By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
Woodruff High School’s winter sports teams are shaking off the frost, and rust, as seasons are in full swing for varsity basketball and wrestling. So far, the early returns for all three teams have been positive with lots of excitement, success, and reason for optimism entering the first full month of the season. Both basketball teams got off to a hot start, and the wrestling team has seen some standout performances amid competing against one of the toughest schedules in class 3A. Here is a look at what took place during the first three weeks of the 2023-24 winter sports campaign.
Learning to adapt
The Lady Wolverine varsity basketball team entered the season already suffering from injury attrition. That has continued to be the case, with several more players being banged up and missing time in the season’s first few weeks. That has not stopped Woodruff from playing competitive basketball. The Lady Wolverines raced out to a 3-1 start, with wins over Seneca, Laurens, and a 56-19 shellacking of rival Chesnee. Junior Sadie Burnette has been a star, averaging close to 16 points and three made three pointers per game. The all-time three-point record holder for Woodruff High School is on pace to break her single-season mark set as a freshman during the 2021-22 season. Other contributors have been sophomore guard Jordan Robinson and freshman Jaylen Means who is off to a great start to her varsity career. With young players being tested by a competitive schedule, the future remains bright for the Lady Wolverines.
High expectations
The Woodruff boys’ basketball team came into the 2023-24 season with high expectations. Returning every starter from last year’s team, plus a plethora of talent on the bench and the arrival of the stars from last year’s 19-3 JV team, the Wolverines expected to be a contender from the jump. That has certainly been the case early. Woodruff won their first two games and played for the championship of the Rippy’s Tip-off tournament at Union in late November. They defeated 2A top-10 ranked Chesnee in the final seconds, and took down 5A Laurens 51-42 to start 4-2 through the season’s first six games. Their only losses came to 4A #2 ranked Greer and 3A #9 ranked Fountain Inn in the final seconds. Nick McConnell is closing in on the all-time career three-point record for the boys’ program, and varsity newcomers like transfer Grayson Patterson and Aiden Gibson have provided an immediate spark. The Wolverines have great depth, with all 13 players on the roster playing in each game and contributing. Success for the remainder of the season certainly seems possible as Woodruff competes for their first region title in basketball in over 40 years.
Championship mentality
The Woodruff wrestling team is off to a strong start. Despite starting 2-3 through the first five team dual matches, the Wolverines have competed against one of the toughest schedules in the state while also battling injuries themselves. For the first time in many years, Woodruff has filled every weight class and has a full roster of wrestlers. In dual match competition, junior Brandon Sellars is 5-0, which June Welch, who two years ago became the first female to win an individual state wrestling championship in state history, is also started undefeated at 5-0. Fellow female wrestlers Adaline Rudder and Patricia Smith are 6-0 and 6-1 respectively. Davis Stubbs and Braden Mulak are 4-1 for the men’s team. This is also the first year in which girls wrestling has been sanctioned by the South Carolina High School League, and that will provide even more opportunities for the Woodruff wrestling program to compete for championships, both as a team and individually.
Author: Tracy Sanders
