Woodruff Winter Sports Teams Look to Overcome Injuries and Early Season Rust as Conference Play Looks in January
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
It has not, at times, been the season envisioned by Woodruff’s varsity basketball teams, as injuries and adversity have taken a toll on both programs during the season’s first month. Meanwhile, the wrestling program has dealt with absences of its own but enjoyed immense individual success during tournament play. With sub-varsity teams thriving and with varsity squads finally returning to health, the Wolverines are primed to shake off the December doldrums and hit their collective strides as region play begins in January. Here is a look at where each winter sports team stood going into the Christmas holiday break:
Bad Luck if Any
The Lady Wolverines’ varsity basketball team entered the Christmas holiday with a 5-6 overall record, though that was hardly any fault of poor play. Woodruff was 4-2 and primed for a long winning streak when bad luck suddenly hit. Freshman point guard Jensyn Turner, who was averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, went down with an injury and missed the final five games prior to the break. The next game, after Turner went down, senior center Kylie Hitchcock also suffered an injury which she is attempting to recover from. Turner made her return during the post-Christmas tournament attended by the Lady Wolverines, and the hope is Hitchcock will not be far behind. Still, there were bright spots for the Lady Wolverines in their absence. Sophomore shooting guard Sadie Burnette is averaging 16 points per game over the past five contests and, during a 51-37 win on the road at Laurens on December 16, became the all-time leader in three-point shot makes in program history. Finally getting healthy, the Lady Wolverines played their best game of the season in their region opener at Chester on January 6. In a 75-22 thrashing of the Cyclones, Woodruff knocked down a single-game team record 12 three-pointers and appear primed to make a run at the region championship fellow conference coaches predicted them to win prior to the season.
Searching for an Identity
The Woodruff boys’ basketball team has shown flashes of brilliance during the early portion of the season but, at times, has been maddeningly inconsistent. The Wolverines opened the season with 15 and 19-point wins over Blacksburg and Mid Carolina at the Rippy’s Invitational at Union County High School and won an instant classic 72-71 on the road over a young and talented Fountain Inn team. But two losses to Chesnee and a narrow defeat at the hands of Laurens have tempered excitement at times. The good news is those were non-conference games, and there is ample opportunity to make noise in Region 4-3A and a postseason push through the month of January. Junior point guard Nick McConnell is having a sensational season, scoring a career-high 30 points in the win over Fountain Inn, and the emergence of 6-foot-5-inch-tall freshman center Kam Taylor has been a revelation for Woodruff. With other talented players like Kory Scott, Happy Lea, and Hunter West, and solid bench contributors Micah Horton and Lake Smith, look for Woodruff to make a run when the stakes get higher down the stretch.
Pinned down for Success
The Woodruff wrestling program has enjoyed a great deal of individual success in the early portion of the season. Though Woodruff has not wrestled with their full roster yet, with a 4-6 overall team record, several wrestlers have stood out during the month of December. Senior Genaro De La Garza, who wrestles in the 120-pound weight class, is an individual state championship favorite and winner of the prestigious Ram Invitational in his class at Hillcrest High School as well as first place in Lugoff-Elgin Demon Holiday Classic and Rumble on the River tournament in Augusta, GA. Landon Butler, who wrestlers at 145 pounds, also won his class at the Ram Invitational and finished third at Rumble on the River. Sophomore Brandon Sellars also finished in second place in the 126-pound class in Augusta. Heavyweight Davis Stubbs finished in fourth place at the Ram Invitational and Lugoff-Elgin Demon Holiday Classic, and defending state champion June Welch won the Greenwood Girls’ Open tournament. Fellow lady wrestler Adeline Rudder finished in third place at both the Laurens Raider Open and Greenwood Girls’ Open tournaments. During team competition, the Wolverines could be a threat to win the Region 4-4A championship.
Higher Play at Lower Levels
Woodruff’s sub-varsity basketball teams have been enjoying a successful season. The middle school girls’ team started their campaign 5-1 and are looking to win the Foothills Conference championship yet again. A title would be the eighth for the program in the past nine years under head coach Daniel Addis. The middle school boys’ basketball team has also started hot, winning their first seven games, and are undefeated through the end of December. At the high school, the JV Wolverine boys’ basketball team is off to an 8-1 with their only blemish, a close two-point loss to Laurens.
Author: Tracy Sanders
