It’s A Great Time To Be A Highlander!

Come out and support the Highlanders in action the remainder of the week!

Thursday: B-Team Football @ Ben Lippen (Region Semifinal) – 5:00
Friday: Varsity Volleyball – SCISA State Tournament (Myrtle Beach) – TBD |Varsity Football @ Orangeburg Prep, 7:30

Boys Cross Country & Maryah Nasir Win The Region Title!

The Heathwood Boys Cross Country team captured the Cross Country Region 1-AAA title, Tuesday Oct. 18th at Hammond School. The Highlanders defeated Cardinal Newman by two points to take the title for the first time in five years, and after a fourth place finish last year. Lead by 7th grader Hugh Wilcox, who holds the second fastest time in the state for all 7th graders, the Highlanders were able to capture the title by placing four runners in the top ten for All-Region honors and five runners in the top fifteen. Hugh crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 18:15, Joseph French (8th grade) finished 6th overall in 18:30, Junior Nick Basilewas 7th 18:31, while seniors Matt Quan and Aidan Powers finished 9th and 13th with times of 18:49 and 18:57. The Highlanders will compete next on Saturday Oct. 29th at Heathwood as they host the State Championship Meet!

The Heathwood Hall Girls cross country team finished 4th in the SCISA AAA Region I Cross Country Championship on Tuesday night. The Lady Highlanders matched region champion Ben Lippen with 3 girls in the top 10, but were unable to get their fourth and fifth runners in the top 20. Ben Lippen finished well ahead of the pack with 37 points, but the second place team finish was a dog fight between Heathwood (65 pts.), Hammond (62 pts.), and Cardinal Newman (59pts.).

The Highlanders’ Maryah Nasir continued her dominate racing by winning the region individual championship with an impressive 19:00 (a Milesplit.com National Elite Silver time). The victory is Nasir’s fifth consecutive victory, and gives her 6 wins in 8 cross country meets for the 2016 season. She has the fastest time among all Midlands area and Low Country area runners (both private & public schools). Nasir’s region title is the 7th consecutive for the Lady Highlanders’ team. Heathwood also received outstanding performances from Emmye Mullins (7th) and Kate Nassab(10th) who went out with the top 15 runners and moved up during the second half of the race to earn all-region status.

Lady Highlander Swimming Finishes as State Runner-Up!

Savannah Hillmeyer claimed state titles and new state records in both the 100 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, and the Lady Highlanders claimed their second state runner-up finish in the last three years. The 200 Freestyle relay team of Lily Richter, Olivia Moran, Hillmeyer, and Abby Wilson captured the state title as well, while the four placed second in the 200 Medley relay. Moran also earned runner-up finishes in the 200 medley and 100 butterfly, while Richter (100 backstroke), Wilson (100 breaststroke), and Sarah Northey-Pagett (200 freestyle) also earned 2nd place finishes.

Madison Branum Wins the SCISA State Golf Championship, Girls Team Finishes 5th

Heathwood’s Madison Branum fired a 72 to win the SCISA 3A girls golf championship Tuesday at Orangeburg Country Club. Branum won the tournament by one shot over Hilton Head Christian’s Anna Leesman Eddy. Branum and Leesman Eddy tied for medalist honors last year. The team finished in fifth place after a team score of 400, behind Hilton Head Christian, Ashley Hall, Cardinal Newman, and Wilson Hall.

Volleyball Earns 2nd Place Region Finish, Jordan Named Coach of the Year

The Varsity Volleyball team defeated Ben Lippen at home last week to finish 2nd place outright in the region, 3-0! Behind stellar play from seniors Anna Allen, Isabella Antonetti, and Jaylen Davis, the Highlanders dominated the back part of the season, including a season sweep of archrival Hammond. With the All-Region Player of the Year and All-Region team still to be determined, Coach Ashley Jordan started the first of several accolades for the team, as she was named the Region I-AAA Coach of the Year. The team will open play in the SCISA State Tournament on Friday in Myrtle Beach.

JV (CN) & B-Team (CN & Hammond) Football Close Out Regular Season With Wins, Varsity Travels to Orangeburg Prep Friday Night

The JV Football Team closed out the 2016 season with a convincing win on the road, defeating region rival Cardinal Newman 38-12! The team enjoyed some revenge on the Cardinals, who won a tight first matchup at HHES. Led by a ground attack from Thomas Harris, Ryan Liester, and Darius Bates, the Highlanders controlled the clock and put up big points in the second half, scoring 30 unanswered points. The defense dominated all night, keyed by Chris Lou and Xander Postic,and an interception from Jake Clarkson.

The B-Team Football team wrapped up the #3 seed for the Region Tournament after a dominant win on the road against Cardinal Newman, and a thrilling home win over archrival Hammond! At CN, the Highlanders put the game away early, limiting to CN offense to negative first-half yardage, and putting 28 points on the board behind touchdowns from Evan Javis, Ryan Shelley, Rom Kelis, and Alexander Roberts. Yesterday, the terrific home crowd was treated to one of the more exciting football games one could see, as they Highlanders came from behind for the 14-12 win over the previously undefeated Skyhawks!

Hammond took the early lead 6-0, before Shelley tied up the game on an interception return for a TD midway through the 2nd quarter. Tied at 6-6 going into halftime, the Skyhawks opened up the scoring in the second half to make the score 12-6 in the third quarter. From that point on, the Highlanders dominated the game, as a Javis sack in the endzone made the score 12-8 early in the fourth. On the ensuing drive, Roberts found a streaking Kelis for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4 minutes to play. Consecutive stops by the Highlander and Skyhawk defense gave Hammond the ball with 1 minute to play, and Heathwood holding a 14-12 lead. With 30 seconds to play, Hammond looked to have potentially won on a long pass down the Highlander sideline, before Shelley caught the Skyhawk receiver on the HHES 3-yard line. Two key defensive stops led to the final Hammond play with 10 seconds left, as a pass intended for the endzone was intercepted by William Morris, icing the Highlanders’ win! HH will face #2 seed Ben Lippen tomorrow at 5PM in the region semifinal game.

The Varsity team heads into Friday night’s matchup with Orangeburg Prep, looking to turn quality performances into quality results after two tough games against Wilson Hall and Cardinal Newman. In the CN matchup, the Highlander defense held the Cardinal spread offense to just 200 total yards, and forced 3 interceptions fromBenton Mason, DQ Joseph, and Stuart Williams. Mac Hardy created the offensive play of the night taking a reverse 60 yards for a touchdown, while Duffy Beal had his best night passing since the opening week, spreading the ball around to several HH receivers. Friday night should also mark the return of starting running back Brandon McCullough, who missed the previous three games due to injury.

James Earns All-Region Honors, Tennis Finishes 4th In Region

Senior Francis James earned a spot on the All-Region I team after leading the Highlanders to a 4th place finish in region play. James played the majority of the season in both the #1 singles and #1 doubles position, helping the Highlanders to several key wins in and out of region play. The 4th place finish left the Highlanders just outside of the State Tournament, which began on Monday.