Bulldogs VolleyballThe Boiling Springs girls volleyball team enters the 2023 season looking to compete for a region championship and with eight seniors, the opportunity is there for the Bulldogs to have a very good season. Last season Boiling Springs finished third in Region II-5A and fell in the playoffs to Clover. The Bulldogs will be led by their head coach Allyson Elliot, who enters her 25th season leading the program. She says that the team has worked hard this offseason and she expects to see the team continue to improve as the season progresses. "This summer we have scrimmaged many local teams and went to camps at the College of Charleston and Wofford," said Elliot. "Our girls are making great progress and I expect will continue to grow through the entire season. They are athletic, work well together, and very competitive." The Bulldogs return five starters from last year led by All-Region frontline player Karson Browning. She will be joined by fellow returning starters Charlotte Hutchins, Grace Shepherd, Gracen Bennett, and Lauren Kusterer. They will be joined by fellow returners Autumn Earley, Abigail Kanipe, Deanna Falovsky, and Aubrey Chang. "These players have competed at a high level and because of their experience should step up and play with leadership and confidence this year," said Elliot. "We have eight great seniors who are both leaders on and off the court." While they have a lot of experience coming back, the Bulldogs will look to a group of 10 newcomers to help make a run at the region championship. That group will be led by junior Emma Fowler along with sophomores Kennedy Cole and Olivia Smith. "We expect this group to be difference makers for us on the court this season," said Elliot. The Bulldogs front line will be led by outside hitters Charlotte Hutchins, Kennedy Cole, and Olivia Smith along with middle hitters Karson Browning and Lauren Kusterer. They're also excited about the energy brought to the court from fellow frontline players Carson Byrd, Deanna Falovsky, Caroline Bishop, and Layla Morris. In the setter position, the Bulldogs will be led by Grace Shepherd while also getting key contributions from Cole and eighth grader Carolina Burgess. Along the backline the Bulldogs will be expecting to get some key defensive plays from a group that includes Gracen Bennett, Emma Fowler, Abigail Kanipe, and Autumn Earley. Elliot says that this group has been solid in the offseason and will keep the team in games with their solid defense. Elliot said that her team this year is focusing on two words and that the participation level has been great since their season ended last season. "Two words that we are focusing on this season are 'family' and 'compete'," said Elliot. "We have 32 girls playing with us on JV and varsity this year. Our season ended last October and these kids went to work immediately preparing for this season. We want every player to compete on the court, in the classroom, and know that they have family/teammates that care about them." Boiling Springs will begin their season on August 19th at the Daniel tournament before returning home for a tri-match against Greenwood and Clover on August 22nd. Bulldogs Boys VolleyballThe Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team will be a younger group than last season but the expectations for the group are still high for a team that loss in the upper state championship game last season. Last year, the team saw eight seniors graduate but the number of players participating has grown as the program between JV and varsity will have a total of 32 players. "We have a strong varsity group who should do really well this season," said Bulldogs head coach Rachel Hyatt. "Although we lost eight seniors last year to graduation, I think we will have a very successful season with the group we have coming back." The Bulldogs return four starters from last year's team who they hope lead the young Bulldogs team in seniors Mark Zdanevich and Prosper Hawj along with juniors Denis Bondarev and Gabe Llibre. With the loss of the eight seniors, the Bulldogs will count on a group of newcomers to take their places and that group will consist of senior Eddie Aleksik, junior Tim Okhman, sophomores Antoine Murray and Coleman Wheatley, along with freshman Mark Kishka. The Bulldogs will expect to once again see Dorman late in the playoffs but are excited about the new teams from Catawba Ridge, Indian Land, Northwestern, Fort Mill, and Greenwood joining the league this season. Hyatt is excited about the enthusiasm to get better she sees from her team each practice. "The team is really excited for this season," said Hyatt. "They are always coming into practice with a desire to get better." Boiling Springs will kick off their regular season at home on August 21st against Dorman. Bulldogs Girls TennisThe Boiling Springs girl's tennis team looks to continue to build on the successes from last season after finishing fourth in the region and making a trip to the 5A playoffs, as they return five starters from last year's team. Boiling Springs will be led by head coach Anna Belle Burrell who enters her second season leading the Bulldogs program after taking over last season for longtime coach Jill Cooke. The Bulldogs return All-Region player Victoria Leonard who will play as the number one spot this season. She will be joined by fellow returners Allison Hollifield, Emerson Horton, Kaitlyn Thomas, and Jazymn Barrett. Coach Burrell is also excited about the younger group of players with the program along with newcomer Karlee Shaw, who the Bulldogs will expect a lot from this year. Boiling Springs will begin their 2023 season with a home match on August 22nd against Southside Christian. Bulldogs Girls GolfThe Boiling Springs girls golf team will go into the 2023 season having to replace a long-term fixture in the program but will have something the team hasn't had in a while, a lot of youth to build on. Last season the Bulldogs saw the graduation of current USC-Upstate golfer Madison Dixon, who had been a six-year starter and was named All-State after finishing in 7th place as an individual last season. While Dixon will be hard to replace, Bulldogs head coach Macy Tate, who enters her fourth season with the program, is excited about the youth in the program and what that means for the future of the program. "We have a very young team this season, but I am excited and optimistic about the potential of the girls that we expect to have at tryouts," said Tate. "While we lost an exceptional player from last season, the other four starters from last year are returning, so we also have a lot of returning experience." The Bulldogs will be returning four starters from last year's team that includes seniors Sophia Leso and Hannah Lewis while also returning junior Bella Greene and sophomore Ryanna Douglas. The team will also see four other golfers return that were a part of last year's team that will hope to fill the shoes of Dixon in junior Cadence Pruitt, sophomores Lucy Moyer and Karlie Threadgill, and freshman Alliyah Adams. In offseason workouts, the Bulldogs have been excited about some of the possible newcomers to the program in freshmen Kynslee Seay, Caroline Yoder, and Jaycie Slattery, along with eighth grader Ellie Taylor and seventh-graders Maddox Burnett and Brooke Tumblin. "We had a lot of participation in our spring and summer practices and I, as well as other coaches think we have several girls with a lot of potential," said Tate. "We are looking forward to making progress as a team this year, as well as developing our young players for the future." While the Bulldogs will be younger this season, the expectations for the program are still the same as the expect to compete for the region and spots in the playoffs. "We expect to compete in our region, even though it remains one of the strongest regions in the state," said Tate. "I like where we are at as a team going into the fall and can't wait to get to work to see what we can accomplish this year." The Bulldogs will start their season on August 16th in match play against Byrnes and Dorman at River Falls before competing in two back-to-back tournaments. The first tournament will be the two-day Lady Bengal Tournament at Columbia Country Club from August 21-22 before competing at the annual Lady Rebel Invitational at River Falls on August 29th. Bulldogs Cross CountryAfter a surprising season last year and a strong summer of training the expectations around the Boiling Springs cross country team are pretty high going into the 2023 fall sports season. On the boys' side of the team, boys team head coach Drew Thomas, who enters his second season leading the team, says that he's excited about the hard work his team has put in this offseason. "I am extremely excited for the team we have built throughout the summer," said Thomas. "I tell the guys repeatedly that this team is one that I am confident in taking anywhere in the state and being able to compete with the top teams." The confidence from Thomas is understandable as the team returns five of seven starters from a team that finished third in the region last season. That group is led by returning All-Region runner Jake Sapp along with Andrew Cooler, Thomas Glover, Jayden Adams, and Austin Baird. They will look to returners from last year in Luke Hurley and Riley Alford along with newcomers Drew Miller and Brendan Riordan to fill the final two starting spots this coming season as the Bulldogs will look to have another good season in one of the toughest regions in the state. "We are in one of the toughest running regions in the state and if we can run well at region, we will be set up for a great end to championship season," said Thomas. "One of the most exciting things about this group is that most of them have been together for years and with the addition of a few guys who are upperclassmen, we are in a spot to see success we haven't seen in quite a few years." On the girl's side of the team, the Bulldogs fell just one spot short of competing at the state championship meet and that's something according to girls second year head coach Autumn Steadings they look to change this year. Last year the Bulldogs finished fourth in the Spartanburg County meet at Milliken, which was their highest finish since 2014 and while they lost three seniors to graduation, they feel their young team can accomplish some great things. "This is a great group of young ladies," said Steadings. "I have seen a great amount of progress during the summer practices, and I believe we'll pick up where the seniors left off last year and keep hitting our goals." Boiling Springs returns a young team that will be led by All-Region runner from last season in 8th grader Ainsley Steadings. She will be joined by fellow returning starters junior Navy Turner along with sophomores Alyssa Skory and Ashlyn Godfrey. With any cross-country event you're allowed to start seven runners and the Bulldogs will look to fill the three spots vacated from the graduation of seniors last year out of a group consisting of juniors Angelica Panchelyuga and Bailee Williams, sophomore Jada Evans, and freshmen Madelyn Sewell and Bella Johnson. They also are also looking to newcomers Tania Escalante (12th), Za'Niya (11th), Bella Roswell (10th), and Baylor Baird (7th) to help contribute to the Bulldogs success this season. Steadings is excited about the opportunities for this team this season. "We still have some training to do," said Steadings. "I'm really excited to see these girls compete and hit some major PR's this year." The Bulldogs will kick off their regular season on September 2nd in the Eye Opener Classic at Milliken Research Center at 8:00 AM. Bulldogs Swim TeamAfter a strong season that saw the Bulldogs have a strong finish in the region, the Boiling Springs swim team looks to build on their success as they have a lot of swimmers returning this season that will be mixed with a lot of youth.
Boiling Springs saw the boys team finish in third place in region while the girls team finished in fourth place in region. Both teams competed in the state meet with the boys finishing 16th overall and the girls finishing 27th overall. The Bulldogs will see new leadership for this season after long-time coach Lanie Peden retired last season as Boiling Springs will be led by first-year head coach Sophie Caggiano. "Being a young team, we are currently trying to build a hard work ethic in our younger swimmers while also placing high expectations on our returners to be leaders both in the pool and the classroom," said Caggiano. "We expect hard work and a great attitude at every practice while also stressing the importance of keeping their bodies fueled and recovered as much as possible to provide them with the best chance for success throughout the season." Boiling Springs returns 20 swimmers from last season that includes All-Region swimmers Miles Humphreys, Laney Moore, and Regan Shaw. They'll also see the return of Diya Chana, Cerys Ewing, Elizabeth Hardy, Bevin Hardy, JB Jackson, Alyssa Kozlowski, Maci Lane, Yaritzi Leal-Martinez, Leonardo Moreno, Sam Murray, Zain Nanoua, Zac Nanoua, Gabe Olson, Bailey Riordan, Will Robinson, Landon Sapounes, and Aaron Sprouse. They' will also look to a group of newcomers to help solidify the team this season, a group that includes Kaylin Archabald, Alexa Boykin, Ellie Gayford, Clay Huckenberry, Jayce Roberts, and Nathan Nguyen. Boiling Springs will kick off their season at the Middle Tyger River YMCA on August 15 against Byrnes and Dorman before facing off against Spartanburg on August 22nd at the TK Gregg Center. Comments are closed.
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