Westwood standout Ticora Gaskin continues to make leaps in track and field.
The two-time 4A State Champion set a new South Carolina record in long jump at the SCHSL 4A State qualifiers. Gaskin now holds the record previously set in 2014 (20-2.25) at the 20-3 mark.
She also broke Westwood’s eight-year school record of 19-6.5 and is ranked as #6 in the nation according to MileSplit.
Gaskin also placed first in the 100m dash at 12.37 and second in the 200m dash at 25.38.
HOPKINS – Westwood and Blythewood competed in Lower Richland’s second annual Diamond Hornet 7-on-7 Shootout on Thursday, June 30. Westwood is set to open their 2022 football season at Spring Valley on August 19. Blythewood will play at Ridge View on Aug. 19.
NASHVILLE – Westwood graduate and 1,000-point scorer Nyah Leveretter describes her sophomore season with Kentucky as a difficult one at first, with the bangs and bumps of a team learning how to play together.
The SEC universe found out Sunday night in Nashville that the challenges that awaited Leveretter and the Wildcats this season forged a team on a mission.
Kentucky, a No.7 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, dismissed Mississippi State, then took out No.2 LSU and No.3 Tennessee to reach the championship game against a team Leveretter was all too familiar with—No.1 South Carolina.
The Gamecocks, riding a 17-game winning streak, played their typical game for three quarters, building a 57-43 lead early in the fourth quarter before Kentucky started to take South Carolina down.
USC, which had beaten Kentucky twice in the regular season, gave up 21 Wildcats points in the fourth quarter and scored only seven. Dre’una Edwards’ 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left in the game lifted Kentucky to a 64-62 victory and its first SEC championship since 1982.
Leveretter, although she didn’t score any points, played a solid role in the victory as a starter, her 10th start of the season.
“It feels amazing,” she said about the victory. “We’ve had a hard year from the beginning to now. Just to think we pushed through all of that and pieced ourselves together to get it done shows what it really means to a lot of us.”
Getting a win over South Carolina was especially meaningful.
“That meant a lot too, just to think that it was my home state,” she said. “My family was there and even though it was intimidating, at the same time it felt great, but I’m glad we got the ‘W.’ That’s the state where I’m from and it makes it mean that much more.”
Leveretter noted her personal struggles earlier in the season.
The 6-3 forward had a storied athletic career at Westwood, which included back-to-back final-four appearances in the state playoffs. She made All-State her senior year, when she averaged 13.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. Not only was she a top academic achiever, Leveretter was also a four-star recruit and a top 100 player in her class, according to ESPN.com.
Yet after her freshman year at Kentucky, those accolades and accomplishments probably seemed distant in Lexington, playing for a team full of achievers who were coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021.
“I was struggling a lot at the beginning of the year with my confidence,” she said. “I didn’t have much confidence in myself.”
She said her situation took a turn for the better when head coach Kyra Elzy took her out for smoothies and a long talk about Leveretter’s past and future.
“After that I worked on doing my best and working hard,” she said. “I think I improved tremendously. Coach Elzy, Coach (Niya) Butts, Coach Amber (Smith), and Coach G (legendary Duke and Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors, who is anassistant to Elzy) and even Coach (Lee) Taylor in the weight room have boosted my confidence so much that when it came time for me to step up, I was prepared for that.”
Leveretter’s turnaround coincided with the team finally gelling after some difficult moments.
Teammate Rhyne Howard expressed how the Wildcats put their struggles of playing together behind them in the press conference after the South Carolina game.
“We started having fun,” Howard said. “That’s pretty much it. When things were getting tough, we wasn’t having fun. Basically we acted like we didn’t want to be there, and that’s how it looked, and that’s how it appeared to our fans.
“After we stopped — we had a team meeting, we were like, all right, y’all, this is dead, we cannot end like this, especially with it being a lot of us being seniors and just meaning a lot to ourselves and to Kentucky. We knew we had to get it together and thug it out.”
As for Leveretter, she became a regular starter since Kentucky’s 81-74 win over Mississippi State Feb. 15. She averages 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, with 17 blocks on the year. The numbers may be slight, but all signs indicate that Leveretter is an up-and-comer with the Wildcats.
And Kentucky is a team on the rise, Leveretter says. The SEC championship is nice, but she said the team is focused on staying alive for as long as possible in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re so locked in right now, even when we text in our group chat we talk about what we’re doing and when we get to practice we’re just as intense and just as locked in,” she said. “We know it’s not over. Last week was just a conference championship. We’re focused on winning a national championship and we can do that if we stay locked in and focused.”
Kentucky will find out its seeding in the NCAA women’s basketball selection show Sunday at 8 on ESPN.
BLYTHEWOOD – Westwood High School announced on Wednesday that Robert O’Connell will be the Redhawks’ new head football coach, effective July 1, 2022.
O’Connell succeeds three-year coach Matt Quinn, who accepted the head football position at North Augusta High School.
“I could not be more excited to join a school and community with the commitment to excellence, rich traditions, and unrivaled pride and passion of Westwood High School,” O’Connell said in a press release on Wednesday.
“I am fully committed to teaching, developing and graduating elite student-athletes, winning championships and working together with our administration, parents, and community to make Westwood the premier location for high school football in the country. Our potential is unlimited, and I cannot wait to get started,” he stated.
“Coach O’Connell is a winner, in every sense of the word,” Principal Robert Jackson said in the press release. “He is known for his character, humility, work ethic, skill set and passion for education… it’s easy to see why he’s right sized for Westwood High School.”
O’Connell currently serves as the Defensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Ridge View High School.
Previously, O’Connell served as head coach at Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro where his 2016 team ended the season just two wins short of a state title. Following his stint at with the Eagles, O’Connell served as Offensive Coordinator at Irmo High School, Defensive Coordinator at Wilson High School and a defensive assistant at Wofford College.
O’Connell holds a bachelor’s degree in General Studies from Charter Oak State College and holds a South Carolina teaching certificate for Social Studies (grades 9-12). He is married to India O’Connell and they have one son, RJ.
BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood boys basketball team’s 49-40 victory over Dreher Friday night may not have looked pretty, but the Redhawks defense showed out and closed out the team’s third-straight Region 4-4A victory on Senior Night at the Castle.
“It was a great win for us on Senior night to send out our six seniors with a win,” Head coach John Combs said. “Any time you can get two wins over a region team, and two wins over Dreher, that’s a good thing.”
Seniors Bryson Felder, Jaylin McDuffie, Taukedrick King, Colin Evans, Amarion Evans, and Khalil Donald; Westwood girls player Thamia Davis; and senior cheerleaders were honored at midcourt between the girls and boys game.
Bryson Felder scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Westwood. Jaylin McDuffie had 13 points and six rebounds, and Arden Conyers had 10 points.
Just 15 shots fell for Westwood (10-13, 5-4), but seven of them were 3-pointers. Felder, McDuffie and Conyers made two apiece and T.J. Bell made one. The Redhawks shot 15-for-37, or 40.5 percent.
Those numbers don’t sound like much, but compared to Dreher’s 17-for-56, or 30.3 percent shooting, Westwood scored all that it needed to seal the win over the Blue Devils (9-9, 3-5).
“It certainly was a difficult game because Dreher plays all zone,” Combs said. “Give them credit, they adjusted their zone.”
Combs noted that when Westwood beat the Blue Devils 60-40 Jan. 14, they played mostly a 2-3 zone, but Friday night they reversed the look, going 3-2 and frustrating the Redhawks’ looks to the basket around the 3-point line.
“We had to make some adjustments to some things that we did, and we were fortunate to make some shots and get enough defensive stops,” Combs said. “Anytime you go and hold a team to 11 points in the first half, your defense is pretty good.”
Westwood even held the Blue Devils to just four points in the first quarter. The Redhawks got on the scoreboard when Felder made a basket and followed up with a 3-pointer. He then got a putback and McDuffie added a basket to close out the quarter.
Those nine points were all the Redhawks needed to begin pinning down Dreher. They outscored the Blue Devils 11-7 in the second quarter for a 20-11 halftime lead.
The Redhwaks never relinquished the lead, keeping Dreher at least six points behind throughout the second half. Westwood outrebounded the Blue Devils 33-26, which isn’t a great margin except that Dreher got just seven boards—five defensive and two offensive—in the second half.
“Rebounding was something that we preached to our team that we had to get better at,” Combs said. “We are better now than we were at the beginning of the year and that’s what we shoot for, we continue to grow as a team and continue to get better.”
Westwood fell 74-66 at Irmo Tuesday night. The Redhawks trailed the Yellow Jackets just 30-27 at halftime, but Irmo (20-4, 7-1) outscored them 22-10 in the third and took a 52-37 lead into the third quarter. Even though the Redhawks scored 29 points in the final stanza, Irmo scored just enough to seal the win.
Westwood concludes region play at Richland Northeast Friday. A win over the Cavaliers (9-9, 4-5) can secure third place for the Redhawks, behind Irmo an A.C. Flora.
In the girls game, Westwood (17-6, 9-0) outscored Dreher (4-6, 4-3) 34-16 in the first half and cruised to a 59-36 victory to claim the team’s fifth straight region championship.
“I thought we executed well. We knew they were tough, physical, and well-coached and we knew that they weren’t going away regardless of what’s on the scoreboard,” Westwood head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “I thought we held our own, did a lot of good things. We had some internal miscues, but that comes with the game.”
Jessica Woods scored a game-high 19 points, and Raven Johnson and Korletta Daniels put up 17 points apiece. The only other Westwood scorer was Makiah Thompson, who had six points.
Westwood defeated Irmo 66-38 Tuesday. Jessica Woods led all scorers with 22 points. Raven Johnson added 12 points.
The Westwood girls travel to Richland Northeast Friday.
Boys
Dreher – 4-7-16-13 — 40
Westwood – 9-11-16-13 — 49
Dreher
Mekhi Smith-Brown 17, Elliott 6, Hires 6, Lominack 5, Miller 3, Adams 2.
Westwood
Bryson Felder 18, Jaylin McDuffie 13, Arden Conyers 10, Bell 5, Donald 2, King 1.
Girls
Dreher – 9-7-8-12 — 36
Westwood – 12-22-13-7 — 59
Dreher
Imani Williams 16, Yonni Jacobs 10, Hollis 6, Robinson 4.
Westwood
Jessica Woods 19, Raven Johnson 17, Korletta Daniels 17, Thompson 6.
BLYTHEWOOD – Playing at home for the first time in a year, Westwood led York 8-6 at halftime, but the Cougars rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 19-8 victory over the Redhawks in a non-region game at Westwood.
Julian Milligan put the Redhawks on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown run, and Camren Brown passed to Jordan Jenkins to add the 2-point conversion that gave the Redhawks an 8-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
Frank Thompson scored from six yards out to put the Cougars up 12-6 with five minutes left in the game. York then recovered a Westwood fumble and converted it to another Thompson touchdown, from three yards out, with three minutes to play.
Milligan had 87 yards on 23 carries and a score to lead the Redhawks.
Westwood (1-3) opens Region 4-4A play at A.C. Flora Friday. York (3-1)
Westwood dropped Tuesday’s conference game to Irmo. The Yellowjackets took a 1-0 win over the Redhawks, now 1-7 in conference play.
MYRTLE BEACH – Westwood High School’s Robotics Team will compete in the Palmetto Regional competition Feb. 28 – Mar. 2 in Myrtle Beach for the sixth time. The three-day competition showcases robots developed and operated by high school teams from all over the world. The team is comprised of 22 students in grades 9 – 12.
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Westwood standout defensive back and University of South Carolina commit Cam Smith now has another accolade he can pin to his already impressive resume. Smith, the third-ranked prospect in the state according to Rivals.com, has been selected to participate in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
The All-American Bowl will be televised on NBC on Jan. 5, and its 4.4 million viewer average makes it the most-watch high school sporting event in the nation. Prominent names such as Andrew Luck, Odell Beckham Jr., Tim Tebow and Jalen Ramsey have participated in the All-American Bowl in past years.
Smith received a bevy of offers from power-five schools, but officially made his decision to join the Gamecocks after Westwood’s season opener against Lugoff-Elgin. Rivals also has Smith listed as the 37th best cornerback in the class of 2019, and is listed as a four-star prospect.
HOUSTON, TX – Vyncint Smith, a former Westwood High School and Limestone College offensive threat, signed with Houston Texans in April as an undrafted free agent, and impressed team officials enough to earn his spot on the official 53-man roster.
The German-born Smith had quite the preseason. He has racked up four reception for 94 yards and his 41-yard touchdown against the 49ers was a game-winner. He ended his Limestone career with 153 receptions, 2,371 yards and 11 touchdowns.