Palmetto Christian Wraps Up Spring Sports

Neill Kirkpatrick • June 12, 2025


By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Mt. Pleasant – The 2025 spring sports season was a solid one for the Palmetto Christian Eagles while the records might not reflect that, the interest, participation, and enthusiasm surrounding the athletic programs has Athletic Director Dan Hoover excited for the future.

 

“It has been exciting to see our student/athletes and coaches putting together good seasons. It shows how our programs are growing and getting better. I expect us to give great effort and to compete at a high level as we continue to grow as an athletic program. It is all about getting to the heart behind the jersey and our coaches do a great job of getting the most from our athletes,”

said coach.

 

Coach Hoover, besides his athletic director duties he is also the boys and girls head track and field coach. Both his teams are young but preformed well at the state meet and will just get better each year.

 

The boys team brought home the only medals and they were expected. Senior Sam Smith won gold again in the pole vault with a vault of 4.11 meters it was below his personal best of 4.47. Fellow senior Gavin Wease won bronze with a vault of 3.81 meters. He won silver last year at the state meet. He has a personal best of 4.27 meters.

 

“I expected Sam and Gavin to have a good meet. They were ranked one and two all year in the pole vault,” said coach Hoover.

 

Eighth grader Davis Padgett finished fifth in the Javelin with a throw of 41.78 meters.. He has a personal best of 42.98 meters. He currently ranks second in the state among 8th grade boys for Javelin. 

 

Sixth grader Evelyn Mercer was the top finisher on the girls side as she placed fourth in the 3200 meters. She was 11th in the 1600 meters.

 

On the diamond the baseball team was one of the teams that took some lumps but it was a young team and they continued to improve all year. They were led by Ryan Delaney who hit over .300 as did Brayden Doster. On the bump, Jake Taylor led the pitching staff.

 

On the pitch, the girls team was led by seniors Bria Olson, junior Addison Surratt and sophomore Juliet Olson. Olson and Surratt tied for the team lead in goals with 10 and were first and second in points with 24 and 20, respectively.

 

The Eagle golf finished 13th at the state meet but they improved their score from last season.  Jack Semeraro shot 77-83-160 which was a seven-stroke improvement from last year while Eli Batzig finished 88-88-176.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Myrtle Beach concludes 2025 spring sports

By David Shelton • June 13, 2025
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 (8 th in 400 hurdles) and Lucy Stalvey (6 th in pole vault). Jakira McCullum placed sixth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump and Zoe Green was 10 th in the 100 meter dash. Israfel Thomason was 10 th 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.

Marlboro Academy’s Ben Milligan Named “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month

By Larry Gamble • June 13, 2025
Ben Milligan is a senior two-sport athlete at Marlboro Academy.

Marlboro Academy’s Kate Leslie Named “NETC” Female Student Athlete of the Month

By Larry Gamble • June 13, 2025
Marlboro Academy’s rising senior Kate Leslie.

Manning's Kennedy uses spring football practice to put right people in right places

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • June 13, 2025
Monarchs baseball team makes state playoffs for first time since 2018

Camden honors retiring volleyball head coach Paige Wilson

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By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • June 13, 2025
Blayne Edwards selected to SCBCA All-State baseball team

Marion's Jaeda Davis, Ashanti Gause, 4x100 relay win gold in AA girls track state meet

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • June 13, 2025
Jamiere Legette, D arrion Baccus both win events in AA boys state meet

Future looks bright for Dorchester softball program after outstanding season

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • June 13, 2025
Raiders lose only two starters from 19-6 team that played for AA state championship

Will Furse new football head coach, athletic director at Williamsburg Academy

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • June 13, 2025
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Marlboro County baseball, softball end season with playoffs

By David Shelton • June 13, 2025
By David Shelton Senior Writer Bennettsville – The goal of every high school athletic team when their respective season begins is for their season to end with an opportunity to compete in the postseason.  Making the state playoffs is a reward for the hard work that athletes put in on a year-round basis. While making the postseason is no guarantee of extended success, every team goes into the playoffs with hopes of making a deep run. Regardless of the results during the regular season, if a team is fortunate to make the postseason, they have an equal chance to win a state championship. The regular season for the Marlboro County baseball and softball teams was not overly impressive, but both teams finished high enough in region play to earn a berth in the Class AAA Lower State playoffs. Once in the playoffs, both teams were able to have some success. The softball team won just three games during the regular season but recorded two wins in the state playoffs, beating Swansea and Battery Creek. The season ended with losses to eventual Lower State champion Aynor. Sophomore shortstop Addison Skipper Class AAA all-state honors by the South Carolina Coaches Association for Women’s Sports. Skipper finished the season with a .569 batting average, belting seven homeruns and 12 doubles and 25 RBIs. Sophomore catcher Ruthie Grooms finished with a .288 batting average and 12 RBIs. Eighth-grader Kaylee Sweatt posted a ,288 batting average and 11 RBIs. Senior Abby Quick batted .267. Quick was one of four seniors on this year’s team. In baseball, the Bulldogs won six games, including two playoff wins over Battery Creek and Loris. In that 2-0 win over Loris, pitcher Jameson Bradshaw went six innings, allowing five hits, to earn the win on the mound. In other sports, the girls soccer team also made the playoffs and finished with a 5-6 record. Members of the track and field program qualified for the AAA state track and field championships. Ledarius Brown was the top performer with a sixth-place finish in the 800 meter run. Cameron Smith finished 12 th in the 110 meter hurdles. For the girls team, Keasia Brown finished ninth in the shot put and Aarin Smith finished 11 th in the shot put. Lytavia Hakel was 14 th in the 100 hurdles and Kiersten Graham finished 15 th in the discus.
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