Category Archives: Sports
Lady Lions take down Blue Flame
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — With both teams looking to pick up their first region wins of the season, 
the Pickens High School softball team hosted Daniel on Wednesday night.
The Lions were able to take a commanding 7-0 lead in the opening inning and never looked back as they picked up a 13-2 win over the Blue Flame.
“We’ve been struggling and we haven’t been able to get all three phases of the game to happen at the same time,” Daniel head coach Tony Qualkinbush said. “Tonight, we did and we set the tone. Overall, this is what we’re capable of. They just have to start
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AWL Pro Wrestling returns to the Market at the Mill this Saturday
PICKENS — The stars of the American Wrestling League (AWL) are set to return to Pickens this Saturday for one of the organization’s featured events, “Spring Break 2026.” The AWL has quickly adopted Pickens — and the Market at the Mill — as one of its premier stops, bringing some of the most exciting independent professional wrestling action in the region.
The night’s card opens with a clash between “The Frat Daddy” Bryce Cannon and the always‑tough Jessie Alexander Carter, a matchup expected to deliver plenty of hard‑hitting intensity. High‑flying action follows as Chris Young squares off with Alexander Moss, promising fast‑paced aerial offense.
Championship gold will also be on the line. AWL Juniorweight Champion Saint Julious will defend his title against Buddy Wright, renewing a heated rivalry as both competitors return from suspension. In another standout bout, Chris Valo makes his return to Pickens to face the legendary Blackcat Leon Johnson in a one‑on‑one
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Central girls win state title
The Central-Clemson Recreation 10U girls’ basketball team secured the first-ever state championship for Central-Clemson in the age division. The girls started off with a 29-12 win over Richland County, then beat North Charleston 31-24 in the semifinals. They then beat North Charleston once again by a final score of 32-18 to claim the title.
Devils fall short against West-Oak
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Taking a 2-0 first inning lead over West-Oak on Friday night, the Liberty High School baseball team looked like it was on its way to picking up its second 
consecutive win.
Instead, unforced errors allowed the Warriors to recover quickly, and the Red Devils were unable to match them in the batter’s box, leading to a 9-2 loss.
“We’ve got young guys all over the field for us and they make great plays, but when you have young guys there are going to be growing pains,” Liberty head coach Trey Ulmer said. “We know these guys are going to be stud players and we’re going to keep working.”
The Devils looked great in the opening inning with starting pitcher Carson Garrick taking down the Warriors in order before Liberty went to work in the batter’s 
box. A one-out double from T.J. Borow and an Ethan Carroll walk put runners in scoring position, where Garrick was able to drive them home with a single to center field.
West-Oak quickly answered in the second inning taking advantage of errors, passed balls and wild pitches, as well as an RBI-single from Cole Dobbs to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the inning.
Liberty went down in order to end the second and West-Oak added even more insurance in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly from Eli Hayes. Liberty seemed like it might have an answer with back-to-back two out singles from Carroll and Garrick only for the inning to end on the basepaths with pinch runner Chase Smith getting caught stealing.
Things were quiet for both sides in the fourth, but West-Oak was able to add three more runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Graham Campbell and a two-RBI single from Parker Gibson. The Warriors weren’t done there, with Grant Smith adding another two-RBI single in the sixth inning to give Liberty a 9-2 deficit.
The Red Devils found a little offense late with Daniel Belan drawing a walk and Jacob Melton picking up a two-out single. However, Liberty was unable to match the Warriors with Nolan Burgess drawing the game-ending ground out to give West-Oak a 9-2 victory.
The loss was the latest in a sting of ebbs and flows for the youthful Liberty baseball team which had run-ruled region 1-2A favorite Landrum the previous week followed by a loss to county rival Pickens. In spite of some of the early season struggles, Ulmer believes the Devils will be ready to bounce back.
“We have high hopes and high expectations for this group once we get through the ebbs and flows and start to figure some things out,” Ulmer said.
Wave take down rival Pickens
The Easley Green Wave were able to pick up a massive rivalry win over county foe Pickens on the diamond last week, with a 17-1 road win over the Blue Flame. Green Wave first baseman Katie Marchbanks had a sensational day in the batter’s box in the win going 4-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI’s, while Easley pitcher Abby Wade gave up just three hits and struck out nine Pickens batters in a complete game win. Pictured above, Easley’s Rachel Spoden slides into second base, while Pickens shortstop Kynlee Ray attempts to apply a tag.
Liberty wrestlers win state titles
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
FLORENCE — Nearly two dozen wrestlers from around Pickens County descended upon on the Florence Center looking to make their mark at the South Carolina High School League individual state wrestling championships on Feb. 20 and 21.
Liberty High School had the most successful day on the mat of the local schools with six
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Daniel boys ousted by Lancaster in round 3
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Having watched a double-digit second half lead slip away, the Daniel High 
School boys basketball was in dire straits down 65-57 with three minutes remaining in their third-round matchup with Lancaster on Tuesday night.
With the season on the line, junior guard James Epting caught fire for Daniel hitting a pair of threes and a putback to cut the deficit down to
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County basketball stars named to All-State teams
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Four Pickens County basketball players were among those named to the 
South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association All-State team announced last month.
Jackson Conley, Campbell Epting and Shala Williams were named to the Class 4A squads from Daniel High School, while Liberty’s Kendrick Jackson was named to the Class 2A
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Daniel girls see season end with third round loss to South Pointe
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — With a trip to the Upper State championship on the line, the Daniel High School girls basketball team hosted South Pointe on Monday night.
Early turnovers mounted for the Lions and they were unable to stop the Stallions’ all-state tandem of Kaleigh Lucas and JaNyia Cunningham throughout the game, falling 77-52.
“Not taking care of the basketball really hurt us,” Daniel head coach Cosandar Griffin said. “When we went into halftime we were only down by 12, I thought we had a chance. 
It was just so hard to take care of the ball and try to guard those posts.”
The undersized Lions put an emphasis trying to stop Cunningham down low, but even with everything Daniel threw at her at the 6’1” junior she still found a way to put up 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
“She’s just a dominant player,” Griffin said. “She can play small, she can play big and she just knows how to get position down low in the paint.”
With Cunningham’s gravity down low, the floor open up for Lucas as well as she scored a game-high 28 points with four made three-pointers.
“(Cunningham and Lucas) really stepped up and played,” South Pointe head coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “They sealed the deal for us.”
The Lions were hot to start the night with Lila Mann, Janiyah Wilson and Braelin Cumbie all hitting three-pointers to keep things tight midway through the first quarter. Cunningham proved to be too much though with 10 of her 27 points in the opening quarter.
Trailing 23-15, the Lions tried to match the Stallions with Cumbie and Shala Williams stepping up on offense. However, the South Pointe continued to get easy buckets in transition because Daniel’s 18 first half turnovers, giving the Stallions a 37-25 lead at the half.
Lucas scored eight straight to open the half for South Pointe but the Stallions were unable to pull away as Williams and Campbell Epting hit big shots for Daniel to make it a 54-40 game after three quarters.
Lucas and Chamberlain continued to roll combining for 55 total points in the contest as the Stallions put the game out of reach in the final quarter for a 77-52 win.
The loss was final game for the Lions three-member senior class of Braelin Cumbie, Madeline McAlister and Carly Webb. Griffin was effusive when talking about her senior class especially Cumbie, a four-year player who saw the Lions go from missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons as a freshman to winning 66 games over the next three years.
“She improved so much from freshman year to senior year,” Griffin said. “She’s basically the backbone of our program. She keeps everybody together.”
While the Lions will miss their graduating class, expectations remain high with the return three all-state players in Campbell Epting, Lila Mann and Shala Williams as Daniel returns to Class 3A next season.
“We have a great core coming back and we look forward to going back down to 3A,” Griffin said. “It’s still going to be tough with teams like Walhalla but we’re just ready to get back in the gym.”
South Pointe 77, Daniel 52
SPHS 23 14 17 23 — 77
DWD 15 10 15 12 — 52
Daniel (52) — Williams 15, Mann 14, Cumbie 13, Wilson 7, Epting 3.
South Pointe — Lucas 28, Cunningham 27, Rowan 14, Coleman 3, Phillips 2, Young 2, Hardy 1.
3-point goals — Daniel 11 (Williams 4), South Pointe 6 (Lucas 4). Rebounds — Daniel 20 (Mann 5), South Pointe 36 (Cunningham 14). Assists — Daniel 9 (Epting 3, Wilson 3), South Pointe 15 (Cunningham 5).
