Charleston – The spring sports season at Porter-Gaud ended in championship fashion as four separate athletic teams ended 2023 with a SCISA state title.
The girls lacrosse program won their sixth consecutive state title on May 5, taking down Heathwood Hall, 16-5, to finish 13-5 on the 2023 season.
Despite having two regular season wins over Heathwood Hall, Porter-Gaud girls lacrosse coach Brent Hilpert took nothing for granted in the state championship contest.
The Cyclones scored five goals in the first five minutes of the game and cruised to their sixth consecutive state championship with a 16-5 win over the visitors from the Midlands.
“We’re certainly blessed to have a great group of girls who always come together and play the way we expect,” Hilpert said. “This team had great seniors, great leaders, but also some really talented underclassmen. They just play so well together with one common goal.”
Porter-Gaud’s top offensive threats showed up big in the championship. Leading scorer Scarlett Mayer had four goals, giving her 74 tallies this season. Hila Tiller also had four goals, raising her season tally to 36.
Annie Heating scored three times to finish with 45 goals on the season while Dee Dee Lucas (30 goals) and Haley Taylor (40 goals) each added two goals. Jamie Bennett tacked on a goal as well.
A few hours after the girls victory, the boys lacrosse team defeated Hammond, 8-7, to win their sixth title over the last eight seasons. Porter-Gaud finished the season with a 13-6 overall record, losing only once to a SCISA school when they lost to Hammond late in the regular season. They closed out the 2023 campaign on a six-game winning streak.
Sophomore Mac Grubb tallied three goals in the championship game with Shay Dotterer adding two goals and two assists, Senior captain Thomas Kanich had two assists while Jack Livingstone, Kane Pritchett and Keagan Delaney each added goals.
Senior goalie Jaser Amer was up to the task in the net and was the top goalie in the state this spring.
The day before winning lacrosse, the boys tennis team won the SCISA AAAA team title, beating Trinity Collegiate, 6-0. The title was Porter-Gaud’s first since winning in 2019, the last of three straight state championships for the program.
“We had a great group that worked really hard,” coach Tracey Zirneklis said. “We have a very strong system with some great coaches and everything went our way this year.”
The Cyclones finished the season with a 10-3 record, losing to state powerhouses Oceanside Collegiate and Hilton Head Prep during the regular season. But, in the finals, five of the six singles performers won in straight sets and the other win was a third-set tie-breaker.
Senior Lucas Acevedo won at No. 1 singles and was a six-year varsity team member. He played on the 2017 state title team as a sixth-grader. Acevedo also plays on the golf team and was the SCISA state medalist just two weeks ago.
Seniors Ethan Curb (No. 3) and Jimmy Letton (No. 6) were the other upperclassmen starters. Freshman Bryce Bunting played No. 2 singles and sophomores Evan Curb and Nirvaan Patel played four and five singles, respectively.
Assisting in the coaching effort were Tim Higgins, Patrick Brown, Miller Brice and Paul Baran.
The boys track and field program capped off the spring with a third straight state team title. The effort was led by junior Trevor Wilder, who scored 40 points by winning gold in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump.
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