Bishop England's Paul Runey wins 500th game in South Carolina girls basketball

Bishop England (Charleston) girls basketball coach Paul Runey has joined an exclusive club in South Carolina.

He recently won his 500th game, though he didn't know it. School officials weren't able to confirm the milestone win until a week later.

According to records kept by the South Carolina High School League, Runey is only the 10th girls basketball coach to reach 500 wins. Runey has been coaching the Bishops since 1985. His assistants, former players and current players honored him with a banner and a game ball after a recent win.

WILSON'S WINNING WAYS
The Wilson (Florence) Tigers are winning and winning big.

They have rattled off 12 consecutive victories and the games haven't really been close. They have outscored opponents by an average of 19.3 points and held nine of those opponents to 47 or fewer points.

"I think the more success we have, the harder they play," Wilson coach DeAndre Scott told the Florence Morning News. "And when they play really well like tonight, it makes things easier on the bunch."

Scott's Tigers got a 71-44 win last week against Myrtle Beach to make it a dozen in a row. It was doubly special for Scott, who coached the Seahawks from 2006 to 2009 and won a state title with the team in '08.

DORMAN GIRLS OVERCOMING LOSSES
Eleven losses in one year is a big number for the Dorman (Roebuck) Lady Cavaliers basketball team, especially after they lost just 17 games total in the previous seven seasons.

With just three seniors on the roster, the Lady Cavaliers are learning as the year goes. They hit a bad stretch in December, losing six straight and seven of eight games.

"It was very hard because we weren't used to that," senior Courtney Hill told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "But we kept working, and I think we grew a lot and learned a lot from our losses."

After those losses, though, the Cavaliers won four straight games and are pushing for a playoff spot.

"We are kind of the underdog now and don't have that pressure on us like we used to have, which isn't a bad thing," coach Kristy Ray told the paper. "I think over this last stretch of region games it's the other teams that have more of a monkey on their back."

GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS RULE SOCCER POLLS
Eastside (Taylors) and Christ Church Episcopal (Greenville), both schools in Greenville County, have boys and girls soccer teams that are tops in the preseason polls.

The polls, released by the S.C. High School Soccer Coaches Association, were released on Saturday. Eastside's boys and girls were ranked first in the 3A classification, while Christ Church's boys are No. 1 in 1A and the girls are No. 1 in the 2A/1A poll.

Christ Church's boys are seeking their 11th straight state championship, which would set a national record for boys soccer.

Two runners-up from last season, Irmo (Columbia) and Bishop England (Charleston), are ranked first in the boys 4A and 2A polls, respectively.

The Wando (Mt. Pleasant) girls, last year's 4A state champions, start the season in the No. 1 spot.

For the complete poll, visit www.scsoccer.com.

PRESEASON BASEBALL POLLS OUT, TOO
Two of last year's state champions sit atop the preseason poll recently released by the S.C. Baseball Coaches Association.

Chesnee and Lewisville (Richburg), which won the 2A and 1A state titles, respectively, are tops in their classifications.

White Knoll downed Byrnes last year for the 4A title, but the top are switched in the preseason poll, as Byrnes (Duncan) is No. 1 and White Knoll (Lexington) is No. 2.

In the 3A poll, Brookland-Cayce has the No. 1 spot.

For the complete poll, visit www.scbca.net/scbca_polls.htm.

PRINCE NAMED FOOTBALL COACH AT SOUTHSIDE
The Southside (Greenville) Tigers hired a familiar face to lead their football program. From 1995 to 2003, Julius Prince was an assistant coach there, but last week he was named the head coach.

He replaces Tyrone Talbert as the coach. Talbert took over three games into the season last year when first-year coach Louis Cooper was relieved of his duties. Prince had spent the last two years as an assistant at Spartanburg High School and he's also coached at Riverside, Woodmont and Mauldin high schools.

"I am blessed to have the responsibility of this leadership opportunity," Prince told the Greenville News. "This is my community. I'm proud to be a part of it."

Prince is the eighth head coach the school has had in 13 seasons.

CARDINAL NEWMAN WINS THIRD STRAIGHT WRESTLING CROWN
For four years Hammond got the best out of Cardinal Newman (Columbia) when it came to the SCISA wrestling state championships.

Cardinal Newman, though, topped its rival on Saturday to run its streak to three consecutive SCISA championships. Cardinal Newman won 42-28.

Hammond won two of the first three matches, but Cardinal Newman rallied and built a 33-12 lead after pins by Cole McCarter (112 pounds), Nathan Hayes (125), Craig Clyburn (130), Thomas Touma (135) and Conor Egan (145).

"Our kids wrestled extremely well even though this was an absolute dogfight today," Cardinal Newman coach Eric Goff told The State. "I'd been telling the guys all week that Hammond had the drive and was coming for us. I'm just glad we had enough to pull it out."

Jason Gilmer is an award-winning writer who has covered football in South Carolina for more than a decade. He does a statewide high school football blog on GoUpstate.com. You can reach him at palmettofootballtalkblog@gmail.com.