Orangeburg – While there is plenty of basketball still to play, the Orangeburg Preparatory School’s girls basketball team opened the season on fire.
The Lady Indians won their first nine games of the season, which might come as a surprise to some. They are having to adjust to the loss of 2-time All-State performer and Co-Region 4-AAA Player of the Year Campbell Delaney, fellow All-Region player Joni Holstad and fellow starter Ashby Garrick to graduation. They were part of a team that went 24-4 and reached the semifinals of the AAA state playoffs. The year before, Orangeburg Prep went 21-3 and played for the AA state championship.
Orangeburg Prep does have two starters back in senior Katherine Lambrecht, who was an All-Region performer as a junior, and junior Jane Walker Yonce.
Joining that duo of late in the starting lineup has been junior Izzy Exum, junior Annabelle Hunter and junior Graysen Garrick.
The remainder of the roster is made up of senior Payton Schurlknight along with four sophomores and one freshman. The four sophomores are Jayme Culler, Kate Holstein, Hannah Lambrecht and Prestan Schurlknight while the freshman is Mary Legare Delaney.
Lady Indians head coach Jan Stoudenmire said the addition of the starting five of last year’s junior varsity team coached by her daughter, Barkley McNair, has benefited the team in two ways.
“It has really been a big part of our success,” said Stoudenmire, who is in her 27th season as the head coach at Orangeburg Prep. “They have given us competition at practice and also given us great minutes during the first part of the season.”
The Lady Indians begin their Region 4 schedule on January 16 when they travel to Lexington to take on Northside Christian Academy. The other teams in the 4-team region are Thomas Sumter Academy and Palmetto Christian Academy.
SEVEN INDIANS NAMED TO THE ALL-REGION 2-AA FOOTBALL TEAM
The Orangeburg Prep football team had seven players selected to the All-Region 2-AA team. They are Austin Hall, Ethan Williams, Jay Plummer, Latron Moorer, Colston Thomas, Tilden “T” Riley and Hart Wiles. Hall, Williams, Plummer, Moorer and Thomas were also chosen to play in the SCISA AA-Class A North-South All-Star Game.
Hall, a senior, started at both quarterback and defensive back. Hall completed 88 of 133 passes for 1,288 yards and 12 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Hall also rushed for 479 yaerds and five touchdowns on 102 carries.
Defensively, Hall had 52 tackles and three interceptions from his safety position
Williams, a senior, was a starter on the Indians’ 3-man defensive front and at right tackle on offense. Williams had 54 tackles with a team high 10 quarterback sacks. Thomas started at right guard on offense and outside linebacker on defense. He finished with 46 tackles.
Plummer was a senior running back and outside linebacker. He led Orangeburg Prep in rushing with 541 yards while scoring six touchdowns on 72 carries. He also had 12 catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Plummer had 42 tackles.
Moorer, also a senior, started at defensive back and wide receiver and also returned kicks. On defense, Moorer had 30 tackles and three interceptions. On offense, Moorer had 27 catches for 285 yards and four touchdowns. He had 15 carries for 152 yards.
Hart is a junior who started at left tackle on the offensive line and along the line on defense. He finished with 49 tackles and six quarterback sacks.
Riley, a 6-foot-5-inch sophomore, was Hall’s favorite target at wide receiver. He finished with 36 receptions for 677 yards for a per-catch average of 18.8 yards. Riley also had 10 touchdown receptions. Riley also saw some action on defense, finishing with 13 tackles and one interception.
Orangeburg Prep went 4-7 in its first season under head coach Don Shelley, who is in his second stint at the school.
They won the region title before losing to Beaufort Academy 25-13 in the first round of the state playoffs.
FIVE LADY INDIANS SELECTED TO ALL-REGION VOLLEYBALL TEAM
The Orangeburg Prep volleyball team had five players named to the All-Region 4-AAA team in Izzy Exum, Katherine Lambrecht, Jane Walker Yonce, Annabelle Hunter and Lauren Ballew.
Exum led the Lady Indians in kill percentage at 70 percent, digs with 289, blocks with 16 and service aces with 54. She had an 87.0 service percentage and was second on the team in assists with 20.
Hunter led the team with a 95.0 service percentage and in assists with 386. She was fourth on the team in digs with 207. Yonce was second on the team in kill percentage at 62 percent and in service aces with 46. She was third on the team in digs with 223 and had a service percentage of 84.0.
Ballew was second on the team in blocks with 11 and third in kill percentage at 60.0 Her service percentage was 91.0. Lambrecht was second on the team in digs with 260 while finishing with a service percentage of 93.0.
INDIAN BOYS CROSS COUNTRY SMITH EARNS ALL-REGION HONORS
Orangeburg Prep boys cross country runner Jacob Smith finished second in the Region 4-AAA meet held on October 17 at Patriot Park SportsPlex in Sumter to earn All-Region honors.
Smith finished second to Palmetto Christian’s Hans Payne in the individual portion of the meet in a time of 17 minutes, 45.70 seconds.
Two other Indians finished in the top 10 in Bradin Williams and Brent Cruz. Williams was eighth in a time of 19:05.80, and Cruz was 10th in a time of 19:23.70.
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