Abbeville athletes honored at sports banquet

Auctioneers went from winless to 7-4 in head coach Marc Lowery's second season

Katelyn Johnson joins Berry on All-State team; Chayse Walters, Paisley Jackson also All-Region

Boyd was an All-State performer under head coach and dad J.R. Boyd

Crusaders finish with 5-11 record but make progress throughout the year

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – It was a sour taste that lingered for a year in the mouths of every player on the Holly Hill Academy softball team. Winning is better than mouthwash. The 2025 Raiders completed a 16-4 season by winning the SCISA Class A state championship, defeating W.W. King in two games (6-4, 15-4) in a best-of-three championship series. Holly Hill won their last seven games of the season. The victory makes Holly Hill state champion for the second time in three years but it was not winning the championship in 2024 that fueled the fire this spring. Though heavily favored last season, the Raiders were upset in the state tournament, eliminated by Jefferson Davis Academy. “We didn’t get it done last year but we still felt we were the best team in the state,” coach Kally Knight said. “Losing last year was all the motivation this team needed. They had a great focus all through the offseason and it carried over into the season. We weren’t perfect by any means but the four losses came to good teams and it helped us stay focused.” In the game one win, Holly Hill banged out nine hits. Kaylee Brabham collected three hits and Kloie Mizell had three runs batted in to lead the offense. Pitcher Taylor Wright had two hits and threw a complete game while allowing four runs. The bats stayed hot in game two as the Raiders totaled 12 hits and took advantage of six King errors. King took a 3-1 lead after the first inning but Holly Hill posted eight runs in the second inning and had a five-run fourth inning to close the deal in five innings. Wright had five RBI on three hits, including two doubles. She again tossed a complete game inside the circle. Kaley Bell had two hits and three RBI while Peyton Strickland and Chloe Wren each added a pair of hits and each had an RBI. “We were a good hitting team really all season and a lot of girls contributed from game to game,” Knight said. “We knew if we cut down walks and played good defense, we were going to be tough to beat. “This team deserves this. They worked hard and they built a strong chemistry. It’s great to see them celebrate being champions again.” Rounding out the roster were Milly Kate Prescott , Ariel Stanley , Abby Burleson , Shelby Hanson , Bethany Martin and Kaylee Cuttino . Brabham and Wren are the only seniors on this year’s team so expect the Raiders to be a contender once again.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – The Hammond girls soccer team (11-7-1) fell short in a controversial 6-0 loss to Porter Gaud in the SCISA 4A championship match May 10. The Cyclones were up 1-0 in a competitive game going into the 47 th minute when senior goalkeeper Maxine Palisin received a red card for an illegal touch, which put her on the bench for the rest of the game. Two substitute goalkeepers, Arrington Earle and Olivia Leavitt , took over, but Porter Gaud scored three goals between the 49 th and 54 th minutes to take a 4-0 lead. The Cyclones scored two more goals before the final whistle. The call irritated first-year head coach and former University of South Carolina football standout Ryan Brewer . “It was crap. It really is,” he said. “You’ve got a senior keeper who comes out and it hits her chest, it could have been a handball, yes, maybe. Whatever. You could have gave her a yellow. The ref wants to make the game about him, and so these young ladies who’ve been fighting their ass off out here, that’s his prerogative, he can do whatever he wants on that, but my girls fought their tails off until that happened.” Despite the season-ending game, the Skyhawks spring was as memorable as it was successful. When head coach Rafael Marquez stepped down in January for personal reasons, Athletic Director Jeff Barnes heard from his old college roommate, Brewer . Better known by USC faithful as a tough, gritty athlete who lined up as a running back and receiver in Lou Holtz’s teams in the early 2000s, Brewer had a personal interest in Hammond girls soccer. Not only were his two daughters, senior Elle Brewer and sophomore Brooks Brewer , on the team, he had also known their teammates since they were kicking soccer balls at an elementary school level. The hire worked out. Brewer’s Skyhawks won Region 1-4A with a 7-0 record. Hammond then beat Hilton Head Christian 6-1 May 6 and Pinewood Prep 1-0 May 8 to reach the championship game May 10 at Cardinal Newman’s St. Sebastian Stadium. The ending is not what Brewer or his team wanted, but Brewer said it doesn’t tarnish his team’s work ethic throughout the season. “It’s a bitter feeling of getting this far, definitely,” Brewer said. “How hard they worked, especially the seniors, from my daughter (Elle), Logan ( Rivers ), Max ( Palisine ), girls I’ve known since they were babies pretty much, and Kate ( Weston ), and Grier ( Eaddy ) and Arrington ( Earle ), the battle they’ve done out there.” He added, “I’ve got three, four real soccer players, everyone else is just a bunch of athletes who’ve battled their tails off. I just wish we could go out with all 11 players and a keeper and see what really happens out there.” The Hammond boys soccer team beat Northwood in the first round of the 4A playoffs May 5, but ended the season falling at Porter Gaud 4-3 May 7. The Hammond softball team (11-10) went 2-2 in the SCISA 4A softball tournament in Sumter May 9-10. The Skyhawks beat Cardinal Newman 15-0 and fell 17-2 to eventual 4A state champion Laurence Manning Academy on May 9. The next day Hammond edged John Paul II 6-5, but saw its season come to an end with an 11-1 loss to Wilson Hall . The Hammond baseball team (13-11) fell 7-0 to Ben Lippen May 1 in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, and ended the season with a 15-2 loss Pinewood Prep May 5.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – The 2025 spring sports season at Colleton County High School was again highlighted by a strong season from the softball program. Ranked among the state’s top 10 AAAA teams for most of the season, the Lady Cougars began the season by winning 13 of their first 14 games and five of six in region 7-AAAA. The season took a bit of a downturn over the final few weeks. While they made the state playoffs in class AAAA, Colleton County went 2-2 over their last four region games, finishing with a 7-3 record and in third-place of the standings. In the playoffs, the Lady Cougars notched a win over Airport before losses to May River and Airport ended their season. Colleton County’s final record was 16-7. One thing the Lady Cougars did well this spring was hit the ball at a high rate. Several hitters posted batting averages over .400 for the season. In fact, three players hit over .500. Junior Alexis Eversole led the team with a .565 average and had 22 runs batted in. Junior Brooklyn Holmes finished with a .540 batting average and had 31 RBIs. Senior Lanasia Sanders earned all-state honors for class AAAA. Sanders hit .516 with four homeruns and 35 RBIs. She also did work inside the pitching circle, notching five wins with a 2.68 earned run average. Sophomore McKenzie Cochran batted .358 with 20 RBIs and senior Madison Miller posted a .354 average with 18 RBIs. Colleton County’s future ace pitcher is Brea Gerard . The eighth-grader made her mark this season by posting an 8-1 record and a 1.25 earned run average. She struck out 105 hitters while walking just 21. The boys soccer team finished its season with a 6-16 overall record and 2-8 in a very competitive region seven. Two of the top players this spring were sophomore Dehlani Griffiths (four goals) and senior Jeremiah Howell (nine goals). The girls soccer team finished 4-14 overall. The AAAA state track and field meet was held in mid-May with three individuals from the girls team advancing through qualifying to earn a spot in the state finals. The top performer was Zarione Hudson , who earned a fifth-place finish in the high jump. Akeelyah Daniel finished 13 th overall in the long jump, while Lillian Mitchell ran 16 th in the 100 meter dash. For the boys team, the 4 x 100 relay team qualified for the finals and finished in seventh-place. Members of the relay unit included Daishawn Flanagan, Kenan Koger, Hykeem Ladson and Jayden Nesbitt. In coaching news, the baseball program will be under new direction as former coach Jermale Paige will not return as coach in 2025-26.

By Billy G. Baker HSSR Publisher Moncks Corner —Including the time I wrote for the Hanahan News (at the time the largest weekly paper in the state) between 1971 and 1975, and the four years I served as Sports Editor on high school newspapers at Summerville and Goose Creek High Schools, (1969-1973); the conclusion of the 2024-25 prep sports year in the Palmetto State marks 56 years of keeping up with some awesomely great kids, mentored by some outstanding coaches, and the future looks even brighter! Actually, the best four years of my sustaining journalism career, came about between 1973 and 1977, when an act of God, landed me at the School of Journalism at the University of South Carolina . The following is a true story, and hopefully one day, I can share more stories like this if I find the time to write a Memoir book with 12,000 names in the index! Here is the story:  As I was putting the key in the dorm room door, as I checked in at USC in August of 1973, I thought it was odd that the phone was ringing. Did a dorm room in the Woodrow Tenements actually come with a phone I asked myself? Who in the world would be calling me? How did they even get a phone number to call me? Answering the phone, after it rang 8 times, the caller stated, “I am Bill Mitchell , the Prep Editor at The State Newspaper and I hope that I am speaking to Billy Baker who recently wrote an article in the Hanahan News about visiting Hanahan football Coach Billy Seigler as he laid dying in his hospital bed at Roper Hospital in Charleston; is this you?” I replied: “Yes sir, I got a call from Coach Seigler’s wife (Angela) and she said that he had requested to see me before he passed away, and that he felt like it was very important for us to have one last visit together. Mrs. Seigler said that while only close family members were allowed to visit with him, Coach had got it cleared for me to visit with him, and she asked me to come right away, and to bring a tape recorder.” Mr. Mitchell replied, “I was at football camp in Laurinburg, NC and the Hanahan team was there for a week, and one of their fans gave me the story you had written about your final visit with Coach Seigler. You were put in a tough situation. I enjoyed reading the article and I would like to hire you as a stringer to cover local high school football games on Thursday and Friday nights.” Six days later, there I was at Wildcat Hollow covering Lexington versus Goose Creek for The State, and the Wildcats won the game 14-0. It was great to meet Cecil Woolbright , the head coach of Lexington and Simon Lewis , who coached the Gators. Although the pay was $15, I would have covered that game for free. Having just graduated from Goose Creek High in 1973, my girl friend was a senior and a member of the Pep Squad, so she was going to be at the game cheering for the Gators. My plan was to drive back to The State paper after interviews, file the story, and then drive back to Goose Creek with my girl- friend. Her Mom had told me at least five times, “Have her home by 1 a.m. or you die!” Not ever being on a deadline, at a daily newspaper before, I was about to have a very hallowing experience, to say the least. It was just after 11 p.m. by the time I arrived at the newspaper Mr. Mitchell pointed me to a “type writer” and said, “You have 30 minutes to knock out your story and it needs to be 10 inches long.” While Coach Mitchell was busy talking to a few local high school coaches about their games, for his round-up, he ignored me until 11:25. “Son, you getting close to wrapping it up and who is that girl with you?” This might have been one of those “Come To Jesus” moments in my life. My reply: “Sir, she is my girlfriend from Goose Creek High. She was at the game tonight with the Pep Squad, and her mother said she could ride back to Goose Creek with me tonight, but only if I promised to have her home by 1 a.m., or die! I have the story written out long hand and it just needs to be typed in.” Mr. Mitchell, and I, became close friends that night when he replied: “It’s almost 11:30 now and you have to have her back in Goose Creek by 1 a. m! I will type your story in, but you need to get out of here now! Go!” I put the pedal to the medal driving a six-year-old used Mazda coupe; flying down I-26 as fast as I could push it. At about mile marker 187, the Ridgeville exit, black smoke started coming up from the floor board, the engine light came on, and we rolled to a stop with a blown engine! It was 12:39 and my life was on the line, or I thought it might be. We got out of the car, thinking it might catch on fire. I began waving my arms at passing cars and a man and his wife headed to Charleston from Atlanta stopped. I explained the dire situation and the man replied, “Jump in, time is wasting.” At 12:59 a.m. Libby Goldman was already at the front door when we pulled in the drive way of my girlfriend’s house. I lived on the next street, so I thanked the good Samaritans and went home immediately! I took a city bus to high school football games at near-by Memorial Stadium for the rest of the football season. It took me several months to find a used engine I could afford for the car. Nearly 25 years later, “Coach Mitchell” called me one day and said he had retired from The State, and he wanted to write 8 to 10 stories a month for “The High School Sports Report” to be able to stay in touch with coaches. I felt honored to have his by-line in the HSSR for a couple years until health issues forced him to give it up.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Little River – The track and field program at North Myrtle Beach High is one of the more competitive programs in the Lower State. That fact is evidenced by the number of athletes that qualify for the state championship meet each season. The 2025 track season was representative of the competitive level of the Chiefs’ program as nearly two dozen athletes qualified for and participated in the 2025 AAAAA Division II state meet in Columbia. The girls program produced an individual state champion as Destinee Vereen won the gold medal in the shot put. The top finisher in the boys meet was Dylan Kempf, who finished second in the pole vault competition. Elijah Lewis finished fourth in the 400 meter dash and Ny’Ray Hannah finished fourth in the 400 meter hurdles. Jerell Bellamy finished fifth in the 400 hurdles. Other top performers from the girls team included Janiyah Bragg (fifth in 100 meter dash), Madison Vereen (sixth in 400), Halle Morris (8 th in 400 hurdles) and Lucy Stalvey (6 th in pole vault). Jakira McCullum placed sixth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump and Zoe Green was 10 th in the 100 meter dash. Israfel Thomason was 10 th in the 100 meter hurdles. Baseball, softball teams finish seasons in playoffs Both the baseball and softball teams enjoyed successful seasons this spring, each earning a spot in the AAAAA Division II playoffs.  The softball finished with a 17-12 overall record. They lost to Berkeley, 2-0, in the district finals. Junior Sadie Olson led the team with a .410 batting average and had 20 RBIs, while senior Kiera Olson hit .375 with 12 RBIs. Junior Lilly Carney hit .333 and junior Isabelle Bruno hit .337 with 16 RBIs. Senior Natalie Lockner finished at .295 and had 20 RBIs. Lockner also had six wins as a pitcher, posting a 2.13 earned run average. Junior Sierra Bendik had eight wins with a 2.63 earned run average. The baseball team finished with a 20-8 record, including a 14-3 record in region play. They were eliminated by Berkeley in the district finals. Berkeley went on to win the state championship. “I’m very proud of the fact that we won three straight region titles,” coach Brian Alderson said. “But, our goal will always be to win the district and advance in the playoffs. We had a helluva regular season and I’m real proud of the effort from our players.” The Chiefs won this season with pitching and defense this season and a lack of consistent hitting proved to be to their detriment in the playoffs. Senior catcher CJ Oxendine finished as the team’s leading hitter with a .369 batting average and 17 RBIs. Kaden Lank hit .359 and Brown Reaves hit .312 with 26 RBIs. On the mound, junior Sawyer Smith had five wins and a 0.85 earned run average. Junior Gabe Priest had eight wins with a 1.40 earned run average. Priest also had 21 RBIs at the plate. Jake Frick had three pitching wins and a 1.48 earned run average. The girls soccer team finished its season with an 11-6 record. The Lady Chiefs earned a playoff win over White Knoll before losing 2-1 to St. James in the second round. The boys team finished 8-11 and lost to Irmo, 3-2, in the playoffs.