The track season has ended for athletes in Lexington County following the conclusion of the South Carolina high School League track and field championships. 

Over the course of three days, athletes from all over South Carolina traveled to Spring Valley or Richland Northeast High School for the state championships. The best-of-the-best came together to compete head to head for gold in various track and field events. 

Each classification had its own meet. Two meets were held each day with one at each host site. 

In all, 43 Lexington County athletes left with a gold, silver or bronze medal. Many others finished in the top-eight to earn a spot on the expanded podium. 

Nine different athletes won a gold medal, and one program scored enough points to win the overall team championship. 

Gray Collegiate’s girls team won its second-consecutive state title, and first in 4A, after scoring 61 points. The War Eagles finished three points ahead of Daniel to win the championship. 

The War Eagle girls were propelled to first place thanks in part to an excellent showing from Tamara Steward. She finished the day with four medals, two gold, one silver and one bronze. 

Steward was on the track and in the field, finishing first in the girls 100m hurdles and long jump. She got a silver medal in the girls 400m hurdles and a bronze in the 4x100m relay. 

Taylor Jones, Aliyah Edwards and Zaria Gaines won a bronze medal as Steward’s relay teammates. 

Steward was not the only athlete to win multiple medals at the games. Her teammate Tresta Miller won two silvers in the 100-meter and 400-meter races. 

Gray’s Damarcus Gaither won three medals in the boys events, claiming first in the 200-meter run and 4×100-meter relay and second in the 400. 

Brookland-Cayce’s Aden Price won three medals, finishing first in the 400-meter race, third in the 100-meter and third in the 4×400-meter relay.  

In the 2A meet, a pair of Batesburg-Leesville athletes double-medaled in field events. Keira Frye won gold in the girls discus and shot put, while Ja’Quan Corleyearned bronze and silver in the same boys events. 

The state title meets mark the end of the high school track season in South Carolina. Some of the state’s top athletes will get the chance to keep running at national events early this summer. 

Below is a list of all the local athletes who medaled and what event they won it in. 

Lexington County athletes to medal

5A Division I 

Kendra Miles – Lexington – 2nd girls 1600m

Ciara Williams – Lexington – 2nd girls long jump

Josh Voegele – Lexington – 3rd boys 1600m

TyRon Ray – River Bluff – 3rd boys high jump

Patton Casto – River bluff – 3rd girls shot put

Tyler Brown – Dutch Fork – 3rd boys 4x800m relay

Evan DeMasi – Dutch Fork – 3rd boys 4x800m relay

Eli Johnson – Dutch Fork – 3rd boys 4x800m relay

Owen Warner – Dutch Fork – 3rd boys 4x800m relay

5A Division II 

Nyla Fair – White Knoll – 2nd 100m hurdles 

Summit Wood – Chapin – 3rd boys 3200m

Reagan Trevett – Chapin – 3rd girls 800m 

McKenzie Lindler – Chapin – 3rd girls pole vault

Reagan Trevett – Chapin – 3rd girls 4x800m relay

Lilly Holman – Chapin – 3rd girls 4x800m relay

Jacqueline Bonavilla – Chapin – 3rd girls 4x800m relay 

Addison Houmiel – Chapin – 3rd girls 4x800m relay

4A

Damarcus Gaither – Gray Collegiate – 1st boys 200m, 1st boys 4x100m relay, 2nd boys 400m

Kayden Garvin – Gray Collegiate – 1st boys 4x100m relay

Caleb Raysor – Gray Collegiate – 1st boys 4x100m relay

David Quattlebaum – Gray Collegiate – 1st boys 4x100m relay

Tamara Steward – Gray Collegiate – 1st girls 100m hurdles, 1st girls long jump, 2nd girls 400m hurdles, 3rd girls 4x100m relay

Taylor Jones – Gray Collegiate – 3rd girls 4x100m relay

Aliyah Edwards – Gray Collegiate – 3rd girls 4x100m relay

Zaria Gaines- Gray Collegiate – 3rd girls 4x100m relay

Tresta Miller – Gray Collegiate – 2nd girls 100m, 2nd girls 400m

DeAndre Jones – Brookland-Cayce – 1st boys high jump

Aden Price – Brookland-Cayce – 1st boys 400m, 3rd boys 100m, 3rd boys 4x400m relay

Isaiah Daniels – Brookland-Cayce – 3rd boys 4x400m relay

D’andre Dunbar – Brookland-Cayce – 3rd boys 4x400m relay

Jaylen Glover – Brookland-Cayce – 3rd boys 4x400m relay

London Paige – Brookalnd-Cayce – 3rd girls high jump

Aaliyrah Culbreath – Airport – 2nd girls long jump

​​Amari Lewis – Airport – 3rd boys 4x100m relay

Kyree Montgomery – Airport – 3rd boys 4x100m relay

Kendrick Pearson – Airport – 3rd boys 4x100m relay

Terrance Bolden – Airport – 3rd boys 4x100m relay

3A

Aza Shelby – Swansea – 3rd girls 100m hurdles, 3rd girls 400m hurdles 

2A

Madison Kyzer – Pelion – 1st – girls javelin 

Corey Campbell – Pelion – 2nd boys pole vault

Johnathan Davis – Pelion – 3rd boys 100m

Keira Frye – Batesburg-Leesville – 1st girls shot put, 1st girls discus 

Ja’Quan Corley – Batesburg-Leesville – 2nd boys shot put, 3rd boys discus 

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, County Judge Lina Hidalgo hosted a panel discussion, Beyond the Stigma, for County workers to learn about the mental health resources and support available to them.

Hidalgo was joined by healthcare experts and two former Texans football players who shared their personal stories about mental health.

“Really surrounding yourself with people that if your therapist tells you not to bother her, you can call the next person on the list,” Hidalgo said. Emphasizing the importance of building strong support networks.

Key Strategies for Mental Health Support

The panel discussion highlighted three essential approaches to mental wellness:

Building Support Network: Mental health experts emphasize the value of developing reliable support systems beyond professional therapy. These networks can include family members, friends, trusted colleagues, or teachers who provide crucial emotional support during challenging times.

Ongoing Health Management Project: Dr. Quianta Moore, Executive Director of The Hackett Center for Mental Health, stressed that mental healthcare deserves the same attention as physical health. “If you go to your primary care doctor, they should be asking you questions around your mental health,” Moore said.

She emphasized that mental health management is an ongoing process, encouraging individuals to explore different therapeutic approaches until finding the most effective treatment.

Breaking Stigmas: Former Houston Texans player Owen Daniels addressed common misconceptions about mental health, particularly among men and athletes. “For me is to share that, to help destigmatize this mental health specifically for men, for athletes… For people that might seem like they have it all together and that they don’t have anything to have mental health issues about,” Daniels said.

Available Resources for County Employees

Harris County has implemented comprehensive mental health support services for its workforce, including:

• Four onsite mental health clinicians
• Peer support programs
• Mental health awareness training
• Specialized resources and educational materials

Judge Hidalgo’s Leadership Through Example

Hidalgo’s openness about her 2023 leave of absence for mental health treatment has resonated throughout the county workforce. Her transparency demonstrates that seeking mental health support represents strength rather than weakness, challenging long-standing stigmas around mental health care.

The county’s initiative aligns with broader national efforts to normalize mental health discussions in the workplace and ensure accessible support services for employees.

With hard work, skill and a whole lot of drive, the Staples girls’ golf team climbed their way up to sixth in the state. 

So, what is this dream team’s secret to their victories and success? Well, the team heavily focuses on and caters to the mental health of all team members, taking many mental health classes throughout the season. A sharp mind is the key to the team’s success. 

“Our team worked towards this ranking by staying positive,” Lucy Hill ’27 said. “We practice not only on the course, but also off the course with mental health classes to keep a good mindset since golf is a very mental sport.” 

Mental performance coach Rhodie Lorenz leads these mental health classes frequently.

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sport and to let one bad shot affect the rest of the hole,” team captain Lauren Clementi ’25 said, “but having our mindset changed by these mental health classes has definitely helped us.” 

The team has tough competition, but overall, their positive attitudes keep them smiling and having a good time, win or lose. Their captains – Clementi, Aviva Ross ’25, Rachel Pontoriero ’25 and Katelynn Mitchell ’26 – work to create a fun and stress-free atmosphere for the players. 

“I’d say we’re a pretty positive team,” Clementi said. “We like to have fun and we don’t take everything too seriously, which creates an environment where we are able to have fun. I think that’s why we have such a large team.”

This year the team has gotten increasingly more popular, accumulating a total of 28 players on JV and eight players on varsity. 

Staples sports are taken seriously, so being an athlete can get pretty intense and stressful, especially while being a member of the varsity team. However, the girls’ golf team seems to have nailed the perfect balance between hard work and fun.

Elle Mueller and Lily Pederson led Oklahoma to a national gymnastics title, emphasizing mental health.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Many people look up to athletes, but people hardly talk about the challenges they go through.

Arielle Mackey-Williams tells her story of how her injury impacted her life and mental health.

“There’s been a lot of nights where I’m at home trying to go to sleep and I’m just crying myself to sleep because it just really hurts,” Mackey-Williams said.

10% of college athletes experience severe injuries according to the national athletic trainers association.

This is the second time that BYU women’s basketball player Arielle Mackey-Williams has injured her ACL. It has kept her from playing in another season.

“My first ACL injury, I went in to do a backdoor cut and my leg went inwards,” Mackey Williams-said. “The second time I definitely knew I tore my ACL again.”

Mackey-Williams said that staying positive has been more challenging during her second injury.

Newly-named BYU women’s basketball head coach Lee Cummard said he saw the mental toll the injury took on Mackey-Williams.

“On the court, Ari is a fierce competitor,” Cummard said. “The second time around, you can see it wearing on her a little bit more.”

Others close to her, including her mother and former coach, Mary Dawn described her firsthand experience.

“The hardest thing was, I couldn’t simply hug her and let her cry out loud and embrace that pain,” Dawn said.

BYU’s assistant athletic director of clinical mental health, Holly Binks, said athletes face tough challenges physically and mentally when they are dealing with an injury.

“There has to be almost a mourning period where they have to have grief, because they’ve had like a loss of like dreams of playing,“ Binks said.

Binks said that injuries are more than just a physical setback, they can impact scholarships and grades.

Binks and Cummard said that the sports culture is evolving to include a greater focus on mental health.

“Having a optimistic but a real point of view of where they’re at will really help,” Cummard said.

Dawn offered advice on how parents of athletes can support their mental health.

“Be a source of emotional support,” Dawn said. “Validate the feelings and remind them it’s okay to feel upset.”

Mackey-Williams said she has grown throughout her mental health journey.

“I think my injuries helped me just to be more grateful for knowing not only just basketball, but just the little things in life,” Mackey-Williams said.

Mackey-Williams said she has been able to maintain her mental health through this challenge while finding joy in the little things in life.