Day Two Of SCISA Softball Tournament Establishes Final Two Teams In All Four Classifications For State Title Starting On Monday

Ken Cribb is the Johnsonville high school’s athletic director and also is the head football coach.

Dutch Fork defensive end Julian Walker recorded 50 tackles, 19 TFLs, 11 sacks in the 2024 season.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Little River – Entering year five of his tenure as the athletic director at North Myrtle Beach High , Anthony Heilbronn feels his program is on the verge of big things. Recent facility improvements have inspired strong commitment from the athletes and a strong group of coaches is making the most of their opportunities to compete at the highest level. “I think the coaching staff we have is one of the best in the Grand Strand area,” Heilbronn said. “Collectively, I would put them up against any other staff as they work hard and do the best they can to bring out the best in our kids. I love our coaches and am excited to see what they can do this upcoming season.” There will be a new wrestling coach this winter but that person has not been named yet. The rest of the coaching staff should return intact. Girls volleyball head coach Jenn Loeswick guided her program to a state title in her first season as head coach. Loeswick is a former assistant in the program. Greg Hill is back for his fourth season as head football coach. Brian Alderson is returns as the varsity baseball coach. Alderson led the Chiefs to back-to-back appearances in the AAAA Lower State finals om 2023 and 2024. Krystal Mante is back for her second season as the head softball coach. Ryan Walker is set to return as the varsity boys basketball coach while Heather Kearney will return for year three with the girls basketball program. The Lady Chiefs advanced to the state finals this past season. Alex Booth coaches cross country and track and Miranda Ruppe coaches cross country as well. Ryan Dinnant will coach boys track in the spring. Kyle Cavallini will be the boys golf coach and Wendy Hilburn coaches the girls golf team. Zach Lytle (boys) and Danielle Lowrimore (girls) will coach the lacrosse teams. Joel Schmaltz and Kristen Henley are the swim coaches and Brian Patterson is the coach in boys and girls tennis. Dru Brooks coaches the boys volleyball team. Zach Brittain is the boys soccer coach and Kelsey Winkler is the girls soccer coach. Overall, the athletic department has seen significant upgrades in facilities over the last few years. Thanks to the Horry County school district, North Myrtle Beach has had about two million dollars of facility improvement, namely the football stadium and track since 2022. The district, as part of a county-wide upgrade of area schools facilities, refurbished the track and installed artificial turf on the football field. The track was completed in the spring of 2022 and the football field was ready by the start of that season. The turf cost is estimated at $1.2 million while the track upgrade cost about $800,000 dollars. The stadium also has a new lighting system and also has a new video board. The softball and baseball facilities have the best playing surfaces around and new scoreboards. “It’s a joy to work here with so many great people,” said Heilbronn. “A lot of great things have happened over the last few years and we continue to make improvements where we can. We had a good year overall in terms of our teams competing in the region and getting playoff opportunities, Now, the goal is to do even better.” With the reclassification of schools by the South Carolina High School League last winter, North Myrtle Beach moved up from AAAA to Class AAAAA for the 2024-26 school year. They also now compete placed in a new region with the region comprised of Horry County schools. Once the state playoffs begin, all Chiefs teams compete in the Division II-AAAAA state playoffs with schools closer to their own enrollment figures. The larger classification did not adversely affect the success rate for North Myrtle Beach, according to Heilbronn. “The past season was a successful one for us as we won two state championships (girls volleyball and individual girls shot put) and seven region championships in our first year in AAAAA, Heilbronn said. “We put a lot of kids on the all-region and all-state teams that come back (this year), so hopefully we can build upon last year's successes and push even farther this year.”

Dion Bethea, Gray Collegiate’s first boys basketball coach in the school’s history, returns to the program this season.

Malcolm Long set school passing records at Gaffney High as a player on the football field nearly 20 years ago, he is quite at home starting his third season as the athletic director at his alma mater.

Keith Coward begins his second year as the athletic director at his alma mater, Dillon High.

Hercules Davis caps his 26th year coaching with Class A state championship in basketball, the first for the Denmark-Olar Vikings in boys basketball. Previously, they finished runner up in 1990.

Dr. Chris Myers really never left the Colleton County community while coaching in many capacities in the area.

Carolina Academy athletic director David Rankin is making sure all sports are competitive, proud that the girls won state championships last school year in softball and girls tennis.