North Myrtle Beach concludes 2025 spring sports
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Little River – The track and field program at North Myrtle Beach High is one of the more competitive programs in the Lower State.
That fact is evidenced by the number of athletes that qualify for the state championship meet each season. The 2025 track season was representative of the competitive level of the Chiefs’ program as nearly two dozen athletes qualified for and participated in the 2025 AAAAA Division II state meet in Columbia.
The girls program produced an individual state champion as Destinee Vereen won the gold medal in the shot put.
The top finisher in the boys meet was Dylan Kempf, who finished second in the pole vault competition. Elijah Lewis finished fourth in the 400 meter dash and Ny’Ray Hannah finished fourth in the 400 meter hurdles. Jerell Bellamy finished fifth in the 400 hurdles.
Other top performers from the girls team included Janiyah Bragg (fifth in 100 meter dash), Madison Vereen (sixth in 400), Halle Morris (8th in 400 hurdles) and Lucy Stalvey (6th in pole vault).
Jakira McCullum placed sixth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump and Zoe Green was 10th in the 100 meter dash. Israfel Thomason was 10th in the 100 meter hurdles.
Baseball, softball teams finish seasons in playoffs
Both the baseball and softball teams enjoyed successful seasons this spring, each earning a spot in the AAAAA Division II playoffs.
The softball finished with a 17-12 overall record. They lost to Berkeley, 2-0, in the district finals.
Junior Sadie Olson led the team with a .410 batting average and had 20 RBIs, while senior Kiera Olson hit .375 with 12 RBIs.
Junior Lilly Carney hit .333 and junior Isabelle Bruno hit .337 with 16 RBIs. Senior Natalie Lockner finished at .295 and had 20 RBIs.
Lockner also had six wins as a pitcher, posting a 2.13 earned run average. Junior Sierra Bendik had eight wins with a 2.63 earned run average.
The baseball team finished with a 20-8 record, including a 14-3 record in region play. They were eliminated by Berkeley in the district finals. Berkeley went on to win the state championship.
“I’m very proud of the fact that we won three straight region titles,” coach Brian Alderson said. “But, our goal will always be to win the district and advance in the playoffs. We had a helluva regular season and I’m real proud of the effort from our players.”
The Chiefs won this season with pitching and defense this season and a lack of consistent hitting proved to be to their detriment in the playoffs.
Senior catcher CJ Oxendine finished as the team’s leading hitter with a .369 batting average and 17 RBIs. Kaden Lank hit .359 and Brown Reaves hit .312 with 26 RBIs.
On the mound, junior Sawyer Smith had five wins and a 0.85 earned run average. Junior Gabe Priest had eight wins with a 1.40 earned run average. Priest also had 21 RBIs at the plate.
Jake Frick had three pitching wins and a 1.48 earned run average.
The girls soccer team finished its season with an 11-6 record. The Lady Chiefs earned a playoff win over White Knoll before losing 2-1 to St. James in the second round.
The boys team finished 8-11 and lost to Irmo, 3-2, in the playoffs.
