Sandlapper Classic drawing great field

This year's edition of the Sandlapper Track and Field Classic might be the best in the event's brief four-year history.

The brainchild of former Citadel baseball standout Gettys Glaze, the Sandlapper should have a record number of teams entered when the event is contested Saturday at West Ashley Stadium.

West Ashley coach Richard Luden said Tuesday that 28 schools are entered and the number should top the record of 30 by the end of the week. The defending boys Class AAAA state champion Wando is in the field as is Class AA girls and boys champion Bishop England.

The individual star power is intense, too. The headliner is Pendleton superstar Jasmin Stowers, who two weeks ago signed a scholarship to run for the LSU Tigers. She is the best sprint hurdler in the nation and is arguably the best hurdler in South Carolina history. She alone is worth the $6 admission ticket.

A two-time USA Today All-American, Stowers chose LSU over Florida State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Miami, UCLA and Stanford.

Stowers is No. 1 in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles and owns 12 gold medals in High School League state championships. She needs three more golds at the state meet to own the career record outright.

Stowers burst onto the state scene as a 7th-grader with the best time in all classifications in the 100 hurdles at 14.68 seconds. She set a state record in the event in 13.90 seconds when she was a freshman. Her personal best is 13.32, which was wind-aided.

She's no stranger to the Sandlapper. She competed as a freshman in Charleston in 2007 and set West Ashley Stadium records in both hurdle events.

Stowers also will run at the West Ashley Stadium when the Coaches Classic is held there on March 27.

Region 8-AAAA basketball

Region coaches have announced their all-region teams, and West Ashley, which won the girls and boys titles, is well represented.

Wildcats girls earning recognition are Chentieh Ladson, Dekeyia Cohen and Morgan Doctor. Wildcats boys making the team are Earl Lawrence, D'Montre Edwards and Matt Kennedy.

The rest of the girls team is Shalae Edwards and Christhea Campbell, Colleton County; Shonalla Counci and Whitney Palmer, Summerville; Indinesia Lawson, Fort Dorchester; and Arielle McPhee, Beaufort. West Ashley's Maria Williams is coach of the year.

The rest of the boys team includes R.J. Slawson, Cory Wright and Laurez Matthews, Fort Dorchester; Mario Pendarvis and Marlon Pryor, Summerville; Isa Miller, Colleton County; and Dymonte Gwathney, Beaufort. Fort Dorchester's Leon Wheaton is coach of the year.

Coaches named

The South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association has named its coaches for the postseason all-star games.

David Kleinfelder of Dreher and Drew McNeely of West Ashley will be the South Carolina girls coaches in The Clash of the Carolinas, which will be played July 10 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The boys coaches are Kevin Heise of Brookland-Cayce and Wayne Quinlan of Hilton Head.

The North-South Soccer Classic will be held June 19 at Wofford College's Snyder Field.

The girls' North coaches are Chris Nichols of Christ Church and Cesar Robles of Northwestern.

The girls' South coaches are Shannon Champ of Wando and Will Chassereau of Berkeley.

The boys' North coaches are Matt Brophy of Byrnes and Ben Brown of Ninety Six.

The boys' South coaches are Stephen Jackson of West Ashley and Roger Carpenter of Aiken.

Promising pitchers

James Island has a couple of promising sophomore pitchers in Josh Escoffier and Carson Porcher.

The Trojans pulled out a 1-0 victory over No. 9 Stratford in the James Island Invitational Pre-Season Tournament over the weekend. Escoffier pitched five innings and allowed one hit, while Porcher pitched 1 1/3 innings and didn't allow a hit before Matt Porter came in for the save.

Reach Philip M. Bowman at pbowman@postandcourier.com or at 937-5592.