Jake Amman singles home Collin Anderson with winning run as Trojans win 2nd staright title

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Coming off a 5-4 walk-off loss in eight innings to James Island Tuesday night in game one of the 5A Division 1 state championship series, the Lexington baseball team wanted to leave no doubt Wednesday at the Wildcats stadium. Christian Spivey , Logan Blight , and Graham Coleman all doubled off of James Island junior pitcher and Ole Miss commit Taj Marchand in Lexington’s 4-run first inning, and the Wildcats never looked back in a 9-4 victory over the Trojans in game two. “That’s an incredible arm we faced tonight,” Wildcats head coach Brian Hucks said. “I told our guys that it was an amazing show of grit and toughness to lose a heartbreaker like we did the night before and know you’re facing that guy and come back and swing it like that.” The best-of-three series concludes Saturday, as Lexington (22-10-1) and James Island (29-4) will battle it out in Sumter’s Riley Park at 1 p.m. “We’ve got everybody available except Grant ( Kisner ), I believe. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of managing our pitching staff and our pitch counts. Reidar ( Carlson , the starting pitcher for game one) will be available to go, I’m not sure if we’re going to start him or not, but we’ll figure out how to piece it together and see what we can do.” Wildcats fans and Trojans fans packed the perimeter of the Lexington ballfield Wednesday, and everyone saw what the home team could do at the plate. James Island opened the scoring in the first inning with Connor Dantzler’s 2-out RBI single. That hit scored Luke Maxwell , courtesy runner for lead-off man and catcher Stow Rogers , who was hit by a pitch to get on base. With Trip Ostergard at third base and Dantzler at first, Hayden Little struck out to retire the side and bring Lexington to bat. The Wildcats wasted no time. Lead-off man Toby Sobieralski drew a walk, and with Sobieralski’s courtesy runner Jonathan Waldrop on base, Spivey hit a line drive double into centerfield to put runners at second and third. Marchand struck out Brandon Cromer and Lincoln Hill , but Blight’s double into centerfield scored Waldrop and Spivey to give Lexington a 2-1 lead. Kissner drove in Blight with a single to rightfield, and Coleman’s double into rightfield scored Kissner to make it 4-1. Coleman got stranded when Allen Hegler struck out to end the inning, but the Wildcats hits kept on coming in the second inning. Brandon Mobley led off the bottom of the second with a double to left field, and Sobieralski promptly singled him home to make it 5-2. Marchand struck out Spivey, but Cromer’s single put Waldrop at second, and Hill drew a walk to load the bases. Blight was ruled out on the infield fly rule, but with two out, Kissner’s base hit into centerfield scored Cromer and Waldrop to make it 7-1. By then Marchand left the mound in favor of Colt Hernandez , but the James Island reliever didn’t last the inning. Bishop Nixon came on the mound for the Trojans to face Coleman, butHill bolted home from third and was picked off to end the inning. “You knew this was coming, Lexington is too good of a team to lay down,” Trojans head coach Matt Spivey said. “Coach Hucks and his staff do a great job and they’ve got some really talented players, and you’re coming into a tough environment. A couple of things didn’t go our way early on and we didn’t make a couple of routine plays that I thought would have gotten us out of the inning, and all of a sudden you’re staring at a 7-1 deficit.” Marchand was off the mound but stayed in the game, and in the top of the third inning he led off with a solo home run over the fence in leftfield to cut the lead to 7-2. Lexington got two more runs in the third inning. Spivey led off the frame with a solo homer, and later Kissner’s 1-out RBI single scored Cromer to give the Wildcats a 9-2 lead. Kissner, Lexington’s starter, lasted into the fifth inning. He gave up four hits over 4-plus innings. Jack Cooper came on early in the fifth and gave up two earned runs in the sixth inning, but lasted till one out in the seventh. Ahead 9-4, Jake Epps took the mound for Lexington with one out and two men on. He struck out Collin Anderson for the second out and closed out the game getting Finn Pratt out on a flyball to centerfield. While Wednesday didn’t go the Trojans way, Coach Spivey said the team will shake it off and get down to business on Saturday. “We’ll shake this as soon as we get back to the bus,” he said. “We’ll get back to James Island and regroup and we’ll be ready Saturday.” Saturday’s game between Lexington, the 2024 5A champion, and James Island, the 2024 4A champion, will likely electrify Riley Park. “I’m just incredibly proud of our toughness and our grit, and we forced a game three,” Hucks said. “They held serve at their place and we held serve in our place, now let’s play for it all.” Game 1 Lexington 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 – 4 7 1 James Island 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 – 5 9 0 WP : Colt Hernandez, 0.2 IP, 1K L – Toby Sobieralski 3-4, HR. Christian Spivey HR. J –Trip Ostergard 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI. Jake Amman 2-3, 2B, 3B. Taj Marchand 2B. Game 2 James Island 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 – 4 9 0 Lexington 4 3 0 2 0 0 x – 9 11 1 WP: Grant Kissner, 4 IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 3K. J – Taj Marchand 2-4, HR, 2 RBI. . L – Grant Kissner 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI. Christian Spivey 2-4, 2B, HR. Logan Blight 2B. Bryce Mobley 2B. Graham Coleman 2B.

SCHSL Championship Series got started on Saturday with 12 teams in each category striving to earn a state title. It's looking to be a wet week for most of the state, we'll see how the forecast holds up for these games to be completed. Softball 5/26 - Class 5A Div 1. - Byrnes @ Summerville 5/26 - Class 5A Div. 2 - Catawba Ridge @ St. James 6p 5/27 - Class AAAA - York @ Gray Collegiate 6:30p 5/27 - Class AAA - BHP @ Aynor 6p5/27 - 5/27 - Class AA - Saluda @ East Clarendon 7p 5/27 - Class A - Latta @ Lewisville 6p 5/28 - Class 5A Div 1. - Summerville @ Byrnes 5/28 - Class 5A Div. 2 - St. James @ Catawba Ridge 6p 5/28 - Class AAAA - Gray Collegiate @ York 5/29 - Class AAA - Aynor @ BHP 6p 5/29 - Class AA - Lewisville @ Latta 5/29 - Class A - East Clarendon @ Saluda 7p Game 3s (if needed) on 5/30 Baseball - Games Started Saturday, May 24 th with games 5/27, 5/29, and 5/31 5/24 - Class AAA - Southside Christian 14 , Oceanside 1 5/24 - Class AA - Philip Simons 5 , Batesburg-Leesville 3 5/24 - Class A - McBee 5 , LakeView 3 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 1 - Lexington @ James Island 6:30p 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Catawba Ridge @ Berkeley 5/27 - Class AAAA - Airport @ Seneca 5/27 - Class AAA - Oceanside @ Southside Christian 5/27 - Class AA - Philip Simons @ Batesburg-Leesville 5/27 - Class A - McBee @ Lake View 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 1 -Lexington@ James Island 6:30p 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Berkeley @ Catawba Ridge 5/29 - Class AAAA - Seneca @ Airport Game 3s (if needed) on 5/31

James Island goal keeper Jackson Crawford comes out of goal to defend an attack by Ashley Ridge midfielder Joshua DeSouza May 17 during the 5A, Division 1 Boys Soccer Lower State Championship. 

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia – Moving up to the 5A Division 1 classification once again proved no problem for Ridge View . Just as the Blazers basketball team kept the state championships string alive with a win over Blythewood in the 5A Division 1 final in March, the Ridge View boys track and field team moved up from a 4A state championship in 2024 to score 91 points and edge Spartanburg’s 87.5 points in Saturday’s 5A Division 1 track and field meet at Spring Valley’s Harry Parone Stadium. “I’m just proud of the growth of this program,” said fourth-year head coach Charles Proctor , noting the team’s three region championships on top of its second straight state championship. “I think the number that I’m most proud of over these four years is that we’ve helped 20 young men gain scholarships to continue their athletic and academic careers. We’re just continuing to build this program.” The Blazers had just two gold medals on the afternoon. Jordyn Best won state in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.52 seconds and the 4x100 relay team of Quency Grant , Khristian Jackson , Mounir Spann , and Best took first with a time of 40.88. What Ridge View did have was enough depth to cover almost every event, and double up in several events. In the 400 hurdles, four Blazer runners finished within the top 8. Grant took second with a time of 54.79, Elijah White took 4 th with a time of 56.51, Jaciyah Johnson took 6 th with a time of 56.74, and Ethan Jirves took 8 th with a time of 57.49. Those placings netted Ridge View 17 points. White and Jirves also placed in the 110 hurdles, with White taking fifth with a time of 14.89 and Jirves placing eighth with a time of 15.25. Those finishes netted five points. Best finished third in the 200 dash with a time of 21.63. In the 400 dash Spann took second with a time of 48.24 and Darrell Price finished seventh with a time of 48.94. Those placings added 16 points to the Blazers’ total. Macaire N’twa took fifth in the 800 run with a time of 1:58.12 for four points. The 4x800 relay team of N’twa, Price, Correll Johnson , and Orin Striggles took sixth place with a time of 8:00.39, and the 4x400 relay team of Grant, Price, N’twa, and Spann closed out the meet with a fourth place time of 3:20.95. Those finishes gave Ridge View eight points. In the field events Amari Stevenson’s second-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 14.27 meters was tops, with Nevan Gaither’s mark of 13.6 meters was good for fifth place. The two efforts gave the Blazers 12 points for that event. Josh Campbell’s 5 th place discus throw of 47.28 meters and Angel Brooks Jr.’s fourth-place javelin throw of 51.48 meters were good for nine points. All in all, while the finishes weren’t all top finishes, there were more than enough to get the Blazers across to victory. “The thing that helped us the most is that we came in here with 24 scoring opportunities,” Proctor said. “I always say that if we can come in here with more than 15 scoring opportunities, we’ve got a great chance to win. The depth of our team allowed for some mistakes, which we knew we would have, it’s rare that you would have a perfect championship, so our depth is what helped us pull this out today.” Spartanburg had several individual state champions on its roster. Justin Rice took gold in the 200 dash with a time of 21.40, Knox Eaton finished first in the 800 run with a time of 1:54.88, and Torrean Davis took gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.33 meters. The 4x400 relay team of Joshua Taliaferro , Andy Metz , Christian Davis , and Elijah Roseburg finished first and gave the Vikings one final push with a time of 3:19.30. Those finishes gave Spartanburg 40 points, but the Vikings did not have enough high finishers to boost their point total over the top. Rice finished fifth in the 100 dash with a time of 10.82; Davis finished fifth in the 200 dash with a time of 21.82; Taliaferro took fifth in the 400 dash with a time of 48.56, and fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.9 meters; Walker Nunes took eighth in the 800 run with a time of 1:58.27; and Andy Metz finished third in the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.92. The 4x800 relay team of Eaton, Chap Willbanks , Nicholas Rhoden and Nunes finished second with a time of 7:53.78, and the 4x100 relay team of Kendrion Keenon , Davis, Rice, and Taliaferro finished third with a time of 41.61 to round out the Viking’s score of 87.5 points. With the championship in hand, the Blazers will keep training and work toward another successful season. For Proctor it is a moment to reflect on the past four years, and what the future may bring to Ridge View. “I think we can be a perennial powerhouse in the country,” Proctor said. “It’s a great thing to win a state championship today, but to also end the season as the No.1 team in South Carolina, that means everything, and it’s something we’ve been working on and striving for.” Apart from the Ridge View-Spartanburg contest, top finishers included Carolina Forest senior Zayveon Sims , who took first place in the 400 dash with a time of 47.82. Boiling Springs junior Mike Hurley won gold in the 3200 run with a time of 9:13.11. Cane Bay senior Jayden Anderson took first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.62, and also won gold I the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.35. Mauldin’s 4x800 relay team as tops with a time of 7:51.00. Dorman junior Jamarius Brown won the high jump with a mark of 1.93 meters, and also took gold in the triple jump with a mark of 14.63 meters. Stratford junior Lukas Kowlok took first in the pole vault with a vault of 4.65 meters. Blythewood senior Santana Wright threw the discus for a first-place distance of 51.84 meters. Mauldin sophomore Walker Ferguson won the javelin with a throw of 58.19 meters. West Ashley junior Matthew Atkinson took gold in the shot put with a throw of 15 meters. Girls 5A Division I While competition in the boys events was tight, the Blythewood girls team dominated the field Saturday. The Bengals sprinters placed high and racked up points early, finishing with 107 points on the day to claim their third straight state championship and first in the 5A Division I configuration. Blythewood’s total was 53 points better than second-place Spartanburg’s 54 points. “We had to perform a lot better than we did last season because we had a lot of hiccups last year,” head coach Aleshia Hawkins ,” We just came out and performed the way we needed to perform.” That they did. Sophomore sprinter Peyton Hightower won the 400-meter dash for the second straight year, this year with a time of 24.46 seconds. She finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.46 and ran a leg for the gold-winning 4x400 relay team. Junior Olivia Taylor , who finished fifth in the 100 dash with a time of 12.03, also finished fifth in the 400 dash with a time of 55.60. Hightower’s sister, junior sprinter and point guard on the 5A Division 1 state basketball championship Bengals Hayley Hightower , took second in the 800 run with time of 2:10.27 and also ran legs in the 4x400 and 4x800 races. Both sisters say they enjoy competing with each other and alongside each other, and spending time with the team as everyone prepares to do their best for events. “I like to see her succeed on the track and I think she does the same for me,” Hayley Hightower said. “It’s amazing to see both of us competing and running on this level.” Peyton Hightower added, “It’s great having someone to cheer for, not only as a teammate but as family. I root for her and she roots for me.” Both sisters said they and the team came into Harry Parone stadium Saturday with the focus on keeping their championship at Blythewood. “We’ve been working extra hard this year, trusting our coaches, setting some goals, and coming here with a plan,” Hayley Hightower said. “We weren’t going to get away from our plan. We knew what we had to come here and do, it didn’t matter about the class or whatever, we just had to come in here and get the job done. To get another state championship in track means a lot to me. I’m really proud of this team.” Added Peyton Hightower , “This is No.3 in a row for us so we know what we needed to do coming in here, We’re just proud that we came out on top,” she said. “We knew that there were going to be some teams that would challenge us. We knew that we had to stay humble and do our best. We did a really good job of coming in and not worrying about the outside noise and doing what we had to do.” What they did was place as high as possible, in every event possible. Eighth grader Brooke Bramlett took first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.88. Bramlett also finished seventh in the 100 dash and ran a leg on the 4x100 team. Senior Aminah Rhone won gold in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.74. She finished third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.41, and she also ran a leg in the 4x400. Sophomore Romell Garway finished seventh in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.24. Blythewood racked up 26 points in the relays with a first place in the 4x400 and second placings in the 4x100 and 4x800. The 4x400 team of Rhone, Alexandra Francique , Hayley Hightower , and Payton Hightower won gold with a time of 3:48.77. The 4x100 team of Bramlett, Taylor , Brittany Benson , and junior Tylar Moore took second with a time of 47.02. The 4x800 team of junior Anna Kelly , senior Mallory Hogue , Scarlett Baker , and Hayley Hightower took second with a time of 9:23.80. Hogue and Kelly also placed in the 3200 run. Hogue placed third with a time of 11:17.49 and Kelly placed fourth with a time of 11:19.47. Sophomore Alexis Jones placed fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.55 meters. Moore placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.59 meters. Coach Hawkins credited the success of Blythewood to supporters throughout the school and community. “From Blythewood, the high school, the parents, the younger brothers and sisters come out, it’s just wonderful,” Hawkins said. “Everyone takes everything seriously. They want to get to the next level, and I tell them, you work. You don’t work, you can’t make it to the next level.” Noting the youth on the team, the program isn’t slowing down anytime soon. “We’re just losing three scorers this year, but everyone else is coming back,” Hawkins said. “It’s going to be exciting in 2026.” Among the other top finishers, Rock Hill senior Khamoni Rockeymore-Crews won the 100 dash with a time of 11.74, and won the 200 dash with a time of 24.19. She was also one of Rock Hill’s state-champion 4x100 team that also included Cherish Paul , Zoe McClurkin , and Aubrey Stevenson that finished with a time of 46.75. The Wando 4x800 team of Rowyn Martens , Emma Stanton , Ana Laurient , and Emmi Hunter made a state-record run of 9:08.70 that beat the old record by 13 seconds. Laurient, a senior, also won gold in the 80 meter run with a time of 2:10.24. Warrior javelin thrower Elle Cocco , a freshman, won her event with a 39.65-meter throw. Clover junior Ella Nighbor won the 1,600 run with a time of 5:02.77. Summerville junior Taylor Blackwelder won the 3,200 run with a time of 11:13.45. Teammate Nikki Brown , a senior, won the pole vault with a vault of 3.48 meters. Mauldin senior Lena Scott took first place in the high jump with a mark of 1.68 meters. She also won the triple jump with an effort of 12.19 meters. Ashley Ridge senior Alana Braxton won gold in the long jump with a jump of 5.87 meters. Fort Dorchester’s Saniyah Joyner won the discus with a throw of 39.91 meters. Spartanburg sophomore Riley Vaughn won gold in the shot put with a throw of 12.4 meters.

James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025 By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – There has been winning aplenty for the James Island Charter spring sports teams through the first two weeks of April. The move from Class AAAA to AAAAA has not been as difficult as some predicted as several James Island teams are contending for region 8-AAAAA championships. The girls and boys soccer teams are in the thick of the race as the regular season winds down. The girls soccer team won their first six region contests and won 11 of their first 13 matches overall. The boys soccer team is off to a 5-1 start in region play, winning 10 of their first 14 contests overall. Lacrosse continues to grow and gather strength as a relatively new sport at the school. The boys team sits at 9-6 as of April 12 with just a few games remaining. The girls team went 5-10 in their first six weeks of the season. Leading the effort on the girls team is senior Mary Katherine Williams , who has scored 48 goals with six assists. Senior Emma McFall has tallied 20 goals while sophomore Lane Hobey has added 11 goals. Senior Reece Bertschy has nine assists to go with her 10 goals. The softball team is in a little rebuild this spring but has still competed well overall. The Trojans split their first six region games, losing to the top three teams in the region – Summerville, Fort Dorchester and West Ashley. Senior first baseman/pitcher Mary Davis Hancock leads the team in hitting with a .405 batting average. She has eight runs batted in as well while logging 54 innings inside the circle. Senior outfielder Rachel Manchester is hitting .350 and sophomore Caroline Jaruzel is hitting .300 while also working 32 innings as a pitcher. The team’s top returning hurler, sophomore Gracie Sue Billings , has not pitched this season after winning nine games last season.  The baseball team is one of the state’s top five teams in AAAAA and will enter the playoffs seeking a second consecutive state championship. They won the AAAA state title in 2024. The Trojans are 9-0 in region play and 14-3 overall entering spring break (April 13). A devastating and productive top of the lineup has been as advertised. Senior catcher Stow Rogers , junior shortstop Taj Marchand , senior third baseman Jake Amman and sophomore second baseman Trip Ostergard have blistered opponents with each hitting near or better than .400. First baseman Finn Pratt , a first-year starter, also is off to a solid start offensively as is junior outfielder Connor Dantzler . Marchand and Ostergard also have been key performers on the mound, along with senior Collin Anderson and sophomores Dawson Belder and Cooper Jones.

Photo from March 1st, the SCHSL AAAAA Div 1 Girls semi-final game between James Island and Ridge View . This sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery.

Ridge View junior, Korie Corbett with his eye on the basket for another two!

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Moncks Corner —The region winners in the AAAAA SCHSL football classification all received byes for the first round of the play-offs that started on November, 15 th so if any upsets are brewing involving the top seeded teams in the two divisions we will have to wait until Nov., 22 nd for that to possibly happen. In the Upper State AAAAA D-1 a bye went to number one rated Dutch Fork (9-0) and they will play the winner of the Boiling Springs (6-3) versus Dorman (6-3) in a week two in Irmo. Rock Hill (5-5) received a bye and they will play the winner of the Mauldin (2-8) versus River Bluff (8-2) game in week two. JL Mann (8-2) got a bye and they await the winner of the Blythewood versus Clover (7-3) game on Nov., 15. Number four- rated Spartanburg , fresh off a close game loss with rival Gaffney awaits the winner of Lexington versus Byrnes in week one. In Lower State Div. I Summerville (10-0) has a bye and they await the winner between Fort Dorchester and Stratford. Cane Bay , a winner over Berkeley last week, received a bye and they await the winner between Spring Valley and Ridge View. Carolina Forest has a round one bye and they await the winner between Wando and James Island . Highly regarded Sumter (9-0) has a first- round bye and they will host the winner between West Ashley and Ashley Ridge on Nov. 15. Now, we move on to Div. II AAAAA: In the Upper state number one rated Northwestern (10-0) will host the winner between Eastside and Indian Land on Nov., 15. Greenwood received a first- round bye and they will host the winner of the nation Ford versus Hillcrest first round game on Nov., 15. T.L Hanna earned a bye and they await the winner of the Woodmont versus Catawba Ridge winner in round two. Gaffney , fresh off of a come from behind win over Spartanburg that clinched the region title, awaits the winner of the Greenville versus Riverside game. In the Lower state Div. II AAAAA: Irmo (9-1), fresh off of a loss to Dutch Fork , awaits the winner between Goose Creek and Chapin in week one. West Florence has a week one bye and they will host the winner between Lucy Beckham and North Myrtle Beach in round two. Berkeley has earned a bye and they await the winner between Socastee and Westwood in round one. Finally, Myrtle Beach earned a first- round bye and they await the winner between Lugoff - Elgin and White Knoll from first round action. The HSSR predicts that Dutch Fork and Summerville will emerge as respective bracket winners in Div. I AAAAA and will meet in the gold medal round at South Carolian State University on Friday Dec., 13 at 2 p.m. Tom Knotts , the head coach at Dutch Fork, told the HSSR after his 24-14 big win over Irmo last week, ““I pay attention to Dutch Fork, but now that I’ve played Irmo, these are the two best teams in the state,” said Coach Knotts after the Irmo win. “They’re going to be in the smaller (school size) 5A and we’re in the larger 5A, so thank goodness we don’t have to play them again and they’re probably saying thank goodness they don’t have to play us again. “We like to get to this time of year, the kids behave better, they focus better, they lift better, they meet better,” Knotts said. “This is our time of year. We’re used to it.” Summerville head coach Ian Rafferty shared these thoughts about the play-offs, ““Unfortunately we will have to play some teams we’ve already seen in the playoffs but it is what it is,” said Coach Rafferty. “Against Fort Dorchester we did some uncharacteristic things on special teams and turned the ball over near the goal line, but moving forward the key is the way our guy’s work. We have kind of built a good mentality throughout the season and just work and show up to play on game night. Basically, we just need to be the Green Wave.” The Summerville offense spreads the ball around and the team suffered some key injuries on both sides of the ball this season so a lot of players have seen action and contributed to the second consecutive undefeated regular season. In Div. II AAAA, the HSSR predicts a Northwestern versus Gaffney final in the gold medal round scheduled for 06 p.m. on December, 14 at South Carolina State University. Gaffney head coach Dan Jones told the HSSR after his win over Spartanburg last week, “Coach Jones said that during the bye week Gaffney would stay focused on getting ready to compete in the second round of the play-offs on November, 22. “We will study film and lift weights on Monday but we will have three full practices on Tuesday through Thursday,” said Coach Jones. “We will be hard-at-work getting ready to play wither Greenville or Riverside.” For the regular season, the Gaffney offense produced 1,423 yards rushing and 1,849 yards passing and that defines a balanced attack on offense. Gaffney out-scored teams 275-139. Northwestern , led by veteran QB Finley Polk has dominated teams 514-158 this year. Head coach Paige Wofford has done a great job coaching the Trojans for the past several years and his team is expected to plow through the competition in the play-offs on the way to the finals.