Swanson named Class AA Volleyball Player of the year

Bishop England’s Montana Swanson has been named South Carolina Coaches Association for Women’s Sports (CAWS) Class AA Volleyball Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Swanson, a senior, helped Bishop England post a 40-9-4 record this fall en route to a national record 16th straight state championship.
The senior led the Bishops with 318 kills, which was good enough second in the State for Class AA players and 17th overall in the state. She also recorded 297 digs and 40 blocks.
She was named the Class AA Player of the Year in 2014 and was MaxPreps All-American after tallying 470 kills and 370 digs.
Dorman’s Thayer Hall was the Class AAAA Player of the Year. Pickens’ Haley Holcombe was tabbed as the Class AAA Player of the Year. St. Joseph’s Allison Whitten was selected as the top player in Class A.
BE baseball
A pair of senior members of the Bishop England baseball team recently signed to play for The Citadel.
The players are outfielder Jeffrey Brown and pitcher Gunnar Finneseth.
Brown was an all-state selection as a junior. He batted .402 as a leadoff hitter and showed good speed with 27 stolen bases. He scored 25 runs.
Finneseth batted .442, which was tops for the Bishops. The lefty also stars on the mound and is considered to be one of the top pitchers in the state.
Blalock to USC
Bishop England track and field star Adele Blalock recently signed with the University of South Carolina.
Blalock excels at the pole vault. She is a two-time state champ heading into her senior season. She won the state title in 2014 with a vault of 9-6 and repeated as state champ last spring with an effort of 10-6.
She also won the 400-meter dash last spring with a time of 58.36 and placed second in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 15.64.
Blalock set a personal record of 11-9¾ at the Gamecock Invitational last February. She also shone at the national level, claiming 10th place at the USATF Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championship with a vault of 11-7 ¾ over the summer.
Region 8-AAA football
Region 8-AAA champ Hanahan landed seven players on the all-region team.
The Hawks’ selections included Sam Denmark, Tre Smalls, Dominique Green, Vontre Howard, Victor Colbert, Sean Brady and Javante McLaurin.
The Hawks went 8-2 in the regular season, including 5-0 in league play. They lost to Brookland-Cayce in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.
Region 6-AA football
Bishop England dominated the top honors for the Region 6-AA football team.
Blake Jeresaty was the lineman of the year while quarterback Leo Albano shared back of the year honors.
The Bishops went 6-5 this fall, including 5-0 in region play. The Bishops lost to Lake Marion in the first round of the playoffs.