Prep notebook: Area athletes rack up postseason hardware

Area athletes are loading up on postseason hardware – locally, within their respective regions and even statewide.

Seven area softball players were named to the South Carolina Coaches Association of Women’s Sports All-State teams.

The list of local athletes included Carolina Forest teammates Natalie Hardwick and Emily Merriam. Area Class AAA selections included Noel Cassidy (St. James), Taylor Hansis (North Myrtle Beach) and Crystyn Neely (Georgetown). Aynor’s Hannah Seaver and Waccamaw’s Olivia Dunlap were selected in Class AA.

All of those players’ teams qualified for their respective playoffs, with Seaver and Aynor playing for the Class AA state championship this week.

The North-South All-Star softball rosters, as well as the baseball two all-star and all-state teams are expected to be released this week.

The all-state softball announcement came on the heels of Cassidy being named the Region VII-AAA Player of the Year and Georgetown’s Whitney Ramsing being honored as the region’s Coach of the Year.

Other local first-team selections included Georgetown’s Neely, Anna James and Kirsten Vause; North Myrtle Beach’s Taylor Hansis, Myatt Hardwick, Makala Gore and Julia Cole; St. James’ Kelsi Bachmann and Shelby Spaziani; and Myrtle Beach’s Leah Belack.

In boys soccer, Socastee’s run through Region VI-AAAA in its first season back at the state’s top class was rewarded accordingly.

Memo Suarez and Jake Perito were named the region’s Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively, leading a list of seven individual honors for the Braves. In addition to Perito, Tanner Goshert, Chris Matlashewski, Alexis Alto, Alan Millan and Jon Ford were named to the all-region team.

Other local selections included Khadoe Crosby and Marquie Weaver from Carolina Forest and Conway’s Sammy Sawyer.

Both the boys golf and the boys tennis North-South All-Star teams have also been announced, with area representations on each.

Three area golfers – Carolina Forest’s Enzo Farrar, North Myrtle Beach’s Vijay Mishra and Socastee’s Brady Lane – were among the 16 seniors in South Carolina selected for the all-star event, which will be played May 23-24 at the Golden Bear Golf Club on Hilton Head Island.

In addition to the three players, Carolina Forest’s Vil Caroso will be a part of the four-man coaching staff for this year’s all-star matches.

Socastee’s Ethan Smith was one of 12 players from around the state selected to participate in the North-South All-Star tennis matches.

The event, which will take place May 30 at the Pavilion tennis center in Taylors, recognizes South Carolina’s top seniors. Smith, a starter at Socastee each of the past two seasons, helped the Braves unseat West Florence in Region VI-AAAA. The Knights had won 13 consecutive region titles prior to Socastee’s move to the state’s top class this school year.

St. James tennis standout Jeffrey Dayton was named the Region VII-AAA Boys Player of the Year and Lee Cannon was named the region’s Coach of the Year after helping the Sharks to their first-ever postseason.

Other local all-region selections included Myrtle Beach’s Isaac Giddons, John Ed Cahill and Joshua Wallen; St. James’ Joseph Martinez; Georgetown’s David Stalvey and Gabe Holmes; and North Myrtle Beach’s Caleb Wood.

In boys lacrosse, Waccamaw goalie Gavin Chilton was named first-team all-state, while Socastee attackman Nick Borriello and Carolina Forest midfielder Zach Earnest were named second-team all-state. In girls lacrosse, Socastee’s Hayley Fergus, Jackie Turner and Rachael Harter were named to the all-state team.

College signings

Waccamaw track and field and cross country runner Grant Smith committed to Winthrop on Monday.

Smith, a senior, finished 14th overall last fall in the Class AA cross country meet, helping Waccamaw to a second-place finish. He picked the Eagles over The Citadel.

Socastee lacrosse standout J.C. Bulleman committed to Lincoln Memorial, an NCAA Division II school in Tennessee. Bulleman, a defenseman, chose LMU over interest from a number of other programs.

He helped the Braves to a playoff berth this spring.

Toast of the Coast

A reminder that nominations for Toast of the Coast baseball are due from area coaches by noon Wednesday.

Boys golf and boys tennis nominations are due by noon, Thursday.

Nominations from those three sports should be sent directly to ian@ianguerin.com. Toast of the Coast Track and Field instructions will be sent out in the coming week.

Carvers Bay to hold Father’s Day hoops camp

The collaboration of several area entities has come together to form the inaugural Father’s Day at the Bay basketball camp.

The event, which will take place June 20 at Carvers Bay High School, will teach sport-specific playing and coaching techniques to father-child and mentor-player pairings.

The camp will be run by the Carvers Bay booster club, the boys basketball program, the Manzer Basketball Academy, the Carvers Bay Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Georgetown County Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Pre-registration cost is $45 per twosome, with it increasing to $50 on the day of the camp. For more information or to register, contact Bears boys basketball coach Jeff Mezzatesta at 655-6581.

Socastee youth football camp

The coaches and varsity players at Socastee will be holding a three-day football camp for children ages 7-12 June 9-11 at the high school.

It will address fundamentals and position-by-position skills.

The camp will be held from 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m. each day. Cost for a single entry is $60 in advance or $80 on the day of. There is also an $80/$100 cost for twosomes.

For more information, contact Braves football coach Doug Illing at jilling@horrycountyschools.net.

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Area athletes rack up postseason hardware."