BE girls lacrosse ranks best in state, No. 6 nationally

The Bishop England High School girls’ lacrosse team is ranked No. 6 in the country, according to the high school sports website maxpreps.com.

 

But BE coach Jeff Weiner says hold the applause – for now.

 

“I know how those polls work,” the veteran coach said. “It’s early in the season and a lot of teams up north in states like New York, New Jersey and Maryland are just starting. You have to play six games to be considered for rankings. When it comes to these national rankings, I take them with a grain of salt.”

 

Still, the Bishops have been most impressive and continue to be the best team in the Palmetto State. They played three undefeated teams in the last four games and won all three, topping Riverside, Oceanside Collegiate Academy and Wando. The Bishops topped the Warriors, 15-1 over the weekend. Wando, by the way, entered the game ranked No. 20 in the country.

 

“We played a perfect game,” Weiner said. “We couldn’t have played much better. Wando has talent all up and down its roster, but it was probably the best defense we played since I started coaching the team.”

 

Bishop England is 9-0, and is riding a 73-game winning streak entering April 2’s showdown against undefeated Chapin.

 

Weiner owns a 164-31 record since being named the BE coach in time for the 2010 season. Weiner’s team is seeking its sixth consecutive state title this spring.

 

Iron Horses sprinter Watson shines

 

It was another day, another dominant performance for Philip Simmons High School track and field standout NaJhyrai Watson.

 

Watson dominated the sprint events March 26 during a region sectional of the Bob Jenkins Coaches Classic, which was contested at Woodland High School.

 

Watson had a national elite time of 12.14 in the prelims of the 100-meter dash and lowered her time to 11.94 in the finals to claim the gold in a meet that featured Lowcountry SCISA teams and High School League teams from all five classifications.

 

The Iron Horses also had two athletes turn in national elite efforts in the girls’ pole vault. Avery Harbaugh cleared 11-0, while Regan Roush cleared 10-6.

 

Bishop England standout Justin Hafner turned in a national elite clocking of 4:24.79 in the 1,600-meter run.

 

Those athletes will lead the local contingent in the Bob Jenkins Coaches Classic Elite Invitational, which will be held April 23 at Cane Bay High School. The Woodland meet was one of seven qualifiers.

 

BE baseball winless

 

The Bishop England baseball team is proof that every once in a while a dynastic team can have an offseason.

 

That’s the case for the Bishops, who are 0-10, including 0-3 in Region 8-AAA heading into a pair of conference games this week against Academic Magnet.

 

The team has struggled in pitching and hitting; giving up 11.5 runs per game, while scoring only 28 runs in 10 games. Eleven of those runs came in a 15-11 loss to Oceanside Collegiate Academy last week.

 

BE has won 10 state championships since 1997.