Sports briefs for Sept. 17

Lady Cougar tennis splits matches with Gaffney, Nation Ford

The York Comprehensive High School girls’ tennis team defeated Gaffney 4-3 in a match decided by a No. 1 doubles tie-breaker.

Andjela Todorovic and Heather Bomar won the No. 1 doubles tie-breaker 6-1, 6-2.

Other results included: No. 1, Todorovic, 6-2, 6-0; No. 2, Bomar, 6-0, 6-2; No. 3, Kaitlin Pruitt, 6-4, 7-5; No. 4, Mikayla Madden, 1-6, 2-6; No. 5, Ally Morales, 4-6, 5-7; and No. 2 doubles, Gracie Arnold and Emma Patterson, 2-6, 2-6.

“I am very proud of these girls and how hard they play each and every match,” said head coach Rusty Graham. “The deciding factor was the tie-breaker with Andjela and Heather. They are a deadly combo.”

The Lady Cougars were beaten 6-1 by a strong Nation Ford team.

The results: Todorovic, 6-4, 3-6, 1-10 tie-breaker; Bomar, 0-6, 0-6; Pruitt, 0-6, 0-6; Madden, 1-6, 1-6; Morales, 6-2, 6-4; Arnold and Madison Cummings, 6-7, 1-4, had to stop for lightning.

“Andjela Todorovic and Ally Morales continue to impress with solid play,” said Graham.

YCHS girls’ golf 2nd in match

The York Comprehensive High School girls’ golf team hosted Gaffney and defending state champion Fort Mill Monday at Spring Lake Country Club.

“Our girls played hard once again and it showed in their scores for a third consecutive match,” said head coach Dillon Barrett. “They posted a sub 200 team total.”

Gaffney took the top spot with a team total of 172 led by Maddy Key, who shot 40 and was medalist for the match.

York posted a team total of 199 for second, led by Sarah Smith’s 43 and Amiyah Starnes with a career low of 46. Eighth-grader Liza Tolson posted a career low of 54, for third on the team. Senior Tori Thompson rounded out the top four with a 56.

Fort Mill finished third with a team total of 207.

The varsity girls’ golf team traveled to Pinetuck Golf Club to take on the defending state champion South Pointe Stallions.

“The girls played hard and it really showed in their scoring, posting a team total 193,” said Barrett. “This is the lowest team total they have posted as team in the last two seasons.”

The team was led by Sarah Smith’s 38, followed by Amiyah Starnes with 47, Tori Thompson with 2 and Liza Tolson with 56.

“The girls’ hard work in practice is starting to show and it is coming at the right time in the season with the region tournament coming up in early October,” Barrett said.

Blue Eagle football players share comments

Junior Blue Eagle football players Jackson Parrish and Tanner Tolson discussed their roles before a Monday afternoon practice.

Parrish, a tight end who has been with the Blue Eagle football program since his freshman year, talked about the importance of carrying out the blocking assignments.

“I try to finish my block at the whistle,” he said. “I think everybody does. It is hard but we try.”

Asked how he responds when the defender opposite him is physically stronger, Parris said coming off the ball fast and keeping low are the keys.

“You don’t want anybody to be more physical than you,” he said. “You want to be physical, That’s the main thing, physicality.

Tolson, a 5-7, 195-pounder, said fullback has been his natural position for five years. He said running the ball and carrying out the blocks are about 50-50 at his position.

“Sometimes the play is based off my block,” he said. “If I don’t get the block, the play might not be any good. If you miss blocks, the play can get blown out. There’s no gain or maybe one or two yards.”

Concluded Tolson: “If you’re blocking right, we can get four or five yards a pop. We have the running backs we know can get it done.”

Clover cross-country runners compete

The Clover High School cross-country team competed against eight teams Sept. 5 at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill. The other teams were Irmo, South Pointe, Fort Mill, Northwestern, Southside Christian, Lancaster and the York County Trailbrazers.

Ben Clark took the lead midway through the varsity boys’ race and finished with an 11-second lead to win the race in 16:27. Will White came in eighth with 17:42 and Yusei Kikuta, a foreign exchange student from Brazil, finished 11th at 18:07. Both received medals for the top 15.

Leland Capps was 18th with 18:26. Verzal Morton completed in 18:58 at 24th. Luke Darling completed in 34th place with 19:30. Christian Ariza came in 42st with 20:12. The varsity boys came in second overall and received a plaque.

Dakota Harvey came in second in the junior varsity with 19:25 and received a medal for the top eight. Tyler Nguyen placed eighth with 19:56 with Luke Barz at ninth with 20:13. Christian DeFalco has a 20:52 and James Westergard helped secure the Clover’s third-place finish at 21:14.

Jesse DeFalco was third for the varsity girls with 20:31. She received a medal for the top 15. Second for Clover was Ann Marie White at 24:11. Riley Moss was third for Clover with 24:58. Next was Trinity Moore for Clover at 25:23. Jax Hendrickson finished at 26:27, Jewel McBee at 26:41 and McKenzie Thompson at 27:52.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Sports briefs for Sept. 17."