Hilton Head Christian beats Cardinal Newman for third straight SCISA baseball state title
Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • May 24, 2026
Coach Scarbro credits Eagles players for sustained success despite move from AAA to AAAA
Bluffton – After winning the SCISA AAA baseball state championship in 2024, Hilton Head Christian Academy was bumped up to the AAAA classification beginning with the 2025 season.
All the Eagles have done since “moving on up” is add two more state championship trophies to the school’s trophy case.
HHCA beat Cardinal Newman 7-3 on May 13 to complete a sweep of the best-of-3 title series in front of the home crowd.
Jay Scarbro, who was an assistant coach on the AAA title team and the head coach for the two AAAA crowns, finds it hard to believe the amount of success Hilton Head Christian has enjoyed.
“I don’t know if I can put into words how to describe the success that we’ve had,” Scarbro said. “We won in AAA in ’24 and we moved up and to win it in ‘25 and ‘26 is a testament to our players. They knew AAAA was going to be more difficult, but they accepted that and made it work.
“We had three seniors on this team who played as sophomores. They mean a lot to me, and they’ve just been so consistent.”
Those three seniors are centerfielder/shortstop Slaide Burd, catcher Roman Colella and shortstop/pitcher Chip Hetzel.
Burd is the Region 3-AAAA Player of the Year. Burd, who will be playing collegiately at Stetson, had a .591 batting average and an on-base percentage of .675. He had 52 hits, 11 of which were home runs, to go with 25 stolen bases.
“Slaide is well known by everybody, and it’s hard at times to meet those expectations,” Scarbro said. “I can’t say enough good stuff about him.”
Colella had a .455 batting average to go with a .575 OBP. He had 35 hits, four of which were homers, and has been a defensive standout his entire career, according to Scarbro.
“I’ve coached high school baseball for 22 years, and Roman is the best catcher who ever played for me,” Scarbro said. “I can’t say enough for what he did behind the plate. He never asked to take a game off. What is special to me is his attitude and work ethic.”
Hetzel batted .357 with a .509 OBP and 24 stolen bases. He worked 37 innings as a pitcher, striking our 41 and posting a 2.83 earned run average.
“Chip made the transition from second base to shortstop last year and was great,” Scarbro said. “I was told he wasn’t much of a pitcher, but he’s just been outstanding for us the last two years. He’s been used as a starter, a closer, a middle reliever, a matchup guy, whatever we need at the time.”
Each of those three was an All-Region 3-AAAA selection along with junior Jackson Richardson and freshman Colt Spargur.
Richardson batted .438, had a .496 OBP and 28 stolen bases. Spargur was a force on the mound, working 58 innings and finishing with a 0.96 ERA. He struck out 100 and walked just 13.
The other seniors on the team are first baseman Will Mahl, a 2-year starter, and Tommy Gehm, who joined the team this year mainly as a courtesy runner.
Interestingly, it was the underclassmen doing most of the damage in the deciding game against Cardinal Newman. Freshman third baseman Stone Burd, Slaide’s younger brother, smacked two home runs and had five RBI. It was his first two dingers of the season.
“The interesting story about Stone is that he had a serious health issue in the locker room as we were getting ready to play in the championship game last year,” Scarbro said. “He had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, and he was a starter. This year he has the best game of the year he had. It was right at the right time.”
Richardson and sophomore Josh Koepke both had two hits and a double, and sophomore Dylan Gehm had two hits. Colella hit a 2-run homer.
Spargur got the win, working six innings and striking out 10 while scattering five hits with two walks. Hetzel came in to get the final three outs.
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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.”
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 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 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.”
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