Myrtle Beach boys claim No. 1 spot in state soccer polls

The Myrtle Beach boys soccer team is the new No. 1 in Class AAA.

The Seahawks, who added four wins last week and clinched the Region VII-AAA title, now stand 17-2-1 overall. They lost to Class AAAA No. 3 Nation Ford on March 4 and then 2-1 to Socastee in the finals of the Soccer at the Beach tournament over Spring Break.

Since then, Jason Himmelsbach’s team has rattled off seven straight victories, six of which came inside region play. That, combined with previous No. 1 Chapin’s loss last week to Dreher, was enough to bump Myrtle Beach into the top spot.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks girls team also made a considerable jump in the polls after winning its own region crown. Since falling to North Myrtle Beach on March 16, Myrtle Beach has won eight straight games. More impressive, the combined score of those game has been an eye-popping 63-3.

The two Seahawks squads were not the lone Grand Strand programs in the most recent rankings.

The Socastee boys were No. 8 in Class AAAA, North Myrtle Beach was No. 15 in Class AAA and Waccamaw was No. 7 in Class AA. Other ranked girls teams included North Myrtle Beach (No. 12, Class AAA), St. James (No. 14, Class AAA) and Waccamaw (No. 4, Class AA).

SCHSSCA STATE RANKINGS

BOYS

CLASS AAAA

1. Wando

2. River Bluff

3. Nation Ford

4. Mauldin

5. South Aiken

6. J.L. Mann

7. Blythewood

8. Socastee

9. Bluffton

10. Wade Hampton

11. Clover

12. Riverside

13. Fort Mill

14. Ashley Ridge

15. Dutch Fork

CLASS AAA

1. Myrtle Beach

2. Eastside

3. Chapin

4. Dreher

5. Brookland-Cayce

6. Hilton Head

7. Daniel

8. A.C. Flora

9. Berea

10. Hanahan

11. Walhalla

12. Aiken

13. Wilson

14. Gilbert

15. North Myrtle Beach

CLASS AA

1. Bishop England

2. Academic Magnet

3. Indian Land

4. Mid-Carolina

5. Pendleton

6. Wade Hampton

7. Waccamaw

8. Powdersville

9. Saluda

10. Newberry

CLASS A

1. St. Joseph’s

2. Christ Church

3. Dixie

4. Bamberg-Ehrhardt

5. Southside Christian

GIRLS

CLASS AAAA

1. Lexington

2. J.L. Mann

3. Fort Mill

4. Wando

5. Wade Hampton

6. Fort Dorchester

7. T.L. Hanna

8. Dutch Fork

9. Blythewood

10. James Island

11. Clover

12. Mauldin

13. Irmo

14. Dorman

15. South Aiken

CLASS AAA

1. Chapin

2. Dreher

3. Eastside

4. Myrtle Beach

5. Swansea

6. Brookland-Cayce

7. Hilton Head

8. Wren

9. Blue Ridge

10. Chapman

11. A.C. Flora

12. North Myrtle Beach

13. Hanahan

14. St. James

15. Airport

CLASS AA

1. Indian Land

2. Academic Magnet

3. Bishop England

4. Waccamaw

5. Wade Hampton

6. Batesburg-Leesville

7. Woodruff

8. Saluda

9. Pelion

10. Landrum

CLASS A

1. Christ Church

2. St. Joseph’s

3. Southside Christian

4. Governor’s School M&S

5. Gray Collegiate

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach boys claim No. 1 spot in state soccer polls."