On Saturday the Upper State wrestling championships were held and Chesnee wrestling had five wrestlers qualify for the AA/AAA Championship next Saturday at Dreher High School. The Eagles finished third overall as a team at the competition on Saturday.
Chesnee had two wrestlers reach the top of the podium as Upper State champions as seniors Corey Seay (195) and Jose Guzman (285) both were the best in their classes on Saturday. Austin Bigford (145) and Garrett Williams (160) both came away with second place finishes while Trevor Blankenship (152) picked up a third place finish as all three qualified for the state championships. In a normal year the top four in each weight class would qualify for state but due to Covid restrictions this year only the top three qualified. Three Eagles took home fourth place finishes as Ricky Henderson (120), Dylan Jolley (182), and Nick Hofer (220) finished just shy of qualifying for the state tournament. Chesnee will return to the mat on Saturday at 10:00 AM for the AA/AAA state championships at Dreher High School. Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions no fans will be allowed in the gym for the championships. In the regular season finale for both teams the Landrum girls basketball team used a big first half performance along with key runs to defeat Chesnee 57-39 on Monday night.
Chesnee got the game started with a three-pointer from just left of the top of the key by senior Kymiah Blair to grab an early 3-0 lead. Landrum responded by getting back-to-back baskets from Molley Ellinger and Ellen Anne Williams to grab a 4-3 lead over the visiting Eagles. Chesnee's Shenandoah Bishop tied the game at 4-4 on a free throw at the six minute mark of the quarter but from that point on the Cardinals went on a 13-5 run to grab a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ellinger and Verae Upton led the Cardinals in the first half as they combined to scored eleven of the team's seventeen points. Landrum got the first points of the second quarter on a jump shot by Carter Newton that sparked a 6-0 run over the first three minutes of the quarter for the Cardinals. The pressure defense of the Cardinals held the Chesnee offense to only three points over the first six minutes of the second quarter with the one bright spot on offense in the second quarter for the Eagles as a three-point shot made just inside the half court line by Kymiah Blair to put Landrum's halftime lead at 33-16. Malani Hines hit a three-pointer from the left side of the court to start the second half for Landrum as she scored eight of the Cardinals fourteen points in the quarter. Chesnee got four points from junior Mallory Hayes in the third quarter as she accounted for half of the Eagles points in the quarter. Hines started the fourth quarter with another basket for the Cardinals to put their lead at 49-24 but the quarter was the first one to go the Eagles way as they outscored the Cardinals 15-10 over the final quarter of play. Blair led the charge in the final quarter for the Eagles as she scored ten of the team's fifteen points in the quarter. In her final game for the Chesnee girl's basketball team Kymiah Blair led all scorers with 19 points along with two steals and a block. Senior Shenandoah Bishop and junior Brie Smith had big games on the boards for the Eagles as they both came away with 12 rebounds each on Monday night. Bishop added three points, three steals and a block to her 12 rebounds while Smith added five points and four blocks to her 12 rebounds against the Cardinals. Landrum was led in scoring by senior Malani Hines who scored 17 points and was joined in double figures by junior Verae Upton who scored 12 points. The Cardinals also got a big game from junior Ellen Anne Williams who finished the game with a double-double as she scored 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds and two blocks. While the season didn't finish how they would have like the Eagles finished their 2020-2021 season with a 9-7 overall record including a championship in the Turkey Shootout at Broome during the Thanksgiving holidays. The Landrum Lady Cardinals picked up a big Region II-2A win as they downed the Chesnee Lady Eagles 53-44 on Wednesday evening.
Kymiah Blair broke the seal on the game with a three pointer for Chesnee but four straight points from Malani Hines put the Lady Cardinals in front. After the team's swapped the lead, Hines sparked a 7-2 run for Landrum that gave them a 14-10 lead after the first quarter. The Cardinals got a big quarter from Savannah Brown who scored six of her fourteen points in the quarter. Blair continued her strong play for Chesnee in the first half as she scored eleven points in the half with the last two coming from the free throw line just before the halftime buzzer to pull Chesnee to within two points of the lead. The third quarter saw another Cardinal step up, this time it was Kara Knight scoring all seven of her points during an 11-5 run that gave the Cardinals a ten point lead to end the quarter. Chesnee opened the fourth quarter on a 7-3 run after Blair converted a traditional three point play to cut the Cardinal's lead to 41-35. The Cardinals quickly respond with back to back baskets from Anna Cooper and Savannah Brown before Hines sank four straight free throws down the stretch to ice the game for Landrum. Chesnee's Kymiah Blair led all scorers with 21 points while Brie Smith and Shenandoah Bishop each added seven points for the Eagles. Malani Hines led the Cardinals with 19 points while Savannah Brown added 14 points of her own. The Eagles will be back in action on Friday night as they travel to St Josephs for another region matchup. On Wednesday afternoon Chesnee saw four players sign to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level next season bringing the total number of Eagles to sign athletic scholarships to seven this year.
Chesnee softball had the most players sign on Wednesday as they had three players all commit. Samantha Carver, an All-Region selection her sophomore year, signed to continue her athletic career at Spartanburg Methodist College. "I've played softball since I was nine and I'm just excited to get to continue that at the next level," said Carver. Ali Scruggs, another member of the softball team and also an All-Region selection as a junior, signed to continue her athletic career at USC-Beaufort next season and said she's excited about this opportunity to get to sign in front of so many friends and family. "I'm so excited about this opportunity," said Scruggs. "I've always dreamed about this since I was a little kid and I'm glad I got to do it with my friends and family." Paige Scruggs, the third member of the softball team and also an All-Region selection as a sophomore, signed to continue her athletic career at Randolph College next season. Scruggs said that the chance to sign is the reward for years of hard work. "I'm very excited," said Scruggs. "All the time, hard work, and lessons have finally paid off." The final player to sign on Wednesday was Cole Hoskyns who signed to continue his football career at Gardner Webb University next season. Hoskyns played both tight end and defensive end for the Eagles where he was named All-Region three times including being named the Region Player of the Year this past season. He also added a 2A All-State selection at defensive end this past season. Hoskyns said that the opportunity to sign is a surreal feeling. "It's surreal because when you're in the fifth and sixth you see all these guys sign and you just dream of being that person," said Hoskyns. "Now to see your name like those guys is cool and surreal that you get to experience." Chesnee used a big first quarter run to pick up a 53-34 win against St. Joseph's on Tuesday night as the Eagles honored their senior basketball players.
"It means a lot to pickup the win on senior night," said Eagles senior Jessa Beach. "I love to play with this group and I'm glad we were able to pull out the win tonight." Beach scored the first bucket of the game on a nice bank shot in the lane but St. Josephs quickly tied it up with a bucket from Tiffany Helmer. A minute later Beach hit another shot, this time sparking a 16-0 run for the Eagles. The Eagles got a combined ten points from seniors Kymiah Blair and Shenandoah Bishop during the run to give the Eagles an 18-2 lead after one quarter of play. One thing that helped sparked the Eagles was Bishop's and Blair's ability to jump into the passing lanes and get out in transition for easy baskets. "Our speed helped us get into the passing lanes and then we were able to make good passes to get easy baskets," said senior Kymiah Blair. Chesnee head coach Carey Burns was very impressed with how her team started the game on Tuesday night. "I thought the girls came out and played great defense," said Burns. "That led to good looks on the offensive end." St. Joseph's came out with some fire to start the second quarter as Tiffany Helmer sank a three to cap off a 5-2 run to open the second quarter that pulled the Knights to within thirteen points. After a Chesnee timeout stalled the Knight's momentum, the Eagles went on a 5-0 run of their own which was capped off by a Brie Smith jumper leading the Eagles to a 27-12 halftime lead. The Knights came out strong as they opened the second half on a 5-0 run to pull to within ten points of the Eagles on Tiffany Helmer's third three of the night. Chesnee closed the quarter the quarter on a 10-5 run to put their lead at 37-22 after three quarters of play. After St Josephs made the opening basket of the fourth quarter the Eagles used a 16-4 run to build a twenty-five point lead. Chesnee used a balanced scoring attack during the run as six different Eagles scored. The Knights ended the game on a 6-0 run but the lead was to great for them to overcome as Chesnee held on for a 53-34 win. Before the game the Eagles honored their four seniors: Kymiah Blair, Jessa Beach, Shenandoah Bishop, and Jamekia Evans. "I told them before the game this was for our seniors," said Burns. "They have done a great job this year especially mentoring our younger players." The seniors came up big for the Eagles as they each scored at least six points with three of them reaching double figures. Kymiah Blair finished with 13 points while fellow seniors Jessa Beach and Shenandoah Bishop each finished the game with 10 points. The fourth senior Jamekia Evans finished the game with six points while the Eagles also got a big night from junior Brie Smith who scored 12 points on Tuesday night. St. Joseph's Tiffany Helmer led all scorers with 17 points on Tuesday night. The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday night as they take on county rival Landrum in another key region game. |
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