LowcoSports.com
Bridges Prep’s girls cross country team should be among the top contenders at the SCHSL Class 2A State Championships on Friday in Aiken.
With sophomore Elise Thompson leading the way and junior Iris DeBois right on her heels, the Bucs placed second in the girls odd race at the state qualifier Friday in Newberry, with Thompson claiming a runner-up finish with a 5K time of 21:33, while DeBois finished eighth in 22:45.
The field was split into odd and even races with the top eight teams advancing to the state meet, along with any individuals from non-qualifying teams who placed in the top 20.
The Bridges Prep boys finished eighth in the odd race, claiming the last qualifying spot, as Blake Lesesne led the Bucs in 19:58. Whale Branch’s Raimund Roell finished 19th in the odd race with a time of 18:45 to qualify individually.
The qualifiers will run in the Class 2A state meet at 1 p.m. Friday at the Aiken Steeplechase.
SCMat.com releases preseason rankings.
Four area teams showed up in SCMat.com’s preseason high school wrestling rankings, including a pair who cracked the top 10 in their classification.
John Paul II starts the season ranked fourth in SCISA, largely on the strength of two returning state champions. The Golden Warriors return four state qualifiers, including defending state champs Brian Orta (132) and Jack Hannagan (150).
Battery Creek has a new coach this year with former Robert Smalls Middle School coach Rob Michelice picking up where Alex Rutherford left off, and the Dolphins are ranked eighth in Class 3A to start the season. The Dolphins have eight state qualifiers back, including seniors Nate Najar and Pharell Myers along with four wrestlers from a strong sophomore class that wrestled for Michelice in middle school.
Beaufort High checked in at No. 13 in Class 4A, ranking only behind defending state champion and top-ranked May River among Region 6-4A teams. The Eagles return four state qualifiers, including junior Colton Freeman, who was the Class 4A runner-up at 190 pounds last year.
Bridges Prep starts the season 17th in the Class 2A/1A rankings despite advancing to the Lower State finals last year. Kevin Summers is the lone returning state qualifier after placing fourth at 165 last winter, but the Bucs have reloaded from their strong middle school program and expect to challenge Edisto for the region title again after upsetting the Cougars in the playoffs a year ago.
