Top 10 sports stories of 2021

NEWBERRY COUNTY — With so much going on in the world of sports this year, especially with many teams returning to the field, sports stories needed their own top 10 to highlight what happened this year.

Here is the list of the top 10 sports stories of 2021:

1. Strickland announces retirement

On July 21, 2021, The Newberry Observer reported that Phil Strickland, Newberry High School head football coach, announced that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season.

“This is going to be my 40th year in education, just felt like it was time to retire and do a little fishing and spoiling my grandkids,” Strickland said in the story.

Along with being in education for 40 years, Strickland has spent the last 34 years as a head coach.

According to highschoolfootballamerica.com, as a head coach, Strickland has never missed the postseason. He’s won five state championships, two with Batesburg-Leesville (1995, 1999) and three with Gaffney (2003, 2005, 2006). Strickland has taken Newberry to three state championship games.

Newberry High School closed out their 2021 season in the 2A upper-state championship game on Friday, Nov. 26.

2. Head Coach Todd Knight signs extension through 2025

On Dec. 8, 2021, The Observer reported that the leader of the Newberry College football program over the next four years will be a familiar face to fans and players alike. Head Coach Todd Knight signed an unprecedented contract extension to remain at the helm of Wolves football through the 2025 season.

Knight wrapped up a historic 13th year as head coach, in which he led the Wolves to their first NCAA playoff win since 2006. This was the fourth time that the Wolves have qualified for the NCAA playoffs under Knight’s leadership.

The team also picked up its second South Atlantic Conference championship in Knight’s tenure after finishing 7-1 in league play to secure the outright title. This was added to the 2016 conference championship trophy already on his shelf. Knight led his team to wins over two ranked opponents this season and regained the Bishop’s Trophy after taking down No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne, 28-21 in the third week of the season.

3. Eagles are back-to-back champs

On Oct. 27, 2021, it was reported that the Newberry Academy Eagles volleyball team were back-to-back SCISA 1A State Champions after their 3-1 win over Wardlaw.

NA won the first set 25-21 and the second 25-23 before Wardlaw took the third 25-23. There were nine ties in the fourth set until Rivers went on a serving spree to advance Newberry to 18-12 and move NA to a 25-19 win.

The Eagles ended the season with a 23-11-1 record. The Eagles played them during the regular season and state playoffs defeating Wardlaw 3-1 this season.

As “We are the Champions” was played the Lady Eagles were presented with the championship trophy, medallions and Gilliam was given a golden volleyball.

4. Royal wins DII National Championship

It was reported on March 17, 2021, that senior Isiah Royal took to the top of the championship podium after beating St. Cloud State’s Joey Bianchini 5-4 in the national championship. This is his first national championship, and just the fourth all-time for the Wolves.

The last national champion for Newberry was current Assistant Coach Bryant Blanton in 2010.

After Royal deferred his choice, Bianchini chose to start the second period in the bottom position. After allowing an escape in 15 seconds, Royal hit a single leg takedown with 1:30 left in the period, though Bianchini recorded another escape to take a 5-4 lead into the third period.

In the final frame, Royal started in the bottom position and needed just 26 second to escape, tying the match at five. Royal hit the winning takedown with 40 seconds left, though Bianchini recorded an escape 10 seconds later. In the final seconds Royal was able to hold off multiple takedown attempts to take home the national championship trophy.

5. NA girls’ basketball wins first state championship

On March 3, 2021, it was reported that Newberry Academy captured its first-ever state championship in girls’ basketball with a victory over Patrick Henry, 59-53, in Columbia at Heathwood Hall.

In addition to the SCISA Class A state championship, the Eagles finished the season unbeaten with a 25-0 record.

The finale was a back-and-forth game between unbeaten teams, and the Eagles and Patrick Henry were tied 46-46 in the early fourth quarter. Then the Academy’s Daja Taylor and Madison Rivers hit 3-pointers and Kailey Cheeks a free throw to give the Eagles a seven-point lead. After the Patriots narrowed the lead to 55-53, Taylor hit another 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining. Some good defensive play by the Eagles and another free throw wrapped up the victory and set off a celebration by the Eagles.

Taylor, the Region Player of the Year, scored 32 points. Cheeks added 15 points, Caroline Senn five, Rivers three, London Huggins three and Allison Joyner one.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the first quarter, but Patrick Henry rallied to close the first quarter and take a 30-29 lead into halftime. The third quarter saw several lead changes, setting up the decisive fourth quarter.

6. Wolves claim SAC title with win over Limestone

As reported on Nov. 17, 2021, the Newberry College (9-2, 7-1 SAC) football team picked up the outright South Atlantic Conference regular season title, on Saturday, November 13. The win over Limestone gave the Wolves the first SAC title since 2016.

The Wolves went on to play the West Florida Argonauts on Nov. 20, where they won 33-30. They ended their season with a 10-3 record following a defeat by Bowie State University (Md.) Bulldogs 13-10.

7. NMS football are undefeated, conference champions

On Nov. 10, 2021, The Observer reported that the Newberry Middle School Tigers football team finished the season 7-0 and won the 2021 Palmetto Athletic Conference Championship. The dominating Tigers scored 272 points (38.8 ppg) and only allowed 24 (3.4 ppg).

Dominating on defense was Nahmere Peace (21 total tackles, 9.5 for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery), Omarion Wicker (17 tackles and one interception), Jamel House (13 total tackles, six tackles for loss, interception), Isaiah Brown (13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery), Jordan Holiday (15.5 tackles and one interception), Jamere Crooks (15 tackles and three interceptions), and Jermaine Brown (12 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss).

Prior to this year, the Tigers had not beaten Chapin, Brookland Cayce or Dutch Fork.

8. NA cheer team is state champion

The Newberry Academy Competition Cheer team brought home the gold after winning the state championship on Saturday, as reported on Nov. 17, 2021.

The Newberry Academy Competition Cheer team was named SCISA 1A/2A Non-Tumbling State Champions on Saturday at the North Charleston Athletic Center after they tied for the spot with Anderson Christian. The Eagles also brought home the state championship in 2019.

9. Wolves cheer team wins national championship

Competing for the first time in almost two years, the Newberry College cheer team won the national championship, as reported on March 24.

The cheer team dominated their competition in the Intermediate Small Coed Division with a raw score of 90.3, winning by a margin of 12.43 points. The Wolves defeated the University of Mount Olive and Indian Hills Community College.

10. The historic hole-in-one

We reported on Sept. 22, 2021, that over the years, Stokes Trainor Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC has sponsored a multitude of golf tournaments, offering a vehicle as the hole-in-one prize for hole 17. Kelly Jerome was the first (to everyone’s collective knowledge) to get a hole-in-one on hole 17 during a tournament sponsored by Stokes Trainor.

The lucky tournament was the Operation Round Up Tournament at the Country Club of Newberry through the Newberry Electric Cooperative, in its ninth year.