1,000 Guests Hear Frye, Pawlowski Challenge Spring Sports Honorees

To Seek Excellence In All That They Do

By Bill Mitchell

Special Writer        

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Columbia--Never settling for the minimum and learning to make good adjustments in playing life’s game were the themes of South Carolina track coach Curtis Frye and John Pawlowski, former College of Charleston baseball coach who accepted the same job at Auburn Friday, at the South Carolina High School Sports Report’s twin banquets for prep spring sports stars on June, 22 at Seawell’s Restaurant.

              Nearly 1,000 athletes, parents and coaches attended the affair, broken into two parts for the first time. Frye, who has established South Carolina as one of the nation’s best track programs in his 12 years with the Gamecocks, spoke to the best in all spring sports except baseball. Johnny’s Suzuki of Moncks Corner was the main awards sponsor along with Wet Not, Inc. who was recently awarded a patent on a water proof cleat cover.

               “Always remember that the minimum is a requirement, not a standard,” said Coach Frye who flew to the event from the NCAA nationals earlier in the day. “None of you is here today because they are female, male, black, or white. You are here because you earned your way here. None of you are average. You achieved above the average, above the minimum.

               “All of us are born with the minimum, two arms, two legs, two hands and two feet,” he said. “It’s what you do with the assets you have that matters.”

               Frye lauded the coaches who motivate and inspire and the parents who provide opportunity and encouraged the athletes to never forget those people.

               “You will never know how a word or note from you can influence the people who motivated you,” Frye said.

               Athletes who are exposed to discipline, encouragement and motivation develop leadership skills.

                “You have the advantage over the non-athlete,” Frye said. “You have to be excellent. You can’t just get by.  As leaders, you will be recognized. You always have to watch what you say and what you think because what you say and what you think leads to what you are. Excellence is a habit and doing the minimum is as well. Who wants a minimum qualified doctor or engineer?

                 “You must take responsibility to be informed and act in the same manner,” he said. You can’t be a champion unless you are responsible for others. Exceed the minimum.”

       Another high light of the earlier banquet was the introduction of Jerome Singleton Jr. who recently ran an 11.5 100 to qualify for the summer Para Olympics to be held later this summer in China. Singleton received a standing ovation from the crowd.            

       Pawlowski led the Cougars to a 338-192-1 record in nine seasons. His teams have made three NCAA appearances since 2004 and he was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005. The Cougars have won four straight Southern Conference titles.

                  “Baseball and life are very similar,” said Coach Pawlowski who was on the  Auburn campus when the day began. “Every game and every life is different. Baseball is difficult but life is more difficult. You never know what the outcome is going to be. You have to prepare to make adjustments in baseball and life.”

                   Pawlowski went through a tough period in 2007 and into the first part of this year. His 13-year old daughter (Mary Louise) came down with a rare form of cancer.

                   “Our job suddenly became how we could encourage and motivate our daughter to be positive and productive,” Pawlowski said. “We went through some trying times, but things have gone extremely well since her operation.  So many people became a part of our lives then.”

                  Pawlowski urged players to make choices, good choices and to set goals and follow them.

                   “Choices are very important,” he said. “Who you hang out with, what you do and how you act. Some people choose to be successful and some don’t. Choose your goals and follow your dreams, go after them.

                    “Make the tough decisions,” Pawlowski said. “Baseball is tough, but life is tougher.”

                     The highlight of the baseball segment was the naming of Mr. Baseball, as selected through a balloting process with the state’s high school coaches. This year’s honor went to Adam Westmoreland of Brookland-Cayce.

                      Westmoreland posted a 9-1 record with a 0.85 earned run average and led the state with 132 strikeouts. As a designated hitter, he batted .396 with 10 homers and 41 runs batted in.  He was also the Class AAA Player of the Year. He was surprised to win the top honor.

                      “Coach told me that I had a good chance to win it, but I really didn’t think that I would,” Westmoreland said. “Our team had a dream season this year. “We were 30-2 and nine seniors signed to play college baseball.

                     “We felt that we should win every game,” he added. “We knew that we had a team that could get it done.”

                      North Augusta’s Marty Gantt, last year’s Mr. Baseball had another fine season and got a Career Mr. Baseball award.

                      “You have to compile good years one after another,” said Gantt. “I’m proud of that. One good year here or one there doesn’t mean that much. Winning the career award is great.”

                      Jeff Lipscomb guided Boiling Springs to the Class AAAA championship and was named statewide coach of the year.

                      “It was a great year,” he said. “We had a lot of kids with big hearts and they fought to the end. Our kids have played the game a lot. We had a large number that played four years for us. All the credit goes to them.”

                      Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s David Horton, the state’s winningest coach with 787 victories, added 13^th state championship to his list this spring and received the Class A Coach of the Year.

                      “Our pitchers came on really strong at the end of the year,” said Horton. “This was a surprise season. We lost six starters and we were apprehensive about our season. People who were on the team last year came on and played well.

                       “We started slowly, but as the season moved along, we continued to improve and at the end we were playing good baseball,” he said.

                        Darlington’s Stacy Weatherford led her team to the state Class AAA title with a 24-3 record and struck out 255 batters in 164 innings. She will be a member of Columbia College’s first softball team next year. Her accomplishments garnered her the Miss Softball award.

                       “It was good to go out with a bang,” she said. “We worked hard together and everyone did their part. It was a great year.”

                        Allendale-Fairfax’s Michael Kirkland was the Class A Athlete of the Year in track after winning four gold medals in the distance events and 4x800 relay for the second straight year.

                         “It was a heck of year, and heck of work year,” said Kirkland. “I just come out here and do the same old thing and keep getting better and better. Life is surprising in many different ways.”

                         Chapin’s Luke Lovelace won the open distance events, 800, 1600 and 3200 meters at the state meet to become only the second performer from the larger classifications to accomplish the feat. He was named Mr. Track.

                          “I didn’t do as well on the national level and I had hoped, but you have to be thankful for what you get,” said Lovelace who will attend the University of Louisville. “In state, it was exciting for do that well.”

                          Brianna Nelson of J. L. Mann collected the HSSR Miss Track award after collecting three golds in the 200, 400 and 4x100 relay and a silver in the 100 meters at the state meet.. She is spending the summer focusing on national competition.

                           “I have national meets all summer,” she said. “Our goal is always to win the state championship and we won our fourth since I’ve been on the team. We strive to win more points and get better each year.”

                           Defender Sandi Hudson of Wando whose team won its second straight championship, was named Miss Soccer.

                           “I was proud of my team as a whole,” Hudson said. “I grew into the position over the years. It was a great year, a great two years actually.”

                            The top prize for girl’s tennis went to Jessica Diamond of Wando who played No. 1 and led the Warriors to the Class AAAA state title. She didn’t lose a match and also won the Class AAA-AAA individual championship.

                            “All of the seniors are captains,” she said. “My senior year was so much fun. The girls on the team made it for me and winning the state championship again was great.”

        HSSR Publisher Billy G. Baker, who started the publication 21 years ago, said after the banquet, “Gathering together three times a year to honor the sweat equity and excellence of athletes and coaches in a first class setting with first class awards at Seawall’s is the right thing to do.

       “Unfortunately, we do live in a world where the negative aspects of what some young people do are stressed too much over all the positive things they accomplish. We started the publication years ago focused on the positives and we remain positive 21 years later. We feel it is important to bring well deserved recognition to the coaches and players throughout South Carolina who achieve all-state status. 

“I would also like to thank Coach Frye and Coach Pawlowski for taking the time from their own hectic schedules to talk with the spring sports honorees in South Carolina. I would also like to thank the staff of the HSSR who put in over 600 man hours to plan and organize the event. We always need to thank the many athletic departments and booster clubs and co-sponsors for their support in helping make the two banquets a huge success. We at the HSSR will continue to work hard on behalf of prep athletics and coaches in South Carolina.