2025 state champions earn titles in cross country
Aiken - South Pointe High in Rock Hill is known for its success in football as a perennial state title contender, but cross country is making a statement of its own. South Pointe edged power Bishop England by three points (73-76) to claim the AAAA boys team title.
SCHSL schools ran the 2025 state meet at the Aiken Steeplechase course on Nov. 14-15.
South Pointe’s Keller Brown took home individual honors as the state champion.
“It was really close the whole way,” Brown said. “About the two and half mile mark I kept thinking I had to push as hard as I could. I’m really thankful to my coaches for pushing me.”
May River’s Talan Farrington was the runner-up and Bishop England’s Connor Good finished third.
Rounding out the top five were Evan Rybacki of South Pointe and Bishop England’s Jackson Muller.
Wren’s Camden Pendleton finished sixth and Daniel’s Sam Proffitt was seventh. Other all-state runners were Jackson Wright (May River), Marek Sticha (Traveler’s Rest), David Brown (AC Flora), Parker Harris (Wren), Boyd Collins (Bluffton), Gabe Hilsop (Bishop England), Derek Ashworth (Fountain Inn) and Felix Cassidy of South Pointe.
Reid Finley of Liberty was the top runner in the AA meet.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “This day has been on my mind for the last five or six years. It feels good to get it done. I’m very proud of myself.”
Philip Simmons was the AA team champion with region rival Academic Magnet finishing as the state runner-up. Philip Simmons’ effort was led by Matthew Perry’s fourth-place run while teammate Trent Manning finished fifth. Also earning all-state honors for the Iron Horses were Grady Castiglia (7th), Brian Stambaugh (9th), and Griffin Tollison (12th).
Academic Magnet’s Brayden Bunt was the state runner-up and was one of four Raptors to run to all-state honors. The others were Samuel Fletcher (6th), Andrew Amani (10th) and Dylan Johnson (11th).
Brashier’s Ben Elliott was third and Pelion’s Kolton Gleaton ran eighth. Landrum’s Jayson Phillips was 13th, Ellie Horton of Greenville Tech was 14th, and Brashier’s Hendrix Robards was 15th.
Greer Middle College won the Class AAA title with 26 points. Christ Church was the runner-up with 66 points and Walhalla was third with 93. Southside Christian and Waccamaw rounded out the top five teams.
North Charleston finished sixth and Fox Creek was seven. Woodruff was eighth, St. Joseph’s was ninth and Crescent finished 10th.
GMC teammates and brothers Jackson and Beason Tuck finished first and second, respectively, for the gold and silver.
All-state runners included Wilson Rutherford (Waccamaw), Chappell Martin (GMC), Parker Frey (Walhalla), Henry Bacon (Christ Church), Ben Fulk (Christ Church), Marwin Milani (GMC), Andrew Weber (GMC), Finn Powell (Walhalla), Leland Brissie (Southside Christian) and Max Delpino (Christ Church).
Green Sea Floyds won the Class A title with 53 points. Riverwalk Academy was second, followed by Ware Shoals, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Dixie in the top five. Governor’s School was sixth, Carver’s Bay was seventh, Abbeville finished eighth, Calhoun County was ninth and Green Upstate was in 10th.
Individually, the Class A champion was Hunter Willis of Riverwalk. Branton Brown of Ware Shoals was second and Cole Forbes of Green Sea Floyds was third overall. Damian Rapaj of Green Sea was fourth and Max Berry of Charleston Math & Science finished fifth.
