By Billy G. Baker Publisher Lake City — Perry Stokes begins his second season as the head varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball coach at The Carolina Academy, and with a group of 8 th and 9 th graders his team came out of the holiday break at 2-6. “Last year we had only five players, and they were all seniors, so this year things sort of went in reverse and we have players up from the junior varsity last year and we have 10 8 th and 9 th graders playing this season,” said Coach Stokes who has over 750 career wins and two state titles on his resume from other schools. “I tried to talk some juniors and seniors into playing this season but they decided not to.” Carolina Academy’s two wins came over Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach 33-25 and 34-21. In the first win freshman small forward Ella Ham and freshman shooting guard Emma Amos leading the way with 13 and 12 points respectively. In the second win Amos was the top scorer with 10 points and 8 th grade point guard Natalie Braveboy contributed 8 points. “We have played a really tough schedule and I think we will be very competitive with our region play starting this week,” said Coach Stokes. “We participated in the Pee Dee Invitational at Pee Dee Academy and we only lost by one point to Lake View and we could have won that game. Lake View is the defending Class A champions in South Carolina. “We have played teams like Pee Dee Academy , Florence Christian, Aynor and Wilson Hall so we have played a tough early season schedule,” said Coach Stokes. “The strength of our team is how well we play defense. We might be in a lot of low scoring games once region play starts but I feel like we will be competitive.” The silver lining for the lady Bobcats program is that participation is up. “We have a total of 23 players in grades six through 9 in our program and not one sophomore, junior, or senior is playing basketball,” said Coach Stokes. “These players are all working hard and the program should be really good in a year or two if these players stick with it.” The other two starters are freshman small forward Lauren Sims , a defensive specialist averaging two points a game. Paisley McCutcheon is an 8 th grader starting at a shooting guard and she is averaging 4.4 points a game. Amos leads the team in scoring at seven points a game while Braveboy and Ham are each averaging g six points. Ham is averaging five rebounds a game also. The first two players off the bench are usually freshman guard Abby Walker and 8 th grade forward Kaylie Lyerly . Ronding out the roster are 8 th grade guard Ki Ki Hanna , 9 th grade guard Kate Turner , and 9 th grade guard Katherine Holliday . On Jan. 7 th Carolina Academy will start region play at Kings Academy and then two days later they travel to Williamsburg Academy . On the next day (Friday) they host Lee Academy in a region game.  Coach Stokes is assisted by son Heath Stokes who has been with him for over 20 years. He is also thankful to have the help from Ruby Amos who is a student at USC Sumter.

Carolina Academy Girls Tennis team

By: Gerald Doolittle Goose Creek, S.C . - The South Carolina Independent Schools Association is preparing to open its 55 th football season with a new two-year alignment. Can Hammond (4A), Hilton Head Christian (3A), Bethesda Academy (2A), Patrick Henry Academy (1A) and Jefferson Davis Academy (8 Man) defend their 2023 titles? Hammond will be playing for their 8 th straight title in Class 4A. The top five pre-season ranking for Class 4A : 1. Hammond 2. Laurence Manning 3. Porter-Gaud 4. Northwood Academy 5. Cardinal Newman. Laurence Manning was runners-up to Hammond in 2023. Augusta Christian, Ben Lippen and Heathwood Hall will earn a playoff spot by finishing in the top eight. The top five pre-season ranking for Class 3A : 1. Hilton Head Christian, 2. Wilson Hall, 3. Pinewood Prep, 4. Florence Christian and 5. Trinity Collegiate. Hilton Head Christian defeated Wilson Hall for the 2023 title. John Paul ll, Palmetto Christian and Camden Military will earn a playoff spot if they finish the regular season in the top eight. The top five pre-season ranking for Class 2A : 1. Bethesda Academy, 2. Clarendon Hall Academy, 3. St. Johns Christian, 4. Orangeburg Prep and 5. Pee Dee Academy. Bethesda Academy defeated Williamsburg Academy (now in 1A) for the 2023 title. Greenwood Christian, Spartanburg Christian, Calhoun Academy, Dillon Christian, Thomas Sumter Academy, Hilton Head Prep and Christian Academy all will earn a playoff spot by finishing in the Class 2A top eight. The top five pre-season ranking for Class 1A : 1. Williamsburg Academy 2. Patrick Henry Academy 3. Lee Academy 4. Dorchester Academy 5. Thomas Heyward Academy Patrick Henry Academy defeated Lee Academy for the 2023 title. Colleton Prep, Beaufort Academy, Faith Christian, Andrew Jackson Academy, and Carolina Academy can get playoff spots by finishing in the top eight. The top five pre-season ranking for Eight Man are: 1. Jefferson Davis Academy 2. Holly Hill Academy 3. Richard Winn Academy 4. Wardlaw Academy 5. Laurens Academy W.W. King Academy, Newberry Academy and Oakbrook Prep can earn playoff spots by finishing in the top four of Region One. Cathedral Academy, Cross Schools and Conway Christian can earn playoff spots by finishing in the top four of Region Two. The Kings Academy is a new comer Region Two moving to 8-man play this season.

Lake City - The official end to the athletic year at Carolina Academy is the year-end sports awards banquet, an event that celebrates the team and individual success in all sports. The athletic administration and coaching staff from fall to winter to spring sports recognize the achievements of their athletes. Cheerleading is part of the fall and winter sports seasons. For the junior varsity cheer squad, most spirited was Kaylie Lyerly and most improved was Kaelyn Keefe. Harper Drew Richardson received the Bobcat award and Payton Prosser was recognized as All-American. The most valuable performer for the varsity cheer program was Caroline Cockfield. Dixie Cox was most spirited in football cheer while Carlie Anne Smith was most spirited in basketball. Coach’s awards were presented to Hannah Grace Matthews and Blythe Smith, while Linsey Browder was most improved. In tennis, Lyerly was the most valuable player on the junior varsity team. Anna Scott Johnson received the Bobcat award and sharing most improved honors were Mary-Kearsten Hanna and Macey Gamble. Carlie Anne Smith was the MVP of the varsity tennis team. Hannah Palmer received the Coach’s award and Esther Campbell earned the Bobcat award. Smith also received The Gertie award. For volleyball, the Co-MVP awards for the junior varsity team were shared by Ella Ham and Natalie Braveboy. Abby Walker earned the Coach’s award and Paisley McCutcheon earned the Bobcat award. Raeley Frye was named Best All-Around in varsity volleyball. The Co-Offensive MVP’s were Ruby Kate Amos and Kaiden Doriety. Abby McCutcheon was the top defender while Zyniah McClam and Dakota Jernigan received the Bobcat award. In varsity football, Josh Brown was named offensive MVP and Ashton Rambo was the defensive MVP. Charlie Teal earned the top offensive lineman award and Connor Coker was the top defensive lineman. Most Improved was Ryan Cox and Mason Huggins received the Tough Man award. Luke Cook was the most valuable player in junior varsity football and Holden Carsten was most improved. Andrew Johnson was the top lineman and Manning Cox earned the Bobcat award. For basketball, the Co-MVP’s in junior varsity girls were Ella Ham and Natalie Braveboy. Abby Warner and Lauren Sims received the Coach’s award. Ruby Kate Amos was the most valuable player on the varsity girls team with Zyniah McClam earning the top defender award. Esther Campbell took home the Most Competitive player honor. Garrett Sauls was the most valuable player in varsity boys basketball. Dyson Lamb received the Coach’s award and Walker McCutcheon was most improved. The most valuable player for the junior varsity team was Cole Tanner. Ryan Cox earned the 110 percent award and Charlie Teal earned the Coach’s award. In golf, Landon Crosby was the team MVP and Drake Morris was most improved. For boys track, Garrett Sauls was the most valuable performer and Ashton Rambo was most improved. Rambo set a school record in the 110 hurdles. Dakota Jernigan, who won two individual gold medals at the state meet, was the MVP of the girls track team. Jernigan established new school records in the high jump and triple jump. McClam earned the Coach’s award for girls track. In baseball, Dyson Lamb was the MVP for the varsity team and David Driggers was most improved. Walker McCutcheon earned the offensive award and Cole Brady was the top defender. Walker Joyner earned the Coach’s award while Hunter Irwin earned the Heart and Hustle award. For varsity softball, Kelsie Smith received the offensive award and Raeley Frye was the top defender as the pitcher. Carlie Anne Smith received the Coach’s award.

Lake City – After years of hard work and preparation, Carolina Academy senior Dakota Jernigan saw it all pay off at the 2024 Division II SCISA state track and field meet on May 3 in Orangeburg. Jernigan closed out her prep career with gold medal-winning performances, winning the high jump and the triple jump. She also finished third in the long jump. Jernigan has cemented herself as the most successful female track and field athlete in school history. In 2022, she finished third in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump. Last spring, Jernigan pulled off the perfect trifecta, collecting gold in all three jumps. Jernigan was the only state meet participant from the girls team this spring but the overall program continues to grow after starting up just a few years ago. Ashton Rambo and Garrett Sauls represented the boys program at the state meet. Rambo finished fifth in the 110 meter hurdles while Sauls was seventh in the long jump and ninth in the triple jump. Golf finishes fourth at state tournament The Carolina Academy’s boys golf team posted a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Class AAA SCISA golf tournament in late April. The Bobcats posted a 36-hole team score of 653, finishing behind Hilton Head Prep, Hilton Head Christian and Spartanburg Day in the team standings. The top Carolina Academy performer at the tournament was Blanding Franks, who shot 78 and 77 for a final score of 155. Landon Crosby and Thomas McDaniel each posted final scores of 163. Crosby shot 81-82 while McDaniel shot 76 on day one but slipped to 87 in the second round. Jamison Andrews shot 176 (93-83) while Drake Morris shot 195 (89-106). Baseball season ends in playoffs The 2024 baseball season was a bit of a roller coaster ride for The Carolina Academy Bobcats this spring. Coach Lindsey Robinson says his team battled inconsistency all season, especially offensively where the bats never got going throughout the lineup. The final record was 10-14, including a 1-2 performance in the state AA playoffs. The Bobcats opened the playoffs against Orangeburg Prep. Holding a 5-4 lead into the seventh, the Bobcats allowed two runs and fell, 6-5. The Bobcats held off elimination with a 4-3 win over Greenwood Christian, which set up a game against one of the state championship favorites, Pee Dee Academy. Despite a solid pitching effort, the Carolina Academy bats went cold again, failing to scratch a hit in a 3-0 loss. Aside from the no hit performance, the offense did find some consistency late in the year. The Bobcats tallied 13 hits in their final regular season game, a 7-6 win over Lee Academy. Sophomore Hayden Timmons, junior Walker McCutcheon, junior David Driggers, and seniors Dyson Lamb and Cole Bailey each had two hits in the win. Lamb and senior outfielder Tyler Smart each had two hits in the loss to Orangeburg Prep. Timmons and Bailey also had two hits each in the playoff win over Greenwood Christian as the Bobcats were able to bang out nine hits. Senior Walker Joyner had a strong pitching performance in the win, allowing one earned run with seven strikeouts in six innings. Joyner will be among a solid list of seniors that will be missed as the Bobcats look to next season. Lamb, Bailey, Hunter Irwin and Smart were regular senior starters as well. But the cupboard is not bare as Timmons, Driggers, McCutcheon, and freshman Hampton Kirby will be the guys to build around next spring. Timmons will likely move into the No. 1 starting pitching role while Driggers will be a solid No. 2 performer after a solid 2024 campaign. Kirby played second base this season but could move over to shortstop next spring.

Lake City – Long-time head softball coach Scotty Phillips knows his tenure at Carolina Academy is winding down. However, the 61-year old Phillips would love to see his current team through for the next few years. Phillips feels he has a team capable of making a serious run at championships, though it may not be in 2024. The coach has one of the youngest varsity teams in SCISA Class AAA, a roster with no seniors, no juniors and only three sophomores. In fact, Carolina Academy had to petition the SCISA powers that be to allow seventh-graders to participate on the varsity level so they would be able to field a team this spring. “We’re young, really like a junior varsity team playing a varsity schedule,” Phillips says. “Our jayvee team is basically a b-team. We’re very young across the board.” Youthful enthusiasm, says the coach, can be an advantage. “They have a lot of energy and they work and play hard,” the coach said. “They’re a pretty talented little group. I think this team has a lot of potential and I am excited to see where they end up in a year or two. They are competing.” While wins have been hard to come by (the record heading into spring break is 3-6), the Lady Bobcats are competitive in most every game. Among the early wins was a victory over perennial state title contender Williamsburg Academy. Carolina Academy is well-stocked with young pitching potential. Sophomore Raeley Frye is the top performer inside the circle and continues to show steady improvement. “The biggest thing with her is consistency,” Phillips says. “She is really good and can mix up the pitches. When she’s consistent early in the count, she can be very tough. She has a great future.” Eighth-grader Lauren Sims and eighth-grader Ella Ham also get work inside the circle. Sims also plays third base defensively while Ham is the starting centerfielder. Behind the dish is sophomore Carly Ann Smith, a returning starter from last season. Eighth-grader Lexi McCutcheon is starting at first base while seventh-grader Paisley McCutcheon is working at second base. One of the top offensive threats is freshman shortstop Kelsie Smith, who is hitting around .500 with three homers early on. “She’s a player, a really good hitter that’s going to be something to watch for the next few years,” Phillips said. Seventh-grader Natalie Brayboy is starting in leftfield while eighth-grader Paisley Coker and sophomore Jennifer Vargas are sharing time in right field. Sophomore Hannah Grace Matthews also is seeing some work as an outfielder. “This is going to be a good team,” Phillips predicts. “We just need to grow, get stronger and keep improving. Varsity softball is a lot different than junior varsity softball.”