Daniel Island Wins Third Summer CCAA Swim Meet In A Row On July 6 At The North Charleston Aquatics Center

Billy Baker • July 9, 2025

Summer recreational league swim growth boosted when the South Carolina High School League started high school swimming program.

By Billy G. Baker

Publisher

North Charleston—The 57th annual Coastal Carolina Aquatic Association (CCAA) Swimming Championships were a highly competitive event, with 18 teams of swimmers competing at the North Charleston Aquatic Center on Saturday July, 6.


Early in the meet, the HSSR had an opportunity to talk with CCAA Co-Meet Director Erik Krentner. “This is a sport where many swimmers can swim with their friends for many years,” said Krentner. “Before the afternoon session, later today, we will recognize our senior swimmers. We have one senior who has been swimming for 15 years, and another has been swimming with their team for 14 years.


“This is a great opportunity for families to be together, and it is a great opportunity for kids to learn the positive habits of being a part of a team, and the habits of getting better at something and also setting goals, and reaching those goals,” said Krenter. “They enjoy these things in a comfortable environment for many years as they grow up.


“We have had many swimmers to go on and swim in college, and we have even had swimmers go on and swim in the Olympic Trials,” said Krenter. “One great thing that helped our growth as a summer recreational league was when the South Carolina High School League started high school swimming a few years back. Our numbers greatly increased in the summer once the state became of the last states in the nation to start high school swimming.”


Krenter said he is very appreciative of all of the volunteers that make the running of the swim meet possible. “We have 9 members of the CCAA board working the meet today, and many other volunteers here helping us out in so many ways,” said Krenter. “We appreciate all the volunteers who make this meet possible very much.”   


  For the third year in a row, the Daniel Island Swim team used their over-all depth, qualifying 55 swimmers for the finals, to earn the coveted CCAA championship with a record score of 3114.5 points to defeat the other 17 teams entered in the event.


The remaining teams finished in order: Northbridge Terrace (2,702.6), Snee Farm (2,645), Parkshore (2,409), Newington 2,317.5), and North Charleston 2,300.5) took sixth place. These teams will compete against each other next year in the Red League.


Teams that finished seven through 12 will compete in the White division next year. Those teams include: Summerville YMCA (2,006.5), Hobcaw (1,908), Shadowmoss (1,908), Crowfield (1,756), James Island (1,373) along with Longpoint (1,230).


The Blue division, made up of teams that placed between 13 and 18 at the CCAA meet will be: Ashborough (1,036.5), Country Club (975), Sha -Mel-Lon (800), Legend Oaks (626), West County (528) and St. Andrews (12).


Points in individual events earned a first-place finisher 31 points for their respective team. Points were then awarded from 29 down to one over the next 29 place finishes. The relay was even more important with a first-place team awarded 62 points. The next 14 finishers earned points from a second- place finish that earned 56 points, descending four points for every place finish, concluding with four points for the relay team that finished 15th. 


Daniel Island swim coach Rose Van Metre, a 20-year coaching veteran, who is also the head swim coach at Bishop England, talked about the success of her team after the big win. “The first time we won this event (two years ago) it came down to the last relay, and we won by just 15 points, or so,” said Coach Van Metre. “For our team to have won by over 400 points today shows steady growth in our program. We graduate only two seniors and we expect to be even better next season.”


After the morning session with the 7-8 and 9-10 teams, Daniel Island had 1,182 points for a close lead over Northbridge Terrace (1,107) and third place Snee Farm (1,030).


At the break, Coach Van Metre told the HSSR, “We have a very strong older age group so I think we are going to hold our lead in the afternoon session,” she said. “We are very proud of Finn Gaston who swam in five events today, winning his three individual events, and he was a key leg on our two winning relay teams as well.


“I encourage all my swimmers to also play other sports, so Finn is also a baseball player,” said Coach Van Metre. “In terms of our biggest surprise in the early session it is no doubt 7-8 boy Paul Barber who was seeded like 16th in the 25-Back and he swam in the fourth heat and he improved over three seconds on his time to place second in that event. It was great to see that kind of improvement.”     


In the afternoon session, the Daniel Island team was led by 15-18 rising senior Ellie Chalupsky who established new city meet records in the 100-fly (25.51)  and the 100-back (25.83) and she also won the 100-IM (58.49) earning 93 points, with three gold medal wins in these vents.  Chalupsky also swam strong legs on her team’s two winning relay teams and these two wins brought another 64 points to the victors.


Chalupsky will be taking her strong swimming talents to Arizona State University, after her senior season at Bishop England next year. She spoke to the HSSR from the pool after her record performances. “I didn’t come to the meet today focused on breaking any records,” said Chalupsky. “I came into the meet focused on helping my team have success and I focused on doing the very best I could.


“My journey as a swimmer has been both challenging and good,” said Chalupsky. “Swimming has been a huge part of my life and it helps define who I am. Working hard every day, learning discipline and staying motivated have all been helpful in my journey.”


Chalupsky has one more swim season with both Bishop England and Daniel Island before she moves on to even greater challenges at Arizona State University. “Hopefully, in the future I will have an opportunity to compete in the Olympic Trials and it would be an honor to qualify for sure. This is certainly a goal of mine.”


Wanting to be a surfer as a young child led Chalupsky to become a competitive swimmer. “When I was six my goal was to become a professional surfer so my Mom made me join the summer swim team and it was love at first sight,” said Chalupsky. “I chose Arizona State because I love the coaches there, and the program has a culture of success, and I felt like it was the place for me.”


Chalupsky was not the only swimmer to establish a new city meet record this year. In The 11-12 Boy’s group, Heyward Loichinger of Northbridge Terrace established a new record in the 50-Breast with a time of 31.53. Finn Gaston a 9-11 Boy’s swimmer for Daniel island set a new record in the 100-IM with a time of 1:17.74 and he won all three individual events he participated in. 


A fourth swimmer tied a record when 11-12 boy’s swimmer Easton Drost of the Summerville YMCA swam a 27.78 in the 50—Fly to tie the record established by Kyle Hertwig of Snee Farm in 2017.           


The HSSR Salutes The 2025 CCAA First Place Winners  

7-8 Girls: Olivia Keating (Daniel Island) freestyle, Peggy Lata (Northbridge Terrace) butterfly and backstroke, McKay Osborne (Snee Farm) breaststroke, Daniel Island (Olivia Keating, Carolina Beaty, Nina Altum, Riley Gaston) free relay. Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


7-8 Boys: Eian Boscana (Summerville YMCA) freestyle and breaststroke, Garvey Kangas (James Island) butterfly, Sam Doughty (North Charleston) backstroke, Newington (Sammy Merritt, Liam Case, Ellison Matthews, Jackson Passarello) free relay. Overall age group champions: Shadowmoss


9-10 Girls: Tessa Ray (Northbridge Terrace) freestyle and butterfly, Georgia Doughty (North Charleston) backstroke, Harbor Hood (Northbridge Terrace) breaststroke and individual medley. Northbridge Terrace (Amara Swain, Harper Seago, Harbor Hood, Tessa Ray) free relay. Overall age group champions: Northbridge Terrace


9-10 Boys: CJ Fredrick (Summerville Y) freestyle; Finn Gaston (Daniel Island) butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley; Peter McCormick (Daniel Island) breaststroke; Daniel Island (Peter McCormick, Kellen Kane, Tavin Schmidt, Finn Gaston) free relay. Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


11-12 Girls: Kara Pomerantz (Parkshore) freestyle, Ronel St. Germain (Daniel Island) butterfly and individual medley, Clara Lichty (Snee Farm) backstroke, Eva DeGeorge (Crowfield) breaststroke, Daniel Island (Sophia Davis, Amelia DeWolf, Delaney Kane, Ronel St. Germain). free relay. Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


11-12 Boys: John Hurlbert (Summerville YMCA) freestyle, Easton Drost (Summerville YMCA) butterfly (meet record), Crew Breland (Snee Farm) backstroke, Heyward Loichinger (Northbridge Terrace) breaststroke, Keith Aikman (Shadowmoss) individual medley, Newington (Wade Collier, Bray Wood, Derek Marsaa, Koa Pohl) free relay. Overall age group champions: Newington


13-14 Girls: Zuri Swain (Northbridge Terrace) freestyle; Charlotte Good (Daniel Island) butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley; Lila Mahoney (Daniel Island) breaststroke; Daniel Island (Lila Mahoney, Anna Dyson, Kara Kitlowski, Charlotte Good) free relay. Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


13-14 Boys: Ricardo De Castro (Summerville YMCA) freestyle and butterfly, Logan Patterson (Northbridge Terrace) backstroke and individual medley, Christian Thibault (North Charleston) breaststroke, Daniel Island (Jason Chalupsky, Colton Salta, Cyprian Griffin, Nolan Mahoney) free relay. Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


15-18 Girls: Adair Shaw (Hobcaw) freestyle; Ellie Chalupsky (Daniel Island) butterfly (meet record), backstroke, and individual medley; Grace Marsaa (Newington) breaststroke; Daniel Island (Mia Devito, Katie Kitlowski, Grace Litzinger, Ellie Chalupsky) free relay (meet record). Overall age group champions: Daniel Island


15-18 Boys: Parker Hamilton (James Island) freestyle, Gabriel Smith (Parkshore) butterfly, Colby Schleier (Hobcaw) backstroke, Sean Groeber (Northbridge Terrace) breaststroke and individual medley, Hobcaw (Lucas de Arellano, Jackson Naylor, Jameson Golden, Colby Schleier) free relay. Overall age group champions: Hobcaw


Mixed Medley Relays Winners

7-8:  Daniel Island (Nina Altum, Hayes Kane, Riley Gaston, Kellen Marek)
9-10: Daniel Island (Ruby Muller, Peter McCormick, Finn Gaston, Noella Smith)
11-12: Daniel Island (Sophia Davis, Ronel St. Germain, Marko Franic, Benji Cumpelik)
13-14: Daniel Island (Charlotte Good, Jason Chalupsky, Lila Mahoney, Nolan Mahoney)
15-18: Daniel Island (Ellie Chalupsky — meet record backstroke split — Mackenzie LeVeen, Connor Good, and Jude Nicsic)


On a personal note, this writer raised three children (Ashton, Allyson, & Allen Baker) who were devoted swimmers on the Crowfield summer team for a span between 1990 and 2009, so it was a joy to come and report on this outstanding event for The High School Sports Report, and our companion web site at hssr.com.


Back in those days, Snee Farm was our feared rival and they were very dominant for many years.   Now this writer has two grand children swimming on the Snee Farm swim team! They are 9-10 boy Connor Houghton and 7-8 girl Caroline Houghton. Super proud of both of them for sure.


Connor narrowly lost to Peter McCormick in the 50-Breast event (41.26 to 41.60 in a one-two finish). He was also 5th in the 100-IM and 6th in the 50-Fly providing 80 individual points to the Snee Farm team total.


Caroline swam a personal best in the 25-back event, and she produced six points for her team and there was talk at the event that she was hoping to become a year- round swimmer. Two of my children went year-round and those early morning car pools brought back memories too!


Over 900 swimmers, from all age groups, participated in the annual CCAA event, and it was a day of excitement, achievement, and improvement for all involved. 

 


Saluda Football Uses Spring To Build Depth

By Dennis Brunson • July 3, 2026
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Saluda – The Saluda High School football team will have a good amount of experience returning for the 2026 season. The Tigers have six starters back on offense and eight on defense from a team that went 6-6 and reached the second round of the AA state playoffs. However, they didn’t get a lot of work in during spring practice because many of them were on the school’s baseball and track and field teams that made deep runs in the postseason. Saluda head coach Greg Woerner found a silver lining in that though. “We were only able to get eight days of spring practice in and made the most o it and got better learning the offense and defense and developing some depth with the younger guys,” said Woerner, who will be in his second season as head coach. “A lot of our returning starters were making playoff runs in baseball and track, so we got a good luck at our depth.” Saluda returns four players who were selected to the All-Region 2-AA team last year. They are rising junior placekicker Ericson Vasquez , senior running back Tristan Daniels, senior tight end Jahmeer Myers and junior defensive back Ceddion Springs . Vasquez was named the Region 2 Special Teams Player of the year. Woerner is hoping the Tigers can be productive in the month of July leading into the start of fall practice. “For the remainder of the summer we’re really just looking forward to continuing to get stronger but also focusing in more on football,” Woerner said. “We had a good June competing in 7-on-7s (competitions) and getting better at our passing game and pass defense. July will focus more on getting better at the whole game.” The Tigers completed their 7-on-7 competition in June. Their first scrimmage will be on August 6 at Woodland before coming home to scrimmage Gilbert on August 10. Saluda is scheduled to open its season on August 21 at home against Abbeville . The Tigers will be part of a new region in Region 4-AA. The region will include two old Region 2 foes in defending state champion Strom Thurmond and Pelion to go with American Leadership Academy , Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Silver Bluff . MILLER MARTIN SELECTED TO AA ALL-STATE SOFTBALL TEAM Sophomore pitcher Miller Martin , a key figure for Saluda’s AA state championship softball team, was selected to the AA All-State softball team announced by the South Carolina Association for Women’s Sports . Martin had a 15-3 win-loss record and struck out 248 batters in 139 2/3 innings while posting a 0.70 earned run average. At the plate, Martin had a .308 batting average with five home runs and 32 runs batted in. Martin was also named the Region 2 Co-Player of the Year. Martin was joined on the All-Region team by Amy Sorcia , Zoey Springs and Nyla Jordan . Tigers head coach Hannah Towery said the program’s first ever state title sets a precedent for the future. “Future players will walk on to that field knowing a championship can be achieved because this team proved it,” said Towery, who guided Saluda to a 29-3 record. “The banner will hang, the trophy will be displayed, and the record books will always show who did it first. “History remembers champions, but it especially remembers those who paved the way. This team just didn’t win a state championship – they built a legacy.”

Jefferson Davis football focusing on the basics over the summer

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 3, 2026
Raiders return everyone along the line from 8-4 team that reached 8-man semifinals

OCA Football Sets Sights On Four-Peat

By David Shelton • July 2, 2026
Oceanside's rising senior QB, Aiden Manavian is nearing 10,000 career passing yards and threw 42 touchdown passes last season.

W W King Holds Spring Athletic Banquet

By Gerald Doolittle • July 1, 2026
By: Gerald Doolittle Contributing Writer, HSSR Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. -W.W. King Academy held its Spring/Winter Athletic Banquet in mid-May to honor their 2025-26 athletic efforts. All the Knight teams were very competitive in their SCISA Class A region where they competed against Wardlaw Academy, Newberry Academy, Cambridge Academy, Richard Winn Academy and Anderson Christian . The Varsity Baseball team won the SCISA Class A Title . The Varsity Softball team was very competitive in the playoffs. Coach Jessica Anderson presented the Varsity Girls Basketball Awards . Blythe Buzhardt won the All-Around Excellence Award. Kenzie Morse won the Defensive Player-of-the-Year Award. Coach Dennis Gibson presented the Varsity Boys Basketball Awards. Spencer McCormick received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Brady Goff received the Sharp-Shooter Award. Coach Allen Guy presented the Varsity Softball Awards. Blythe Buzhardt received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Abby Aull received the Leadership Award and Kenzie Morse received the Iron Athletic Award. Coach Zach Matthews presented five awards to his Varsity Baseball State Champion players. Elijah Hutto received the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Luke Harvey received the Defensive Player of The Year Award. Wyatt Burbank, Zed Watkins and Smith Kirby shared the Team Leadership Award. Athletic Director Kathy Gibson assisted in presenting the Senior Awards. Smith Kirby and Abby Aull received the Senior Student Athlete of the Year Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie Morse received the Athlete of the Year Award. Spencer McCormick and Abby Aull received the Christian Leadership Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie received the Varsity Year-Round Athletes Award.

Florence Christian football team lost a few players to more than just graduation

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 1, 2026
Eagles do return Region Defensive Player of the Year in Hayden Schwab

Lodge Begins Fourth Season As Berkeley Coach

By David Shelton • June 30, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – After a pair of six-win seasons in his first two years , Berkeley head football coach Eric Lodge guided the Stags to a 10-3 record last fall. Lodge is hoping and expecting to see continued growth and development in 2026 and recently put his prospective team through spring drills. The purpose of the spring is to identify roles and hopefully find rising talent that can assist either as backups or starters this fall. “Our spring is about evaluating kids, all of them, to see where they fit in,” Lodge said, “Those practices are very important to the growth of the program. We get everyone involved amd work to get them up to speed. Once we get into the summer, we are working hard to get stronger in the weight room along with seven-on-seven stuff.” Lodge says most of the returning experience is on the offensive side and the Stags should be explosive. Henry Rivers , a senior, will be a fourth-year starter and rates as one of the best in the state. Hethres for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, adding 803 rushing yards and 16 more scores. Returning at receiver are John Cleveland, Eli Mitchell and Johnathan Mitchell, who combined for more than 60 receptions last season. Anchoring the running game are returners Lawrence Washington, Bryson McGee and Jesse Brown . That trio will work behind a revamped offensive line but Lodge sees potential in the developing unit up front. “I like our depth at running back and receiver, and of course we have a veteran leader at quarterback,” said Lodge. There are significantly more holes to fill on defense. The Stags lost an all-state tackle and three starting linebackers that were three-year starters. There also are three holes to fill on the back endd. “We have identified some young men who we feel will step in and be solid players for us,” Lodge said. “Replacing the experience is tough but we have some guys who will learn and grow over time. We’re not new to having young guys on the field. The talent is there and there are opportunities for guys to get on the field.”

Pinewood Preparing To Move Up A Class

By Roger Lee • June 29, 2026
Expectations are high for Pinewood Prep quarterback Silas Brawner.

Cane Bay Football Looking To Get Back On Track

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Summerville – The last two football seasons have been sub-par for the Cane Bay Cobras but veteran head coach Russell Zehr believes the pieces are in place for a potential resurgence. The Cobras finished the last two seasons with three wins each but did win a region championship in 2024. Zehr and his staff have worked hard in the offseason to develop some up and coming talent. They did so through the weight room and spring practice. “We had a good spring overall,” Zehr said. “We were missing a handful of guys due to track but we had good numbers. We spent a lot of time getting everyone up to speed. It was an opportunity for us to see younger kids that are coming up and find out who can help us this season. We had about 80 kids during the sprng and about 75 of those have been consistent in their workouts over the summer.” The Cobras will have a new quarterback this fall. Zehr says senior Coran Houp e is moving from running back to run the option offense this season. Returning in the backfield are Mayson Samuel and Sam Rolston , with some talented backs coming from the lower levels. The offensive line returns two starters, Isaac Siefken and Eli Taylor . Junior JJ Rose is back as the leader along the defensive front, with ends Devin Cobbs and B rennen Shokes also returning. The linebackers will be new starters with only Jackson Williamson returning with experience. The secondary could be a strength with returners Tyrell Bess, Zion Bryant and Caeden Wilson . The kicking game is a solid strength with senior Aiden Thorne returning. Thorne is a deep threat on kickoffs and field goals. “He’s got a leg and can be a real weapon for us,” Zehr said. Cane Bay participated in weekly 7-on-7 passing league scrimmages during June and will play at The Citadel event in July.

Mckoy Continues To Build A Winner At James Island

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
Head football coach at James Island, Jamar McKoy has worked to build his program into one of the more consistent programs in the state.

Red Fox Football Putting In The Work For 2026 Season

By David Shelton • June 29, 2026
By David Shelton Senior Writer Hartsville – As he embarks on his 22 nd season as the head football coach at Hartsville High, Jeff Calabrese is anxiously anticipating the upcoming 2026 season. Calabrese, with more than 200 career coaching wins, sys his team has put in good work in the offseason and appears focused on bettering last year’s 7-5 record. “We had a good spring practice, a good offseason all together really,” the coach said. “The numbers were maybe a little down but not far off. We spent a lot of time evaluating every position. If we needed to make a change we did. The focus in the spring and summer is making sure we have the right guys in the right spots. We basically are trying to get everyone on the same page.” Like all the schools in the state, the Red Foxes put in training four days a week from 8:30 to 11 am. Calabrese says this summer has been especially important as four new coaches have joined the program, including new defensive coordinator Neil Smith . “Really excited to have coach Smith. He brings a ton of energy and experience and he has really adapted well here,” Calabrese said. In terms of personnel, the Red Foxes have experience returning in several areas, starting with quarterback. Junior Ford Wallace is back as the starter and continues to develop in his role as a leader on the offense.. Returning at running back is Trace Hillian with CJ Hickmon moving from receiver to the backfield. Anchoring the offensive line is two-time all-region performer Fred Turner . Other returning linemen, who could end up on either side of the ball, include Creighton McKnight, Jake Williams, Jaquan Samuel and Pat Rhode. Rod Cranford returns in the back seven as a third-year starter. Zi’Yon Mason is moving from the secondary to linebacker, as is Jamario Scipio-Bishop. Devaris James and Deon McCall are players to watch in the secondary. “At a school our size, sometimes you have to move some kids around to make it all fit,” Calabrese said. “That’s why the summer is so important, to get those kids a lot of reps, good group to work with. We just need to build some depth.”
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