Phil shares his pick of top sports stories of 2018 - by month

Last week, we had the 12 days of Christmas. This week, we have the top 12 sports stories of 2018 – by month. Here is one man’s opinion.

JANUARY

BE football team honors Jack Cantey

The 1967 Bishop England football team reunited to celebrate a memorable season that included a 10-0 regular-season record and to honor coach Jack Cantey with a scholarship in his name.

FEBRUARY

BE’s reign as champions ends

The Bishop England girls’ basketball team’s reign as Class AAA state champs ended when Ridgeland-Hardeville knocked off the Bishops in the third round of the playoffs. The Bishops were only one of six teams in state history to win four state titles and the loss snapped the Bishops’ 22-game playoff winning streak.

Also considered: Dave Morbitzer named head football coach at Hanahan.

MARCH

SCAA honors Runey and Cantey

The South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association honored two Bishop England legends during its annual meeting. Jack Cantey, a former coach and athletic director for the school, was honored at the SCAAA event, earning entry into the organization’s Hall of Fame. Paul Runey was named the state’s top athletic director by the organization. Runey has been at BE for 44 years and oversees an athletic program that has gained national attention.

Also considered: Daniel Island swimmers finish strong in High School League state meet, and Bishop England wins IP Baseball Classic title.

APRIL

Bertens wins Volvo Car Open

Kiki Bertens won the Volvo Car Open and she did it the hard way. After rain wiped out most of Saturday’s play, Bertens had the tennis day of her life on Sunday to become the first Dutch woman to win the Volvo Car Open. The 12th-seeded Bertens won a semifinal against No. 5 seed Madison Keys on Sunday morning and received the championship trophy later in the day after defeating German Julia Goerges. Bertens earned a $137,125 paycheck.

Also considered: Bishop England wins HIT championship, BE baseball team wins Region 7-AAA title and BE girls lacrosse team wins third consecutive state championship.

MAY

DI area celebrate championships

The High School League held its annual Weekends of Champions, and the Daniel Island area schools were celebrating gold. Bishop England won the Class AAA state tennis title, while the Bishop girls’ soccer team won their 11th state title. The Bishops’ baseball team repeated as Class AA state champs to give it nine state championships in the sport. The Bishop boys’ golf team won another state crown, while the Hanahan softball team won another state title.

JUNE

BE named top athletic program Bishop England High School captured The Carlisle Cup Award for the state’s top athletic program in Class AAA -- again. The award, formerly known as the Director’s Cup, has been in the Bishops’ collective hands since the 2002-03 academic year, when the award was first presented. The Bishops won eight state titles in the 2017-18 academic year: volleyball, girls’ tennis, girls’ lacrosse, boys’ tennis, girls’ soccer, baseball, girls’ swimming, and boys’ golf.

Also considered: MWTennis Academy players Maxwell Smith, Kerim Hyatt, Elizabeth Truluck, Elle Bredemann, Mattie Grace Dermody, and Hunter Reynolds finish strong at 62nd annual State Tennis Championships in Belton.

JULY

Flying Fish claim 3rd place in City Meet

The Daniel Island Flying Fish fared well as a team and had many swimmers shine brightly at the annual City Swim Meet. The team had gold medal winners in Ellie Chalupsky (9-10 age group), the girls’ 7-8 100 freestyle relay team of Ivey Hicks, Charlotte Good, Ava Harkey and Gabi Sullivan, and Ethan Griffith, who competed in the 13-14 age group.

AUGUST

PSHS Football

The Philip Simmons varsity football team grabbed headlines in August and they prepped for their first year as a varsity team and played its first game after a very successful season as a junior varsity program in 2017. The Iron Horses played in the Sertoma Classic and played their first game Aug. 17. The Iron Horses dropped a 39-6 decision to St. John’s.

SEPTEMBER

Addie Laurencelle commits to UC Berkeley

Bishop England High School swimming standout Addie Laurencelle committed to the University of California, Berkeley, one of the top programs in the country. The Golden Bears won national titles in 2011, ’12 and ’14 and have been national runners-up five times, including three years in a row heading into the 2018 season. Laurencelle considered many schools including Brown, Alabama, USC, Duke, UConn, Dartmouth and Colgate.

OCTOBER

PSHS Cross Country teams wins region

The Philip Simmons cross country teams had impressive performances and results in the Region 6-AA meet. The Iron Horse boys topped Oceanside Collegiate 16-53 to claim first place. Noah Ward of Philip Simmons had a national elite performance with a time of 15:57.00 to claim first place. Teammates Henry Wood, Will Finch and Thomas Schmenk finished second, third and fourth, respectively. The Iron Horse girls also claimed the title with a 22-34 victory over Oceanside Collegiate. Seventh-grader Hailey Meyers led PSHS with a first-place finish. Emma Muller was second and Josie May was third.

Also considered: Hanahan wins Region 7-AAA football crown with 19-14 victory over Manning.

NOVEMBER

BE’s 18-year reign ends

Powdersville ended Bishop England volleyball team’s majestic 18-year-run as state championship with an upset for the ages. The Bishops failed to repeat as state champs for the first time since 2000. Powdersville defeated the Bishops, 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15. The Bishops still have 28 state championships, overall, which is a national record.

Also considered: BE Cross Country team scores first state title since 2011, PSHS’s Noah Ward claims 1st place in Class A-AA state meet, DI boys’ golf team wins league championship, BE girls’ tennis wins 23rd state title, local athletes sign with colleges, Kelsey Stieby named Volleyball Player of the Year.

DECEMBER

Friendship on display

No other local story attracted as much national attention as Cooper Dawson’s announcement that he was signing a football scholarship to play for the Syracuse Orangeman. Dawson shared the spotlight with his friend, Kingsley Feinman, who has cerebral palsy. Feinman, a Daniel Island resident, taught Dawson one of life’s greatest lessons: “The only disability is a bad attitude,” as Dawson recovered from surgery to repair a torn ACL. The video of the signing went viral. ESPN, on its Facebook Page, proclaimed, in less than a day, that the post of the video had 27,000 likes, 775 comments, 13,176 shares and 2.3 million views.

Also considered: BE girls’ basketball team regains No. 1 ranking, BE boys’ basketball team moves up in Class AAA ranking, Former BE three sport all-star Leo Albano preps for College Football Playoffs as a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.