Category Archives: Sports
Daniel drops tourney final after comeback
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — After wins against Crescent and Dunbar (Fla.), the Daniel Lions entered the finals of their annual 
Christmas tournament against the Seneca Bobcats last week battling not only for the championship, but also a season series win against their fiercest rival.
After trailing for the entirety of the game leading into the fourth quarter, the Lions kept the ball in the hands of sophomore Bobby Taylor and senior Brenton Benson, and the duo didn’t disappoint, leading Daniel on a 15-2 run to take its first lead of the game with less than three minutes to play.
The Lions’ hopes ended there, though, as Seneca guard Jared Rogers took
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County council honors Liberty athlete for title
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Liberty High School student-athlete Alexandria Stancell was recently recognized for her state championship win.
During its Dec. 16 meeting, Pickens County Council passed a resolution recognizing Stancell as the unlimited division state champion in the second South Carolina High School Strength Coaches Association state championship strength meet.
Chairman Roy Costner read the resolution aloud following the vote.
The resolution said that under the leadership of principal Josh Oxendine and athletic director Kyle Stewart, Liberty High School “has established an excellent athletic program.”
The second South Carolina High School Strength Coaches Association state championship strength meet was held at Dorman High School on Nov. 16.
“Alexandria Stancell participated for Liberty High School in the bench press, the squat and the standing broad jump,” Costner said. “All of those would break my back. I’m so impressed with you.”
“Pickens County recognizes the hard work and exemplary performance of Alexandria Stancell and is appreciative of the fine representation that she and the other competitors from Liberty High School made for all of Pickens County,” the resolution said.
The resolution said Stancell’s “outstanding achievement brings honor to our county, as well Liberty High School.”
Daniel girls recognized for 2nd state championship
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Daniel High School girls’ golf team was recently recognized for its second consecutive Class 4A state championship win.
During its Dec. 16 meeting, Pickens County Council passed a resolution congratulating the team on its win.
Chairman Roy Costner read the resolution aloud following the vote.
The resolution said that under the leadership of principal Shannon Sharkey and athletic director Tommy Plumbee, the school has established “an excellent athletic program, including a girls’ golf team led by coach Andy Swords.”
The team has won five consecutive Class 4A upper state competitions, qualifying them for the Class 4A state championship, the resolution said.
The Class 4A state championship tournament was held at The Shipyard Golf Club on Hilton Head Island in October, the resolution said.
“The Daniel High girls’ golf team won by 52 strokes” at the state tournament, Costner said. “Pickens County recognizes the hard work and exemplary performance of the Daniel High girls’ golf team.”
The team’s achievement makes a fine representation “for all of Pickens County,” the resolution said.
The second consecutive championship win is an “outstanding achievement that bring honor to our county, as well as Daniel High School,” the resolution said.
LHS seniors sign with colleges
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — After six Red Devils seniors signed to continue their athletic careers on the collegiate level last month, Liberty High School saw three more student-athletes sign on Thursday to wrap up one of the school’s largest fall signing classes in recent memory.
Jacob Jackson, Kendrick King and Hannah Whitaker joined the company of their six peers who signed in a
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Easley hires new volleyball coach
EASLEY — Rachael Huff has been tabbed as the new head volleyball coach at Easley High School.
Huff served as an assistant coach for the Green Wave over the past two seasons. Prior to her time at Easley, Huff coached at the KCJV Volleyball Club. Huff played volleyball at Daniel High School, where she earned a varsity letter for four seasons.
Huff earned a BA in elementary education from the University of South Carolina
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Daniel basketball teams sweep past Red Devils
By John Robert Ayers
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — After opening up the regular season with wins against the Liberty Red Devils, both Daniel Lion 
basketball programs hoped to continue their success against the Red Devils on Dec. 16.
The Lions managed to do so in convincing fashion to complete the season sweep of their county foe in Central.
The girls’ game began as a defensive slugfest before some full-court pressure by the Lions helped create two quick buckets by
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County honors state cross-country champ
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County Council recognized Daniel High School senior Mari Cagle Lockhart at its Dec. 16 meeting for bringing home a cross-country state championship.
Chairman Roy Costner read the resolution aloud following the vote to honor Lockhart, who won her fourth Class
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Easley weathers storm against Blue Flame
By John Robert Ayers
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — After holding the lead for much of the contest, the Easley Green Wave boys’ basketball team was on the verge of collapse on Friday night against rival Pickens.
The Green Wave held a 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but a resilient Pickens team brought it back to a one-point game with just less than four minutes to go. The comeback ended there, as Malaki Calhoun and Tim Bradley were clutch from the charity stripe to extinguish the Blue Flame with a 67-62 victory.
“We have a lot of talent, but we have a lot of young, inexperienced kids.” Easley head coach Mike Jones said. “We took a lot of bad shots and should’ve let the clock run out in some spots, but that is a part of the learning
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Wave clamp down to beat rival Pickens
EASLEY — Coming off a less than ideal start, the Easley Green Wave girls’ basketball team was looking to turn things around going into its matchup with archrival Pickens on Friday night.
Following losses to rival Wren and West-Oak earlier in the week, the Green Wave reversed their fortunes in a big
way, stifling Pickens offensively in a 35-20 win.
“We’ve really been honing in on turnovers,” Easley coach Ivan Raymond said. “We were averaging around 20 a game, and toward the end of the game tonight, we had seven. I told the girls that’s the difference — just playing the game smarter. They’ve played hard each game, but I think flipping that switch mentally allowed us to win this game.”
The Green Wave were in a fight early, with Alex Dow hitting two threes near the outset of the first quarter to give Pickens
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New Liberty head coaches pick up first victories
LIBERTY — After a slow start to the 2019 season, the Liberty boys’ and girls’ basketball teams picked things up for their Dec. 9 matchups with Pickens, and for LHS head coaches Jonathan Dilworth and Gregg Thomas, it 
marked a major career accomplishment.
Leading the boys’ and girls’ teams, respectively, Dilworth and Thomas are in their first year at the helm of the Red Devil basketball teams and had yet to see a win entering the matchup against the Blue Flame. However, when the night was over, they both had added a milestone first victory.
Thomas’ Lady Red Devils started off the night in a hole before things turned around. The Lady Red Devils were outscored 14-10 in the opening quarter, but a stellar shooting performance by Emmaline Terry and some hardnosed defense by Courtney Black saw the Devils outscore Pickens 30-14 the rest of the way
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