Fort Mill Edges Westwood To Take Div. II AAAAA Boys Track Title; Fort Mill Girls Take Girls Track Title

Worthy Evans • May 23, 2026

Fort Mill boy track team.

By WORTHY EVANS

  HSSR Contributing Writer



Columbia--With only the pole vault competition left in the Div. II AAAAA state track and field meet at Richland Northeast High School on May 16, the Westwood boys team held a 94-88 advantage over Fort Mill in the point totals.


The Fort Mill girls’ team, with 73.2 points, had already been announced the winners of the girl’s half of the meet. Meanwhile, as first-place North Myrtle Beach pole-vaulter Kempf Dylan tried to break the state-record vault of 16 feet, 9 inches, Westwood and Fort Mill waited in the infield for the final score.


Dylan missed out on breaking the record, but when the officials in the score tent finished entering the results, Fort Mill vaulters Jack Allen, a sophomore, and junior Padyn Gossett-McDowell were tied for fifth place—and earned 3.5 points each.


Those seven points handed the state championship to Fort Mill, which won 95-94 over Westwood.


“I knew before we even came here that pole vault was going to be critical because we had three in that event and Westwood didn’t have any that qualified,” said Fort Mill head coach Lee Whitaker. “That was a big point swing for us. Everything else is going to be back and forth, and that’s what it came down to.”


Westwood head coach Rod Lorick said that while the Redhawks team is filled with sprinters, the team works hard at filling out distance running spots and field events. Pole vaulting, he added, can be hard to get young people interested in trying.


“It’s hit or miss every year,” Lorick said. “Some kids are scared to do it. We try to fill every field event that we can.”


Rather than dwell excessively on the results of one field event, Lorick noted that while the sprinters won gold in several events, he was missing a top sprinter in junior Jamie Patterson, who was injured before the meet. Lorick said Patterson could have made a difference in the 100 and 200 meters.


The boy’s win was the fourth for Whitaker-coached teams in the 2025-2026 school year He also coached the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams to win last fall.


“We knew before we got here how close it was going to be,” Whitaker said. “Westwood is built differently from us, and we knew they were going to score a lot of points in certain events, and I knew we were going to score a lot of points in certain events.”


The pole-vault finishes were the last scores to come in, but what set up the victory was the team’s bread and butter, distance running. With victories and placings in the individual and relay distance runs, the Yellow Jackets piled up 63 points and three gold medals.


Sophomore Wyatt Gremillion, one of the cross-country runners who won gold last year, placed first in the 800 runs with a time of 1:53.64, two seconds ahead of sophomore Quinton O’Toole, who placed second and gave the team 18 points in the event.


“I feel really happy but not satisfied,” Gremillion said about his effort. “I think today is a big steppingstone for the future. This team means a lot to me. All these guys are so supportive. I love my coaches; they’ve helped me so much in my track career.”


Another cross-country runner, senior Connor Demmerle, won the 1600 run with a time of 4:17.49. Behind him was sophomore Owen Ware in second place, junior Hudson Haley in fourth, and senior Finn Leckrone in sixth. Those placings earned the Yellow Jackets another 26 points.


The 4x800 teams of Leckrone, O’Toole, Gremillion, and Demmerle took first with a time of 7:53.73.


Haley, Ware, and Leckrone also ran the 3200 run, placing fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, for nine points.


Senior sprinter Jahzir McCants contributed eight points to Fort Mill’s total with an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter dash, a fifth-place spot in the 200 dash, and he finished sixth in the 400 dash. Junior Tristan Amico finished seventh in the 400.


In field events, junior Josh Moore took sixth in the triple jump, and junior Smith Stapleton took seventh in the shot put as well as in the discus throw.


Fort Mill’s 4x400 team of Grant Dubak, Gremillion, Amico, and McCants went neck-and-neck with Westwood’s team of Myles Bryant, Patterson’s replacement, Justin Washington, and Jayden Wilson in the final track event of the afternoon. The Redhawks held on to win the event with a time of 3:20.52, but the Yellow Jackets came in a close second—11 hundredths of a second—to set up the wait for the scores in the pole vault.


Whitaker also talked about how close the 4x400 race was between second and third place. The Yellow Jackets’ margin between first and second place was a hair over a 10th of a second, but the Indian Land team of Braden Ledford, Christian Davis, Ryan Foster and Tavian Daniels was within thousandths of a second of flipping the placing—Fort Mill’s time of 3.20.621 was five thousands of a second faster than Indian Land’s time of 3.20.626.


“That flips everything right there, if we end up third and not second there,” Whitaker said. “Track at this level comes down to stuff like that.”


Other than the Redhawks’ 4x800 team of sophomore Kameron Moore, sophomore Aiden Adkins, junior Bobby Singleton, and senior Bobby Quick taking second place behind Fort Mill with a time of 8:02.33, Westwood had no point placings in the distance runs.


Instead, Westwood dominated the sprints, getting 58 points in the 100, 200, and 400 dashes, and the 110 hurdles alone.


Junior Jayden Wilson took gold in both the 100 and 200, with times of 10.59 in the100 and 21.53 in the 200. Behind Wilson in the 100 was junior Myles Bryant in second place. Senior Jayden Boyd took third in the 200 and Bryant took fourth.


Boyd won the 400 dash with a time of 48.13, and senior Justin Washington finished fourth.


Junior Kehinde Howard placed fourth in the 110 hurdles.


The 4x100 team of Wilson, Bryant, Patterson’s replacement, and Boyd added another 10 points with a first-place finishing time of 41.46.


In field events senior Leon Morgan placed eighth in the long jump. Senior Kyzer Hannah placed eighth in the shot put and senior Jeremiah Whitmore placed third in the discus.


Lorick said that with all of the events the Redhawks won or placed in complete, falling one point short of winning state in spite of the gold medals and high finishes can hurt the kids—but it can also motivate the team to work harder and smarter over the next year.


“It’s a disappointment we came in second, we worked hard, we deserved it, but we go back to the drawing board,” he said. “With all we did this year, it wasn’t without a reason. I’ve got a lot of juniors coming back, a lot of guys who ran the 100 and 200 are juniors, so we’ve got something to look forward to next year.”


The Fort Mill girls, also coached by Whitaker, clinched their state title earlier in the afternoon with 73.2 points, 8.2 points more than runner-up West Florence.


“This is a total team effort,” Whitaker said. “We got a lot of points from our throws, our vaulters had a strong day, our distance runners had a strong day. I can’t express enough about the total team effort. We got points from every single discipline.”


Senior Mia Williams took gold in the 100 and 200 dashes, coming in at 11.75 seconds in the 100 and 24.97 seconds in the 200. Williams also won the triple jump with an effort of 11.80 meters and placed second in the long jump with a 5.51-meter effort.


“I started jumping a little bit my freshman year. In middle school I only did sprints, but my coach in my freshman year wanted me to branch out.” Williams said about putting in the work in different events.


The 4x800 team of freshman Lauren Allen, junior Mia Zook, junior Kaylee Rovenstine, and senior Marlee Cook won gold with a time of 9:28.51.


What clinched the event for the Yellow Jackets were high placers in several events. Besides Williams’ second-place spot in the long jump, Allen finished second in the 1600 run. Rovenstine placed seventh in the 800.


In field events, sophomore Addison Feinour took second in the discus and Senior Kate Marker placed fourth in the shot put.


Four Fort Mill athletes placed in the pole vault earned the team 8.2 points. Freshman Ryan Marsh placed fifth in the event, senior Cambell Cahaly placed sixth, and juniors Adriana Lackey and Lucy St. Cressman tied for seventh place, earning them 0.6 points apiece.


With the 2026 cross country and track and field year in the books, Whitaker said he looks to the runners, throwers, jumpers, and vaulters, along with the school, the assistant coaches, and the community to determine the course of the Yellow Jackets’ future success.


“I’ve been fortunate for sure. I have fantastic kids who worked hard year in and year out, they give 100 percent,” Whitaker said. “They show up for practice, they show up in the weight room, they do everything we ask them do.”




By Larry Gamble May 23, 2026
Bennettsville — Lila English is a rising senior student athlete at Dillon Christian School, where she has been a cheerleader since the sixth grade. English has also been playing volleyball since the seventh grade, basketball since the grade, and plans to play again in her senior season. Not to mention that she is a sport over achiever, when she started playing soccer as a junior. She plans to enjoy her upcoming senior year, being a multiple sport athlete, while continuing to take NETC online classes to help prepare for college. English said her childhood dream was being a varsity cheerleader. Being a multiple sport athlete just adds to her enjoyment of her school experience. With all the demands of sports, high school academics and the NETC online courses, English says her “time management skills” improved by having to balance preparation for multiple classes, with practices and games each week. After high school, English plans to focus on her studies instead of playing sports at the next level. Currently, she is weighing her options of either attending Clemson University’s Agricultural Mechanization and Business Program , but she is also considering attending the Darla Moore Business School at USC. In the classroom, she carries a 4.2438 GPA and says the NETC courses, “Have opened doors to provide me college level work academic learning experiences that have given me a glimpse of what to expect in the future, when I am actually at college,” she said. For all her athletic and academic accomplishments, English has been chosen the “NETC” Female Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges, after a student’s high school graduation. The NETC is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Currently, English is enrolled in dual credit online courses offered by NETC. She started taking classes during her junior year and she completing classes that will fulfill basic requirements for her freshman year at college. She has taken US History, World History, and Medical Terminology to date. English looks forward to going to college and preparing for a career. When asked about the NETC experience, English said “NETC has been great,” she said. “I was worried about starting these courses because I had never done anything like it, but the layout is easy to understand, and my professors were always flexible, and willing to help when I needed it.” Considering she only has two semesters of classes completed, English commented “I haven't taken many classes yet, that could reduce my course load in college, but plan on taking some online courses this summer and again during my senior year.” As a high school student, playing sports year-round, and taking NETC online classes, English had this to say about that challenge. “I have to plan, so there is a balance in everything between school, sports, and life,” she said. “I put together a schedule that enables me to get all the course work completed, so I don’t have to give up on doing other things.  When asked if all this can be stressful, English summed it up this way: “Time management can be hard with multiple games, or assignments due, but pacing myself has always helped,” she said. “I try not to load myself down, and I try to space my work out throughout the week to avoid stressing myself out.” English reflected on favorite memories as a student athlete, “Some of my favorite sports memories happened at practices,” she said. “The hard work behind the scenes with all the fun, smiles, and laughs can’t be beat. A different type of bond is formed within a team where you are pushing others, and yourself to be better while also having fun doing it.”
By Larry Gamble May 23, 2026
Bennettsville — Reese Bracey is a senior three-sport athlete at the Dillon Christian School, where he participates in the sports of football, basketball and soccer. He readily admits that football is his favorite sport among the three. He started playing football in the fifth grade, and he has played multiple positions as a receiver, tight end, running back, and also at linebacker. In the eighth grade, he started playing basketball as a small forward. In the ninth grade, he started playing soccer. During his prep school career, he twice earned All-Region honors as a running back in football with over 1,000 all-purpose yards achieved. He has also earned All-Region honors in soccer. Bracey closes his high school athletics having played all three sports in his senior year. He says one lesson being a multi-sport athlete taught him is to be on time. “If you are late to practice, you will have some type of punishment,” he said. “This translates well to schoolwork, when it comes to scheduling, doing, and turning in assignments on time.” In the classroom, he carries a 5.2 GPA, while maintaining his online course load, and participating in sports. After graduation, he plans to attend USC and pursue a career in the medical field. For all his athletic and academic accomplishments, Reese Bracey has been chosen the “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month.”  This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The NETC is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Bracey is currently enrolled in dual credit courses offered by NETC. He has completed classes in Psychology, Public Speaking, English 101 and 102, plus History 101 and 102. By taking the online courses through the NETC, Bracey says, this, “Helps prepare me for the workload and schedule I can expect with college work once I get to college,” he said. It has taught me always to use any free time to complete assignments. I apply this lesson, whether that be at home, or at school.” When asked about a memorable moment in his sports career, Bracey said, “That was involved a play that I will never forget,” he said. “We made the football playoffs and with our first snap of the game, we scored a touchdown!”
By Neill Kirkpatrick May 23, 2026
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR  Columbia – Bamberg-Ehrhardt high school and Calhoun County high school are 33.9 miles apart on US-601 with a lot in common as they are two of the top Class A athletic programs in the state and now they share back-to-back class A track and field state championships. The Red Raiders beat the Governor’s School to capture the girls title while Calhoun County defeated Blackville-Hilda to win the boy’s title. “I felt if we did what we are capable of doing today we had a good chance to repeat,” said BE head coach Travis Wilson . “I want to make sure we to get the race, do our job and focus. Coach Wilson continued, “Motivation was a big thing coming into the year. Winning last year put us in the hunted role and so we tried to stress it is harder to repeat. The girls started picking it up at the region and lower state meets.” Calhoun County head coach Wayne Farmer is no stranger to back-to-back state championship as this is the third school that he has led to back-to-back class A state championships, the others being Allendale Fairfax and Scott’s Branch. It was also the 10 th state championship in his career. “Our focus was to come back and repeat. The challenge this year was that we became the hunted instead of the hunter. The biggest thing is the kids performed with no hick ups. We scheduled a lot of big meets to learn how to compete and it paid off today,” said coach Farmer. The girls meet started off perfect for the Red Raider as their 4x100 team of Zyasia Whiley, Carmyn Folk, Keyaunjanay Corbit and Daisha Etheridge blazed around the track in a season’s best of 50.38 to win gold in the day’s first running event. The 4x800 relay team also won gold in a time of 10:56.16. Kymyhia Jamison, Jayda Sanders, Nilayah Edwards and Rashida Quattara made up the team. Sanders picked up a silver medal when she finished second in the 800 meters. Ezariah Williams won a gold and silver medal for the Red Raiders in the Discus and shot put, respectively. She threw the discus 36.73 meters for a new personal record and set another personal best in the shot put with a put of 11.39 meters. Both events earned her Silver Elite performance. She also scored in the Javelin by finishing seventh. Briaunjenai McMillian won a bronze medal in the Javelin with a toss of 32.94. She also scored in the shot put finishing eighth. There were a few individual double gold medal winners. Bethune Bowman’ s Makiyah Johnson won the 100 and 200 meters. Her winning time in the 100 of 12.17 was a silver elite performance. “It feels great to win two gold medals. I want this for a long time. Last year I came in second in both events. I put in a lot of hard work and it paid off,” said Johnson. Riverwalk Academy’s Emme Herring won gold in both the 800 and 1600 meters while Blackville Hilda’s Breyanna Williams won gold in both hurdle events as well as winning a silver medal in the 200. The Saints were led by Wofford signee Kamari Kelly. Kelly won the 400 meters in a time of 48.56 and then won the 800 meters in 2:03.55. He ran the second leg of the gold medal winning 4x800 meter relay team. He also ran the second leg on the 4x400 meter relay team which won a silver medal. “These last couple of years to see all the hard work pay off. I very grateful for coaches and family and I just want to thank God,” Kelly said. Joining Kelly on the 4x800 meter relay team were Kamron Johnson, Traveon Baker, and V’Jay Thomas while Baker, Eddie Coleman and Thomas were on the 4x400 relay team with Kelly. Jamani Canty won two golds in the discus and shot put. His toss of 49.17 in the discus was a new personal best. Also winning medals for the Saints were St. Julian Johnson won two silver medals in the shot put and the Javelin. He set personal best in both events with a toss of 45.68 in the Javelin and he put the shot 14.22. Bringing home bronze medals were Kamron Kelly (800), Eddie Coleman (400 meter hurdles), and Darren Ben (Triple Jump). Ben also scored points in the high jump (4 th ) and in the long jump (8 th ). In the 100 and 200 Da’Shaun Albany of Ridgeland Secondary School and Camari Brown of Hardeeville Jr-Sr high finished one-two in each race with Albany winning the 100 and Brown taking the 200. Hunter Willis of Riverwalk Academy won gold in the 1600 and silver in the 800. Blackville-Hilda’s Da’Montray Allen was a double gold winner as he won the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.84 and the 400 hurdles in 58.16. Jordan Strong of Lewisville won two bronze medals in the long jump and high jump while capturing a gold in the triple jump
By Worthy Evans May 23, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS HSSR Contributing Writer  Columbia --Just after the AA state track and field meet in 2025, when the Philip Simmons girls dominated the field with 148 points, the boys were runners up to state champion Fairfield Central , Iron Horses track and field coaches Emma Santor and Ryan McCauley got married. Together, the couple packed the field with Philip Simmons runners and field athletes in the 2026 meet, and while the girls scored 159 points in their repeat victory, the boys scored 106.5 points and claimed their second state championship in three years. The girl’s total was 107.67 points higher than runner-up Landrum’s 51.33 points. “We have a huge team that’s full of depth, and we’ve got an amazing group of girls who are always willing to rally around each other, and they know when to show up when it’s time,” said Coach Emma McCauley. “They trust the training, they trust the process, and fortunately for us they all peaked at the right moment, and we were able to pull off another state title.” The boy’s team’s point total was 59.5 points higher than runner-up Fairfield Central’s 48, and that was after the Griffins 4x400 team of Jamie Brown , Brenton Mack , Kenyan Douglas , and Da’Qwan Kelly closed out the meet with a winning time of (320:41) “I think we had a little chip on our shoulder from last year and the boys really wanted it this year,” said Ryan McCauley. “The boys really showed up in big ways in multiple events.” The girls’ team led early and never looked back, just as the Iron Horses did last year. Sophomore distance runner Laura Perry took gold in the 1600 (5:11.73) and 3200 (5:11.73) runs. Behind Perry in the 1600 were teammates Flynn Taylor , second, Stella Wininger placed 5th, and Avah Mallek was 7 th . In the 3200, Wininger took 2 nd and Keziah Varner took 6 th .. “It’s actually insane, it’s like so much support,” Perry said about running events with teammates as opposed to running solo. “If there are so many people, it makes you feel like you’re so much better, and it pushes you to be better.” Taylor took gold in the 800 (2:16.30), and the 4x800 relay team of Taylor, Mallek, Varner, and Samantha Watson won gold in 9:47.92. Julia Reilly won the triple jump (10.91) meters 5 th in the long jump. Ashley Roush won the pole vault (3.8-meters). Averi Cable took 4 th . Roush was second in long jump and third in high jump. Other placers for the girls were Chloe Woods , Jordyn Washington - Spencer , and Cora Gabriel , who took 4 th , 5 th , and 6 th in the Javelin, respectively. Lilah May took 4 th in high jump. The 4x100 team of Madison Cobb , Roush, Reilly, and Ashlynn Johnson finished third, and so did the 4x400 team of Paris Harrison , Riley Payne , Elle Corbin , and Taylor . In the boy’s events, Philip Simmons won gold in just two events, but their depth often had two or three competitors earn points. Jeremiah Richardson took first in the 200 dash with a time of 21.79 and the 4x800 relay team of Brian Stanbaugh , Keaton Stuart , Gavin Conjurski and Stone Sweatman won gold with a time of 8:09.41. “I just wanted to put it all out for my team, especially the seniors,” said Richardson. “I was so proud of everybody who raced, all the coaches who helped us throughout the whole season.” The 4x100 team of Luke Chambers , Brady Cobb , Cameron Steed, and Richardson took second and the 4x400 team of Steed, Connor Roberts , Montrell Mungin , and Zack Venning took 6 th . In the rest of the events, several Iron Horse runners competed with one another. Richardson was 4 th 100, in front of Brady Cobb’s 5 th place finish. Luke Chambers took 8th place. Behind Richardson in the 200 dash were Cobb (second) and Chambers (seventh). Sweatman placed fourth in the 800 and Grady Castiglia was 7 th and Trent Manning (8 th ). Manning also took 4 th place in 1600, with Griffin Tollison just behind in 5 th ). Brian Stanbaugh placed 3 rd in the 3200, while Tollison was 4th and Castiglia was 6 th . Mungin took 2 nd in 400 hurdles. In field events, Omonte Taylor placed 4 th he high jump and Cole Tonon took eighth in the pole vault. In javelin Jack Robinson placed 3rd and Luke Robinson was 4 th . “We’re super fortunate to have two awesome middle school’s feeder programs that go into our school,” said Emma McCauley. “Every year we get around 40 middle schoolers that will come out and try out for the team. We’re returning a really strong junior class as well, which we’re excited about.”
By Dennis Brunson May 23, 2026
Mountain View Girls and Waccamaw Boys Earn SCHSL State Track & Field Titles.
By Staff Reports May 23, 2026
 Since the school was opened in 2005, South Pointe High School has been known as a football school, with eight state championships in nine appearances at the 3A and 4A classifications, most recently last December. On Thursday night at Richland Northeast, the Stallions added a boys track and field win, holding off a late charge from May River to win the 4A boys track and field state championship by a half a point. “Half a point winning the state championship? Can’t get no better than that,” South Pointe head coach Calvin McCullough said. South Pointe’s win came after an unfortunate injury. While qualifying in the 4x100 meter relay for the state meet last week, Devin Isley , one of the state’s top sprinters in any classification, got injured. “He tweaked something, so he didn’t run today,” McCollough said. “We were counting on winning the 100, 200, and 4x1. We came in fifth in the 4x1, but we only got one point in the 200.” Instead of counting on the sprinters for a high score, the Stallions turned to the crew of distance runners who just happened to claim the school’s boys 4A cross country title last fall. “We figured we were pretty good in the distance,” McCullough said. “They actually pulled through and got us not only the top points, but they also got some of the low-end points as well that kept added up.” South Pointe took the lead with strong distance-running finishes. Senior Keller Brown finished first in the 3200-meter run with a time of nine minutes, 21.13 seconds. Brown finished just over 10 seconds faster than May River’s Talan Farrington . Stallions sophomore Copeland Crawford finished seventh to give South Pointe 12 points in the event. Brown took second behind May River’s Jackson Wright’s 4:16.54 time in the 1600 run with a time of 4:16.71. Reece Adams and Luke Stralow finished fifth and sixth in the race as well to give South Pointe 15 points in the event. “The 1600 I was coming in with a PR (personal record) of 4:18 and it was a 4:11 guy (Wright),” Brown said. “I knew that one was going to be more tactical. I was going to have to work for that one. I felt really good about my execution and just got past him at the last second. I got beat by .2 seconds, so I felt pretty good about that. “But in the 3200 I ran it really well all season, I felt like I had the legs to just go and run hard and eventually people would drop off,” he added. Jayden Finney took fourth place in the 800 run for an additional five points. The team of Finney, Gray Shelton , Jett Shelton and Felix Cassidy took gold in the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:06.59, after the 4x100 team of Cash Truesdale , Ethan Howze , Jalen Davis , and Isley’s replacement took fifth place. South Pointe gained 14 points on those finishes. Houze was the only top finisher for South Pointe in the dashes, taking eighth in the 200 dash for one point. The Stallions picked up 14.5 points In field events. De’onta Watson took first in the long jump with an effort of 6.72 meters. Jalen Davis placed seventh and Cain Cousar eighth in the event. Jayden White tied with Darlington’s Donte McCray for seventh place in the high jump for the 1.5 points that clinched the win. South Pointe had all of its points with several track and field events still being contested. The Stallions led May River 48-42, then 60-50, and then with White’s high jump result posted, 61.5-50. The Sharks’ 4x400 team of Antonio Corvato , Daeton Z . Altacho , Braihilin Paylor and Brennan Chase finished second to boost the team score to 58. Zavier Polite’s sixth-place finish in the triple jump gave May River its total of 61 points. Earlier in the afternoon the Sharks got first-place finishes from Wright in the 800 run (1:56.88) and the 1600 run. Farrington took fourth place in the 1600 and second place in the 3200. In the dashes, Jeremiah Grant finished fourth in the 200 and Corvato placed eighth in the 400. The 4x100 team of Mason Sweigart , Edward Cooper , Chase, and Grant placed fourth, and the 4x800 team of Farrington, Altacho, Xavier Flores , and Polite took third. Hilton Head Girls win first title since 2017 On the strength of two golds in the relay races and distance runner Julia McKenna , who won gold in the 1600, second place in the 800 and fifth place in the 3200, the Hilton Head girls track and field team held off a late charge from Westside to claim its first state championship since 2017 and fifth in school history. Seahawks head coach Frank Holland credits McKenna as being a big help in boosting the middle distance and distance runners. “She is a dynamic runner,” Holland said of McKenna, who took a warm interest in track by her sophomore year but really got into the sport as a junior. “She fell in love with it and all of a sudden her times were incredible to a point where she couldn’t get enough running. She encouraged other girls to compete and train with her. She’s a big inspiration.” McKenna, a senior and University of Tampa signee, finished atop the field in the 1600 run with a time of 5:00.96. With her finishes in the 800 and 3200, she earned the Seahawks 22 points. Also finishing in the 800 for Hilton Head were Aly Saleme and Stella Morgan , who placed fourth and fifth respectively, to give the Seahawks an additional nine points in that event. McKenna was also part of the 4x800 team that took gold with a time of 9:41.33. Her teammates were Ava Pankuch , Saleme, and Autumn Pearson . “I felt like I did really well considering all four events even though it can get really tiring,” McKenna said. “I just wanted to end it in a really good way and that’s why I decided to do all four. I’m really happy about how my mile and 4x8 went.” The 4x400 team of Jourdyn Mootry , Pankuch, Saleme and Kyndal Cohen beat out second place Bishop England by less than two seconds with a time of 3:58.29. Cohen won the 400 dash with a time of 55.26. She also took eighth in the 100 dash. Mootry took eighth in the 200 dash. Helana Fister tied with May River’s Lily Gluck for fifth place in the pole vault for 2.5 points. The Seahawks totaled 65.5 points to the Rams 58 points. Hilton Head overtook host team Richland Northeast midway through the event, holding a 51.5 lead to the then-second place Cavaliers. Bishop England later vaulted into second place with 41 points to Hilton Head’s 55.5 points. Westside’s highest track finishers were Na’ima Jackson , who took fourth in the 100 hurdles, and the 4x100 relay team of Jamy’a Tucker , Ta’Nijah Speed , Gervonna Williams , and Amber Henry , which also placed fourth. Henry took sixth in the 100 dash. The Rams’ push for the title did not come until the field events scores started to fall onto the scorer’s table. Janilah Rhodes took gold in the long jump with an effort of 5.35 meters and won another gold in the triple jump with an 11.52-meter jump. Behind Rhodes in the long jump was Williams, who finished fifth, and in the triple jump Williams placed second and Brooke Bryant placed sixth. Bryant placed fourth in the high jump, and Rhodes took eighth in that event. Madison Richardson took fourth in the shot put. All tolled, 46 of Westside’s 58 points came from field events. While the Rams’ scores came late enough to bolt into second place, Hilton Head stockpiled enough points to have a 7-plus point cushion on the evening. “We all trained really hard as a team, probably like any other team, but we all really love each other as if we’re a family,” McKenna said. “We all support each other, the sprinters support the distance runners and the distance runners support the sprinters.” Holland said that while McKenna graduates, she has left a mark on the program. Among returners are Cohen, whom Holland noted broke three school records just as McKenna did this year, and Mootry, along with several underclassmen and seventh- and eighth-graders. “We’ve got some young athletes coming up as well, so we’ve got a pretty good solid future,” he said.
By Thomas Grant, Jr. May 23, 2026
By Thomas Grant Jr. Special to the HSSR Columbia - Harry Parone Stadium has served as a fitting site for the S.C. High School League track and field championships. The past four years has seen main resident Spring Valley and fellow Richland District Two schools Blythewood and Ridge View come away with Class 5A boys and girls’ titles. On Thursday, the Lady Bengals made it a 4-peat enroute to dominating the final Division I championship. Their 125 total points exceeded second place Dorman by 50 points and produced gold medals by sisters Peyton Hightower (400 meters) and senior Hayley Hightower (800 meters). This marked their second repeat title team up at the school. Back in March, they helped Blythewood win its second straight girls’ basketball title. “This journey has been really amazing,” said younger sister Peyton, who’s a junior. “I’m just blessed to share with my sister and run with the same track team. I really love her and I’m super proud we’re both state champions in our last year.” The Lady Bengals also won both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays in building a large lead. Junior Alexis Jones placed second and third, respectively, in the long jump and high school and Brooks Bramlett (100-meter hurdles) and Romell Garway (triple jump) added to the point total with runner-up finishes. Head coach Aleshia Hawkins credited her team with maintaining their intensity and overcoming the pressure of a 4-peat. “Our girls are real committed,” Hawkins said. “The goal is to just always give something to our young girls to look up to and so, with the older girls and mid-age girls, they just keep coming.” While Dorman finished a distinct second place with 75 points, it did not a record-setter. Senior hurdler Rebecca Okebe became the first female at the S.C. High School League track and field championships to finish the 400-meter hurdles in under a minute. Her time of 56.70 seconds broke the previous mark by Summerville’s Imagine Patterson by four seconds. “I like it because it’s what I’ve been working on for the past four years of high school,” said Obebe, who also won the 110-meter hurdles. “Especially the previous two years and the summer, we’ve been working really hard to perfect my race and kindly get me the right things to work on alternating and staying consistent in my hurdles. So, I get to see all the hard work pay off.” Other multi-medalists were A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), Ella Nighbor (Clover) and Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg). The boys’ title quite literally came down to the final two field events. Wando had developed an early lead on defending champion Ridge View before winning by a small margin. The Blazers were looking to make it five straight years a Richland Two school was boys’ champion. Spring Valley had won champion from 2021-24. “It’s a battle to the end and we knew it was going to be that way coming into this meet,” head coach Jason Doorman said. “And it was awesome to see. We had pretty step up in places we didn’t expect. We had people just bring their ‘A’ game throughout the entire meet and it was an awesome finish. “Taking out Ridge View is something because they’re a very good team and they’ve been beating the state over and over and over. So, to be able to defeat them, hey that’s an honor to take them down and be able to be in the ranks there on top of the state.” Junior Dylan Carey was the lone individual champion for the Warriors in the 400 meters. Wando did have several medalists in the field events that helped in its points total. Multi-medalists in the boys’ division included Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes) and Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs). S.C. HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE CLASS 5A TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (Top 5 Finishers) GIRLS 100 METERS 1. A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), 2. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman), 3. Trinity Jones (Summerville), 4. Oliver Taylor (Blythewood), 5. Ciara Williams (Lexington) 200 METERS 1. A’zedah Anderson (Summerville), 2. Ciara Williams (Lexington), 3. Kendell McFadden (Fort Dorchester), 4. Olivia Taylor (Blythewood), 5. Alexandra Francique (Blythewood) 400 METERS 1. Peyton Hightower (Blythewood), 2. Patience Grant (Stratford), 3. Olivia Taylor (Blythewood), 4. Akyra Webster (Spartanburg), 5. Zy’keyia Halley (Spring Valley) 800 METERS 1. Hayley Hightower (Blythewood), 2. Ana Laurient (Wando), 3. Rowyn Martens (Wando), 4. Gretchen Kale (Mauldin), 5. Marley Wall (Dutch Fork) 1600 METERS 1. Ella Nighbor (Clover), 2. Ava Jagielski (Clover), 3. Callie Rohm (Mauldin), 4. Kendra Miles (Lexington), 5. Taylor Blackwelder (Summerville) 3200 METERS 1. Ella Nighbor (Clover), 2. Taylor Blackwelder (Summerville), 3. Avery Griffith (Mauldin), 4. Anna Cavallon (Wando), 5. Anna Kelly (Blythewood) 110 METER HURDLES 1. Rebecca Okebe (Dorman), 2. Brooke Bramlett (Blythewood), 3. Gabrielle Cherry (Blythewood), 4. Romell Garway (Blythewood), 5. Sidra Berry (Ridge View) 400 METER HURDLES * 1. Rebecca Okebe (Dorman), 2. Katelyn McNeil (Spring Valley), 3. Arriana Dooley (Mauldin), 4. Tatiana Dooley (Mauldin), 5. Madison Ross (Blythewood) 4x100 METER RELAY 1. Blythewood, 2. Summerville, 3. Dorman, 4. Spartanburg, 5. Spring Valley 4x400 METER RELAY 1. Blythewood, 2. Spring Valley, 3. Dorman, 4. Ridge View, 5. Wando 4x800 METER RELAY 1. Wando, 2. Mauldin, 3. Blythewood, 4. Spartanburg, 5. Dorman HIGH JUMP 1. Miracle McLean (Carolina Forest), 2. Danabella Jackson (Sumter), 3. Alexis Jones (Blythewood), 4. Trinity Hall (Clover), 5. Oprah Tchuendem (River Bluff) LONG JUMP 1. Ciara Williams (Lexington), 2. Alexis Jones (Blythewood), 3. Alahna Valentine (Ridge View), 4. Simone Wells (Sumter), 5. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman) TRIPLE JUMP 1. Jordayn Ratliff (Dorman), 2. Romell Garway (Blythewood), 3. Naadia Rampersant (James Island), 4. Miracle McLean (Carolina Forest), 5. Oprah Tchuendem (River Bluff) DISCUS THROW 1. Addilyn Elrod (Summerville), 2. Olivia Parker (Spartanburg), 3. Maddie Sanders (Mauldin), 4. Emmie Otto (Carolina Forest), 5. Darcy York (Rock Hill) POLE VAULT 1. Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg), 2. Skylar Singleton (James Island), 3. Emiya Victor (James Island), 4. Mattie Bandy (Dorman), 5. Harmoni Harris (Spartanburg) JAVELIN THROW 1. Elle Cocco (Wando), 2. Morgan Carter (Fort Dorchester), 3. Hailey Greatrex (Fort Dorchester), 4. Kyleigh Moore (Fort Dorchester), 5. Jaylyn Maley (Lexington) SHOT PUT 1. Riley Vaughn (Spartanburg), 2. Emiya Victor (James Island), 3. Harmoni Harris (Spartanburg), 4. Lainey Myers (Lexington) 5. Elle Cocco (Wando) TEAM SCORES (Top 10) 1. Blythewood (125), 2. Dorman (75), 3. Summerville (60), 4. Wando (59.50), 5. Spartanburg (53), 6. Lexington (45), 7. Mauldin (42), 8. Clover (36), 9. Spring Valley (33), 10 (tie). James Island and Fort Dorchester (30) * S.C. High School League record BOYS 100 METERS 1. Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes), 2. Grant Garrick (Lexington), 3. Jeremiah Calhoun (Boiling Springs), 4. Ke’Shon Tate (Spring Valley), 5. Thaddius Rush (Ridge View) 200 METERS 1. Chanin Harris (J.F. Byrnes), 2. Jeremiah Calhoun (Boiling Springs), 3. Grant Garrick (Lexington), 4. Devan Erby (Rock Hill), 5. Aidyn Wiggins (J.F. Byrnes) 400 METERS 1. Dylan Carey (Wando), 2. Larry Davis (Blythewood), 3. Jaderion Moore (Rock Hill), 4. Brody Johnson (Wando), 5. Jaden Davis (Wade Hampton) 800 METERS 1. Josh Voegele (Lexington), 2. Ari Laurient (Wando), 3. Wesley Heimbach (Lexington), 4. Joseph Robinson (Spring Valley), 5. Jack Butler (Wando) 1600 METERS 1. Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs), 2. Jacob Powers, 3. Joseph Robinson (Spring Valley), 4. Sammy Joudeh (J.L. Mann), 5. Evan DeMassi (Dutch Fork) 3200 METERS 1. Luke Hurley (Boiling Springs), 2. Jacob Powell (Blythewood), 3. Hudson Kennemore (J.L. Mann), 4. Ben Elliott (Mauldin), 5. Noah Taylor (Spring Valley) 110 METER HURDLES 1. Grayson Crowe (Boiling Springs), 2. Quency Grant (Ridge View), 3. Elijah White (Ridge View), 4. Justin Elliott (Mauldin) 400 METER HURDLES 1. Elijah White (Ridge View), 2. Quency White (Ridge View), 3. Justin Elliott (Mauldin), 4. Andy Metz (Spartanburg), 5. Grayson Crowe (Boiling Springs) 4x100 METER RELAY 1. J.F. Byrnes, 2. Spartanburg, 3. Ridge View, 4. Carolina Forest, 5. Ashley Ridge 4x400 METER RELAY 1. Ridge View, 2. Blythewood, 3. Wando, 4. Carolina Forest, 5. Spring Valley 4x800 METER RELAY 1. Lexington, 2. Wando, 3. Spring Valley, 4. Clover, 5. Summerville HIGH JUMP 1. Cameron Hughes (Spring Valley), 2. Evan McCullough-Bryant (Dorman), 3. Jamarius Brown (Dorman), 4. Jonathan Wilson (Carolina Forest), 5. Isiah Kennedy (Ridge View) LONG JUMP 1. Torrean Davis (Spartanburg), 2. Gage Stewart (Dutch Fork), 3. Jahmari Malone (Wando), 4. Jamier Gaston (Dorman), 5. Miles Williams (Carolina Forest) TRIPLE JUMP 1. Jamarius Brown (Dorman), 2. Jahmari Malone (Wando), 3. Torrean Davis (Spartanburg), 4. Amari Stevenson (Ridge View), 5. Jamier Gaston (Dorman) DISCUS THROW 1. Aiden Graham (Rock Hill), 2. Jaden Roberson (Dorman), 3. Jay Morris (James Island), 4. Collin Ash (River Bluff), 5. Preston Iagulli (Carolina Forest) POLE VAULT 1. Lukas Kowlok (Stratford), 2. Mayson Samuel (Cane Bay), 3. Caleb Berry (Mauldin), 4. Luke Lasher (James Island), 5. Walker Ferguson (Mauldin) JAVELIN THROW 1. Walker Ferguson (Mauldin), 2. Ben Eikenberry (Wando), 3. Gryson Greenberry (Summerville), 4. Zach Teachman (Wando), 5. Nate Dixon (Lexington) SHOT PUT 1. Aidan Graham (Rock Hill), 2. Henry Camps (Wando), 3. Collin Ash (River Bluff), 4. James Porter (Dorman), 5. Jimmy Jones (James Island) TEAM SCORES (Top 10) 1. Wando (84), 2. Ridge View (78), Dorman (52), 4. Lexington (50), 5. Spring Valley (48), 7. Mauldin (41), 8. J.F. Byrnes (40), 9. Blythewood (38), 10. Spartanburg (35.50)
By Gerald Doolittle May 23, 2026
Knights Baseball Champions 2026. (Photo WW King athletics).
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By Billy Baker May 23, 2026
Woodland High School's Track and Field Seniors '26.
By Billy Baker May 21, 2026
Andrews — East Clarendon High Schol out-hit Andrews 6-5 on May 20 on the road in the AA Lower State softball semifinals, but the Yellow Jackets took advantage of two errors and six walks to come out on top 5-1 to they advance to play Chesterfield on Friday in the Lower state finals. Joy Weisner is the Andrews head coach, and she told High School Sports Repor t after the game: “What we have tried to do all season is take advantage of any opportunities a team gives us. We hit the ball better today and that is very important.” Andrews last won a state title in 20218. Andrews had five players earning All-Region honors. They are centerfielder Sarah Jennings , pitcher Addyson Davis , who will also play in the North-South game, junior catcher Chloe Skipper , who was the Region Most Valuable Player, senior outfielder Addison McCants and talented sophomore shortstop Tori Smith. Andrews lost to Chesterfield 7-3 on May 18. “We have to hit the ball better when we go to them this Friday,” said Weisner. “We didn’t hit the ball well at all this past Monday when we played Chesterfield. We hit the ball well today, so we just have to keep that momentum going into Friday. “We have to go to Chesterfield and beat them twice. We have to play some of our best softball this season in order to do that, so I hope we are focused. We need to start the game with momentum and end the game with momentum when we play at Chesterfield." East Clarendon head coach Jason Newsome closed out his third season with a 25-8 record with the loss. “I thought our pitcher ( Addyson Davis ) hung tough today and she is just a freshman and she has been learning by fire all year long,” said Newsome. “She is extremely talented and she is a good pitcher now, but she is going to be an even better pitcher in the future. “In the playoffs the margin of error is very thin and the mistakes we made, they took advantage of. On the other hand, the mistakes they made and the opportunities they gave us, we didn’t take advantage of them and that was a key in the game. They did a good job of keeping us off balance.” All-Region 7 players from EC included Region POY Peyton Hanniford , Bailey Hicks , Riley Atkinson , Layke Jeffords , and Zoey Culick . The score was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the third when Andrews scored four runs. Karaline Gainey singled to start the inning and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Stump. Sarah Jennings next singled to left field, advancing Gainey to third. Torian Smith drew a walk to load the bases before Jenna Cook hit a ball deep into the corner down the first base line that resulted in an inside the park grand slam. Andrews added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Briana Walker singled and advanced on a single by Gainey. Stump was then Hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jennings then hit an RBI ground out that brought in Walker to account for the Yellow Jackets’ five runs. East Clarendon’s lone run came in the fifth inning. Linsey Robinson had a leadoff triple, and she scored two batters later on a ground put by Megan Brown .
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