Individuals and teams from cross country, swim, dive, boys’ and girls’ golf, and girls’ volleyball all qualified for state this fall season.
Junior Caroline Gibson was the only girl golfer to qualify for state, acquiring 20th place.
In Sunnyslope history, Gibson is the first girl golfer to make state.
Gibson said, “It feels good. It feels very motivating that I was even capable of getting there.”
As for boys’ golf, the team placed 9th overall, with Senior Jackson Pieratt placing 5th individually.
Boys’ golf had a successful season, as the team was able to qualify for state.
Senior Braden Kuenne said, “I think we improved. I think it was a fun season. I think just improving and practicing day in and day out and competing against each other really helped.”
Pieratt, along with Junior Ira Goldman, were the only two Sunnyslope boys golfers to place in the top 20 for the state championship.
Sunnyslope Dive also showed up at state.
Senior Peter Buskirk placed 2nd overall while Junior Sophia Abrahamson placed 5th at the state championship.
Abrahamson and Burkirk both placed in the top five in the state for diving, with the help of their personal preparations.
Abrahamson said, “I practiced every day for two hours … I just tried really hard for months.”
Support was a key factor in the success of the divers as well, as Buskirk said, “I think it’s really important to have a solid team environment, and so there’s no putting down, and we’re really supportive of each other.”
Junior Boden Pangborn and Seniors Thomas Hinks, Kloie Jacobs, and Pierson Reiger all qualified for the second-day swim state finals, with five other individuals swimming on the first day.
Sunnyslope Swim and Dive had multiple individuals placed high at state.
Rieger said, “It feels really good because it’s my senior year, and I worked hard all four years being here, and it just shows that we all put in the practice and the work.”
Senior Manny Jacobs and Junior Noah Hernandez along with three other runners were able to get runner up at the Open State 5k Championships.
After winning sectionals for the first time in 50 years, the cross country team placed eighth at state.
Placing eighth at state didn’t thrill the runners, but Hernandez said, “It was still an improvement from last year, and I think all the guys are upset, though, but we have a lot of young guys, and we’ll do better next year, for sure.”
Finally, the Sunnyslope girls’ volleyball team ended their state playoff push in the semifinals, losing to the #1 seed, Xavier College Prep.
Senior Kaia Pixler, who is committed to playing college volleyball at the University of South Carolina, said, “In my high school career, we’ve only made it to the quarterfinals, so I think that was a huge leap for the program too. That was the first time we’ve ever made it to the semis in success.”
Overall, Sunnyslope had a great showing at the state competitions this fall season.
