2A Girls and Boys State Track Meet

Southside Christian senior Grayson Gibbons wins more gold to close out prep career.

Kailen Kramer of Oceanside clearing 12'6 during the AAA State Championship Pole Vault.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Columbia – There is nothing like heading into the final running event at a track and field meet needing to score some points to capture a state title but that is what faced the Seneca Bobcats as Landon Crawford stepped into the starting blocks for the start of the 4x400 relay with his team trailing upstate rival Wren 53-52. Along with Kevin Bradley, Evan Jackson, and Elias Mcgee they ran a season’s best 3:23.29 to finish second in heat one and place seventh overall after the results from the two heats were in to get the two points they needed to overtake Wren 54-53 and win their seventh state AAA track and field state championship. Their last state championship was in 2018. The Bobcats had been close as they have finished runner up three times since 2021. After the meet head coach Chris White told his team, “We have been working towards this moment for seven years. I am so proud of you guys. This is a result of all the hard work you put in all year.” The Bobcats won this meet by scoring in six of the seven events for 43 points. Avery Butler led the way by winning gold in the discus and winning silver in the shot put. He also set new personal record in both events. In the discus he throw 58.46 bettering his old mark by almost three meters and he put the shot 16.56 meters. Corbin Williamson was second in the javelin with a throw of 51.10 meters while Isaiah Lippert and Mcgee won bronze medals in the pole vault and triple jump, respectively. Mcgee placed fourth in the long jump as well. Crawford placed fifth in the 400 and he, Jackson and Mcgee were joined by Cameron Benson to place fourth in the 4x100 relays. Wren had four medal winners on the day led by Jaxon Jerabek, who took gold in the pole vault and finished fifth in the long jump. Also, in the pole vault Bryson Todd brought home the silver medal while Parker Harris placed fourth. They scored 23 points in the event. Grant Young and Camden Pendleton finished second and third in the 1600 and 3200. Young was also fourth in the 3200. Richland Northeast’s Ethan Moody was the big winner at the AAAA meet winning three gold medals on his home track and setting new personal records in every event. His first event was the 110 high hurdles were he ran a new personal best of 14.05 to beat a loaded field where six hurdlers ran 14.80 or better. He came back to run 10.59 in the 100 and 52 flat in the 400 hurdles setting new personal best in the 100 and tying a personal best in the hurdles. He had one event left on the day after the 400 hurdles with opportunity to become the 10 th male to win four gold medals and just the third to win four in all individuals events. He came up short in his last event the 200, finishing seventh. Just like the other events he set a new PR with a time of 22.01. He finished the day with 32 points. “I did not know I had a 10.5 in the 100 in me,” said Moody. “This is my home track and I just wanted to come out and perform well. I’m very excited with the new personal bests.” 1 Seneca 54 2 Wren 53 3 South Pointe 48 4 Travelers Rest 45 5 Beaufort 42 6 Bishop England 41 7 Brookland Cayce 40 8 Gray Collegiate 34 9 Richland Northeast 32 10 Hartsville 30 11 Bluffton 27 12 Daniel 24 13 Westside 20 14 Lakewood 18 14 May River High School 18 16 Wilson 16 16 Emerald 16 18 Blue Ridge 13 18 Hilton Head 13 20 Lower Richland 12 21 Gilbert 11 21 Airport 11 23 South Florence 10 23 Midland Valley 10 25 Fountain Inn High School 9 26 Laurens 8 26 Southside 8 27 Aiken 8 28 AC Flora 8 30 York 7 31 Dreher 5 31 Camden 5 33 North Augusta 3 34 Colleton County 2 35 Crestwood 1

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Columbia – The Magnificent Seven is a classic old time western movie at Richland Northeast in the AAAA girls state track and field meet the Gray Collegiate girls track and field team wrote their version of the Magnificent Seven as they won their first AAAA state track and field state championship narrowly defeating runner up Daniel 61-58. “I’m really proud of these girls, they worked hard all year. The coaches did a great of preparing our kids to come out here and preform at a high level,” said Head Coach Jackie Robinson. “First time getting a AAAA state championship at Gray Collegiate, we did it with only seven girls making it so for them to come out here and maximize all the individual and relay events I just can’t say enough good things. We had several personal records; they picked themselves up and delivered in a big way.” The state championship was the second consecutive for coach Robinson and Gray Collegiate as they won their first state track and field championship last season at the AA level. Gray led Daniel by two points 58-56 heading into the final event, the 4x400 relay. The Lady Eagles team of Tamara Steward, Taylor Jones, Aliyah Edwards, and Zaira Gaines made sure the lead held up as the finished sixth while Daniel finished seventh for the final of 61-58. The foursome also got the meet started off on a solid note as they won bronze in the days first event the 4x100 relay. Steward led the way for Gray Collegiate winning three individual medals: two gold and a silver. She won the 100 hurdles in a time of 14.83 equaling her personal best and the long jump setting a new personal best of 5.48 meters. She also set a new personal best in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:03.23. Tresta Miller , also visited the medal podium for Gray as she placed second in the 100 and the 400 meters. She also participated in the 200 and the long jump. Daniel’s lone gold was in the 4x800 relay with Lizah Williams, Ellen Breed, Lilly Tidwell, Lilly, and Ashby Williams. Williams was the top individual winner for the Lions as she won silver in the 1600 and 3200. She set a new personal best of 5:08.39 in the 1600. In the 100 and 200 meters, Gaines scored valuable points for Gray as she placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Greer’s Jewel Brantley had won a gold and silver medal winning the 100 meters in a time of 11.88 and finishing second in the 200 meters in 24.68. She is just a junior. Also winning two individual medals was Westsides Ayanna Hunt. She won the discus with a throw of 47.51 meters and won silver in the shot put with a put of 12.17. She won the discus by over 10 meters. South Pointe’s Azyah Adams won two bronze medals in the 100 and 200 meters. She set new personal best in both events with a time of 12.05 in the 100 and 24.83 in the 200. The 4x100 relay team of Jayla Robinson, Adams, Amiya Davis, and Kavae Anderson took home gold in the event. ================= 1 Gray Collegiate 61 2 Daniel 58 3 Seneca 55 4 Hilton Head 47 5 South Pointe 45 6 Bishop England 40 6 Westside 40 8 Wren 39.5 9 Lakewood 26 9 York 26 11 Dreher 25 11 Lower Richland 25 13 Travelers Rest 19 13 South Florence 19 15 Greer 18 15 Fountain Inn High School 18 17 Bluffton 16 18 Gilbert 14 19 Wilson 13 20 Aiken 12.5 21 Hartsville 12 22 AC Flora 11.5 23 Blue Ridge 9 24 Airport 8 25 May River High School 6 25 Richland Northeast 6 27 Brookland Cayce 5.5 28 Midland Valley 5 28 South Aiken 5 30 Colleton County 4 30 Camden 4 32 Pickens 3 32 Southside 3 34 Beaufort 2 35 Lancaster 1

James Island goal keeper Jackson Crawford comes out of goal to defend an attack by Ashley Ridge midfielder Joshua DeSouza May 17 during the 5A, Division 1 Boys Soccer Lower State Championship. 

Berkeley head coach Landy Cox.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Manning - Game two of the SCISA AAAA state championship softball series, between rivals Laurence Manning Academy (24-3) and Wilson Hall (15-12), appeared to be going the Barons way, as they held a 4-2 lead going into the 5 th inning of the game, hosted by the Swampcats on May, 15 th , one day after a hail storm delayed game-two. In sports, when adversity comes, we use terms like “the wheels fell off” or “things went South” to explain when negative things happen to the team we admire, and follow, at the worse moment in a game, especially with a state title hanging in the balance. Wilson Hall, committed three throwing errors on the same play, in the bottom of the 5 th inning, that led to LMA scoring three runs as the Swampcats went on to win the game, 5-4. It was their second straight SCISA AAAA championship. It was the 4 th straight year these two power-house SCISA teams had made it to the goal medal round. The Barons claimed Gold in 2022 and 2023. Laurence Manning finally broke through on their rival last season, when they earned a state title against the Barons. LMA had won game one of the 2025 series at Wilson Hal on Monday, 5-1. Minutes after the big come-from-behind win, head LMA coach Buddy Truett said, “All year long, when we have been down, we have come back; like when we came back from being down 10 runs against Orangeburg Prep,” said Coach Truett. “Our goal was to keep the pressure on them and when you put the ball in play anything can happen. “This team believes in themselves,” said Coach Truett. “Winning never gets old, absolutely not. I will take winning every time. Every kid on this team can hit it out.” Junior center fielder Lyza Pricklemeyer, who hit a home run to dead center field in the third inning . She has now played in four straight state championship games. “It feels great to have now won two titles in a row, and not everyone gets to experience this, and this is my 4 th year playing in the state finals.” said Pricklemeyer, a truly talented player on both sides of the ball. “I have seen both sides in the past four seasons and winning feels a lot better for sure. We came in very focused today, and we couldn’t do anything about the bad weather yesterday anyway. We were totally focused on winning the game today.” Pricklemeyer talked about her home run, in the third inning, to dead away center field. “I had been struggling at the plate the last couple of games, and their pitcher was throwing a lot of rise balls, and honesty, I was just trying to put the ball in play on the home run,” said Pricklemeyer. “I swing as hard as I can on every pitch and it felt good to see it go over the fence.” Pricklemeyer will play for the Lady Lighting Sumter legion team this summer. Senior pitcher Laini Kosinski possesses a lot of poise in the circle. “The one-day weather delay did not bother us at all,” said Kosinski after the win. “I pitch with the same focus whether runners are on base or not. I just stay in my tunnel and give it all I have.” Late in the season, with fellow pitcher Kaylee Parmenter Avins out with an injury, did that add a little pressure to her game? “I really didn’t feel any pressure, but I did feel some nerves on occasion,” said Kosinski. “When it came to this game, I felt focused and ready to help my team win a championship. It is a great feeling to help my team win two state titles in a row.” Kosinski said her curve ball was her best pitch during the game. ”My goals entering college will not change and that is to win, win, win,” she said. “Even when we got down today, we did not panic. We are all caring and loving teammates and we stick together no matter what.” Wilson Hall head coach, Teresa Alexander, told the HSSR after the disappointing loss, ”We came ready to battle today and I am really proud of the team for that,” said Coach Alexander. “We felt like we had prepared well for the game, but in in the end it didn’t happen. We had that one bad inning on defense, but all-in-all, we made it to the finals against a very talented Laurence Manning team, and my team put it all on the line. “We start one senior, Abby Bradley, and she just played the defensive game of her life along with only one junior our left fielder Addie Griffin,” said Coach Alexander . “ Our two pitchers’ tonight were an 8 th grader and a 9 th grader ( Marsha Kate Skey & Lilly Grace Przybyla ) and I was very proud of their efforts tonight. We are thankful to have them back, and the majority of our player’s back next season.” Coach Alexander put the three errors her team made in the bottom of the 5th into perspective. “What you saw was a team wanting to win really bad, and they make those routine plays 99 per cent of the time, but in the heat of the moment our players put everything into trying to get the third out. They tried hard to make the plays and it just didn’t happen. “We’ll bounce back, learn from our unintended mistakes, and be a better team going into next season,” said Coach Alexander. “We had a very young team this season, and our players kept working and grinding. I could not be prouder of them right now. We won some hard-fought games in the state tournament to get to the finals and this team never quits.” Coach Alexander said coming into this season, the Barons had graduated virtually all 9 starters “who had been a part of the team’s repeat run” prior to the 2024 season. “We have been working hard to figure out a way to get better with each game, and I think the fact that we made it to the finals this season, with a young team, should help go into next season with a lot of confidence.” Coach Alexander is closing out her 18 th season at Wilson Hall. She has coached teams to 10 state finals appearances, with six state titles won over this period, an outstanding achievement. Wilson Hall scored all four of their runs in the second inning, when 8 batters went to the plate. Addie Griffin led off with a double, and advanced to third when the ball got pass the catcher. Caroline Andrews generated a one-out single that put runners on first and third. Jenna Green then had an uncontested single, without a throw to first, on a ground ball as LMA held the runner at third from advancing home. Abby Bradley brought in Griffin on an RBI single through the middle. With two-out, Caroline Moorman ripped a double down the third base line scoring three runs to make it 4-0. The early momentum in the game belonged to Wilson Hall. In the bottom of the second, Caroline Welch put LMA on the board with a line drive home run over the left field fence that was caught with one hand by an LMA fan from the back of his pick-up truck. Then in the bottom of the third inning Pricklemeyer launched a solo home run to dead center field to cut the deficit to 4-2. LMA was down 4-2 in the bottom of the 5 th when they rallied to take a 5-4 lead that held up for the win. LMA’s first two batters of the inning were retired, but the momentum of the game was about to shift Swampcats. Ashely Rae Hodge reached on an error, and then Kosinski walked. Lilly Wellborn then hit a routine ball in the infield, and it appeared Wilson Hall might escape the inning still ahead 4-2. However, the throw to first base went over the head of the first baseman for the first error, and the next throw to second base was also over-thrown, resulting in two LMA runners crossing the plate. Then a third errant throw allowed Wellborn to score to give LMA a 5-4 lead. Needless to say, the momentum of the game shifted back to LMA as their fans aplenty cheered the moment. Kosinski did her best pitching for LMA over the final two innings of the game. In the WH sixth inning the Barons were three-up and three down on three balls hit to the outfield. Then in the WH 7 th Kosinski retired the side on three straight ground outs as the home fans started to celebrate. For the game, Wilson Hall out-hit LMA 7-to-4. Center fielder Abby Bradley had two hits and one RBI while Moorman, the catcher, had a hit that resulted in three RBI’s. Shortstop Mary Paisley Geddings had a hit while Griffin had a hit and scored a run. Green added a hit and Andrews had a hit and scored one run. Wilson Hall used two pitchers in the game. Marsha Kate Skey started the game and worked three innings, allowing two earned runs, four hits and she had four strike-outs. Lilly Grace Przybyla worked the final three innings, giving up no runs, no hits, and she had four strike-outs. LMA made the most of their four hits. Pricklemeyer and Welch each homered with one RBI each. Hodge contributed a hit with one RBI and she scored a run. Kosinski had the final hit and Wellborn scored a run during the contest. Kosinski pitched a complete game for LMA allowing 7 hits, just one walk and she had one strike-out. For the season, LMA had an impressive .406 team batting average. Leading the team in batting was Kosinski, a senior headed to Francis Marion to play softball. She batted .557 with 34 RBI’s, including six doubles and one triple. In the circle she went 12-0 with an ERA of 2.67. In 86 innings she had 82 K’s. Pricklemeyer, a top junior prospect with major college defensive skills, and a sweet swing from the left side to make any college coach smile. The top 10 rated junior in South Carolina, finished with a .548 average, including 37 RBI’s, 10 doubles, six triples, four home runs and she stole 10 bases. She also had a fielding percentage of .976, playing in center field and first base. Next on the hit index is junior Marlee Black , a lead-off batter with a .482 average including 23 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases. Hodge, a junior, batted .434 with 37 RBI’s and she stole 13 bases. Senior second baseman Carol Ann Briggs batted .382 with 9 RBI’s with a fielding percentage of .964. Other top LMA batters included senior pitcher/utility play Kaylee Parmenter Avins (.396 & 19 RBI’s) who battled injuries towards the end of the season. In the circle Avins worked 46.1 innings with 50 K’s and she had an ERA of 2.62. Welch, a highly regarded freshman batted .341 with 13 RBI’s. Junior Maggie Welch finished at .339 with 17 RBI’s and four home runs. Senior catcher Lila Kate Mathis battled though injuries for a good part of the season and her 1.000 fielding percentage behind the plate will be something talked about at future LMA class reunions. Mathis batted .333 with five RBI’s also. Wellborn, a junior, finished at .299 with 15 RBI’s and veteran senior Jessica Griffith hit .274 with 20 RBI’s including four doubles and one triple. Other members of the LMA team included senior Anna Lewis Burke , junior Emma Jean Casselman , and junior Ashlym Holmes . Wilson Hall’s stats leaders included Skey who led the team with a .357 average including 26 RBI’s and a home run. Geddings was next on the hit index with a .379 average with 15 RBI’s. Moorman was next at .338 with 15 RBI’s and a .982 fielding percentage. Przybyla hit .323 with 21 RBI’s and Bradley was at .321 including a fielding percentage of .957. Grace McArthur batting .300 with a fielding percentage of .974. Andrews was at .289 with 19 RBI’s and one home run. Griffin was at .275 with 25 RBI’s and two home runs while Emmie Williamson hit .269. Madelyn Davis was also a member of the team who had a double six RBI’s on the season. Green contributed 9 RBI’s on the season. In the circle, Skey worked 81.2 innings with 98 K’s and an ERA of 3.42. Przybala had 75.1 innings of circle duty with 55 K’s with a 2.69 ERA. Both these teams will come into the 2026 season heavily favored to meet once again in the SCISA AAAA state softball finals.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – Moving up to the 5A Division 1 classification once again proved no problem for Ridge View . Just as the Blazers basketball team kept the state championships string alive with a win over Blythewood in the 5A Division 1 final in March, the Ridge View boys track and field team moved up from a 4A state championship in 2024 to score 91 points and edge Spartanburg’s 87.5 points in Saturday’s 5A Division 1 track and field meet at Spring Valley’s Harry Parone Stadium. “I’m just proud of the growth of this program,” said fourth-year head coach Charles Proctor , noting the team’s three region championships on top of its second straight state championship. “I think the number that I’m most proud of over these four years is that we’ve helped 20 young men gain scholarships to continue their athletic and academic careers. We’re just continuing to build this program.” The Blazers had just two gold medals on the afternoon. Jordyn Best won state in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.52 seconds and the 4x100 relay team of Quency Grant , Khristian Jackson , Mounir Spann , and Best took first with a time of 40.88. What Ridge View did have was enough depth to cover almost every event, and double up in several events. In the 400 hurdles, four Blazer runners finished within the top 8. Grant took second with a time of 54.79, Elijah White took 4 th with a time of 56.51, Jaciyah Johnson took 6 th with a time of 56.74, and Ethan Jirves took 8 th with a time of 57.49. Those placings netted Ridge View 17 points. White and Jirves also placed in the 110 hurdles, with White taking fifth with a time of 14.89 and Jirves placing eighth with a time of 15.25. Those finishes netted five points. Best finished third in the 200 dash with a time of 21.63. In the 400 dash Spann took second with a time of 48.24 and Darrell Price finished seventh with a time of 48.94. Those placings added 16 points to the Blazers’ total. Macaire N’twa took fifth in the 800 run with a time of 1:58.12 for four points. The 4x800 relay team of N’twa, Price, Correll Johnson , and Orin Striggles took sixth place with a time of 8:00.39, and the 4x400 relay team of Grant, Price, N’twa, and Spann closed out the meet with a fourth place time of 3:20.95. Those finishes gave Ridge View eight points. In the field events Amari Stevenson’s second-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 14.27 meters was tops, with Nevan Gaither’s mark of 13.6 meters was good for fifth place. The two efforts gave the Blazers 12 points for that event. Josh Campbell’s 5 th place discus throw of 47.28 meters and Angel Brooks Jr.’s fourth-place javelin throw of 51.48 meters were good for nine points. All in all, while the finishes weren’t all top finishes, there were more than enough to get the Blazers across to victory. “The thing that helped us the most is that we came in here with 24 scoring opportunities,” Proctor said. “I always say that if we can come in here with more than 15 scoring opportunities, we’ve got a great chance to win. The depth of our team allowed for some mistakes, which we knew we would have, it’s rare that you would have a perfect championship, so our depth is what helped us pull this out today.” Spartanburg had several individual state champions on its roster. Justin Rice took gold in the 200 dash with a time of 21.40, Knox Eaton finished first in the 800 run with a time of 1:54.88, and Torrean Davis took gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.33 meters. The 4x400 relay team of Joshua Taliaferro , Andy Metz , Christian Davis , and Elijah Roseburg finished first and gave the Vikings one final push with a time of 3:19.30. Those finishes gave Spartanburg 40 points, but the Vikings did not have enough high finishers to boost their point total over the top. Rice finished fifth in the 100 dash with a time of 10.82; Davis finished fifth in the 200 dash with a time of 21.82; Taliaferro took fifth in the 400 dash with a time of 48.56, and fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.9 meters; Walker Nunes took eighth in the 800 run with a time of 1:58.27; and Andy Metz finished third in the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.92. The 4x800 relay team of Eaton, Chap Willbanks , Nicholas Rhoden and Nunes finished second with a time of 7:53.78, and the 4x100 relay team of Kendrion Keenon , Davis, Rice, and Taliaferro finished third with a time of 41.61 to round out the Viking’s score of 87.5 points. With the championship in hand, the Blazers will keep training and work toward another successful season. For Proctor it is a moment to reflect on the past four years, and what the future may bring to Ridge View. “I think we can be a perennial powerhouse in the country,” Proctor said. “It’s a great thing to win a state championship today, but to also end the season as the No.1 team in South Carolina, that means everything, and it’s something we’ve been working on and striving for.” Apart from the Ridge View-Spartanburg contest, top finishers included Carolina Forest senior Zayveon Sims , who took first place in the 400 dash with a time of 47.82. Boiling Springs junior Mike Hurley won gold in the 3200 run with a time of 9:13.11. Cane Bay senior Jayden Anderson took first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.62, and also won gold I the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.35. Mauldin’s 4x800 relay team as tops with a time of 7:51.00. Dorman junior Jamarius Brown won the high jump with a mark of 1.93 meters, and also took gold in the triple jump with a mark of 14.63 meters. Stratford junior Lukas Kowlok took first in the pole vault with a vault of 4.65 meters. Blythewood senior Santana Wright threw the discus for a first-place distance of 51.84 meters. Mauldin sophomore Walker Ferguson won the javelin with a throw of 58.19 meters. West Ashley junior Matthew Atkinson took gold in the shot put with a throw of 15 meters. Girls 5A Division I While competition in the boys events was tight, the Blythewood girls team dominated the field Saturday. The Bengals sprinters placed high and racked up points early, finishing with 107 points on the day to claim their third straight state championship and first in the 5A Division I configuration. Blythewood’s total was 53 points better than second-place Spartanburg’s 54 points. “We had to perform a lot better than we did last season because we had a lot of hiccups last year,” head coach Aleshia Hawkins ,” We just came out and performed the way we needed to perform.” That they did. Sophomore sprinter Peyton Hightower won the 400-meter dash for the second straight year, this year with a time of 24.46 seconds. She finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.46 and ran a leg for the gold-winning 4x400 relay team. Junior Olivia Taylor , who finished fifth in the 100 dash with a time of 12.03, also finished fifth in the 400 dash with a time of 55.60. Hightower’s sister, junior sprinter and point guard on the 5A Division 1 state basketball championship Bengals Hayley Hightower , took second in the 800 run with time of 2:10.27 and also ran legs in the 4x400 and 4x800 races. Both sisters say they enjoy competing with each other and alongside each other, and spending time with the team as everyone prepares to do their best for events. “I like to see her succeed on the track and I think she does the same for me,” Hayley Hightower said. “It’s amazing to see both of us competing and running on this level.” Peyton Hightower added, “It’s great having someone to cheer for, not only as a teammate but as family. I root for her and she roots for me.” Both sisters said they and the team came into Harry Parone stadium Saturday with the focus on keeping their championship at Blythewood. “We’ve been working extra hard this year, trusting our coaches, setting some goals, and coming here with a plan,” Hayley Hightower said. “We weren’t going to get away from our plan. We knew what we had to come here and do, it didn’t matter about the class or whatever, we just had to come in here and get the job done. To get another state championship in track means a lot to me. I’m really proud of this team.” Added Peyton Hightower , “This is No.3 in a row for us so we know what we needed to do coming in here, We’re just proud that we came out on top,” she said. “We knew that there were going to be some teams that would challenge us. We knew that we had to stay humble and do our best. We did a really good job of coming in and not worrying about the outside noise and doing what we had to do.” What they did was place as high as possible, in every event possible. Eighth grader Brooke Bramlett took first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.88. Bramlett also finished seventh in the 100 dash and ran a leg on the 4x100 team. Senior Aminah Rhone won gold in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.74. She finished third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.41, and she also ran a leg in the 4x400. Sophomore Romell Garway finished seventh in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.24. Blythewood racked up 26 points in the relays with a first place in the 4x400 and second placings in the 4x100 and 4x800. The 4x400 team of Rhone, Alexandra Francique , Hayley Hightower , and Payton Hightower won gold with a time of 3:48.77. The 4x100 team of Bramlett, Taylor , Brittany Benson , and junior Tylar Moore took second with a time of 47.02. The 4x800 team of junior Anna Kelly , senior Mallory Hogue , Scarlett Baker , and Hayley Hightower took second with a time of 9:23.80. Hogue and Kelly also placed in the 3200 run. Hogue placed third with a time of 11:17.49 and Kelly placed fourth with a time of 11:19.47. Sophomore Alexis Jones placed fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.55 meters. Moore placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.59 meters. Coach Hawkins credited the success of Blythewood to supporters throughout the school and community. “From Blythewood, the high school, the parents, the younger brothers and sisters come out, it’s just wonderful,” Hawkins said. “Everyone takes everything seriously. They want to get to the next level, and I tell them, you work. You don’t work, you can’t make it to the next level.” Noting the youth on the team, the program isn’t slowing down anytime soon. “We’re just losing three scorers this year, but everyone else is coming back,” Hawkins said. “It’s going to be exciting in 2026.” Among the other top finishers, Rock Hill senior Khamoni Rockeymore-Crews won the 100 dash with a time of 11.74, and won the 200 dash with a time of 24.19. She was also one of Rock Hill’s state-champion 4x100 team that also included Cherish Paul , Zoe McClurkin , and Aubrey Stevenson that finished with a time of 46.75. The Wando 4x800 team of Rowyn Martens , Emma Stanton , Ana Laurient , and Emmi Hunter made a state-record run of 9:08.70 that beat the old record by 13 seconds. Laurient, a senior, also won gold in the 80 meter run with a time of 2:10.24. Warrior javelin thrower Elle Cocco , a freshman, won her event with a 39.65-meter throw. Clover junior Ella Nighbor won the 1,600 run with a time of 5:02.77. Summerville junior Taylor Blackwelder won the 3,200 run with a time of 11:13.45. Teammate Nikki Brown , a senior, won the pole vault with a vault of 3.48 meters. Mauldin senior Lena Scott took first place in the high jump with a mark of 1.68 meters. She also won the triple jump with an effort of 12.19 meters. Ashley Ridge senior Alana Braxton won gold in the long jump with a jump of 5.87 meters. Fort Dorchester’s Saniyah Joyner won the discus with a throw of 39.91 meters. Spartanburg sophomore Riley Vaughn won gold in the shot put with a throw of 12.4 meters.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer ST MATTHEWS — The Holly Hill Academy baseball team stayed true to what brought them to the SCISA 1A state championship series Thursday night at Calhoun Academy’s baseball field—good at-bats, timely hitting, and speed on the basepaths. That formula earned the Raiders a 6-2 victory in the deciding game of the best-of-three series and the first state championship in baseball since 2016. “It’s been our mojo all season, putting pressure on teams,” Holly Hill Academy head coach Andy Green said. “We’ve got a lot of team speed up and down the lineup, and our motive is always to put pressure on the defense. Tonight we executed when it mattered. It’s a big reason for our success tonight for sure.” It also helped the Raiders (14-9) to have a mound presence, especially in the last two games of the series. Richard Winn (16-5) won the first game 5-3 Tuesday, but Holly Hill game 2 starter Ashton Soles pitched 6 2/3 innings and 2-hit the Eagles in a 7-2 victory Wednesday. On Thursday, Tyler Green worked a complete-game 3-hitter, striking out six while walking just one. Soles and Green’s time on the mound stopped the hot-hitting Eagles, 2-time defending 1A champions, cold. “We didn’t hit the ball at all this series and that was frustrating to us because we’ve been pretty good at it all year long,” Richard Winn head coach Paul Brigman said . “You’ve got to give credit to their pitching, they really came through in game 2 and game 3 with strong pitching and we just couldn’t do a whole lot with them.” The Eagles managed a run on no hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. With one out, a shaky Green hit D Albert , walked Charlie Bonds , then hit Johnathan Bonds to load the bases. T Burchell’s sacrifice fly scored Albert for a 1-0 lead, but Green settled in and struck out Owen Martin to end the inning. The Raiders evened the score in the top of the second with two outs. Jake Kirven and Mason McGriff drew walks, Parker Kizer’s single to leftfield drove in Kirven, and Mason Connor’s single to left scored McGriff to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead. Johnathan Boyd popped out to retire the side. Richard Winn loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third, and Bennett Nicholson scored on Turner Burchell’s ground out to even the score at 2-2. With two out, Charlie Bonds at third and Johnathan Bonds at second, Martin grounded out to end the inning before the Eagles could take full advantage. From the fourth inning on, the Raiders were in full control. Holly Hill broke the tie with two outs in the top of the fourth. McGriff reached base on an infield error, moved to second and third base as Kizer batted. Martin, Richard Winn’s starting pitcher in his last inning on the mound, walked Kizer. As Martin pitched to Connor, McGriff scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball to make it 3-2 Holly Hill. Martin walked Connor and Boyd flied out to end the inning, but the Raiders scored one run in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings in similar fashion. On the mound in the final innings, Connor gave up two hits while he and the Raiders defense sat down the Eagles quickly to ensure the victory. “They worked so hard this year,” Green said. “We loaded our schedule with a bunch of triple-A schools this year and tried to be ready for this moment and with the pitching we’ve seen this year it paid off. We took our lumps playing some bigger schools with the faith that at the end of the year it would come back and matter and they just put in so much work, I’m so happy for them.” The Raiders graduate 11 players from the team and will have three starters returning next season. “We’ve got six holes to fill,” Green said. “The next two years are going to be a lot of opportunities for some new kids to see some playing time and develop, and we’ll just have to go from there.” In the first game Tuesday, Richard Winn starting pitcher Charlie Bonds worked 6 2/3 innings and 2-hit the Raiders, striking out 11. The Eagles held a 5-0 lead going into the seventh inning when Bonds lost his focus on the strike zone and walked three straight batters and gave up all three Holly Hill runs. Martin, who took the loss Thursday, came on in relief of Bonds and got the final out. Bonds also homered in that game. Walker Blackwelder was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. Holly Hill saved its ace, Ashton Soles, for game 2. Soles gave up two runs on two hits in the first inning—and held the Eagles hitless for the rest of the way in the 7-2 win. He threw 110 pitches over 6 1/3 innings and struck out 10. “We knew we both had really strong pitchers,” Brigman said Wednesday night, noting Charlie Bonds and Soles. “They saved their guy when we threw our best guy yesterday, and they put themselves in a little bit of an advantageous spot today, and he pitched well. He came through for them.” When his pitch count reached that critical point, reliever Brayden Mizell came on and got the last two outs of the game. “For a senior to walk off the mound like that condition knowing he can hold his head high and that he gave everything he had, I’m super proud of him for that.” Green said Wednesday night. The Raiders and the Eagles were tied 2-2 after the first inning, but while Richard Winn kept getting stymied at each plate appearance, the Raiders got two runs in the third inning, two more runs in the sixth, and one in the seventh for the win. Wednesday’s victory produced an energy surge for Holly Hill, Green said Wednesday night, perhaps prophetically. “Yesterday (Tuesday) we got down big but came back and fought, carried some momentum in the last inning that kind of propelled us into today,” Green said Wednesday. “Our approach today was 180 degrees different than what it was yesterday. Yesterday we had some bad approaches, gave away some at bats swinging at bad pitches. Today we worked deep in the counts and got better pitches, and we played better defense.” Tuesday Richard Winn 100 040 0 – 5 7 1 Holly Hill Academy 000 000 3 – 3 2 3 WP : Charlie Bonds, 6 2/3 IP, 2H, 3R, 0ER, 5BB, 11K. R – Walker Blackwelder 2-3, 2 RBI. Charlie Bonds HR. Wednesday Holly Hill Academy 202 002 1 – 7 8 1 Richard Winn 200 0000 – 2 2 2 WP : Ashton Soles, 6 1/3 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 10K H – Johnathan Boyd 3-4, 2 RBI. Jody Gilliam 2 RBI. R – Dylan Albert 2B, Johnathan Bonds 2 RBI. Thursday Holly Hill Academy 020 111 1 – 6 10 2 Richard Winn 1010000 – 2 3 2 WP : Tyler Green, 7IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 6K. H – Mason Connor 304, 2 RBI. Tyler Green 2-4. R – Charlie Bonds 2-2.