Christian vs Cardinal Newman rained out Bluffton – The second game of the AAAA state championship series between Hilton Head Christian Academy and Cardinal Newman scheduled for Tuesday at the HHCA field was postponed due to rain. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday with a 7 p.m. start. The Eagles are after a third consecutive state title. They opened the best-of-3 title series with an 11-5 win in Columbia on Monday. Slaide Burd hit the first pitch of the game for a home run and Hilton Head Christian rolled from there. It finished with 11 hits led by by Chip Hetzel , who was 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Jackson Richardson had two hits with three RBI and two runs, Roman Colella had two hits, one a double, with two RBI and a run, and Will Mahl had two hits and two runs. Burd finished with the homer, two runs and an RBI, and Dylan Gehm had a home run and three RBI. Eli Morgan scored twice. Tucker Nelson got the win, scattering six hits over six innings. He allowed four runs while striking out eight and walking two. The 16-11 Cardinals finished with seven hits. Will Spotts and Dylan Williams both homered for their lone hits. Williams had three RBI. Chaplin Cox had a hit, a run and an RBI, while Sam Realman and Connor Catteneo both had a hit and a run. Connor Hooks had a hit.

A.C. Flora captures the Class AAAA boys state championship title at the Cayce Tennis Center.

Scores, schedules, start times from each of the eight series.

Summerville pitcher Daphne Frady has more than 300 strikeouts this season. (Photo by Roger Lee)

By Rob Gantt Special to The HSSR HANAHAN - Gratification delayed is certainly better than gratification denied.  The Hanahan Hawks baseball team needed a second game May 11 to finally put away Aynor High School , 10-6, for the district championship in the Class 3A playoffs at HHS. Following Aynor's 6-3 victory in game one that forced a decisive clash, Hanahan came out hot in game two. The Hawks erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first, then added a single run in the second inning and added four more in the bottom of the third inning to seize control. "It's been a long day for sure," Hanahan coach Skylar Hunter said. "I've been out here since 8 a.m., doing field work the whole time. And we lose game one, and really lose it in a way where we gave them a bunch of free passes. They didn't find a lot of barrels. We gave them a bunch of runs from errors, passed balls and walks." In game two, the Hawks came out and swung the bats like they were supposed to, Hunter said. "I'm just proud of them for competing," he said. Hanahan (16-14) loaded the bases in its first at-bat and infielder Richard Atencio delivered a two-run single to right field to open the scoring. Outfielder Tripp Gallus , who reached on a bunt single earlier, scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Hanahan pitcher Chris Polm kept the uprising going and helped himself with a two-run home run through the wind to left field as the lead grew to 5-0. That was plenty of run support for Polm, who earned the win on the mound. The hard-throwing righty hurled three one-hit innings with seven strikeouts. He only threw 59 pitches so he is available to pitch Thursday at Dillon if the Hawks opt to use their ace. In the second inning, Atencio's bases-loaded walk gave the Hawks a 6-0 lead. In the third, RBI singles off the bats off Brendan Moll and Gallus, and a two-run double from Will Muirheid made it 10-0. "It's easy for young teams to fold and they didn't fold at all," Hunter said. "They kept working, kept fighting, kept grinding and got the job done." Aynor (21-7) continued to battle, though, and refused to go away. The Blue Jackets plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning to avoid being mercy ruled, then tallied single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. "I want to make sure I give props to Aynor," Hunter said. "They're a very good team and very well-coached. They're a tough matchup for us every time we play them." Gallus, Atencio, Muirheid and Moll collected two hits each for the Hawks. Outfielder Layton Suggs and infielder Brady Lavin led Aynor with two hits in game two and third baseman Heath Huggins knocked in two runs. In game one, designated hitter Nolyn Nickels ,Gallus and Atencio had two hits for the Hawks. Atencio drove in two runs. Outfielder Xavier Dukes powered Aynor, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a RBI. Suggs and Lavin chipped in two hits.