First Baptist Boys Win State Title in Soccer



By David Shelton

Senior Writer

Charleston - The First Baptist boys soccer program won its first state title since 1991, winning the SCISA Class AAA state championship with a 3-2 win over Pinewood Prep.

The championship win avenged a loss to Pinewood Prep in the 2024 state finals and capped the ’25 season with a 15-4 record. The two area powers split two games during the regular season.

First Baptist coach Winston Helms took over as head coach just days before the season started but has been a part of the school’s soccer program, boys and girls, for more than a decade. Ironically, Helms won a state title as Pinewood Prep’s head coach 19 years ago.

“These kids overcame a lot this season and this is well-deserved,” Helms said. “We lost some key seniors to injury and this group really impressed me with how they overcome the adversity. We knew this would be tough but I knew when we got off the bus that we were ready to win this thing.”

The Hurricanes led 2-0 on early goals by juniors Wyatt Tisdale and Josh Laney, and went up by three scores with Lars Weiss’s goal in the second half. Pinewood rallied late with two goals in the final 12 minutes but the Hurricanes held on.

“We have our top four goal scorers coming back next year so we hope this is the start of a long run of championships,” said Helms.

Laney finished the season with 22 goals and six assists while Tisdale scored 15 goals and had 14 assists. Sophomore Ben Kaplanis led the team in scoring with 31 goals and 12 assists. Sophomore Lars Weiss added 14 goals and assisted on 13 others.

Tyler wins gold at state track meet

First Baptist distance runner James Tyler closed out his prep career with a strong performance in the 2025 SCISA Division I state track and field championship in early May.

Tyler won gold in the 3200 meter run and earned a bronze in the 1600 meter run. Those two finishes matched Tyler’s performance in the 2024 state meet. Tyler also finished third in the SCISA state cross country meet.

Tanner Honeycutt finished fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 1600. Bates Walpole finished sixth in the javelin and Edings Walpole was sixth in the 400 hurdles.

Ellie Blitch had a good day for the girls team, playing third in the 1600 and fourth in the 800 meter run.