SPARTANBURG, SC - On the final cool and crisp Saturday of October, the best cross-country runners in Spartanburg County gathered at the Milliken Research Center campus to compete for the county championship on the three-mile course.
Boiling Springs had a strong performance as both teams finished in the top five of both the events on Saturday. The Boiling Springs girls team had the strongest performance of the two teams as they came away with a third place finish out of eleven teams. finishing just behind second place Byrnes and county champions Dorman. The Bulldogs were led by seventh grader Ainsley Steadings who finished in thirteenth with a time of 21:23.69. She was joined on the Bulldogs top four by senior Gabriella Sanchez (18th), senior Sophia Lebrun (21st) and sophomore Navy Turner (26th). Dorman sophomore Ella Tombuelt won the individual event with a time of 19:58.42 which was five seconds ahead of second place finisher Elloree Flippin of Carolina Homeschool. Chesnee finished in seventh of the girls' event led by junior Olivia Stonewell (23rd) and sophomore Lanie Arrowood (25th) while Chapman finished in tenth place and was led by senior Sofia Woodward (14th). In the boy's event the Boiling Springs team came away with a fifth-place finish and were led by sophomore Jake Sapp who finished in twelfth overall with a time of 17:31.26. He was joined on the Bulldogs top four finishers by sophomore Andrew Cooler (24th), senior Harrison Grice (36th), and freshman Austin Baird (47th). Dorman won the boys' team event and were led by number one finisher junior Nathan Edwards, who won in a time of 16:11.05 just ahead of Spartanburg sophomore Knox Eaton. Chapman finished in seventh place as they were led by senior Colby Wines (43rd) and junior Grant Kinlaw (44th) while Chesnee came home with an eighth place finish as they were led by junior Omarion Ocampo Rios (16th) and junior Noah Gottschalk (33rd). Boiling Springs will next return to action on Friday in the 5A Upper State qualifier at Newberry. SIMPSONVILLE, SC - With a birdie putt on the final hole of the 5A state championship tournament at Holly Tree Country Club, the high school golf career of Boiling Springs golfer Madison Dixon came to an end.
Dixon, is one of the most decorated golfers in the history of the Boiling Springs girls golf team, was named to her third All-State team after shooting a combined score of 154 over the two-day tournament. She finished in a tie for seventh place and after walking off the ninth hole said that this being the end of her high school career was strange. "I just have a bittersweet feeling as it's been six years of my life and now it's over," said Dixon. "I'm happy with how I finished though so it also makes it a happy moment. It was great finishing my last hole with a birdie especially with as much as I struggled putting earlier today." Dixon said that being able to finish her high school career with an All-State finish was a great accomplishment especially with the number of strong golfers trying to accomplish the same goal. "It feels really good to make All-State in my final state championship tournament," said Dixon. "It was my number one goal coming into this tournament today as it was everyone else's goal entering the tournament today. To be able to actually accomplish that goal feels great." Boiling Springs head girls golf coach Macy Tate said she was proud of how Dixon battled over the last two days to come home with the All-State honor. "I'm very proud of Madison as she battled hard the last two days," said Tate. "Some things didn't go her way, but she kept at it, and she birdied her last hole which was emotional for me." Tate also said that Dixon has meant a lot to the Bulldogs program and said she was glad she got to spend the whole tournament following each hole Dixon played in her final high school tournament. "She has meant a lot to the program," said Tate. "I can't imagine her not playing for the Bulldogs anymore and I'm glad I got to go over this course with her both days for the final 36 holes of her high school career." Dixon finished in a tie for seventh place with Mila Gray from Carolina Forest as both shot a two-day score of 154. They were eleven shots behind Caroline Hawkins from Blythewood who won the individual state championship with a score 143. Dixon, Gray, and Hawkins were joined on the All-State team by Abby Franks (Dorman), Olivia Pellerin (Mauldin), Ella Stavley (Blythewood), Maddie Grace Peake (Dorman), Avery Smith (Ashley Ridge), Mia Andrade (Chapin), and Lilly Reed Black (Chapin). Dorman was the team state champions with a two-day score of 635 finishing twenty-nine shots ahead of second place Chapin (664) and fifty-shots ahead of third place TL Hanna (685). As for the future of her golf career Dixon, who is committed to play college golf at USC Upstate, said that now that her high school career is over, she's now going to turn her focus to getting ready for her college season next year. "As far as golf goes, now I'm going to focus on some tournaments the rest of this year and the start of next year to get myself ready for my college season next year at USC Upstate," said Dixon. Dixon finishes her high school career with three All-State selections, six All-Region selections, and multiple medalist honors along with tournament wins. SPARTANBURG, SC - A big second quarter outburst by the Spartanburg offense in the second quarter led them to defeating Boiling Springs 55-14 in the regular season finale for the Bulldogs on Friday night.
"We haven't been to put points on the board when we needed to and we haven't done enough in special teams and the redzone to deserve a win," said Boiling Springs head coach Matt Reel. "We had a hard time stopping them in the redzone on defense and couldn't convert when we got our opportunities in the redzone on offense which has been our achilles the last four weeks. We get in redzone situations and just can't take advantage." Spartanburg started out the scoring on the opening kickoff as Keke Kelly returned the Boiling Springs kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown just seconds into the game. Boiling Springs soon responded with a touchdown of their own less than two minutes later when sophomore quarterback Lincoln Huskey raced over the left side for a 73-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with ten minutes still left in the quarter. The Vikings retook the lead when quarterback Raheim Jeter ran the ball up the middle for an eight-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead at the five-minute mark. Boiling Springs looked to tie the game at the start of the second quarter but were unable to get the ball in the endzone that turned into a blocked field goal and started the Vikings second quarter run. In the second quarter Spartanburg got rushing scores from Kelly and Drek Carter along with a touchdown pass from Jeter to Kelly to score twenty-one unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 35-7 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs opened the second half with a score on their opening drive when Huskey found senior Spencer Eison for a 45-yard touchdown pass to put the score at 35-14 in favor of the Vikings. From that point on the Vikings scored the next twenty-one points of the game at Jeter found Moore for a 28-yard touchdown pass and TJ Johnson added a one-yard touchdown run. They also added a forty-yard interception return for a touchdown with just under five minutes to go in the game to take a 55-14 victory. Boiling Springs was led on offense by Lincoln Huskey who went 10 of 28 for 137 yards and a touchdown in the air while adding 82 yards on the ground on ten carries and a score. Zy Landrum was the top receiving target for the Bulldogs as her caught six passes for 84 yards on Friday night. Raheim Jeter led the Spartanburg passing offense going 12 of 16 for 161 yards and two scores while Keke Kelly led the rushing attack with 90 yards on four carries with a score. Defensively for the Bulldogs, they were led in tackles by Justin Woodruff who registered nine tackles including one for loss. The Bulldogs also got interceptions from Jojo Barrett and Gabe Blanton on Friday night while Calvin Jackson added a sack and another tackle for loss. While the Bulldogs season didn't end how they wanted it to, Coach Reel is happy with the progress he's seen in his team from their first game against TL Hanna to the regular season finale against Spartanburg on Friday night. "Wins and losses don't show how much this team has grown since that first week against TL Hanna," said Reel. "If you're not around these guys everyday like we have been since February you may not see it but I told our kids after this game that I love them and I'm proud of them for the work they've put in, which are two things I don't just say to anyone. Those kids are doing what we've asked of them, and they fight each day to get better. There's not a group that is fighting harder than our kids are right now." Boiling Springs will be off next week and will wait for the release of the SCHSL playoff bracket next Saturday to see if they'll be a part of this year's playoffs. ROEBUCK, SC - With the sun sinking behind the trees on Wednesday afternoon at Dorman High School, the Boiling Springs cross country team competed in the Region II-5A cross country championship meet against Dorman, Byrnes, and Gaffney.
When the day came to an end it saw two Bulldogs earning All-Region honors and a few more just missing the cut. "It's a pretty good day," said Boiling Springs head coach Drew Thomas. "We had an opportunity to have a few more with 400 meters to go in both races but we lost those spots which was a little disappointing. We're in a good spot to build and qualify for the state though which means all-in-all it was a good day." In the girls' meet the Bulldogs saw seventh grader Ainsley Steading make the All-Region team as she finished in eighth place with a time of 21:36, just over a minute behind Evyn Kate Dill from Dorman (also a seventh grader) who won the region championship in a time of 20:21. Gabby Sanchez, Navy Turner, and Sophia LeBrun all finished just outside of making the All-Region team with all three finishing the course in less than twenty-three minutes. On the boys' side of the meet Boiling Springs saw sophomore Jake Sapp make the All-Region team with a time of 17:52, which was a little over a minute and a half behind region champion Elias Workman from Dorman who won the meet with a time of 16:13 over the three-mile course. Senior Harrison Grice and sophomore Andrew Cooler finished just short of making the All-Region team as both finished the course in the eighteen-minute time mark. With the Bulldogs having two named to All-Region, Thomas says it's just the beginning as the team continues to grow. "The growth we've seen in both teams this year has been tremendous," said Thomas. "They've been challenged and really stepped up. With Coach Steading and I coming in as late as we did to take over the program, we were challenged just like the kids were this year and the team has risen to the occasion. We're going to continue to rise as a team and qualify for the state meet." Boiling Springs will next compete in the Spartanburg County championship on October 29th at Milliken Research Center before attempting to qualify for the 5A state meet at the 5A qualifier in Newberry on November 5th. CHESTER, SC - The best girls' golfers in the 5A ranks of the Upstate of South Carolina gathered in Chester, SC on Monday to see which teams and players would qualify to represent their schools at the 5A state tournament next week and Boiling Springs' Madison Dixon was one of the proud few to get that opportunity.
Dixon, who was the lone representative from Boiling Springs on Monday, fired an individual score of 73 at the Chester Country Club golf course to finish in the top 5 of 74 golfers represented at the Upper State tournament. Dorman won the 5A Upper State championship as a team in the same event on Monday. Dizon will now take to the course for the final time as a Bulldog next Monday and Tuesday at the 5A state tournament that will be held at the Holly Tree Country Club in Simpsonville, SC. Tee times will be announced at a later date. CHESNEE GOLF The Chesnee girls golf team started the defense of their 2A state championship on Monday and were looking good after day one as they held a thirty-shot lead over second place Oceanside Collegiate Academy at the Cheraw State Park golf course. They will look to complete the repeat tomorrow when they tee off for day two of the tournament with the first golfer teeing off at 9:15 AM and the last golfer teeing off at 9:51 AM. Landrum also joined Chesnee in the top 5 at the state tournament after shooting a day one score of 408. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - On senior night the Boiling Springs football team gave the home crowd quite a show but came up just short in their upset bid of region opponent Gaffney as the Bulldogs fell 19-7 on Friday night.
While the Bulldogs upset bid fell short, Boiling Springs head football coach Matt Reel said that he couldn't be happier with the performance of his team. "I'm just proud of our guys tonight," said Reel. "Tonight, we got a glimpse of how I want this program to be with physical toughness. Our kids are fighting, and I told them tonight I'm prouder of them than I have been of a football team in a while. For them to show up and believe like they did tonight against a really good football team I'm just so proud of them." Both teams played strong defensive games with Gaffney coming up with two big defensive plays in the first half that allowed them to hold a 7-0 halftime lead. The first was just two minutes into the second quarter as they turned away the Bulldogs inside their own five-yard line forcing a field goal attempt that missed wide. The second big play saw Gaffney defensive back Kaliber Hoey intercept a Boiling Springs pass and return it thirty-eight yards for a touchdown to put Gaffney up 7-0. On the Bulldogs second drive of the third quarter, they went 80 yards over a seven-minute drive that was aided by some Gaffney penalties and were able to tie the game up at 7-7 with just under three minutes to go when Boiling Springs quarterback ran it in from two yards out for a touchdown. With just under ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter on a third and eight, Boiling Springs defensive back Spencer Eison intercepted a Gaffney pass and returned it 61-yards to the Gaffney twelve-yard line. The Bulldogs were unable to capitalize though as their 37-yard field goal attempt came up just short. Gaffney responded on the next drive converting a third and ten with a 62-yard pass that put the Indians at the Bulldogs two-yard line before scoring on the next play when Jaiden McDowell scored on a run up the middle to take a 13-7 lead. McDowell added another eight-yard touchdown run at the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter to take a 19-7 lead. Boiling Springs was led offensively through the air by quarterback Lincoln Huskey who went 14 of 29 for 134 yards with Zy Landrum being his top target with five receptions for 95 yards. Bulldogs running back Javen Chhim led the team on the ground with fifteen carries for 58 yards. Luke Compton led the Bulldogs defense with seven and a half tackles while Jameilion Miller added five tackles including two for a loss and a sack. Defensive back Spencer Eison added four tackles along with an interception plus five catches for 26 yards on offense. Gaffney quarterback Grayson Loftis led the Indians offense going 16 of 29 for 185 yards while Jaiden McDowell led the Indians on the ground with 11 carries for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Coach Reel says he sees his team is starting to really care about the program and are wanting to be successful which he says will only make them better going forward. "I think the biggest thing for us right now is we got a bunch of kids that care," said Reel. "We've got kids in tears in their eyes because they've been working so hard and care about what happens with this team. I keep telling them if they keep chopping at the tree it'll eventually fall. I'm looking forward to them getting the taste of victory in a big game after all the hard work they've been putting in and finally getting to see the result." Boiling Springs will return to action next Friday night in their regular season finale as they travel to Spartanburg for another region matchup. COLUMBIA, SC - With the arrival of October it also signifies the beginning of state championship season for fall sports and this past Saturday the Boiling Springs swim team became the first team to compete in a state championship this season at the Blatt Center on the campus of the University of South Carolina.
The Bulldogs had ten people travel to the state meet on Saturday, eight swimmers and two alternates where they put up some of the team's best times of the year. "The swimmers had a great day and left with some best times," said Bulldogs head coach Lanie Peden. "It's an extremely competitive meet that the Bulldogs rose to the challenge." Boiling Springs saw Laney Moore compete in the girls' 200y individual medley and the 100y backstroke where she hit best times in both events with a time of 2:19.95 in the individual medley and a time of 1:03.97 in the backstroke. Morgan Greenlee also competed in the 200y freestyle and the 100y butterfly events on Saturday. Moore and Greenlee both competed in the 200y medley relay and the 400y freestyle relay along with teammates Reagan Shaw and Camryn Duncan. On the boys' side of the event Ashton Threadgill finished in fifth place of the boys' 100y breaststroke with a time of 59.60 while also finishing in sixth place of the boys' 200y individual medley with a time of 2:00.79. Garrett Watson finished in seventh place of the 500y freestyle with a time of 4:51.86 while also competing in the 100y butterfly. Miles Humphreys represented the Bulldogs in the 200y freestyle and 100y breaststroke events as well. Threadgill, Watson, and Humphreys also competed in the 200y medley relay and the 400y medley relay events along with Will Robinson, who made it to the state meet in his first year competing. "Will was brand new to the sport this year," said Peden. "So, him making the state meet his first year was pretty awesome." With the state meet the Boiling Springs swimming team concluded their 2022 season and will soon begin working on the start of the 2023 season. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - As the Boiling Springs volleyball team's regular season came to an end on Tuesday, they took the opportunity to recognize their eight seniors, some of whom have been involved with the Bulldogs program for many years.
The Boiling Springs eight seniors for the 2022 season are Morgan Hammett, Emma Beheler, Emma Grace Potter, Cloe Wood, Emily Poore, Macy Bagwell, Makayla Furrey, and Zion Hughes. The Bulldogs honored the seniors not only prior to the game but also sent them out with a 3-0 win over Spartanburg in their final home regular season matchup. "We had eight seniors tonight and they have been great to coach," said Bulldogs head coach Allyson Elliot. "It has been great watching them grow up over the years. Most of them have played for me since they got here, and we've had some laughs this week because some of them even came to our kids' camps which we've looked at pictures from this week." Boiling Springs jumped out to a 3-1 start in the first set off an ace serve from senior Emma Grace Potter, who added sixteen digs and two ace serves on the night in her senior game. Fellow senior Zion Hughes added a kill just three points later to push the Bulldogs lead to 5-2 over the Vikings. The Bulldogs added three more kills from Cloe Wood, Emily Poore, and Lauren Kusterer to make the Boiling Springs lead 9-4. From that point on the Bulldogs outscored the Vikings 16-7 the rest of the set with Karson Browning spiking the ball into the middle of the Spartanburg defense to win the first set 25-11 over the Vikings. In the second set Boiling Springs fell behind 1-0 but soon took a 2-1 lead when Emily Poore hit a shot facing away from the net that landed just over the net in front of the Spartanburg front line. Spartanburg went on to take the lead at 18-16 before Boiling Springs went on a four-point run with kills from Cloe Wood, Emily Poore, and Lauren Kusterer to take a 20-18 lead. Spartanburg was able to tie the game at 21-21 before the Bulldogs scored the final four points of the match with kills from Poore and Wood along with a block by Karson Browning for the final point to give the Bulldogs a 25-21 victory in set two. The third set saw Boiling Springs jump out to a 4-0 lead behind a kill from Olivia Shirley along with a block from Shirley and Browning. Charlotte Hutchins spiked the ball into the middle of the Vikings defense to extend the Bulldogs lead to 8-2 over the Vikings. With Boiling Springs leading 22-13, the Bulldogs scored the final three points of the match with Cloe Wood scoring two points with spike kills before senior Macy Bagwell, who has missed most of the season with injury, registered an ace serve for the final point to give Boiling Springs a 25-13 victory in the third set and a 3-0 win in the match. With it being senior night, it was only fitting that the Bulldogs got big games from their seniors as Cloe Wood registered nine kills along with 14 digs and fellow senior Emily Poore registering eight kills and eight digs of her own. Senior Makayla Furrey led the Bulldogs in assists with 24 assists along with eight digs while Morgan Hammett added 10 digs of her own. The Bulldogs also got two ace serves from senior Emma Grace Potter while also getting an ace serve and 16 digs from senior Emma Behler. Boiling Springs junior Karson Browning also had a big night along the net as she recorded six kills but also added seven blocks. While the senior night match marked the end of the Bulldogs regular season, they will be participating in the 5A playoffs and Coach Elliot believes their best volleyball of the season. "I feel like we've been playing well the last few weeks as we've had good games against Dorman and Byrnes along with wins over Gaffney and Spartanburg," said Elliot. "I feel like we're in a good place with our team where we're continually getting better, and I don't feel like we've peaked as a team. I think we're right where we need to be going into the playoffs and this group has been there before, so they know what it takes to win in the playoffs." Boiling Springs will have to wait to see who they will face in the playoffs as the rest of Region II-5A finishes out their seasons on Thursday. DUNCAN, SC - Boiling Springs senior golfer Madison Dixon has put quite a stamp on the Bulldogs girls' golf program and on Tuesday at the Region II-5A golf tournament she added to that legacy.
With her final score of 76 at River Falls Plantation, Dixon became the first Bulldogs female golfer to make an All-Region team in six straight years. She said that accomplishing that goal this year was a special feat for her because it's something she's been doing since a seventh grader. "Obviously making All-Region is a major goal every time you enter the region tournament and I've done it now every year since seventh grade," said Dixon. "I felt some pressure going into today because I wanted to do it all six years I've been on the team and that was my biggest goal today." Dixon finished in third overall at the tournament behind Dorman's Abby Franks, who was the medalist with a score of 72, and Maddie Peake from Dorman who finished in second with a score of 75. They were joined on the All-Tournament team by Dorman's Ana Romansky and Byrnes Lilian Alexander who both shot a score of 79. As a team the Bulldogs fell short in the team standings of advancing to the 5A Upper State tournament with a team score of 386, which was 11 shots behind Gaffney who advanced with a score of 375. Dorman was the overall region champions with a score of 308 followed by Byrnes with a score of 338 and Spartanburg with a score of 370. While the Bulldogs won't advance to the 5A Upper State championship as a team, Dixon with her finish will advance as an individual and she says that while she's happy to advance it's bittersweet to not advance as a team. "It's bittersweet because obviously high school golf is about playing as a team," said Dixon. "It's sad I won't have them warming up with me or to talk with me in between holes. Knowing this was my last tournament with the team, one I've been with since seventh grade, is crazy because it means my high school career is almost over which is weird because it's all I've known." The good news for Dixon is that she will be competing in the 5A Upper State championship at a course that she's familiar with, the Chester Country Club, and won the region championship at just last year. "I play pretty good at that course but I don't want to jinx myself," said Dixon. "My goal Monday is to go out there and play one shot at a time and see how it works out. Hopefully at the end of the day I'll get a chance to tee it up at the state tournament the next week." The 5A Upper State championship tournament will be held on October 18th at the Chester Country Club in Chester, SC. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - In a year of first for the Boiling Springs boys volleyball team, the team added one more first to the list capturing their first ever playoff victory in the invitation only tournament.
Despite being an officially recognized sport this year in South Carolina there will be no official state champion being named this year, so the boys' volleyball playoffs are an invitational only tournament this season. The Bulldogs first round playoff match was against Woodmont, the defending state champions as a club sport from last year and a team the Bulldogs have defeated multiple times this season. Boiling Springs head coach Rachel Hyatt knew that defeating a team like Woodmont multiple times in a season was a difficult task even knowing her team's success this season. "Going into this game being the fifth time we'd played them I was nervous because I wasn't sure what we might see from them," said Hyatt. "We lost a set to them earlier this year and they're a pretty strong team when they're on their game." In the match Boiling Springs came away with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Wildcats as the Bulldogs led the first set 22-10 before closing out the set with a spike kill from the left side to just inside the right back line by Mark Zdenivich to take a 25-14 victory in the first set. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as four in the second set trailing 9-5 at one point before rallying to take a 25-16 victory in set two. In the third set the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind an ace serve from Tucker Walters and a spike kill from Zdenivich. Woodmont rallied to take a lead at 20-18 before Boiling Springs responded tying the set at 20-20 on a kill by Zdenivich and pushing their lead to 22-20 on a kill by Ben Mabry. With the Bulldogs leading 24-20, a final shot found itself land by the net on the Woodmont side for a 25-20 Bulldogs victory in the set and a 3-0 victory in the match. The Bulldogs were led in kills by Mark Zdenivich with 13 kills and he was followed closely behind by Ostel Thompson who had 11 kills of his own. Tucker Walters led the Bulldogs in assists on Monday night with 33 assists of his own. Coach Hyatt was proud of her team's performance in their match against a team they'd seen multiple times this year. "It feels really good to come out and pick up a playoff win in three sets," said Hyatt. "With this being the fifth time we've seen Woodmont this year, it's good to come out and win like we did against a team you've seen so many times. It's good knowing how hard our guys have worked to get this far that the work is paying off and we'll hope to continue that in the next round." Boiling Springs in their first season of official boys' volleyball is now 11-3 with the playoff victory and Coach Hyatt is very proud of the team's performance in the official first season. "I feel really good about our first season as we had a strong group of guys that included eight seniors this year," said Hyatt. "I've enjoyed every part of this year and has probably been one of my favorite seasons as a coach. I love coaching boys' volleyball and I'm excited that it was finally sanctioned in the state of South Carolina this year. I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to represent our team in our first official season." Boiling Springs will now advance to the second round of the playoffs where they will travel to Dorman on Thursday night. |
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