We have a dynasty in our midst.
For the seventh consecutive year, Hilton Head Island High School received top statewide honors for its athletic programs, once again earning the Carlisle Cup from the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association earlier this month.
The Seahawks have claimed the top honors in their classification every year since 2011, topping the Class 3-A standings from 2011-16 and continuing the streak at the Class 4-A level this year.
Twenty of Hilton Head High’s 22 varsity teams qualified for postseason play this school year. The Seahawks won team state championships in boys cross country, boys track and girls track. Girls tennis finished second statewide, and girls cross country and girls swimming finished third. Boys lacrosse, boys tennis, baseball and girls soccer were Lower State finalists.
“Winning the Carlisle Cup requires a schoolwide effort – a team effort,” Athletic Director Joe Monmonier said in a release. “It requires buy-in from our student athletes and coaches, but also from our parents, administrators, support staff and business community.”
The Seahawks aren’t the only local school enjoying success in athletics. Bluffton High School finished second among 44 schools in Class 3-A, while May River High School was seventh in its inaugural season and Battery Creek was 24th. Beaufort High finished 17th among 42 Class 4-A programs, and Whale Branch Early College High School was 20th among 44 schools in Class 2-A.