Camden – It was another successful athletic year for Camden High School in the 2022-23
school year. Leading the way was the girls basketball team claiming the AAA state title, the program’s
first since 1982.
Camden also brought home another state championship in boys tennis, its first since 1992. That
happened under head coach Abby Baytes, who took over for Pamela Smoak just before the start of the
spring sport in February.
Camden had all 20 of its athletic teams make the state playoffs and 13 of them claim region titles.
Because of that success, there will only be one change in the varsity coaching staff for the ’23-24 school
year.
Smoak was the girls tennis coach as well, and she led the team to its eighth straight region title
last fall. However, she will not return as the girls coach as Reese Stanton will replace her.
The Camden girls basketball team has a strong chance of repeating as state champions. They
return four of their five starters from the 29-2 team led by head coach Natalie Norris, including Joyce
Edwards. The 6-foot-3-inch Edwards is rated as the No. 1 rising senior in the country and was selected as
MaxPreps Female Athlete of the Year.
The Camden football team “only” went 9-4 in 2022, reaching the third round of the state playoffs
under head coach Brian Rimpf. For most programs, that would be a successful season.
Not for Camden though. The Bulldogs had gone 32-5 in the three previous seasons, playing for
the state title in both ’21 and ’22. They played for the upper state championship in ’20.
Rectifying that situation was a major focus point for CHS in its 11 spring practice sessions as well as summer workouts.
“These kids are used to playing deep in the playoffs, so certainly last year was disappointing,”
Rimpf said of his team’s 31-14 loss to Dillon. “Injuries hit us at the end, which you don’t like to have, and
it’s tough to beat those guys anyway. That left a bad taste in our mouths.
“Getting better at what we do, where we can go deeper in the playoffs and reach our ultimate goal
is what spring practice, and the start of summer workouts for that matter, is all about.”
Paige Wilson will return as the volleyball head coach after leading Camden to its 28th region title
in 29 years. It was also the Lady Bulldogs’ 29th straight playoff appearance. They reached the third round.
Veteran Denny Beckley will be back as the baseball coach. He took the Bulldogs to the playoffs
for the 21st time in the last 24 years after guiding them to second place in Region 6.
Sterling Council is back for his second year as boys basketball head coach. The Bulldogs went
8-13 last season, but Council got them to the state playoffs after missing out the two previous seasons.
William Connell will be back for his second year in charge of wrestling. The Bulldogs lost in the
first round of the state playoffs to eventual lower state champion Aynor.
Pam Chickering is the girls soccer head coach, leading it to its third straight region title and to
the third round of the state playoffs. Jerry Jones returns as the boys soccer head coach after leading the
program to a second-place region finish.
Lynn Looney is returning as the softball head coach. The Lady Bulldogs finished third in their
region but went all the way to the championship round of their district tournament.
Matt McCarley returns as the head coach for both the girls and boys golf teams. Both teams won
region titles.
Louis Clyburn will again lead both the boys and girls track and field teams. The girls won the
region title for the third straight year.
The boys and girls cross country teams won region titles for the third straight year. Matt
Sposki returns as the boys head coach, while Mark Chickering returns as the girls coach.
Daniel Boyce will continue as the head coach for the boys and girls swim teams. Both won
region titles for the third straight season.
Tiffany Ellis will be back as the cheer head coach, which won the region title.
Rimph will return his entire football coaching staff as well. Joey Hendrix will return for his third
year as defensive coordinator while Clyburn will be back for his second year as offensive coordinator.
The offensive staff will have Roland Matthews, Calvin McRoy, Savonn Wngate and Josh
Council, while the defensive coaches will be Blaze Gillespie, Marshall Minich, Beckley, PJ Davis,
Cedrick Malone and DeMarius Alexander.
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