Iron Horse, Bishop stars named to All-Region teams

The Philip Simmons boys’ basketball team and the Bishop England girls won their respective region championships, and both squads were well represented on the respective region all-star teams.

 

The Iron Horse boys were undefeated in Region 6-AA play and finished with a 19-6 record.

 

Hudson Hatch, the 6-foot, 9-inch super sophomore, was named the player of the year. Also an accomplished golfer, Hatch led the Iron Horses, averaging 10.8 points and 1 block per game. He was second on the team with 6.6 rebounds.

 

Senior Blake Darby, another 6-9 athlete, joined Hatch on the first team. Hopper Afman was named to the second team, and Corbin Driggers was an honorable mention.

 

The Bishop England girls, who went undefeated in Region 6-AAAA play and finished with a 23-4 record, featured the player of the year Hannah Rosato. She was joined on the team by Lisse van de Erve, Hadley Irvine, and Olivia Allen.

 

Rosato led the Bishops in scoring and steals, averaging 13.1 points and 3.6 steals per contest. She was second in rebounding with 6.6 boards a contest.

 

The Bishop England boys and the Iron Horse girls both feature first-year coaches, Daniel Eykin and Allen Gethers, respectively.

 

The Bishop boys were represented in the region by Lang Tarrent and Drew Gallagher. The team posted a 12-15 record.

 

The Philip Simmons girls showed improvement as the season progressed and finished with a 10-15 record.

 

Their selections included first-teamer Germany Moore and second-team picks Kenira Homes and Harper Cohen.

 

BE girls playoff run ends

The Bishop England High School girls’ basketball team went ice, ice cold in the second period of its Class AAAA Lower State semifinal at Lower Richland High School on Feb. 26, and that was the beginning of the end of the Bishops’ season.

 

Lower Richland outscored the Bishops 19-15 in the opening period, and then went on a 13-0 run in the second period to push the lead to 32-15 at halftime. The Bishops never recovered as the Diamond Hornets posted a 53-37 victory.

 

The Bishops connected on only nine of their 31 field goal attempts, for a field goal percentage of 29%.

 

Still, it was a successful season for the Bishops, who won the Region 6-AAAA championship, recorded a 15-game winning streak, and finished with a 23-4 record.

 

The Bishops recorded their 22nd season of at least 20 victories under coach Paul Runey. They have reached 20 wins six times in the past 10 seasons, and 14 times in the last 20.

 

Since 2012, when the Bishops won their first of six state titles, they own a 53-7 postseason record.

 

Olivia Allen led the Bishops with 10 points, while Lisse van de Erve chipped in with nine, and Hannah Rosato tallied seven.

 

Runey will begin the 2025-26 season with an 829-227 record. He is second all-time in career victories among girls’ coaches in the Palmetto State. Only Anne Long has more victories. She coached from 1974-2015 in the Midlands and has 861 victories.

 

Lower Richland, 25-1, advanced to the Lower State Championship on March 3. They lost to North Augusta at the Florence Civic Center, 34-42.