Bishop runners shine in 4-A debut

The Bishop England High School cross country teams failed to bring home state championship trophies in their first year as Class AAAA entries.

 

But the Bishops certainly passed the test. The Bishop girls finished in second place in the team standings of the Class AAAA state championships behind Region 6-AAAA rival Bluffton, which posted a 69-83 victory over the Bishops. 

 

In the boys’ championship, Bluffton topped Hilton Head and South Point with three points separating the top three teams. The Bishop boys finished sixth in the team standings. 

 

“I thought both teams did exceptionally well,” BE coach Tony Colizzi said. 

 

“Moving up to 4-A was a challenge and the kids met the challenge head on. The teams have always competed against larger schools in the big meets, and I believe that prepared them well for the 4-A level.”

 

Not only did the Bishops move up to Class AAAA. They reside in Region 6-AAAA, which might be the toughest region in the state. In the boys’ competition, Region 6-AAAA had seven of the all-state runners. 

 

In the girls competition, six of the 15 region 6-AAAA runners earned all-state.

 

The girls’ team, which was seeking its third straight state titles, were led by Grace Brahim, who finished third with a time of 19:09.55 over the 5-kilometer course at the Farm in Newberry. Grace Buss finished ninth to earn all-state. Caroline Wilson was 18th, Katie Cheverie 27th, and Sienna D’Agostino was 28th. 

 

“The girls ran very well,” Colizzi said. “Coming into the season, we only had three runners returning from last year’s state championship season. 

 

“We thought it would be a rebuilding year but newcomers Caroline Wilson, Katie Cheverie, and Siena D’Agostino filled the shoes of our graduated runners. They helped make us contenders and they were under great leadership by returners Nora Brahim and Grace Buss.” 

 

Jackson Muller led the BE boys with a time of 16:49.90 which was good for sixth place while Marc Brahim was seventh in 16:51.09. Andrew Curls was 38th, Ben Huntington 40th and Braden Sawyer 52nd. 

 

“The boys took a while to come together as a team this year,” Colizzi said. “But by the end of the season, they were a strong cohesive team. We were hoping for a slightly higher finish than sixth at the state meet, especially coming off their success at the region championship. The boys ran well at state but the competition was a little better on race day.” 

 

Colizzi was already planning for the 2025 cross country season on the team bus ride back to Daniel Island. 

 

“As a coaching staff we are always planning for the next year,” he said. 

 

“The girls return all seven runners, and the boys return six, so we look to build on this season. The boys will miss Marc Brahim and we hope someone will step up and fill his position on the team.”