State qualifiers ahead for PSHS cross country
The Philip Simmons High School cross country teams were dominant at the Region 5-AA championships, which were held Oct. 28 at Avian Commons at Camp Hall in Ridgeville.
Both teams are defending state champs and began their bids for more state championship hardware with impressive efforts.
The girls' team posted a 21-36 victory over Academic Magnet, while Bridges Prep tallied 95.
The Iron Horses’ Laura Perry won the girls’ race with a time of 19 minutes and 26.31 seconds over the 5K course. Flynn Taylor was third, Stella Wininger was fourth, and Caroline Oberly fifth. Sara Perry and Ansley Minkin also placed in the top 10 individually.
Meanwhile, the Iron Horse boys' team also defeated Academic Magnet, 26-30 while Bridges Prep claimed third.
Matthew Perry led the Philip Simmons boys with a gold-medal time of 16:40.87. Grady Castiglia was second, and Vincent Jaskiewicz finished third. Griffin Tollison was ninth, and Samuel Smith was 11th.
The Iron Horses will compete in the Class AA state qualifier on Nov. 7 in Newberry.
Coach Josh Michael’s teams have impressive streaks going. The girls’ team is seeking its fifth straight state crown, while the boys are seeking their third state title in a row.
Bishop England, meanwhile, will compete in the Class AAA state qualifier on Nov. 5 in Newberry.
The state championships will be held Nov. 14 at the Aiken Steeplechase.
VOLLEYBALL
Defending Class AA state champ Philip Simmons opened defense of its title with a pair of 3-0 victories against Saluda High School in the first round and Academic Magnet in the second round.
The Iron Horses, 38-5, were scheduled to host Bridges Prep in a third-round game on Nov. 3. Bridges Prep entered the match at The Phil with a 13-4 record.
Meanwhile, Bishop England gained a 3-1 victory in the first round of the Class AAA against Darlington and followed that up with a 3-0 triumph over Gilbert.
However, the Bishops’ season came to an end when Atlantic Collegiate posted a 3-0 victory in the third round on Oct. 28. The Bishops finished the season with a 16-25 record, according to MaxPreps, including 6-2 in Region 5-AAA, good for second place. [For more on the Bishop England volleyball team, see Page 16.]
TENNIS
The Bishop England and Philip Simmons girls’ tennis teams both reached the third round of the playoffs before exiting with losses.
The Iron Horses, a No. 4 seed in Class AA-A, earned a first-round bye and topped East Clarendon 6-0 in the second round. However, Academic Magnet was too much for the Iron Horses, as the Raptors posted a 6-0 decision over the Iron Horses in a third-round match contested on Oct. 29.
The Bishops, a No. 5 seed in Class AAA, opened the playoffs with a 6-0 triumph over Lower Richland High School and added a 6-0 victory over Hartsville in Round 2. However, Oceanside Collegiate halted the Bishops’ bid for a state title with a 5-1 victory in the third round.