West-Oak beats Hanahan for 5th straight 3A crown.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gilbert — May River’s second straight AAAA SCHSL wrestling championship, over Traveler’s Rest (31-29) at Gilbert High on February, 11 wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the Sharks rallying from a 35-11 deficit against Laurens in 2025 to win by one point; but the match had a turning point very early in the competition. After the state title win, May River head coach Ashley Powell shared his feelings with the HSSR, “Our senior Blake Butler came through for us with a pin at 157, and he has been coming through for us throughout his career and we knew we could count on him,” said Coach Powell. “His younger brother (Bryce Butler) was the big win for us at 113 when he defeated a returning state champion and his win helped set the tone for us tonight. “We feel like we are a very disciplined team and we train very hard,” said Coach Powell. “Our goal was to take them to the third period in every match, and we felt like if we could do this, we could break them. It feels great to come away with our second straight state championship. “Winning one in a row was special but to now have won two in a row this moment is really special,” said Coach Powell. “Most importantly this is a completing different team this season. We had a bunch of different leaders last year. We have 10 seniors on this year’s team, and I am so proud of them all for answering the bell tonight.” These same two teams had competed against each other on January 3 with the Sharks winning 37-33 earlier. Traveler’s Rest head coach Ted Henderson was just as proud of his team who were competing for their first wrestling title in school history. “This is the first time we have made it past the third round,” said Coach Henderson. “We overcame a lot of injuries throughout the season, and we battled back to get to the finals, and I am very proud of this team and how they competed tonight.  “You have to give credit to May River, and they are a well put together team,” said Coach Henderson. “We had a great season considering all the adversity we overcame to compete for a state championship. I am proud of our kids. We only graduate three seniors, so we expect to be very good next season also.” After May River’s Stephano Calderon’s pin at 106 gave the Sharks an early 6-0 lead in the first match of the event with 8 seconds left in the opening period, it was the 113 pound competition that appeared to favor Traveler’s Rest when state champion and number ranked Stiles Stevens squared off against Bryce Butler who is ranked third over-all by SCMat.com. The first period between Stevens and Butler finished 0-0. At the end of the second period Stevens held a 4-2 lead with Stevens breaking a 2-2 tie with an escape move with six seconds left. In the third period Butler gained the upper hand, nearly pinning Stevens with 1:23 left in the match. Butler went on to win the 113 class, 11-4 to put the Sharks up 9-0 after two matches. This win gave the Sharks momentum going forward. Travelers Rest won the 120-weight class, trimming the deficit to 9-3, when Isaiah Simmons defeated Parker Israeo . 15-9 in a highly competitive match. May River went up 12-3 after four matches when Marcus Foulk defeated Isaiah Simmons 7-3 in the 126-weight class. In the 132-weight class TR’s Jayce Batson gave his team their second win of the title match with a 6-3 win over Liam Engblom. The third period began with a neutral start with Batson holding a 3-2 advantage. His take down with 1:20 left in the final period, along with his escape with seven seconds left gave him and TR the win to cut the deficit to 12-6 at this point. May River sophomore Jacob Alfonso had a dominating 14-1 over John Stevens in the 138-weight class to extend the Shark’s lead to 16-6. Alfonso held his opponent in a pin position for the final 20 seconds of the first period when he built a 7-0 lead early. TR’s Jackson McLees pinned Oliver Wang in the 144-weight class, with 1:04 left in the third period of their match, to earn the Devildogs six points to cut the deficit to 16-12 at that point. In the 150-weight class competition Ayden Hicks of TR defeated Thomas Brough 13-11 in a three-period back-and-forth match, which trimmed the deficit to 16-15. In the 157-weight class, May River senior Blake Butler demonstrated why SCMat.com ranks him number one in AAAA, when he pinned his opponent 30 seconds into the match to put May River up 22-15. Travelers Rest then won the 165-weight class and the 175- pound weight class to take the lead 23-22 with three matches left. TR’s William Jenkins defeated Andre Cavalheiro 6-2 in the 165 match and then Riley Broderick gave the Devildogs a one-point lead when he defeated Leandro Larranaga 15-1. May Rivere rallied to win the 190 and the 215 weight classes to seal their second straight state title. At 190, the Shark’s Henry Santiz put his team back in front 28-23 when he pinned Bryce Muchow with 29 seconds left in the first period. Then at 215, the Shark’s Sean McNulty clinched the title with his 5-2 win over David Hernandez. With the match tied at 2, McNulty scored a take down with seven seconds left to earn a dramatic 5-2 win. At this point, May River led 31-23 and the Sharks forfeited the heavy weight class at 285 to conclude the matches with a 31-29 win.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer LEXINGTON — Clover heavyweight wrestler Messiah Outing’s mission at the 5A Division 1 state championship match Wednesday night was not to get pinned. Going into the 285-pound match between Outing and James Island’s Steven Hernandez at the Lexington High School gym, the Blue Eagles held a 34-28 advantage, and a pin by the Trojan wrestler would subject the matchup to tiebreak criteria established by the National Federation of High School Sports. “We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Clover head coach Michael Fitzgerald said. “We’d wrestled them earlier in the season, we’d seen them at other places, and it was going to be a grind,” Fitzgerald said. “there was a late move there at the end that really put us in a position to win, but yeah it was a nail-biter to say the least.” Outing accomplished the mission and spared the finer points of determining a winner. Through three rounds and six minutes of action, Outing’s defensive posture resisted every effort Hernandez exerted to turn Outing’s shoulders to the mat. While Hernandez won with a score of 8-1, his victory brought only three points to James Island—while Outing’s resistance secured a 34-31 victory and gave the Blue Eagles their first state wrestling championship. “We talk about it with our guys all the time, it’s not necessarily the guy who gets the pin, it’s the guy who doesn’t get pinned,” Fitzgerald said. Taking points away from their opponent was the strategy for the Blue Eagles from the start. Keygan Waters avoided a pin from James Island’s Robby Baty in the 106 match. Even though the Trojans took a 3-0 lead, the Blue Eagles won the next three classes— Beckham Boggess pinned James Baty at 113, Luke Hudson won a technical fall over Caedman Stoyles at 120, and Aiden Santiago won by decision over Sam Harris at 126—to take a 15-3 lead. James Island’s Luke Ridgeway got the Trojans back into it with a pin of Henry Parker at 132, and Trent Collins followed up with a decision over Jamison Smithers at 138 to make it 15-13 Clover. After that match the teams exchanged victories in each weight class. Clover’s Xavier Gonzales pinned Jacob Rasamee at 144, but James Island’s Sebastian Bruno won by decision Keller Brunnelson at 150. Clover’s Tyrone Norris III won by a technical fall over Mikah Brown at 157, but James Island’s Mark Johnson pinned Casey Roden at 165. Clover’s Owen Tatum won by decision over Marcus Van Sickle at 175, but James Island’s Copeland Grooms pinned Will Naves at 190. At that point Clover clung to a 29-28 lead, but when Ethan Vought won by technical fall of James Island’s Morris White at 215, the Blue Eagles were in a position to win—all that was left for Clover to clinch the win was for Outing to outlast Hernandez. “We thought we had a couple of places where we could flip some matches, we knew they were going to kind of flip some as well,” Fitzgerald said. “We kind of stole some points there, but when we won at 157, then we were in a position to match our best with good matchups and seal the victory.” James Island was looking for its first state wrestling championship since 1997 and came close to turning the tide of Clover throughout the match. “I’m definitely super proud of the team,” head coach Tony Bolen said. “They fought, and even our last guy did everything he could. There’s a lot of little things that each guy could do. Three points, you could find that about anywhere in that match. You feel good to get here, but you also hurt for the guys, especially the seniors.”

Eagles win 11 straight matches to cruise to second state title in three years

Yellow Jackets win fourth consecutive title in extending winning streak to 67 matches

The Carolinas Classic rosters are out for both the male and female basketball teams. One classic event, two rosters, now is the time to get hyped and check out these outstanding student athletes.

Orangeburg Prep senior Avery Ravenell is averaging 23 pts per game and on pace for another 400 point season.

Curtis Baptist Senior Maci Butler averaging 20 points per game and closing in on a third straight 300 point season.

By Rob Gantt Special to The HSSR St. Stephen - The Timberland High School boys basketball team seems to be heating up just as the weather turns cooler, when the games become more important. The Wolves started out 0-13 on the season but were competitive most nights during the opening stretch. They dropped seven games by single digits the first half of the campaign. However, Coach Jerome Stewart's club has won three of its last four games. All three victories came on the road. Most recently, the Wolves edged Andrews, 47-41. Junior guard Joshua Deas led the Wolves with 16 points, while sophomore forward Jordan Gorham added nine points. Sophomore wing Ellis Wiggins and senior wing Kevin Brown chipped in eight points apiece. Gorham, also one of the state's top football prospects, led around the glass with seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Wiggins also contributed five rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Timberland improved to 2-1 in Region 6-2A games heading into a road clash Tuesday, Jan. 20, at fellow Berkeley County School District program Philip Simmons. Three days earlier, Timberland also won a tight contest at Academic Magnet. The Wolves pulled out a 59-53 victory versus the Raptors. Wiggins led three Wolves in double figures with 12 points. Junior guard Joshua Brown and Kevin Brown added 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Senior forward Harold Sanders contributed nine points. Gorham and Kevin Brown tallied 10 rebounds apiece, while Gorham and Wiggins combined on five blocks. Timberland broke through for its first win of the 2025-26 season Jan. 6 at Military Magnet, getting past the Eagles by a score of 62-52. Wiggins and Kevin Brown poured in 18 points each and Sanders chipped in seven points. Wiggins also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists. In between that win and the most recent back-to-back victories, the Wolves lost a competitive clash at home against Burke. Wiggins and Kevin Brown combined for 28 points.  After Philip Simmons Jan. 20, the Wolves host Woodland Jan. 23.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Greenwood —The passion that first year Emerald head wrestling coach Hayden Lawter has for the sport he starred in at BHP is rubbing off on the Vikings team that won seven dual matches this season for the first time in quite some time. Lawter is a recent graduate of Lander University where he earned a wrestling scholarship after an outstanding high school career at BHP where he was a three-time state qualifier in the 220-pouind class. He also finished among the top three in the state in his weight class in both his junior and senior years. Lawter also earned North-South Honors his senior year with the Bears. He was a two-time all-region champion, and he was named Anderson County Prep Wrester of the Year after he helped lead BHP to a state wrestling title in 2021 when the team went undefeated. “We have some big plans to build the wrestling program at Emerald into a Top 10 program in the state within five years,” said Coach Lawter. “I have seen it done before. This summer we are starting a Summer Take-Down club in the Greenwood area that will range from elementary school age up to high school. We are focused on growth and success. “It will be a challenge to win our region meet this year with strong teams like Westside , Fountian Inn , and Laurens competing against us,” said Coach Lawter. “We do hope to place fourth and that is a good start for us in our first year with a very young team.” The Vikings 2025-26 varsity wrestling team has 34 participants. The team has seven dual meet wins this season over Landrum , Greenwood Christian (twice), Augusta Christian , Seneca (twice), and Crescent . The Vikings will tune up for the upcoming region meet they will host, by competing against five other teams in the West Oak Round Robin Invitational on January 17. The team is led by senior tri-captains Alijah White (190), Kelsey Wright (165), and Gregory Brown (138). White is ranked 6 th in the state in his weight class by SCMAT.com. “Alijah has been on the team for four seasons, and he is a region champion contender for sure,” said Coach Lawter. Wright has also been on the team for four years and he is also a captain. Brown is a first-year senior on the team working extremely hard. Another top performer on the team is junior Caleb Jeffery (126) and he is ranked 7 th in the state by SCMAT.com in his weight class. Jeffery is also a contender for a region individual championship at the region meet late this month. Rounding out the top performers on the team is sophomore Hayden Doerflein in the 215-weight class and he is ranked 8 th in the state by SCMAT.com. He also has an excellent chance at competing for a region championship later this month. There are 14 total weight classes comprising a high school wrestling team. The Vikings have participation in every weight group but the heavy weight class that starts at 285 pounds. Freshman Izabella Ruiz starts at 106 with Izabella Souza also competing at 106. First- year freshman competitor Jacob Villicana competes at 113 and first-year senior Alex Morales represents the team at 120. Jeffery is a solid competitor at 126. First year freshman Ryelan Cubbage leads the 132-weight class. The 144-weight class is held down by junior Brandon Robertsdon. First year junior Tatum Bonaca starts at the 150-weight group.  Marley Fisher is a first-year starter at 157 while tri-captain Kelsey White is a top performer at 165. Sophomore Tristan Boggs is the top Viking performer at 175 while tri-captain Elijah White is a top performer at 190.