Gilmer's Gospel

     As my final week at the Herald-Journal looms ahead, I’ve decided to take the time and write about some of my favorites over the past nine years.
     Today is a list of my favorite stories that I got to do that little to do with high school athletics.
     Most of my time was spent covering high school sports. Every once in a while I would venture out of that realm to do something different.
     I've written video game reviews, music reviews, stories for other sections and for Spartanburg Magazine during my time here.
     Here are my five favorites.

    
     1. Talking umpiring with Fieldin Culbreth: I did a series last summer about four Spartanburg residents making their living in professional baseball without being players.
     Culbreth, a Chapman graduate, is a Major League umpire. I went to his house to talk with him for the story and got to see his collection of memorabilia and see photos of him in action.
     He was honest and professional and gave me a great interview.
     After doing a story, you never know how the subject will respond. Culbreth sent me a nice note thanking me.
     You also never know if you’re get to interview a subject again. A few months after our initial meeting, I was back at Culbreth’s house – he was calling the World Series.
     For the first story, he told me it was his dream to work the Series, then he got to do it.
     It was nice to take that story full circle.
     It was nicer for Culbreth to talk with me about it.



     2. Professional wrestling series: For two summers, I spent a lot of time researching local angles on professional wrestling. I met great people doing these stories, some who are former wrestlers and some who had retired.
     I got to speak with NWA legends Harley Race and Ivan Koloff. I traveled with local brother Kirby and T.J. Mack to an event in Columbia to watch them wrestle. I spoke with Dustin Rhodes and Rakishi on that trip.
     Those stories took me away from high school sports and during the summer it was a welcomed, relaxing venture.
     The trip with the Macks was my favorite part.              
     Photographer Tom Priddy and I hopped in the van with those guys, rode down to Columbia while talking about their lives in professional wrestling and then we watched them perform.
     We came back late that night and had a new understanding of how wrestlers earned their living trying to make the big show.
     And Tom slept on the way home.



     3. Seeing Kevin Pucetas pitch in the all-star game: Another long trip for Tom and I, but another well worth it.
Pucetas, a former Broome pitcher, was in the Double-A all-star game in Myrtle Beach.
     Since he was pitching for the San Jose (Calif.) Giants on the West Coast, this was our only chance to see him play last summer.
     Tom and I headed down to the beach, almost ran out of gas, never saw the ocean and ended up eating dinner at 1:30 a.m. Worth it, though.
     Pucetas is one of those players who’s great to work with, easy to contact and going to be in the Majors. I did get him yelled at by his manager though.
     I stood in the dugout during the all-star game and grabbed a quick interview after Pucetas threw his inning.      The game was still going on. I was trying to beat a deadline. Pucetas was just helping me out by standing off to the side answering my questions. His manager gave him a hard time. Hopefully, he didn’t have to run extra sprints for it.

     4. College football with Bobby Bentley: When the former Byrnes coach took over at Presbyterian College, I asked if I could join him for his first day of practice. And not just for practice.
     But for the ride to Clinton, meetings with players and assistant coaches, lunch and everything else that went along with his day. Having worked with Bentley for so long, he gave me unlimited access on that first day.
     I wandered in and out of meetings, watched film and talked to everyone. I showed up at Bentley’s house before the sun rose and watched him have breakfast with his kids, then hopped in the first seat as he dropped them off at school.
     It was a long, grinding day and I understand why college coaches (and Bentley, in particular) can get burned out.

     5. Goalball: A couple of years ago, the Sports staff here at the H-J was introduced to a sport for the blind called “goalball.”
     We knew nothing about it early on, when the Goalball National Games came to town.
     We quickly learned. We played it and got pounded by the high school team from SCSDB. Just imagine how bad we would have gotten beaten by the national teams.
     The sport is played in a gym, with long nets and three players trying to stop a jingling ball while being essentially blindfolded.
     When the World Goalball Games came back a few years later, we knew enough to give (what we thought to be) great coverage of the sport. We became small-level experts on the sport and knew the top players by name and what their strengths were.
     I don’t think we could field a team that would win a goalball match, but we’d at least know the rules.
     And I think we let the community know that even though they were blind athletes, they were still high-caliber athletes.

Lots of local teams made it into the final polls by state coaches associations.
These baseball and tennis polls were released this morning.
The final softball poll was released last week and it is also included.
Here are the last polls of the year.


Final S.C. Baseball Coaches Association polls
4A
1. Gaffney
2. Wando
3. Boiling Springs
4. Dorman
5. North Augusta
6. Conway
7. Sumter
8. Lexington
9. Laurens
10. Spartanburg

3A
1. Belton-Honea Path
2. Camden
3. Riverside
4. St. James
5. Greer
6. Brookland-Cayce
7. Seneca
8. Socastee
9. Lugoff-Elgin
10. A.C. Flora

2A
1. Bishop England
2. Chesnee
3. Mid-Carolina
4. Hanahan
5. Walhalla
6. Andrews
7. Palmetto
8. Gilbert
9. Waccamaw
10. Marion

1A
1. Bamberg-Ehrhardt
2. Chesterfield
3. Johnsonville
4. Lewisville
5. Buford
6. Landrum
7. Blacksburg
8. Lamar
9. Green Sea Floyds
10. Lake View

Final South Carolina Tennis Coaches Association polls
4A
1. Greenwood
2. Irmo
3. Spring Valley
4. Lexington
5. Spartanburg
6. West Florence
7. Dorman
8. Wando
9. Summerville
10. Boiling Springs

3A
1. Myrtle Beach
2. Riverside
3. Camden
4. Travelers Rest
5. Hilton Head
6. South Aiken
7. Greenville
8. Clinton
9. Chapin
10. Daniel

2A
1. Waccamaw
2. Southside Christian
3. Bishop England
4. Emerald
5. Academic Magnet
6. Christ Church
7. Newberry
8. Aynor
9. Woodruff
10. Saluda

South Carolina Softball Coaches Association polls
4A
1. Gaffney
2. South Florence
3. Wren
4. Stratford
5. White Knoll
6. Mauldin
7. Hillcrest
8. Byrnes
9. Irmo
10. North Augusta

3A
1. J.L. Mann
2. Brookland-Cayce
3. Midland Valley
4. Blue Ridge
5. St. James
6. Travelers Rest
7. Chapin
8. Darlington
9. D.W. Daniel
10. Georgetown

2A
1. Crescent
2. Waccamaw
3. Cheraw
4. Gilbert
5. Broome
6. Abbeville
7. Hanahan
8. Barnwell
9. Central
10. Andrew Jackson

1A
1. Buford
2. Johnsonville
3. Landrum
3. Indian Land
5. East Clarendon
6. Lake View
7. Chesterfield
8. McBee
9. Fox Creek
10. Carvers Bay

Here are most of the all-region teams that coaches selected during the spring sports seasons.
I asked coaches and athletic directors to send these to me and these are the ones I received.
As I receive others (if I do receive others) I will post them in this blog.
Enjoy. Congrats to those who earned this honor.

Region II-4A

GIRLS LACROSSE
Dorman: Caroline Baity, April Bennet, Ansley Hammett
Mauldin: Abby Koba, Meg Kenny, Meg Warden, Megan Jones, Molly Walsh, Libby Walin, Chelsea Slessman
Hillcrest: Brianna Hoffman, Chelsea Strupper, Cassie Jo Fara, Lindsey Reuss, Chelsea Walsh, Dominique Leonelli
Spartanburg: Sarah Niedenbach

BOYS LACROSSE
Dorman: Xylan Grant, Austin Young
Hillcrest: Travis Koontz, Stewart Lockhart, Jake Green, Michael Gabrieze, Josh Walsh, Alex Cosio
Mauldin: Jon Baddley, Adam Maalouf, Thomas Reece, Austin Grant, Josh Borgelt
Spartanburg: Khal Khoory, John Blackman, Rodrick Haywood

BASEBALL
Boiling Springs: Trey Mabry, Cameron Holmes, Josh Pless, Hunter Rice
Byrnes: Daniel Gossett, Johnny Ponder
Dorman: Dylan Cole, Jake Kirkland, Will Muzika, TJ Young
Mauldin: Max Rush, Madison Younginer, Joe Jackson, Phil Alexander
Spartanburg: Luke Weber, Clark Wise
Coach of the Year: Ben Waddle, Dorman

GIRLS TRACK
Byrnes: Tiffanie Adair
Dorman: Tynesha Agnew, Katie Inclan, Ashley Hrubala, Dekeisha Foster, Demetria Edgecombe, Marisa Dowdle, Mikala Scott, Nia Wilson
Mauldin: Alexa Neiling, Brittany Williams, Ashley Hunter, Kathleen Jacob
Spartanburg: Arnetra Frazier, Erica Peake, Lauren Frost, Tanaesha Adams, Ranada Price

BOYS TRACK
Boiling Springs:
Byrnes: Nick Jones, Corey Miles, CeeJay Thomas, Torian Richardson
Dorman: Chase Wolfe, Caleb Robinson, Adrian Nash, Brandon Nix
Hillcrest:
Mauldin: Joseph Hill, Eric Lawson, Kris Lacer, Tyler Tesch, Kenny Driggers
Spartanburg: Kyle Moore, Ronnie Martin, Desmond Gentry, Jacoby Browning, Phanes Barno, Chavis Beatty, Mykell Jones, Stephen Grommer

SOFTBALL
Boiling Springs:  Brittney Smith, Alaynie Page
Byrnes:  Morgan Purcell, Cheyenne Griffin, Samantha Vaughn
Dorman:  Bailey Thorton
Hillcrest:  Morgan Durham, Hannah Swoap, Mel Henderson, Sylver Samuel
Mauldin:  Jordan Stovall, Dana Landers, Ashley Bagwell, Kenzie Corn
Spartanburg: Kelsey Barnette
Player of the Year: Briana Hamilton, Byrnes
Coach of the Year: Debbie Holcombe, Byrnes

GOLF
Hillcrest: Chad Seifert, Danny Brock, Mark Ingalls
Dorman: Brad Sill, Blake Kennedy
Spartanburg: Ronnie Funk

TENNIS
Spartanburg: Alex Holland, Ben Barnette, Ben Bramhall, Jonathan Allsbrook
Dorman: Jackson Keith, Wood Benton, Sagar Naik, Andrew Harvey
Hillcrest: Sam Avery
Boiling Springs: Chase Lyles, Corey White
Mauldin: Alan Pearce, Will Finlay
Co-Coaches of the Year: Todd Seagle, Boiling Springs; Roy Shelton, Spartanburg

GIRLS SOCCER
Boiling Springs: Katie Gaudiano
Byrnes: Macy Hayes, Cassie Smith
Dorman: Kim Kesler, Daisy Walker, Katie Armstrong, Aubrey Danielson
Hillcrest: Savannag Younts, Stephanie Devita
Mauldin: Morgan Hert, Gracie Boswell, Sarah Schaidle, Ali Simpson , Allison Nelson, Kristie Hirt
Spartanburg: Shannon Blair, Ashley Long, Claire Hodge

BOYS SOCCER
Boiling Springs: Jonathan Cruz, Ben Montry,
Byrnes: Bradley Loftis, Luke Fenton, Edwin Correa
Dorman: Chris Essman, Ben Hess, Rodrigo Reyes, Zach Woolever
Hillcrest: Josh Gioia
Mauldin: Ignacio Monchetti, Daniel Valencia
Spartanburg: Reed Conn, Hal Cannon
Coach of the Year: Carlos Osorio, Dorman

REGION III-4A

BASEBALL
Gaffney: Michael Hughey, Cameron Culp, Bobby Jackson, Tyler Wilson, Josh Mata
Northwestern: Chad Smith, Drew Hardee, Chad Nader, Zach Watts
Nation Ford: Kent Peterson, Cody Johnson, Kyle Whitman
Clover: Hayden Hendry, Chaztin Venezia, Evan Jackson
Fort Mill: Robbie Thompson, Danny Till
York: Josh Greene, Josh Vallejos
Co-players of the Year: T.J. Estes, Northwestern; McCrae Norton, Gaffney
Coach of the Year: Mitch Walters, Northwestern

SOFTBALL
Gaffney: Lana Ward, Cameron Crocker, Courtney Campbell, Julie Sarratt, Ashley Mabry
Nation Ford: Zharne Glover, Brittany Baker, Jessica Bonham, Brittany Jones, Devan McCurry, Bradlee Holeman
Clover: Shay Jackson, Tanaya Pettus, Casey Killian, GeorgeAnna Westmoreland
Fort Mill: Haley Bonner; Sierra Graske; Haley Fry.
Northwestern: Courtney Robinson
York: Brandi Neely
Player of the Year: Julie Sarratt, Gaffney
Coach of the Year: Kelly Ellis, Gaffney

BOYS SOCCER
Northwestern: Enzo Martinez, Alexis Martinez, Robbie Benson, Shawn Ferguson, Zack Clark
Fort Mill: Tyler Vukoder, Sean VanEtten, Christian Datz, Chris Landvik-Larsen
Nation Ford: Andy Barbieri, Brian DiMaggio, Harrison Totherow
York: Craig Lowe, Harrison Moore,
Clover: David Robinson, Austin Schlirf
Gaffney: Adam Fritzsche
Player of the Year: Enzo Martinez, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Dominic Wren, Northwestern

GIRLS SOCCER
Clover: Rachael Newmister, Alissa Pantusco, Kylie Allen, Jackie Antunes
Fort Mill: Taylor Parker, Kaitlyn Marr, Abbie McDonald, Hali Singleton, Miya Bostick
Gaffney: Rebecca LeMaster
Nation Ford: Katie Kozlowski, Aly Schearer, Nicole Parks
Northwestern: Holly Rankin, Sarah Matthews
York: Samantha Schwartz, Devin Puckett
Player of the Year: Taylor Parker, Fort Mill
Coach of the Year: Vic Johnson, Fort Mill

GIRLS TRACK
Fort Mill: Quanika Blackmon, CeCi Kryst, Naomi Burrell, Mikayla Page, Natialie Harris, Abby Lewis, Erica Friddle, Adrienne Cuff
Nation Ford: Meredith Kilburn
Northwestern: Sharmaine Barnes, A'Tyan Kennedy, Felicia Mitchell, Kimberleigh Riggs, Tierra Lewis, Destiny Soles, Nicole Alexander, Nayna Gregory,

BOYS TRACK
Clover: Tyler Waters, Levi Gardner
Fort Mill: Mark Blackmon, Jon Tennis, Alex Schmidt,     Reid McCanless
Gaffney: Joe Craig, Jordan Manning, Sherod Lipscomb, Denzelle Good, DeEdward Burris, Dennis Dawkins
Nation Ford: Kevin Ketner
Northwestern: Shaquille Jenkins, Patrick Cunningham, Britt Tomlinson, Thomas (Tip) Reburn, Jarrett Neely, LaCary Dickerson

GOLF
Gaffney: Adam Goins, Daniel Whisenant, Phillip Rogers, Matthew Harper
Northwestern: John Clinton
York: Ryan Brandenburg
Player of the Year: Adam Goins, Gaffney
Coach of the Year: Todd Coggins, Gaffney

REGION III-3A

BASEBALL
Blue Ridge: Chase Corn, Chas Goodwin, Cole Robison
Clinton: Quinton Cunningham, Ryan Underwood
Chapman: Tyler Gay
Greer: Daniel Palka, Jeff Witt, Matt Holliday, Zach Shaffer
Riverside: Kevin Cantrell, John Reinholz, Jordan Scott, Chase Warren, Jay Lizanich
Union County: Spencer Rash, Gary Lee Maynor, Danny Grady, Keiston Stevens

SOFTBALL
Blue Ridge: Jessica Smith, Jaime Presnell, Brianne Connolly, Sarah Pittman, Savannah Miller
Clinton: Alyssa Renwick, Jada Crocker, Elizabeth Pitts
Chapman: Camila Martin, Cara Jamerson, Kristen McClure
Greer: Paige Lynn
Riverside: Klein Taylor, Lauren Brailsford
Union County: Britini Ward, Jessica Fisher, Kristen Spencer, Kelsey Harris
Player of the Year: Alyssa Renwick, Clinton
Coach of the Year: Cindy Miller, Blue Ridge

TENNIS
Blue Ridge: Fred David
Chapman: Bone Holt, Dalton Gilbert
Clinton: Nathan Crocker, Michael Undari
Greer: Mario Cuadros, John Alexander
Riverside: Ryan Rudman, Daniel Weiner, Tim Qiao
Union County: Brett Ayers, Andrew Adamo

BOYS GOLF
Blue Ridge: Cory Taylor
Chapman: Drayton Melton
Riverside: Josh Chay
Union County: Hunter Parks
Coach of the Year: Sam Oates, Riverside

GIRLS SOCCER
Blue Ridge: Caitlin Fountain, Nancy Parra, Nixi Garcia, Jamie Nagy, Nichole Tackett
Chapman: Emily Tucker, Erin West, Tyrcin Goodwin, Caitlyn Johnson
Greer: Hanna Fowler, Dakota Fitzgerald, Kendall Strawhorn
Riverside: Krista Hagler, Natalie Lackey, Anna Tarry, Hannah Allison, Anne Autin, Alyssa Boyle
Union County: Claire Dobson
Coach of the Year: Terry Archenhold, Riverside

BOYS SOCCER
Blue Ridge: Christian Bright, Alex Redding, Kelton Knutson, Jessee Crawford, Bryan Ross
Chapman: Chris Scott, William Melvin
Clinton: Kenneth Sanders, Sergio Hernandez, Hampden Thomason
Greer: Noberto Hernandez, Andrew Lozano, John Quecino, Santiago Sanchez
Riverside: Matt Sluga, Parker Wolfinger, Kevin Smeaton, Brandon Lee, Andrew Kocis, Joseph Parker
Union County: Ben Hudson
Coach of the Year: Brian Dender, Riverside

GIRLS TRACK
Blue Ridge: Jade Dodd, Sarah Turman
Chapman: Brianna Dawkins
Clinton: Annie Kellner
Greer: Shakaria Bradford, Emily Eckroth, Ivery Hallus, Dyshia Parks, Ali Beam, Takeyra Jenkins Dodd, Antavia Owens, Atazia Glenn, Tiyanna Nesbitt
Riverside: Mary Ester Gourdin
Union County: Jessica Hall

BOYS TRACK
Blue Ridge: Dustin Kluge
Chapman: Simeon Byrd, Isaiah Lyles
Clinton: Kenny Cook, Brandon Epting, Dustin Faulkner
Greer: Santiago Sanchez
Riverside: Deandre Lipscomb, Omar Richardson, Mark Neese, David Gaarrigan, Andrew Pinson, Ben Ramsey, Daniel Murtaugh
Union County: Erik Beaty, Victor Howze, Devion Davis, Gary Foster

REGION II-2A

TENNIS
Southside: Nima Attar, Haoran Ning
Woodruff: Ben Wiley, Ben Hall, Carson Williams, Troy Lanford, David Manly
Broome: Aaron Horton, Rob Kennedy
Player of the Year: Nima Attar, Southside
Coach of the Year: Mark Ireton, Woodruff

GOLF
Palmetto: Randall Poole, Jesse Carter, Justin Looper
Broome: Cody Frye
Chesnee: Cameron Gee
Player of year: Randall Poole, Palmetto
Coach of Year: Stan Yarborough, Palmetto

BOYS SOCCER
Woodruff: Edwin Mack, Jarod Phillips, Jose Dominguez, Travis Mabe, Tyler Green
Southside: Irving Jiminez, Max Wolff, Emerico Ayala
Palmetto: Clay Whiten, Chris Jones
Carolina: Gerson Herrera, Edwin Santamaria
Broome: LJ Wannamaker, Jeff Gilmer
Player of the Year: Irving Jiminez, Southside
Coach of the Year: Solomon Nakom, Woodruff

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodruff: Casey Black, Paige Fowler, Beth Arnold, Shaquana West,  Samantha Lockman
Broome: Lauren Hutson, Jana Biggerstaff, Lindsay Camby, Meredith Rudasill, Carter Henderson
Southside: Kaia Sawyer-Deforest, Mindy Estrada, Mariel McGuiness
Players of the Year: Carter Henderson, Broome; Casey Black, Woodruff
Coach of the Year: Paula Fernandez, Broome

GIRLS TRACK
Broome: Alexis Wilkins
Chesnee: Ashley Armstrong, Jayla Twitty, Britt Twitty, Raven Moore
Palmetto: Jillana Darby, Dorie Lancaster, Marlee Rhodes, Sierra Vargas, Halie Whiten
Southside: Yashica Blakney, Ashley Sitton, Jasmine Franklin, Lashawna Wilson Woodruff: Bria Stephens, Kaitlin Brown, Alex Anderson, Miosha Jones, Dawn Penland
Players of the Year: Alex Anderson, Woodruff; Bria Stephens, Woodruff

SOFTBALL
Broome: Shelbey Spencer, Brittney Phillips, Kelli Brannon, Casey Whitaker, Meredith Frye, Nichole Bible
Chesnee: Brandi Bishop, Haley Woodrum, Chelsea Swofford, Nicole Smith
Palmetto: Nicole Gillespie, Anna Bowen, Treasure Bane, Mandi Guin
Southside: Courtney Mager
Woodruff: Jennifer Jones, Taylor Ownby, Carli Frady
Player of the Year: Shelbey Spencer, Broome
Coach of the Year: Todd Justus, Broome

BOYS TRACK
Broome: Travis Smith, Adam Thomas, Cody Frye, Adam Hodge, David Wilkins, A.J. Woodard, Cameron Lipscomb, Teddy Smith
Chesnee: Aaron Armstrong, Zack Miller, Josh Jones, Terrence McGill, Austin High, Steven Gardner, Tyshun Mitchell
Palmetto: Kenny Ricketts
Player of the Year: David Wilkins, Broome

BASEBALL
Broome: Ryan Westbrook, Chase Henry, Jason Biershenk
Palmetto: Hunter Burton, Heath Burton, Jeremy Beacham, Trey Hayes    
Souhtside: Kirby Harris    
Carolina: Sharone Spurgeon, Daniel Helton            
Woodruff: Derek Gillespie, Trent Bailey, Jake Lambert
Chesnee: Brandon Henderson, Dustin Sherbert, Jordan Garrett, Cody Turner, Colby Painter
Player of the Year: Brandon Henderson, Chesnee
Coach of the Year: Dean Jones, Chesnee        
            

REGION II-1A

BASEBALL
Blacksburg: Josh Elmore, Tanner Hughes, Chase Norman
Christ Church: Blake Navarro, Graham Paylor
Greenville Tech Charter: Brooks Cannon, Paul Lawler, Michael Stokes
Landrum: Justin Henson, Ryan Jacobs, Dustin Morris, Alex Wilson
Southside Christian: Will Gladden, Christian McClure
Whitmire: Ethan Campbell, Jarrell Ruff-Smalls
Player of the Year: Dustin Morris, Landrum
Coach of the Year: Don Miller, Landrum

BOYS SOCCER
Christ Church: Josh Shaw, Christopher Woody, Bobby James, Shion Nagasaka
Southside Christian: Hunter Harrison, Westly Roberts, Craig Huffman
Greenville Tech Charter: Jim Henson, Matt Laird
Landrum: Riley Parsons, Antonio Barron
Player of the Year: Josh Shaw, Christ Church
Coach of the Year: David Wilcox, Christ Church

BOYS TRACK
Blacksburg: Chris Hames
Landrum: Blake Mistretta, Seth Pruitt, Cody Ridley, Jonathon Miller, Kenneth Human, John Jackson, Chris Joiner, Levi Wedde, Kendal Cash, Cole McDowell, Tyler Logan
Greenville Tech Charter: John Bradford
Southside Christian: Adam Stone
SCSDB: Hakeem Pinckey, Terry Frierson, Justin Johnson, Dedrick Simpson, Derrick Simpson
Runner of the year: Kenneth Human, Landrum
Coach of the year: Russell Mahaffey, Landrum

GIRLS TRACK
Christ Church: Victoria Barthelmess, Caroline Jennings, Tamara Dirrigl
Landrum: Caroline Cann, Sierra Wedde, Jordan Jenkins, Savanna Smith, Samantha Waters, Kelly Mullins, Addie LaPan, Ashley Peace,
Greenville Tech Charter:
Southside Christian: Eppy Dendy
SCSDB: Tameisha Hopkins, Brittany Harrington, Jasmine Elleby, Moriah Jackson
Whitmire:
Runner of the year: Caroline Cann, Landrum
Coach of the Year: Martha Dorman, Landrum

GIRLS SOCCER
Christ Church: Erica Clinton, Hallie Bagnal, Alyssa Althoff, Laurel Gower
Southside Christian: Kasey Wyer, Morgan Thomas, Hilary Sayre
Greenville Tech Charter: Savannah Harvey, Brianne Marcell
Landrum: Rosaruth Parton, Katie Manna
Player of the Year: Hallie Bagnal, Christ Church
Coach of the Year: Chris Nichols, Christ Church

GOLF
Christ Church: Jordan Weede, Rick Fowler, Trent Vann, Brooks Taylor, Cliff Timmons
Southside Christian: James Anderson
Greenville Tech Charter: Ryan Colker, Nick Hartsoe
Landrum: Garret Walker, J.J. Carruth
Player of the Year: Jordan Weede, Christ Church
Coach of the Year: R. J. Beach, Christ Church

SOFTBALL
Landrum: Jordan Corn, Jordan Farmer, Kansas Wofford, Nicole Burrell, Bre Cuff
Southside Christian: Rachel Holeman, Brittany Forrest, Rebecca Holeman, Lauren Chumney
Whitmire: Nicole Morgan, Elaina Alcocer, Kerry Jenkins
Christ Church: Georgia Haas, Lindsey Roettger
Blacksburg: Lydia Jones, Malory Sanders
Greenville Tech Charter: Emily Luneau
Player of the Year: Jordan Corn, Landrum
Coach of the Year: Tucker Hamrick, Landrum

     After each football season, I generally speak with multiple head coaches about the possibility of them leaving.
     Bigger jobs come open. Some hit retirement age. They go into administrative duties.
     Since 2000, at least one of our local football coaches has changed each year, with the exception of 2002.
     As the school years winds down, I feel safe writing that no local head football coaching position has changed. It’s weird to think this.
     (Honestly, I think I just jinxed myself with only eight days left.)
     My conversations with other local media members, friends in the coaching profession and inquiring-minded people, always center around two or three coaching positions that we “know” are going to change.
     We didn’t get that feel this winter and spring.
     There was some talk about a move here or there, but nothing ever really made me worry.
     I thought everyone’s job was safe after the fall.
     Still, there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind that told me to be alert and wait.
     “It happens every year. Someone will sneak up and change jobs,” the little voice in my head said.
     “Shut up,” I screamed back. “No one is leaving.”
     The woman in the elevator looked at me in horror.
     After much thought on this subject, I’ve come to one possible reason for the lack of movement: the economy.
     Unless you haven’t been paying attention, you’ll know that we’re in a recession.
     The house market is bad. Jobs are disappearing. Money isn’t there to do the things we’ve done in the past.
     That hurt the coaching market, in my opinion.
     Firing a coach doesn’t mean that coach has to leave their teaching post. Not having a teaching opening means you can’t bring someone new in.
     Coaches with nice homes in one part of the state might not be able to sell that home in order to move across the state.
     Teaching jobs are being cut, so having a job is the main thing.
     This spring, coaches held onto those positions.
     It isn’t just head coaching jobs either, as I’ve noticed a drastic drop in the number of assistant coaches that have moved around. Usually it’s a carousel, but this year it’s been a standstill.
     Having a job is important and most coaches have stayed with their schools and teams and kept their income flowing in.
     Who can blame them?

     Since, 2000, here are the local head coaches who started the year with new teams (this was done off memory and through some research. I hope I haven't messed up any date):
     2000: Jeff Snipes, Boiling Springs
     2001: Bill Owens, Broome; Travis Perry, Greer; John Cann, Landrum; Al Roebuck, Woodruff
     2002: None.
     2003: Phil Strickland, Gaffney
     2004: Wade Cooper, Boiling Springs; Tommy Bobo, Union
     2005: Broome’s Quay Farr, Greer’s Will Young
     2006: Chesnee’s Brent Bridges, Chapman’s Kevin Farmer, Woodruff’s Freddie Brown
     2007: Broome’s Todd Staley, Byrnes’ Chris Miller, Union County’s David Lipsey
     2008: Mickey Moss, Blacksburg; Bruce Clark, Boiling Springs; Russell Mahaffey, Landrum; Freddie Brown, Spartanburg; Brian Lane, Woodruff.
     2009: None. As of now.

     Last year I did a blog with my “best of the best” awards.
     I went back and found that blog and decided to do the same categories for this past school year.
     Here goes:

    Best game(s) – The Gaffney-Boiling Springs doubleheader for the upper state championship. These two games had it all and fans got their money’s worth. Big-time pitching. Clutch hitting. Late-inning heroics. In almost four hours of baseball, these guys gave memorable performances in front of a great crowd and it showed what high school sports were all about – two great teams battled for the chance to play for a state title. Those are two contests that I won’t forget.

    Best day for titles – The state cross country championship in Columbia is always one of my longest working days of the year. This year, though, it was totally worth it as three teams – Spartanburg girls and the boys teams from Landrum and Dorman – won state championships. The cross country meet doesn’t take all day, but for many years I’ve had to leave that event to go cover the 4A volleyball championship at another school in Columbia. I did that in the fall and watched as Byrnes’ capture that title. (I missed the Landrum volleyball win because I was still at cross country.) That was a solid day of champions.

    Best moment – In the locker room after Byrnes won its football state championship, the players were called together in a meeting room. There they placed the final block as the capstone of a six-level pyramid that the team had as its goal throughout the entire season. Watching those players, who had worked so hard, finish off that pyramid was special to see.

    Best big-game atmosphere – Dorman vs. Byrnes in football (both times): Both games were exceptionally fun to watch. The crowds, though, are what make for big-game atmosphere and both of those games had excellent crowds. Fans showed up hours before, tailgated and had a good time. Extra parking was set up specifically for these games and it was needed. More than 15,000 people were there for each game. And the players enjoyed the raucous crowds.

    And, in my wanna-be Oscars categories:
    Best male performance, in the fall: Marcus Lattimore, Byrnes: The big-time running back put up big-time numbers. He won national awards, ran for 573 yards in the Rebels’ final two playoff games, scored four times in the state finals and guided the Rebels to another state title.
    Best male performance, in the winter: Jacob Grandy, Woodruff: The Wolverines wrestler won the state championship and only lost once throughout the season. He told me that he got better because he got stronger (sound familiar?).
    Best male performance, in the spring: Brandon Henderson, Chesnee: The junior pitcher helped the Eagles win the region, district and upper state championships. He averaged more that 14 batters a game. That’s pretty solid.
    Best female performance, in the fall: Presley Mabrey, Byrnes: The senior outside hitter guided the Lady Rebels to their first state since 1986 and had 26 kills in the state championship match.
    Best female performance, in the winter: Ashlen Dewart, Dorman: She was the MVP of the game between North and South Carolina. She averaged 15.1 points, eight rebounds and 2.8 blocks.
    Best female performance, in the spring: Erica Peake, Spartanburg: Peake won three individual state championships in track and field. She won the 100 and 200 meters and won the long jump.

     I’m still thinking of best supporting athletes. Those votes are still being tallied in my head.

     Any awards you'd like to hand out?