Ashley Hall athletes priming for playoffs
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Charleston – With the regular season winding down, the fall sports teams and athletes at Ashley Hall are gearing up for the 2024 SCISA postseason.
By the first of November, SCISA will have crowned state champions in all of their fall sports, except for football. Thus, the athletes at Ashley Hall are laser focused on being at their best in crunch time.
The volleyball program has won 12 state championships and is almost always among the last teams standing in the playoff bracket. While teams like Cardinal Newman and Porter-Gaud are routinely winning the state title in SCISA over the last decade, Ashley Hall continues to be a competitive team.
As of Oct. 4, Ashley Hall had posted an overall record of 10-14-2 against a highly competitive non-region schedule that includes many of the state’s top teams. The Panthers split their first six region contests.
Again leading the team this fall is returning all-state setter Charlotte Strickland. The junior has nearly 450 assists and 200 digs this season. She now has 2.370 career assists.
Sophomore Liza Hood leads the team in kills with 156 while also recording 130 digs. Senior Spencer Edgerton has 130 kills and 17 blocks in the middle while Ellen Lesemann adds 65 kills and 20 blocks.
Among the defensive leaders are Iris Stiegman (240 digs), Parker Gragg (123 digs) and Amelia Finnegan (108 digs).
Leading the way this fall on the cross country team is Natalie Bennett. Ireland Evans-Langdale, Eliza Willis, Nyla Jenkins and Lilla Hand also have competed among the top five for most of the fall.
Sophia Schauer, Bryn Wildstein and Na’Zyia Jenkins add depth and look to contend for one of the top five positions.
The cross country team has run nearly 10 events this fall and competed in the Lowcountry Invitational meet, one of the state’s largest and most competitive regular season meets, on Sept. 30. Bennett was Ashley Hall’s top finisher, running in 62nd place overall.
The tennis team was a state finalist in 2023 and aims for another shot at the title. The tennis playoffs were slated to begin on Oct. 8.
Members of the team this fall include seniors Nina Abracos-O’Neel; juniors Adeline Kreise, Emma Kate Schimming, Madeline Schimming, Kate Strenck, Lily Sloan, Grace Taylor and Emma Tedford; sophomores Gigi Powell and Lillie Jackson; freshmen Charlotte Guffey and Bella Gray McCurry; and eighth-grader Bridgette DeWolf.
