North Myrtle Beach spring athletes enjoy postseason

Little River – After scratching and clawing their way through a competitive regular season, many of the spring sports teams at North Myrtle Beach High are experiencing the joys of postseason play as the calendar turns to May.

May means state playoff time in South Carolina and the door quickly closes for teams hoping to claim a state championship in 2024.

At press time, most of the teams that had qualified for the Class AAAA Lower State playoffs have seen their season end. However, the baseball team continues on its trek to repeat as the Lower State champs and members of the track and field program are preparing for the Lower State qualifying meet.

The softball team, coached by Danny Susral, saw its season end in heart-breaking fashion. The Chiefs opened the playoffs with a win over May River but was pushed to the loser’s bracket after a 6-2 loss to Lugoff-Elgin.

In an elimination game against Lucy Beckham, North Myrtle Beach held a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Chiefs were unable to hold on as the Bengals scored four runs in the final frame to earn the walk-off win.

The final record this spring was 14-13. Some of the top performers this spring included pitcher Nealy Lockner, who worked nearly 100 innings inside the circle while batting .284 with 13 RBI.

Sadie Olson batted .395 with 13 RBI for the regular season and Kiera Olson batted .380 with 12 RBI. Sophomores Hadley Leonhardt and Isabella Bruno also contributed offensively. Bruno hit .362 with 15 RBI while Leonhardt hit .324 with 15 RBI. Another sophomore, Lilly Carney, hit .370 and drove in 17 runs.

A lot of this year’s team is slated to return next season so the prospects remain high for success in 2025.

The boys and girls soccer teams made the state playoffs. The boys team lost to Lucy Beckham in the first round, finishing with an 8-11 record. The girls team recorded a first-round playoff win before a loss in round two ended their season with a 9-9 record.

In golf, the Chiefs qualified for the AAAA Lower State tournament. Bradley Hardee shot a 2-under 70 to earn co-medalist honors at the region 6-AAAA meet.

The baseball team sits at 24-2 and will host the district championship game on May 10. The Chiefs are seeking a return trip to the Class AAAA state finals. They lost in the finals last season to Catawba Ridge.

North Myrtle Beach posted three playoff wins to reach the district finals, earning victories over Bluffton (3-2), May River (5-1) and Lucy Beckham (2-1).

Catcher CJ Oxendine has been a leader at the plate with four hits in the postseason. Pitching, a strength all season, has been strong as well with Josh Surigao, Luke Roupe and Austin Long leading the way. Long has been a shutdown reliever all season.

Chiefs compete in region 6-AAAA meet

The track and field program competed in the region 6-AAAA championship meet on Apr. 30. In the final team standings, the girls finished second with 143 points while the boys finished second with 100 points. West Florence High won both team titles.

Several athletes had medal winning days individually. On the girls team, Janiya Bragg was the region champion in the 100 meter dash and finished second in the 200 meter sprint.

Carley Halloran was second in the 800 meter run and Fenna Hollo was the region champion in the 3200 meter run. She finished third in the 1600 meter run. Robyn Walsh finished third in the 3200 meter run.

Sydney Hilburn won the region title in the pole vault with teammate Alexandra Hines finishing second. Jakira McCallum was second in the long jump and Kennedy Fields was third in the pole vault and fourth in the long jump. Lauren Hubert finished fourth in the triple jump.

Alexandra Beltran finished second in the javelin and Destinee Vereen was second in the shot put. Mya Clarke was third in the shot. The 4x800 meter relay team won the region title.

On the boys side, region titles were won by Syncere Jefferson (200), Elijah Lewis (400) and Dylan Kempf (pole vault). Lewis took second in the 200 and Jahmaurie Wilson was second in the 400. Lashaun Scott finished third in the 400 and Dawson Wisely was fourth in the 3200.

Ny’Ray Hannah was second in the 400 hurdles with Jerell Bellamy taking fourth.

The Chiefs won gold in the 400 and 1600 meter relays, placing second in the 3200 relay.