BLYTHEWOOD – With a few weeks of school under their belts, Blythewood’s athletes are gearing up for the season.
Volleyball
Blythewood High School volleyball opens their season at home against Dutch Fork on Aug. 22. The non-region game is their first in a stretch of four games, which will include a cross-town rivalry match at Westwood on Aug. 29. The Bengals will play their first region game of the season at Fort Mill on Sept. 12.
Head coach Mary Hall returns to lead the 2023 Bengal team, mostly compiled of Underclassmen. Three seniors, Taaj Rockman, Madalyn Jones and Bryce Allen and two juniors, Kate Kaczynski and Kristen Galloway, and two sophomores Makalah Ford and Rhelani Richburg return this season. Three freshmen and three sophomores join the 13-player roster.
Westwood Volleyball will open the regular season with an away game at North Augusta on Aug. 24. They’ll follow up the non-region contest with another against Blythewood on Aug. 29 at the Castle (7 p.m.). They’ll face Spring Valley, White Knoll, River Bluff and Camden before their first region contest at AC Flora on Sept. 12.
The Redhawks, led by coach Ciji Van Tyne, graduated five players last season, but return seniors Keyonna Morgan, Johanna Coleman, Aria Caldwell, Maya Jones, Alexis Atkins and Rachel Brown. Juniors Camryn Jeffery and Lilly Almada return. Junior Thanna Davis and sophomore Emerson Ramsdale round out the 10-player roster.
Cross Country
Blythewood’s Cross Country team will hit the ground at the Pelican’s Invitational in Lexington on Aug. 29. They’ll run in the Eye Opener (Sept. 1), Heathwood Hall Invitational (Sept. 9), Lake Murray Invitational (Sept. 16) and Mike More Classic (Sept. 23) before hosting their first home meet on Sept. 27. They’ll host a second meet in Blythewood on Oct. 11.
Westwood’s Cross Country team will open their season at the Battle of Camden on Aug. 26. They’re also scheduled to run in the Eye Opener (Sept. 1), Lake Murray Invitational (Sept. 16) and Mike Moore Classic (Sept. 23).
Tennis
Blythewood’s girls tennis team will hit the road for their first match on Aug. 22 when they’ll face off with River Bluff. They’ll return to Blythewood on Aug. 23 to host their first home match of the 2023 season against West Florence. They’ll then head to Ridge View on Aug. 24 to wrap their three-match week. The Bengals will play Irmo, Brookland-Cayce, and Ridge View again before their first conference game at Fort Mill on Sept. 5. They’ll host Nation Ford for their first home region contest on Sept. 7.
Previews were are not available for swim, girls golf, competitive cheer, and Westwood’s girls tennis as schedules have not been released on the schools’ websites.
