Several area athletes being recognized for signing with colleges

Nine Carolina Forest student-athletes were recognized last week for signing with various colleges, and a Waccamaw baseball standout will do the same later this week.

Warriors catcher and pitcher Levi Almond made a verbal commitment to Erskine in recent days. The senior was a North-South All-Star selection after batting .346 with 15 RBIs and going 4-2 with a 1.24 ERA and 51 strikeouts this spring.

He joins a large number of area athletes who have already signed, including the nine from Carolina Forest who had their ceremony last Thursday. The school’s lengthy list of commitments now also includes volleyball’s Elissa Smalls (Lees-McRae), soccer’s Amber Rutledge (USC-Salkehatchie) and the lacrosse duo of Curtiss Peligrino (Lincoln Memorial) and Phil Gerber (Greensboro).

Five Panthers football players who were heavily involved in the team’s first trip to the Class AAAA playoffs also signed. They were Victory Woods (Methodist), Angel Perez and Dean Wooley (Guilford), Jason Craft (Highland Community College) and Jeff Mario Brown (Hutchinson Community College).

REGION VII-AAA BOYS TENNIS HONORS

Jeffrey Dayton and his coach, Lee Cannon, doubled up on a pair of honors.

The St. James duo were named the Region VII-AAA Player and Coach of the Year. They will also represent the area as the lone selections for the North-South Tennis All-Star matches, to be played Saturday in Taylors.

They were two of the 11 region honorees. They were joined by St. James’ Joseph Martinez and Christian Heath; Myrtle Beach’s John Ed Cahill, Isaac Giddens, Joshua Wallen and Grant Singleton; Georgetown’s Gabe Holmes and Sean Morris; and North Myrtle Beach’s West Harrell and Alex Weaver.

ALL-REGION VII-AAA BOYS TENNIS TEAM

Player of the Year: Jeffrey Dayton-St. James

Coach of the Year: Lee Cannon-St. James

All-Region Team

Jeffrey Dayton, St. James

Joseph Martinez, St. James

Christian Heath, St. James

John Ed Cahill, Myrtle Beach

Isaac Giddens, Myrtle Beach

Joshua Wallen, Myrtle Beach

Grant Singleton, Myrtle Beach

Zachary Zhao, Wilson

Jarrett Russell, Wilson

Anish Jona, Wilson

Gabe Holmes, Georgetown

Sean Morris, Georgetown

West Harrell, North Myrtle Beach

Alex Weaver, North Myrtle Beach

ALL-REGION VIII-AA GIRLS SOCCER HONORS

Waccamaw’s Jessica Preedom was already the lone area player named to the Clash of the Carolinas roster.

The senior College of Charleston commitment being announced as the Region VIII-AA Player of the Year, then, made perfect sense. Preedom picked up the honors after scoring 23 goals and adding nine assists despite missing a month of the season. She also helped the Warriors to a 10th consecutive region title, something that helped Mark Sanchez also earn Coach of the Year honors in his first season with the team.

Joining Preedom on the all-region squad were teammates Lawson Murphy, Kylee Leizear, Juliet Gammel, Sara Austin Phillips and McCallee Watson. Aynor had five selections – Carly Altman, Bell McKenzie, Macy Larrimore, Madison Barton and Olivia Barton. Loris rounded out the area honorees with Korrie Smith, Torri Martin and Monica Gitchell.

ALL-REGION VIII-AA GIRLS SOCCER TEAM

Player of the Year: Jessica Preedom, Waccamaw

Coach of the Year: Mark Sanchez, Waccamaw

Player, School, Position

Jessica Preedom, Waccamaw, M/F

Lawson Murphy, Waccamaw, M/F

Kylee Leizear, Waccamaw, D

Juliet Gammel, Waccamaw, M

Sara Austin Phillips, Waccamaw, GK

McCallee Watson, Waccamaw, M

Carly Altman, Aynor, F

Bell McKenzie, Aynor, M/F

Macy Larrimore, Aynor, M

Madison Barton, Aynor, M

Olivia Barton, Aynor, M

Samantha Queribin, Marion, M/F

Andi Queribin, Marion, D

Jada Bell, Marion, F

Ashley Garner, Marion, M

Korrie Smith, Loris, F

Torri Martin, Loris, M/F

Monica Gitchell, Loris, GK

FINAL STATE SOCCER POLLS

Six area soccer teams finished the season with a spot in the South Carolina High School Soccer Association polls, which were updated for a final time after this weekend’s state championships in the four classifications.

The Myrtle Beach boys, the only area team to play on the last day of the season, were No. 2 in Class AAA, behind only champion Chapin. The Socastee boys came in at No. 4 in Class AAAA.

Four girls programs ended the year in the polls. Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and St. James were fifth, 11th, and 12th, respectively, in Class AAA, while Waccamaw was No. 4 in Class AA.

FINAL SCHSSCA STATE RANKINGS

BOYS

CLASS AAAA

1. River Bluff

2. Wando

3. Nation Ford

4. Socastee

5. Clover

6. Mauldin

7. Blythewood

8. J.L. Mann

9. Wade Hampton

10. South Aiken

11. Bluffton

12. Fort Mill

13. Riverside

14. Greenwood

15. Ashley Ridge

CLASS AAA

1. Chapin

2. Myrtle Beach

3. Eastside

4. Hilton Head

5. Dreher

6. A.C. Flora

7. Daniel

8. Brookland-Cayce

9. Berea

10. Walhalla

11. Hanahan

12. Aiken

13. Lancaster

14. Seneca

15. Gilbert

CLASS AA

1. Bishop England

2. Indian Land

3. Academic Magnet

4. Powdersville

5. Pendleton

6. Mid-Carolina

7. Newberry

8. Saluda

9. Wade Hampton

10. Silver Bluff

CLASS A

1. St. Joseph’s

2. Christ Church

3. Bamberg-Ehrhardt

4. Dixie

5. Governor’s Schools M&S

GIRLS

CLASS AAAA

1. Lexington

2. J.L. Mann

3. Fort Mill

4. Wando

5. James Island

6. Fort Dorchester

7. Dutch Fork

8. Clover

9. Dorman

10. Wade Hampton

11. Blythewood

12. Irmo

13. T.L. Hanna

14. Mauldin

15. Nation Ford

CLASS AAA

1. Chapin

2. Dreher

3. Hilton Head

4. Eastside

5. Myrtle Beach

6. Swansea

7. Brookland-Cayce

8. A.C. Flora

9. Wren

10. Blue Ridge

11. North Myrtle Beach

12. St. James

13. Beaufort

14. Airport

15. Lancaster

CLASS AA

1. Bishop England

2. Academic Magnet

3. Indian Land

4. Waccamaw

5. Wade Hampton

6. Batesburg-Leesville

7. Pelion

8. Woodruff

9. Landrum

10. Saluda

CLASS A

1. Christ Church

2. St. Joseph’s

3. Southside Christian

4. Brasher MC

5. Governor’s School M&S

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Several area athletes being recognized for signing with colleges."