Hawks soared on diamond during 2025 season

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – It was a sour taste that lingered for a year in the mouths of every player on the Holly Hill Academy softball team. Winning is better than mouthwash. The 2025 Raiders completed a 16-4 season by winning the SCISA Class A state championship, defeating W.W. King in two games (6-4, 15-4) in a best-of-three championship series. Holly Hill won their last seven games of the season. The victory makes Holly Hill state champion for the second time in three years but it was not winning the championship in 2024 that fueled the fire this spring. Though heavily favored last season, the Raiders were upset in the state tournament, eliminated by Jefferson Davis Academy. “We didn’t get it done last year but we still felt we were the best team in the state,” coach Kally Knight said. “Losing last year was all the motivation this team needed. They had a great focus all through the offseason and it carried over into the season. We weren’t perfect by any means but the four losses came to good teams and it helped us stay focused.” In the game one win, Holly Hill banged out nine hits. Kaylee Brabham collected three hits and Kloie Mizell had three runs batted in to lead the offense. Pitcher Taylor Wright had two hits and threw a complete game while allowing four runs. The bats stayed hot in game two as the Raiders totaled 12 hits and took advantage of six King errors. King took a 3-1 lead after the first inning but Holly Hill posted eight runs in the second inning and had a five-run fourth inning to close the deal in five innings. Wright had five RBI on three hits, including two doubles. She again tossed a complete game inside the circle. Kaley Bell had two hits and three RBI while Peyton Strickland and Chloe Wren each added a pair of hits and each had an RBI. “We were a good hitting team really all season and a lot of girls contributed from game to game,” Knight said. “We knew if we cut down walks and played good defense, we were going to be tough to beat. “This team deserves this. They worked hard and they built a strong chemistry. It’s great to see them celebrate being champions again.” Rounding out the roster were Milly Kate Prescott, Ariel Stanley, Abby Burleson, Shelby Hanson, Bethany Martin and Kaylee Cuttino. Brabham and Wren are the only seniors on this year’s team so expect the Raiders to be a contender once again.

Dillon rising senior receiver Zay Robertson who caught 63 passes for around 1,000 yards last season. Robertson ran a 4.4 forty at the South Carolina football camp on June, 7th.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Greenville – Some may have expected a drop off for the states premier boys tennis program in 2025 , but the Christ Church Boys and new coach Reverend Wallace Adams-Riley showed that the more things change the more they stay the same as they made it to the AAA upper state championship match in their first year in the new classification. When asked what challenges the first-year coach faced he told the HSSR, “the biggest challenge was the rain.” “I had such ready, steady support from our Athletic Director, Molly Miller, and her Athletic Department team; from Jimmy Burford , my predecessor as coach; from my assistant coach, Rae Sobocinski, who is an experienced tennis coach and player (and the coach of our girls’ varsity tennis); and from the parents of our players, that I’m happy to say things went quite smoothly,” said coach. Coach continued, “Our boys played hard all season, right on up through our match against Clinton in the Upper State Championship game. We had several additions to the varsity team giving us 17 players throughout the season. The teams three captains were seniors Tucker Hendrix, Carson Bowers, and Hutch Lyman. They brought leadership and commitment to the team and they helped show the younger players on the team, the culture of Christ Church boys tennis. Bowers and Lyman were returning top seven players from 2024. This season Bowers played at number two seed while Lyman was the most improved player this year, playing at various times the number five singles and the number two doubles with Bowers. Hendrix returned to the court after a years absence and played at the number three seed. He will head to Clemson next season to play football as a preferred walk on. Krish Patel was a returning seeded player from 2024 and was slotted at the number four seed for the Cav’s this season. Joining Hendrix as newcomers to this years team was the Cav’s top seeded player in Judd Windham. The sophomore also started at forward on the Cav’s boys soccer team that also made the upper state finals. Paul Fraunberger and Omar Rida moved up from the JV team. Fraunberger played at the number five singles while Rida played at number seven. Ellis Trail and Powers McKissick will be back next season. They provided depth this past but will be looking to nab one of the seeds on next year’s team. “The one thing I have loved is the team’s spirit. There’s an enthusiasm that is contagious and I have appreciated their commitment, all of which has continued to develop over the course of the season. One particularly encouraging aspect of the team’s culture is the way they have welcomed in and encouraged the younger players,” said coach. “We had 17 players with us through the season, with another couple of players coming up from our JV team to join us for practices, so I am excited about the future of our team. Next year we aim to make it to the State Championship.” .

By David Shelton Senior Writer Summerville – The track and field program at Cane Bay High is one of the more competitive in the Lower State. After the boys team posted a fifth-place finish in the recent AAAAA Division I state meet, the program is now one of the top in the state. Cane Bay’s performance in the boys meet was highlighted by a strong performance from hurdler Jayden Anderson . Anderson became the second Cobra in recent years to win gold medals in both the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles.  “He’s very talented and he works really hard to be his best,” coach Greg Hall said. “We’re having a lot of success with our hurdles of late.” Anderson also ran a leg on the 4 x 400 relay team, which finished second. There were no other state champions for Cane Bay but several athletes placed among the top 10 in their respective events. Jamari Blandin earned a silver medal in the long jump. Jacob Tejada finished sixth in the 100 meter dash and 13 th in the 200. Dennis Green placed eighth in the 200 and Josiah Coleman was seventh in the triple jump and Mayson Samuel was eighth in the pole vault. Joshua Frost finished 10 th in the discus. The baseball and softball teams ended their seasons in the state playoffs. The softball team was eliminated with a loss to Ashley Ridge and finished with an 11-12 record while the baseball team (10-15) was eliminated by Summerville. Jasmine Dargan led the softball team in hitting this spring, posting a .375 batting average. Emma Tychek finished at .359 and Charlet Reed batted .344. Pitcher Isabella Kelly had a 2.75 earned run average and had seven wins inside the pitching circle. Catcher Drew Grimm earned baseball all-state honors after hitting .398 for the season. Sophomore Lucas Porcelli finished at .306. Junior Mitchell Bennett batted .500 but was injured and lost for the season in the 14 th game. In soccer, the girls team posted a 14-6 record and finished third in region 7-AAAAA. Senior Claire Orth was named all-state, finishing the season with 23 goals and six assists. Junior Eiliyah Tomes scored 22 goals and assisted on 11 goals. The boys soccer team went 6-12 this spring. Junior Gabriel Munoz , junior Bailey Purvis and sophomore Jayden Hernandez all scored seven goals this season. Junior Jackson Hedges had six goals and five assists.

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