5AD1 Girls and Boys State Track Meet

Worthy Evans • May 18, 2025


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 4th with a time of 56.51, Jaciyah Johnson took 6th with a time of 56.74, and Ethan Jirves took 8th 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 5th 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.

 

 

 

Andrews beats East Clarendon to reach Lower State finals

By Billy Baker • May 21, 2026
Andrews—East Clarendon out-hit Andrews 6-5 on May, 20, on the road in the AA Lower State softball semi-finals, but the Yellow Jackets took advantage of two errors and six walks to come out on top 5-1, as they advance to play Chesterfield on Friday in the Lower state finals. Joy Weisner is the Andrews head coach, and she told the HSSR after the game: “What we have tried to do all season is take advantage of any opportunities a team gives us,” said Coach Weisner. “We hit the ball better today and that is very important.” Andrews last won a state title in 20218. Andrew had five players earning all-region honors. They were center fielder Sarah Jennings, pitcher Addyson Davis, who will also play in the North-South game. Other all-region selections were junior catcher Chloe Skipper who was the Region MVP, senior Addison McCants, Region MVP outfielder Skipper, and talented sophomore shortstop Tori Smith. Andrews lost to Chesterfield 7-3 this past Monday (May 18). “We have to hit the ball better when we go to them this Friday,” said Coach Weisner. “We didn’t hit the ball well at all this past Monday when we played Chesterfield. We hit the ball well today, so we just have to keep that momentum going into Friday. “We have to go to Chesterfield and beat them twice,” said Coach Wesiner. “We have to play some of our best softball this season in order to that, so I hope we are focused. We need to start the game with momentum and end the game with momentum when we play at Chesterfield. East Clarendon (25-8) head coach Jason Newsome closed out his third season in the loss. “I thought our pitcher hung tough (Addyson Davis) today and she is just a freshman and she has been learning by fire all year long,” said Coach Newsome. “She is extremely talented and she is a good pitcher now, but she is going to an even better pitcher in the future.” Coach Newsome. “In the playoffs the margin of error is very thin and the mistakes we made, they took advantage of,” said Coach Newsome. “On the other hand, the mistakes they made, and the opportunities they gave us we didn’t take advantage of them and that was a key in the game. They did a good job of keeping us off-balance.” All region players from EC included: Region POY Peyton Hanniford, Bailey Hicks, Riley Atkinson, Layke Jeffords, and Zoey Culick. The score was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the third when Andrews scored four runs. Karaline Gainey singled to start the inning and was advanced on a sac bunt by Lauren Stump to second. Sarah Jennings next singled to left field advancing Gainey to third. Torian Smith drew a walk. Then Jenna Cook hit a ball deep into the corner down the first base line that resulted in an inside the park grand slam. Andrew added an insurance run in the bottom of the 4thwhen B. Walker singled and advanced on a single by Gainey. Stump was then Hit by pitcher to load the bases. Sarah Jennings then hit an RBI ground out that brought in Walker to account for the Yellow Jackets’ five runs.

Hanahan wins lower state in softball

By David Shelton • May 21, 2026
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Wilson Hall Softball Finishes With 21-7 Record

By Dennis Brunson • May 20, 2026
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – The Wilson Hall softball team came up short of reaching the SCISA AAAA state championship series, which is a goal for everyone at the start of the season. Only two can get there though, so while not fun to come up short, it is bearable. However, the way things went down for the Barons this season didn’t help at all. Wilson Hall just needed one victory on Day 2 of the state tournament at Patriot Park SportPlex in Sumter to punch its ticket to the title series. Instead, the Barons lost to archrival Laurence Manning Academy twice by the scores of 12-0 and 6-4. LMA advanced to the best-of-3 series instead and swept Pinewood Prep to win a third straight championship. In retrospect though, Barons head coach Teresa Alexander finds it hard not to be proud of the season her team had. “The season’s ending didn’t turn out how we had hped, but I’m really proud of the tough schedule we played and the success we had all year.,” said Alexander, who guided Wilson Hall to a 21-7 record. “I’m excited to see this young bunch return with the experience they now have under their belts. But we will truly miss our seniors, Addie Griffin and Marymae Lampron .” The Barons had four players selected to the All-Region 3-AAAA team in Griffin, freshman pitcher Marsha Kate Skey , sophomore shortstop Mary Paisley Geddings and junior catcher Caroline Moorman . Griffin, who played left field, had a .279 batting average to go with an on-base percentage of .423. She had one double, one triple, one home run, 13 runs batted in and 18 runs scored. Skey was a standout in the circle as Wilson Hall’s primary pitcher. Shd had a `1.69 earned run average to go with 115 strikeouts. At the plate, Skey batted .400 with an OBP of .489. She had three doubles, two triples, 17 RBI and 33 runs. Geddings batted .317 with a .406 OBP to go with seven doubles, one triple, four homers, 26 RBI and 28 runs. Moorman had 14 RBI, 17 runs and four doubles to go with a .354 batting average and an OBP of .429. Other returning starters are freshman second baseman Tatiana Erichsen , freshman outfielder Anna Meldrim , sophomore third baseman Lilly Grace Przybyla , freshman outfielder Emmie Williamson and eighth-grade centerfielder Caroline Andrews . Meldrim hit .412 with three homers, 31 RBI and 24 runs, Przybyla hit .373 with 21 runs and 15 RBI, Williamson batted .263 with an OBP of .500, and Erichsen batted .324 with 19 RBI and 23 runs.

Stallions Reach SCISA Class AAA Baseball Title Series In Morris’ First Year

By Dennis Brunson • May 20, 2026
Williamsburg runners makes diving slide for the plate in the playoffs. (Photo by Mara Feagin)

Warlaw’s Lady Patriots Fall 5 Runs Short Of Winning State Title

By Gerald Doolittle • May 20, 2026
Lady Patriots Katherine Trotter, Bailey Sturkie, Ellie Yonce, Taylor Hilll and Brianna McNeill (not pictured) were selected to the North-South All-Star Team!

Wolves Boys’ Track Team Finishes Fourth At AA State Meet

By Rob Gantt • May 20, 2026
By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR ST. STEPHEN - Timberland High School’s boys track and field team finished fourth in the state Saturday, May 15, at Richland Northeast High School. The Wolves, who finished with 45 points, produced state champions in multiple events. They placed three points out of a tie for second place. Hurdler Malyk Goodman won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.63 seconds and jumper Carter Hawkins soared to victory in the triple jump with a mark of 14.24 meters. Goodman also placed third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.82 and Hawkins finished second in the long jump with an effort of 6.65 meters.  Timberland’s boys sent three more to the awards podium. Hurdler Day’vian Bennett placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.89 seconds. Jumper Antaun Faison finished sixth in the long jump with a mark of 6.51 meters. The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team posted a time of 43.17 seconds to place seventh. For Timberland’s boys, jumper Robert Roberts finished 11th in the triple jump with an effort of 12.11 meters, while the 4x800-meter relay placed 11th and 4x400-meter relay team 13th. The Timberland girls finished 10th in the state and sent quite a few to the awards podium (top 8). Kennahdi Murrell placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and seventh in the high jump. Kemani Lampkin finished fifth in the 800-meter run and Jermanee Washington placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. China Greene recorded a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles and teammate Kiana Glenn was two spots back in eighth. Tiana Jefferson finished 12th in the long jump and 13th in the 400-meter dash. Zoe Cooper was 13th in the discus. Timberland’s girls placed eighth in the 4x400-meter relay and 10th in the 4x100 relay.

Thomas Heyward Has Good Season In Golf

By David Shelton • May 20, 2026
The THA golf program is relatively new but interest seems to be gaining each year.

Summerville Softball Wins District 3 Title

By Roger Lee • May 20, 2026
Senior Jayden Bennett has had some key turns at bat for Summerville during the playoffs.

Stratford’s Kowlok Repeats As State Champion In Pole Vault

By Rob Gantt • May 20, 2026
Lukas Kowlok headlined by repeating as the state champion in the pole vault soaring over the bar at 4.85 meters.

Tough Loss to Stags in Playoffs Doesn’t Dilute an Otherwise Great White Knoll Softball Season

By Worthy Evans • May 19, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - The pain of falling out of the 5A Division 2 District 4 tournament May 11 was still fresh when longtime White Knoll softball head coach talked about the season the next day.  The Timberwolves (14-13, 7-3) faced Berkeley for the second time in the tournament. The Stags held a 6-3 lead but White Knoll rallied for two runs in the seventh. After Melinda Veler drew a walk, Reginae Porterfield swatted a 1-out double to put runners at second and third. Lillian Priest lined out on the next at-bat, but Berkeley first baseman Emma Drawdy misplayed Adelynn Lewis’ ground ball, enabling Veler and Porterfield to score and cut the Stags’ lead to 6-5. With Lewis on base representing the tying run, Jaida Gray struck out swinging to end the hopes of an upset, and close out an otherwise great Timberwolves season. “It’s hard to shake it off. In the season you go to the next game but at the end of the season you can’t,” said Farr, who watched her team take a 3-0 lead only to be hit with Berkeley’s run in the third and a five-run fourth. “I could see my kids kind of feeling it, you could see it in my kids eyes,” she added. “We’ve got to fight to survive and they rallied around those seniors. They knew their time was coming and for two outs we were down 6-5. And that last pitch, it’s a hard way to go out. We’ve got to regroup and build off of what we did this year.” White Knoll beat Socastee 8-7 May 4 to get into the bracket, then upset Berkeley 3-2 May 6. West Florence , led by phenomenal pitcher Annie Eliason (19-0, 0.00 ERA, 309 strikeouts; who gave up two hits and struck out 20) beat White Knoll 7-0 May 8 to set up the rematch with the Stags. While the season ended on a sour note, there was much to praise about a team that Farr said few people would look to as contenders. After a young Timberwolves team battled through trials and tribulations, injuries and other issues, Farr said she watched her team come together in the second half of region play. “On senior night we really started playing for each other and giving it everything we had,” Farr said. “They worked their tails off to get better every single day and it showed. We have 12 players who fought their hearts out. We got to that fourth game, and our losses were close. We were right there, and it really was just one lucky pitch and that’s how the runs ended up.” White Knoll loses just two seniors in Priest and Gracie Fisher , but those seniors made a huge impact on the team. Priest had three home runs, 11 RBI, 34 hits and a .405 batting average. Fisher batted .311 with a double and 14 RBI. “Those two seniors have left their legacy, and we’ll continue with what they started on this swing upward,” Farr said. “We’re really excited that everyone else is returning.” Among the returners are freshmen Veler and Porterfield, and sophomores Charity West and E.G. Birchmore . Porterfield finished with a .393 batting average and a team-leading four home runs and six triples, six doubles and 20 RBI. Veler had 31 hits and 17 RBI to go with a .360 batting average an a .415 on-base percentage. West hit .323 with 11 hits and 10 runs batted in. “Mindy Veler started out in left field since seventh grade and she’s fantastic,” Farr said. “She’s got speed and runs down everything in the outfield but she’s really a good infielder, can play shortstop without missing a beat. An unbelievably great kid who won’t talk very loud but she’s a leader. “Reginae, that kid is small but she’s strong and compact. She can fly and you can’t get anything past her in centerfield,” Farr said. “Charity has been our DP and catcher. She puts the ball in play and has quality at-bats.” Birchmore caught fire in the circle late in the game and finished the season with a 2.23 earned-run average. She was 3-1 in five appearances. “E.G. is a pitcher and utility player, one of those kids in the past couple of years who was always there,” Farr said. “We didn’t expect her to be our starting pitcher but in the back half of the season she started to pour it on and keep us in games. She’s a battler along with our other pitchers.” The White Knoll baseball team finished 10-14 and 5-5 in Region 4-5A, but had a bounce-back season after going 7-22 and 0-10 the year before. The Timberwolves reached the play-in series of the 5A Division 2 District 3 tournament, but fell two games to zero in the best-of-three series with Lugoff - Elgin . White Knoll fell 4-1 in game one, but rallied for six runs in game two after falling behind 7-0. The Timberwolves had a 4-run rally going on in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and two men on, but a strikeout closed out the game and the season. Senior Dillon Woods led the team with a .465 batting average, five home runs and a .573 on-base percentage. Senior Jean Maldonado batted .364, and junior Tra Johnson batted .329. The team loses six seniors but has plenty of younger hitters, fielders, and pitchers to put together another successful season next year.
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