As the New Year begins, with high school sports players and teams in the Savannah area full of dreams about the future, we thought it would be a good time to look back at a memorable 2024 with the prep sports scene in the Greater Savannah area.
There were a number of athletes and teams that made it a year we’ll never forget.
The football season ended earlier than anticipated as Calvary Day, Savannah Christian and Benedictine all lost in the state quarterfinals.
But there were a number of notable football signings as Savannah Christian’s Elijah Griffin signed with Georgia, while his teammate Logan Brooking signed with Clemson.
Benedictine had a pair of big-time signings as Third Scroggins is headed to Miami, while Jacobe Ward will play at Auburn.
Calvary Day’s Thomas Blackshear also signed with Georgia, while Buddy Mathis Jr. is headed to LSU.
In girls sports, there were some significant signings as Savannah Christian volleyball player Maggie Kyriakides signed with Alabama, while Savannah Country Day golfer Kate Barber signed with Auburn.
Here’s a look back at memorable moments and teams from the 2024 high school sports year in the Greater Savannah area.
The Mustangs repeated as the Dual Meet State champions and went on to win their first crown in the Class 6A Traditional State tournament behind individual title runs by heavyweight Ashton Anderson, who won his second title, and 138-pounder Eli Wood.
Moose Bringer, Adam Hardeman, Emilio Santana and Gannon White all finished second at state for the Mustangs, who were named the Team of the Year at the Coastal Empire High School Sports Awards Show in June. Ashton Anderson repeated as Wrestler of the Year and Chris Bringer was named the Coach of the Year once again.
The Savannah Christian girls golf squad made it a three-peat as the Raiders won their third straight state title by taking home the Class 3A championship.
Mary Miller, now a freshman competing at Georgia Southern, won her second straight individual title by edging her teammate, Ava Cottis, on the first extra hole in a playoff.
Cottis, now a senior, has signed to play at North Florida.
Miller was named the Coastal Empire Player of the Year once again, as SCPS Coach Annie Keller won Coach of the Year honors.
The Panthers won the second state team title in school history as Savannah Arts took home the Class 2A state championship. Leah Nyce was second in the individual race and Frances Tedder took fourth.
Elle Harward-Grant and Laura Bennett also had Top 10 state finishes for the Panthers.
Panther Coach Steve Ricciardi was named the Coastal Empire Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year once again.
The Raiders had a pair of stars who repeated as All-Greater Savannah Track and Field Athletes of the Year in Jadyn Singleton and Jamari McIvory.
Singleton repeated as the Class 3A Girls state champ in the long jump and also won the triple jump title, while finishing fourth in the 100-meter, while McIvory repeated as the Boys 400-meter champion and finished second in the 200-meter. Singleton was named the All-Greater Savannah Female Athlete of the Year, while McIvory was named the Most Versatile Boys Athlete.
SCPS Coach Deedee Coulter was named the Coastal Empire Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year once again.
Billy Cunningham of Richmond Hill won the Class 6A state crown in the long jump. Jaidyn Hayes of Liberty County won the Class 3A title in the discus. Coray Stafford of Jenkins took home a gold medal in the 100-meter in the Class 5A state meet, while Savannah Country Day’s Andrew Wynn won the Class 3A 110-meter hurdles, while finishing second in the 300-meter hurdles.
The Atom Smasher boys squad made a run to the Class 3A state finals as a No. 2 seed out of Region 3-3A.
Johnson lost in the championship game to Sandy Creek, which won its second straight state crown.
The Atom Smashers beat Dougherty in a memorable semifinal matchup pitting Johnson head coach Chuck Campbell up against his close friend, Dougherty coach Bakari Bryant. Johnson was led by Josh Quarterman and Favion Kirkwood, both All-Greater Savannah first-team picks. Campbell was named the All-Greater Savannah Boys Coach of the Year.
Savannah High, Benedictine and St. Andrew’s also made runs to the state semifinals, while Bethesda reached the SCISA championship game,where the Blazers lost to Cathedral Academy. Benedictine junior Caleb Jones was named the Coastal Empire Boys Player of the Year.
The Cavalier baseball team won the Region 3-3A title before making a run to the Class 3A championship game for its first appearance in the finals since the Cavs won the Class A crown in 2007.
The Cavs were led by senior Will Hampton, the All-Greater Savannah Player of the Year who is now a freshman competing for Vanderbilt and senior shortstop Caden Arnold, another All-Greater Savannah first-team pick.
Junior Ryan Wallace and sophomore pitcher Quinn Johnson were also first-team picks for the Cavaliers and Phillip Lee was named the All-Greater Savannah Baseball Coach of the Year.
The Panther volleyball team reached the state semifinals for the third year in a row and had a breakthrough to become the first pubic school from Savannah to ever reach the state finals, under head coach Lauren Lord.
Savannah Arts lost to Morgan County in the finals.
The Panthers were led by senior outside hitter Torrin Higginbotham, who was named the Area Player of the Year and senior setter Lillie Coffey, a first-team selection once again.
The Cadets had a dramatic overtime win over visiting Holy Innocents in the playoffs to become the first team from Savannah to win a second-round game in the state playoffs.
Calvin Rose scored the winning goal in the memorable game, where he led BC with seven goals. He was an All-Greater Savannah first-team selection, while his teammate Riley Wilson was named the All-Greater Savannah Player of the Year.
BC’s Dustin White was named the All-Greater Savannah Lacrosse Coach of the Year.
The Warriors won the Division 2-Area 3 title and then advanced to the Division 2 state semifinals, making the deepest playoff run of any girls team in any sport in Jenkins history.
The Warriors were led by A’Niyah Browner, the junior who was named the Area Offensive Player of the Year, and quarterback I’Yarna Lee, the sophomore who was also an All-Area first-team selection. Brianna Browner, who also coaches the Warriors’ girls basketball team, was named the Area Coach of the Year.
The Calvary Day team reached the state quarterfinals and the Cavs had a memorable win over SE Bulloch, ending the 77-win game win streak and handing the Yellow Jackets the first lost in school history. SE Bulloch went on to win its fourth straight state title.
New Hampstead, led by senior Gianna Brown who has signed to play at Emmanuel University, also reached the state quarterfinals, along with South Effingham. New Hampstead lost in triple overtime to Evans, falling just short of reaching the Final Four.
The Rebels lost to South Effingham in the Region 1-5A championship game, but avenged the loss in an Elite Eight matchup to advance to the Class 5A state Final Four.
The Rebels were led by Ansleigh Giordano, Ava Wingate, Gracie LaFleur, Megan Coleman and Olivia Morgan, who were all first-team All-Greater Savannah picks. South Effingham had first-team selections in Alyssa Martin, Danni Lynn and Izzy Wilkins. Effingham County’s Brad Thompson was named the All-Greater Savannah Coach of the Year.
Savannah Christian also made a run to the Elite Eight in the Private School class. Payton Livingston and Jillian Austin were first-team picks for the Raiders.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
