Chesterfield's junior Guard Marquan Blount.

 By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR St. Stephen – It was a dream come true for Roger Greene to get the keys to the Timberland High School girls basketball program prior to last season. Greene is still living the dream. This winter, the Lady Wolves will have quite an experienced roster for Greene’s second campaign at his alma mater. “It’s still a dream,” said Greene, a 2007 THS graduate. “It still doesn’t feel real sometimes. When I was in high school, everything was about sports because I played sports. The next best thing is to be able to go into coaching and pour into kids, not just help them become better at basketball but also help them grow as people. At some point the basketball stops bouncing and they have to be ready for the real world. It makes it sweeter that my first job is pouring into the kids here.” Greene’s first squad in 2024-25 got the most out of its talent. Really with only four or five varsity-ready players, the Lady Wolves shared the region title with Burke High School. The Lady Wolves finished 9-1 in league play. “Pretty much nobody gave us a chance at that,” said Greene, who took over for Allen Gethers in the spring of 2024 after serving seven years as an assistant. “With us losing five seniors off a team that lost in the first round (in 2023), nobody’s expecting much if you’re being honest. I think this speaks to the drive they have.” Green emphasizes competition. He drives his players to not just show up and be dialed in on game days. He gets them to compete in practice, the weight room and the classroom. This summer, the Lady Wolves began building the foundation for the 2025-26 season with 10 scrimmage games during five play dates at Williamsburg Academy, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, Lexington, Brookland-Cayce and Philip Simmons. They went 7-3 against some tough competition. “The biggest thing was us getting better offensively,” Greene said. “We have too much fire power, speed and girls who can do good things for us to only score 40 points a game. We want to be in good shape and play good defense, but you’ve got to be able to put it in the hoop. We had opportunities to beat teams by more last year or win games we lost, but we struggled on the offensive end of the court. The times we got it right it looked really good.” Rising seniors G China Greene , G Zion Priloeau and F Samara Scott will be multi-year starters along with rising junior F Kennahdi Murrell . That group led the Lady Wolves in every statistical category in 2024-25. Greene is filled with optimism about the 2025-26 campaign. “The opportunity to coach at my alma mater is a dream, really,” Greene said. “There’s no better way to start your coaching career than at home. I’m honored. I know the history of the program and the coaches who came before me. It’s a dream come true.”

 By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR ST. STEPHEN – Timberland High School’s boys track and field team ended the spring season with a strong performance during the Class 2A state championship meet May 16 at Spring Valley High School. The Wolves placed fifth, receiving several excellent performances from their top athletes. Sophomore jumper Carter Hawkins powered Timberland with a pair of all-state performances (top 4). Hawkins won the triple jump at 14.05 meters and placed third in the long jump with a mark of 6.75 meters. Five more Wolves reached the awards podium by finishing inside the top eight in individual events along with Timberland’s 4 x 400-meter relay team, which finished third in 3:27.85. Also for the Wolves, senior Malachi Milligan placed third in the 110-meters hurdles. Sprinters Aiden Berrios and Jordan Gorham recorded fifth-place finishes in the 100- and 400-meter dashes. Berrios, a senior, crossed the line in 10.90 seconds and Gorham, a freshman, finished in 50.90 seconds. Junior jumper Kevin Brown was sixth in the high jump with a mark of 1.85 meters and junior hurdler Malyk Goodman placed seventh in the 110-meter event. Sophomore jumper Antaun Faison and the Wolves’ 4 x 800-meter relay team were also state qualifiers for Timberland’s boys. Timberland’s boys finished with 41 points, three points out of a tie for third place. Fairfield Central won with 101 points, followed by Philip Simmons, Mid-Carolina, Academic Magnet and the Wolves. Timberland’s girls were paced by junior Jermanee Washington during their state meet. The hurdler was third in the 400-meter event with a time of 1:08.85. The Lady Wolves’ 4 x 400-relay team made the awards podium, too, finishing sixth in 4:21.21. Sprinter Tiana Jefferson , a freshman, was sixth in the 400-meter dash. More state qualifiers for Timberland’s girls were senior thrower Samyah Faison (javelin and shot put), senior hurdler Tiana Almond (400 h) and middle distance runner Kemani Lampkin (800 m). Lampkin is a seventh grader.

Timberland's Kevin Snwoden on the track.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – At long last, the regular season came to an end and the Class AA state playoffs are upon us. The brackets are set and the fans of the favorites are hoping to make plans in mid-December for Orangeburg and the state finals scene. Who are the favorites in AA? Is there a sleeper or two that may surprise everyone and get to the title game. Most of the time, the teams that survive the grind and reach the fifth week of the playoffs, the title game, are teams that everyone who follows the sport predicts will be there. Let’s have a little fun and handicap the AA field. My process is to list my top four teams in the Upper State bracket and top four in the Lower State, as I see it. Any team not in my top four would be considered a sleeper to make it through the bracket. But, it can be done. In the Upper State, my No. 1 team is Batesburg-Leesville . I know, shocker. The 10-0 Panthers have answered every challenge and have proven to be quite formidable. They allow seven points per game with a defense that has speed and physicality. Nearly half of the total points they have allowed in 10 games came in one game, to Abbeville, in a two-point win. Abbeville is the top-ranked team in Class A and their coach , Jamie Nickles , is a believer. “They are certainly capable of winning the state championship,” he said. Running back Amadre Wooden and quarterback Tanner Watkins are a solid one-two punch offensively. Wooden has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and Watkins has passed for more than 1200 yards. My No. 2 pick to win the Upper State is Clinton. The 7-2 Red Devils have lost only to Woodruff and Daniel. Each of those teams has just one loss this season. The tough non-region schedule makes me feel the Red Devils are battle-tested for close, big games. Quarterback Tashawan Richardson makes it all go for the offense with James Cook adding a major threat in the run game. My No. 3 pick in the Upper State is Fairfield Central . The Griffins lost their season opener to Ridge View and have won nine straight games since. The scouting report needs just one word – speed. The Griffins can run and are explosive. Running back Tydarion Grier has gained more than 1.400 yards and averages 9.3 yards per carry. And, my No. 4 is Saluda . The Tigers’ only loss came to Batesburg-Leesville and they would love another shot at their region rivals. Saluda is another of the top defensive teams in AA and defense wins championships. Tahe your pick as the favorite in the Lower State cause several teams have a shot. My No. 1 going in is Barnwell . While not flashy or dominant, the Warhorses are solid and athletic. Senior Cameron Austin is a great leader at quarterback and if they have success on the ground, game over. No. 2 is Barnwell rival Hampton County . Again, the Hurricanes run the football and have good solid play at quarterback. They made a good run a year ago and I think their confidence level is high. The last two favorite picks are difficult and I ended up with three teams for two spots. At No. 3 I am going with Cheraw . The 8-2 Braves are not great at anything but very solid at most. Running back Cam McClendon is a threat to score from anywhere and the defense gets after it pretty good. For No. 4, I am sharing the spot between Manning and Philip Simmons . Manning has just one loss, the season opener to Crestwood, but their schedule and region was not overly difficult.  Philip Simmons went undefeated in a tougher region and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Iron Horses have a veteran quarterback and they really play hard on defense. Class AA state playoff first-round pairings Upper State Pelion at Clinton Strom Thurmond at Chester Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville Andrew Jackson at Liberty Chesterfield at Fairfield-Central Ninety Six at Chesnee Landrum at Central Mid-Carolina at Saluda Lower State Academic Magnet at Barnwell Lake City at Timberland Edisto at Cheraw Andrews at East Clarendon North Central at Manning Woodland at Hampton Co. Mullins at Philip Simmons Kingstree at Whale Branch