Photo by Rick Glickstein  

Chester junior Thomas Meadows, left, and Blythewood junior Christopher Maxwell lunge for the finish line during the 3A boys 4X100-meter relay during the South Carolina High School League State Track Meet at Spring Valley High School on Saturday, May 10, 2008, in Columbia, S.C.

 
By Jim McLaurin 5/11/2008

Having the team title come down to the last event might be appealing to the fans, but it is rough on coaches.

Blythewood coach Steve Inabinet wasn't worried, however.

"We knew coming down to the end that it was going to come down to the 4x400 relay team," Inabinet said after his Bengals edged Chester, 60-53, in the Class 3A boys track and field championships at Spring Valley's Parone Stadium on Saturday.

That expectation was the source of Inabinet's calm.

"We had the edge (in the event); it was just a matter of them going out and performing," Inabinet said of his 1,600-meter relay team.

The Bengals did, taking second. Chester's entry finished fourth.

Blythewood's day began on a less auspicious note. The starting block moved as standout sprinter Justin Bethel pushed off in the 100. Bethel rallied for third behind Chester's Devin Jackson and Wade Hampton's Roy Alexander.

"It went backward on my push-off, and I kind of stumbled out, and I had to catch up after that," Bethel said. "I guess I was coming out too hard, and it slipped, but I'll take what happened."

So will Chapin's Luke Lovelace, who was in a class by himself Saturday.

The senior, who plans to attend the University of Louisville,  

 
By Akilah Nelson 5/10/2008

After a cold-start Game 1 in which Brookland-Cayce had two hits, the state's No. 1 team revved its engine to defeat Midland Valley 8-1 on Friday, earning a spot in the Class 3A championship.

"It feels so great, I knew we had it in us," said senior To'Nel Legette, who was 2-of-4 for 3 RBIs in the second game.

Midland Valley won 6-1 in the first game to force the double-header.

Coach Brian Hucks praised his team's resilience after beating Midland Valley in four of five meetings this season.

"It's tough to play a team five times," Hucks said. "But coming out for that last game, we just wanted to get some runs and get things going in favor as quick as we could."

The Bearcats showed how fired up they were from the first pitch.

O.B. Johnson singled to lead off, and Legette doubled into the left-field corner to bring him home. Brookland-Cayce went up 2-0 when Westmoreland drove in Legette from second.

"They are the spark plugs for us, and we know when they get out there on base, with the way they run, we can make things happen," Hucks said.

Brookland-Cayce improved its footing the fifth. Johnson scored James Hall on a double and scored on  

 
By Jim McLaurin 5/10/2008

J.L. Mann junior Brittney Waller gave her teammates a leg up on a fourth consecutive Class 3A state track and field championship Friday night with wins in the shot put and discus. Darriale Henley also scored a win in the long jump for Mann.

After the first of two days of competition at Spring Valley High's Harry Parone Stadium, the Mann girls' 59 points led all the scoring as the 3A and 4A competition got under way. Fort Dorchester led the 4A standings with 29 points.

On the boys' side, Class 3A Crestwood's 19 points after four events led the standings, with Midland Valley, Myrtle Beach and Mann's boys' team tied for second with 12 points each.

In the best running event of the evening, Wando's Steve Wilson passed Spring Valley anchor Mark Nehez halfway through the final turn to win the 3,200-meter relay. Wilson cleared Nehez coming off the final turn and win with a clocking of 8:11.84. to Spring Valley's 8:14.61.

"Steve has a very strong kick," Nehez said, "and I knew when I got the baton with the lead, I had to build it as much as I could, because I knew he was coming. After he passed me, I just had  

 
By John Devlin 5/10/2008

Alexandra Fuller's deftly placed free-kick goal in the 71st minute handed Hilton Head Prep a 2-1 win over Hammond in the SCISA Class 3A girls soccer championship match Saturday at Heathwood Hall.

It was the third straight SCISA title for the Dolphins, who finished with a 17-7 record.

"It was a strongly contested match like this one, goals don't come easy," said HHP coach Jimmy Leppert. "Fortunately, we had a gifted player get a chance to make the difference and she delivered like she has so many times in the past. But my hat's off to Hammond. I was really impressed with their play today."

Fuller, the daughter of former Clemson football great Steve Fuller, did not dominate, as she has been wont to do during her career. But when given the opportunity to break the 1-1 stalemate after being fouled just outside of the box with time waning in the regulation, the senior striker deliver - lofting a high shot over the head of Skyhawks keeper Ella Hyatt that caught the top right corner.

"It was a well-struck ball," said Hammond coach Ali Jarrow.

HHP dominated the first half, creating a 5-1 edge in shots and taking a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on  

 
By Chris Dearing 5/11/2008

The West Florence and Lexington boys tennis teams staged a drama-filled marathon that lasted nearly four hours Saturday aaat the Richland County Tennis Center.

Just as it did in last season's Class 4A final, this year's championship wasn't decided until the No. 1 doubles teams walked off the court. And as was the case last season, Bobby Browning and Pruitt Williams made enough key shots to lift West Florence to a 4-3 victory and back-to-back titles against the Wildcats.

Unlike last year, when Browning and Williams won in straight sets, Lexington's Derek Dickey and Gordon Lucas forced a third-set tiebreaker this year.

"We could not have asked for a more classic ending to our season," West Florence coach Charles Nelson said.

With the team match even at 3, Browning and Williams rallied from a 4-1 hole in the scramble tiebreaker format (first team to 10 or more points with a two-point advantage) to take a 9-6 lead.

Dickey and Lucas fought off three match points to tie it at 9 before Browning won two points on his serve to end the match.

"We played better from behind the whole match," Browning said. "We felt better not having the pressure to close it out. It was tough, but  

 
By John Devlin 5/11/2008

Alexandra Fuller's deftly placed free kick in the 71st minute handed Hilton Head Prep a 2-1 victory against Hammond in the SCISA Class 3A girls soccer final at Heathwood Hall on Saturday.

The title was the third in a row for the Dolphins (17-7).

"In a strongly contested match like this one, goals don't come easy," Hilton Head Prep coach Jimmy Leppert said. "Fortunately, we had a gifted player get a chance to make the difference, and she delivered like she has so many times in the past. But my hat's off to Hammond. I was really impressed with their play today."

Fuller, the daughter of former Clemson football great Steve Fuller, did not dominate, as she often has during her career. But with an opportunity to break the 1-1 tie after being fouled just outside of the box, the senior striker lofted the free kick beyond Skyhawks keeper Ella Hyatt's reach and inside the top right corner.

Hilton Head Prep dominated the first half, creating a 5-1 edge in shots and building a 1-0 lead. The goal came in the 24th minute on a penalty kick by Catherine Calloway. The penalty kick was awarded after a handball ruling against the Skyhawks in the box.

Hammond