Huge York, Rock Hill signing classes add to 36 area athletes who’ll play college sports
With a microphone in his hand, York athletic director Joey Moore stood on the stage of the York Comprehensive High School auditorium and looked out into the crowd.
“Wow,” Moore mumbled in disbelief. He then shielded his eyes from the stage lights to get a better look.
The auditorium, Moore realized, was almost full with friends and families and coaches who were there to celebrate one of the largest signing classes York had ever seen.
After having five athletes sign in February, York celebrated an additional 14 students who put their college sports dreams on paper last Wednesday. The group included five baseball players, three football players, a volleyball player, four track and field stars, a swimmer and a volleyball player.
“By my count, that’s 19 college athletes for the whole year,” York principal Ryan Poston, who’s been at YCHS for 13 years, told the crowd with a smile. “That’s the largest class I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
York wasn’t the only school with a large signing class. Rock Hill High witnessed 10 athletes sign to play college sports on Wednesday — another large addition to an already large class — and other York County schools celebrated multiple signees recently, too.
Meet the college-bound athletes in The Herald’s coverage area below.
York sees 14 athletes sign to play college sports
Landon Sexton, Spartanburg Methodist College, baseball. Sexton was one of five baseball players from York to sign National Letters of Intent to play in college last week. He’ll pitch at SMU — he’s got a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup in his arsenal — and he said his favorite memory of playing baseball for York was playing in the IP Classic in Georgetown before the 2022 season: “All of the late nights in the hotel room, all of us hanging out and getting closer, it was just really cool.”
Hunter Latham, Newberry, baseball. Latham signed to play at Newberry last week. The favorite memory of the pitcher/catcher was winning the Junior Legion state championship. He remembers his team’s comeback and the end-of-game dogpile. When asked if he’s hoping to get another moment like that, he grinned: “Yeah,” he said, referencing the state playoffs. “Hopefully in a couple weeks.”
Ryley Stout, Newberry, baseball. Stout, too, will play for Newberry next baseball season. (He and Latham will be roommates.) Stout said his favorite memory of playing at York — like Latham and many other York baseball players — was his team winning the Junior Legion state championship. “We got down, and we just came together as a team and just fought,” he said.
Trace Thompson, Columbia International, baseball. Thompson signed to play baseball CIU. The senior, who has pretty much played every position in his time as a Cougar, said that he will remember York for its “big, family-type atmosphere” and also for its baseball success. His favorite game in his senior season? “It has to be the Lincoln Charter game in the spring break tournament,” he said. “We were down 2-4. I hit a home run to tie the game up, and then our sophomore leader (Cooper Parks) hits a bomb in the eighth inning and wins the game for us.”
Jack Peeler, USC Sumter, baseball. Peeler signed to play baseball at USC Sumter. The gregarious first baseman said his favorite moment playing York baseball was when his team won the Junior Legion championship his freshman year. He had many good things to say about his future school: “I feel like USC Sumter is where I’ll get the best coaching and will get the most attention from my coaches,” he said. “Just the best environment for me.”
Ashton Edington, Averett, football. The senior linebacker and baseball player will play football at Averett next year. He was a leader on the Cougar defense in 2021 and said he’ll always remember the friendships he made with his teammates — the same guys who helped him reach his college football dreams. “I’ve dreamed about this, just to play college football,” Edington said. “Not what level or what team I wanted, just this: I get to go play football at a university. And it’s just special.”
RJ Glasgow, North Greenville University, football. Glasgow, another two-sport athlete, committed to North Greenville University to play football. Glasgow did a little bit of everything for the Cougars in his senior season. He played linebacker, defensive back, running back and more.
Frank Thompson, Queen City Collegiate, football. York’s reliable running back found a home at Queen City Collegiate. He said one of his favorite parts of his senior year was overcoming external doubt — his team winning seven games in a year when “we weren’t even expected to win three games.” He looked into the crowd and saw a ton of faces and said he was grateful his family had been so supportive of him. Did the size of the signing class surprise him? “I know the Class of 2022,” Thompson said with a smile. “We’ve had a very athletic class since we started school together.”
Kristen Wolfe, Tuskegee, track and field. Wolfe was one of four York track and field athletes to sign National Letters of Intent. She’ll compete in the triple jump and high jump and said she’ll miss the camaraderie that the York track team had.
Maddie Griffin, Converse, track and field. Griffin is heading to Converse to run track and field. She began competing in track events in the ninth grade, and it appears running is in her DNA: Her brother, Jamar, is a talented sprinter who graduated from York in 2016. “Running is what I like most,” Griffin said. “It makes me feel free.”
Shanyia Gray, Converse, track and field. Gray signed to Converse’s track and field program and will compete in the 4x100m, 400m and triple jump events. One of her favorite moments as an athlete at York came when her basketball team stayed at Furman during a summer camp. Does she still consider herself a basketball player, even though her competitive playing days are over? “Just a little bit,” she said with a smile.
Jarret Mercer, Ottawa University, track and field. Mercer signed to Ottawa and will be competing in the high jump, triple jump and long jump there. He’s been jumping as long as he can remember — the walls and ceilings in his house have fingerprints all over them as proof, according to some members of his family — but he didn’t realize he had college level talent until pretty late, he said. Mercer added that his favorite moments at York, like many of his classmates, happened off the court/track/field. His specifically was at an All-American meet: “I got to meet a bunch of new people,” he said. “It was just great.”
Marie Durflinger, Converse, swimming. Durflinger committed to swim at Converse. She plans to compete in the 200 and 100 freestyle as well as freestyle relay events. She credited her parents — both college swimmers themselves, she said — with getting her involved with the sport when she was 6 years old. Durflinger added that her favorite part of swimming for York was participating in the meets. When asked why, she laughed and shrugged: “They’re just really fun.”
Mattie Steele, Columbia International, volleyball. Steele is heading to Columbia International to play volleyball. The utility player — she can play any position, from center to right side to outside to back-row defense — said that her favorite moment playing was “probably my senior night of senior year.” She added: “It just felt good to know that so many people cared and so many people were going to miss me. It was sad, but it felt good to close a chapter because I knew I was going to open up another one.”
Rock Hill sees 10 athletes sign
Waverly Brooks, The Citadel, football. Brooks has been waiting on this moment since he was a sophomore, he said, when he’d watch his teammates sign their own National Letters of Intent to play college football. And as it turns out, many of his teammates (and defensive linemen, specifically) joined him on Wednesday.
Brooks will play football at The Citadel and will be joined by Rock Hill teammate Maurice Bonneau. Is he excited for his teammate to join him at the coastal South Carolina school? “Oh absolutely I am,” Brooks said. “I was trying to convince him to come down there with me before he was committed. And once I got that call, after his official visit that he was going to commit, I was really excited that I was going to be down there with my buddy.”
Irin Stradford, Coker College, wrestling. Stradford told his classmates in the crowd on Wednesday that they should chase their dreams. “And when those dreams don’t work out, chase your next one,” he said. Stradford has used that message to guide him through his athletic career.
As he put it on Wednesday: “I’ve been playing football since the seventh grade. And I was like, ‘Football is not for me. I don’t have the height, don’t have the weight. I’m just gonna do something that I’ve done since I was born (wrestling).’ Every time you go to a big tournament, you just get those dreams, those visions of seeing yourself winning a state championship or placing well at a big tournament. I just saw myself doing it, so I just kept going.”
Megan Lambert, Guilford College, softball. Lambert will play softball at Guilford College in the fall. She told the crowd that she credits her parents for furnishing a strong support system and for Guilford for looking out for her best interest on and off the field.
Demarri Beatty, Spartanburg Methodist, track. Beatty will compete for the Spartanburg Methodist track and field program next year. He told the crowd that he will be studying business there.
Gracie Wilson, Newberry, basketball. Wilson signed to play basketball at Newberry and was part of an unforgettable Rock Hill state championship run in 2022. The 3-point shooter said part of what made her final high school basketball season special was having her teammates always along with her for the ride — and that hasn’t changed since the season ended. “We’ve all still been really close,” she said. “We really don’t change. A lot of them do track, and I don’t do track, but we’re always together and always with each other.”
She added: “It’ll be sad to leave, and I know that they’ll do really great things next year. I’m really proud of them and grateful for all of their support.”
Jayla Neely, Allen University, volleyball. Neely had been through a lot to get to Wednesday and sign her NLI to Allen University to play volleyball. She’s undergone multiple knee surgeries and had to play through a hurt knee in her senior season, she said. And that adversity made Wednesday’s moment even more special.
Another detail that made Neely’s signing sweet? It signaled the end of a full-circle moment. Neely’s mother played volleyball at Rock Hill High and did so under the same coach, Cindy Elder: “What really is special to me is my mom played for (Elder) and coached with her,” Neely said. Elder announced her retirement in March. “Coach was able to finish out with us. And that means a lot.”
Logan Rangnow, Winthrop, track/cross country. Rangnow will be a part of Winthrop’s running program next year. He said he chose Winthrop because it’s a Division I program and he’ll be able to stay close to home while competing.
Isiah Thomas, Limestone, football/lacrosse. Thomas is committed to play football and lacrosse at Limestone. That’s a unique combination out of RHHS, which doesn’t offer lacrosse as a sport. Thomas fell in love with lacrosse growing up in Long Island, New York before moving to Rock Hill in July 2021.
He said he is a face-off specialist in lacrosse. He enjoys it because of the pressure that comes with the position and the impact it can have. “It sets the tone of the game,” Thomas said. “It is fun, really fun.”
Jamarion Jones-Canty, Limestone, football. Like many of his teammates, Jones-Canty wasn’t sure that he was going to play football in college, “but then I saw everybody committing, and I saw that I could do that myself.” He’ll soon be a Limestone football player.
The defensive end — yes, another DE — credited many people for supporting him: “Coach (Bubba) Pittman was a No. 1 fan. It was just in the atmosphere. Everyone pushed me to keep going.”
Jackson Surratt, Norwich, football. Surratt will play offensive tackle at the next level. On Wednesday, he sported a bleach blonde mullet that he said was inspired by Coastal Carolina players and former NFL player Brian Bosworth — reflecting his love for having fun while working hard toward his football dreams.
Here’s what he said about his favorite memory at Rock Hill: “Those bus rides and the locker room... I’ll always think about those moments wherever I go.”
South Pointe honors basketball star
South Pointe’s reliable point guard senior Najah Lane committed to Johnson C. Smith University last month. Lane finished her senior season averaging 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and helped her team to a share of the Region 3-4A title in the process. As a Golden Bull she’ll join former Stallion Randi Neal, who’s entering her sophomore season in the program.
Nation Ford has 6 sign
Six Nation Ford athletes signed to play sports in college last month. Three of those signees are soccer players: Patrick Bramlett is heading to Winthrop University; Jahari Dozier is going to Pfeiffer University; and Eli Patrick is going to USC-Lancaster.
The others played different sports: Trusted Falcon football linebacker Jackson Sims is heading to North Greenville. Tyler Demarco, a critical component to the Falcons’ run to the 2022 boys lacrosse state championship game this past weekend, is heading to Lander University to play lacrosse. And Maya Cameron will be attending the University of North Georgia on a rifle scholarship.
Catawba Ridge sees 5 sign
Catawba Ridge saw five athletes sign last month. One was Alexa Dubrow, who signed to play soccer at Milsap College.
The other four are track athletes: Maddy Mack is heading to the University of South Carolina to run on the Gamecocks’ cross country and track teams. Avery Shope is joining the North Greenville running program. Josh Ehresman is joining the track and field team at Lees-McRae College. And Johnathan Hairston is joining the running program at Indiana Tech University.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 9:36 AM.
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