Seahawk Winter NIL Signing

By: Elizabeth Markowitz and Celia Walter 

The Seahawks are proud to announce that five seniors have signed up to play sports at the collegiate level during the Winter NIL signing. Emily Ruckno is playing tennis for Westpoint Military Academy in New York. Audrey Perry is swimming for Rollins College in Florida. Blaise Minckler is swimming for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. Max Arnot is playing lacrosse for Brevard College in North Carolina. Sam Thibodeau is playing lacrosse for Guilford College in North Carolina.  Along with several other senior athletes who signed to play in college during the Fall NIL signing.

The signing ceremony was on February second at six p.m. in the HHIHS Media Center. The ceremony took place to celebrate the Seahawk athletes continuing their athletic careers past high school. The ceremony has become a bigger deal over the last few years at the school in hopes of celebrating student-athletes and their accomplishments. Most athletes planning on playing in college have already signed their letter of intent for the college they plan to attend. Athletic Director Mr.Monmonier stated, “A lot of kids already signed earlier or they sign earlier in the day.” With the athlete’s letter of intent already signed the ceremony is more of a celebratory activity and a way that athletes can celebrate the continuation of their career as a student-athlete. Athletic Director Mr. Monmonier stated,“It’s more about a ceremony, about a picture.” 

Emily Ruckno, one of the seniors signing to play at the collegiate level stated, “Signing gives me an opportunity to be a part of a bigger and much more competitive tennis program that will allow me to grow and compete as well as challenge myself in different ways.” The seniors that signed  are excited for the next step in their athletic career and the NIL signing allowed them to have a fun way to officially announce their collegiate athletic careers.

Basketball Senior Night

Andres F.  Abril

Unfortunately the basketball team for Hilton Head High was defeated by the James Island Trojans on Senior night.Many of the players were very upset about the result, especially the seniors. However it was an amazing and entertaining game with a score of 57-54. Coach Brown was on his feet all game, as he is the head coach for the boys basketball team.

Coach Brown has been head coach for the Seahawks for six years now. He says, “I love coaching the boys each year, we have great youth on the team.” He also mentioned that his favorite part is watching the players grow through their high school years, especially on senior nights. Last week on Friday, February 10 Hilton Head High had their senior night against James Island. It was a very emotional night for all players and coaches. Coach Brown said, “Senior nights are the most emotional games for us, it’s upsetting we couldn’t get the result we wanted.”

All seniors took photos with their parents or friends and had some type of gift from their families. There were five seniors for Hilton Head boys basketball who were recognized and walked to half court at half time last Friday, February 10. Some parents cried seeing their sons play their last game of highschool basketball. The student section was also supporting the seniors last week, February 10, by rooting and clapping for all seniors playing. It was a very memorable night for everyone in the gym, especially for those who were playing.

Batters Up

By Angel Andreucetti

This week the SeaHawk Times interviewed Coach Willard. Coach Willard is a math teacher in HHIHS where he teaches Algebra 2 and PreCalculus. Coach Willard said, “this year we are going to be good, we have a good group of seniors and younger kids that all get along really well and I think we are going to be a well rounded team.” Coach Willard feels good about this team, he knows all of the players and believes they can do really good things. Coach Willard explained, “there are sophomores that are really good who started as freshman last year and they already know what’s going on and it will be really good for them.” He believes that the youngsters are going to do really well this year due to the experience that they have from last season. Coach Willard said, “it’s too early to predict who is going to win states, but I believe that we are going to make it far due that the region play is not as difficult as it was last year.” Coach Willard says this because Beaufort was one of the best teams last year in the region, now that they have dropped to 3AAA there are less teams and more spots to make it to playoffs. Coach Willard said, “I am most looking forward to playing against James Island due to the fact that they are the best in the region and I think that we can compete with them. Coach Willard looks really anxious for the new season to start and there is no doubt that he is happy with the team they have this year.

Our Seahawk Softball Teams

by: Deja Godsun

For the Lady Seahawks Softball team practices officially started on January 30. With Varsity starting game play on Friday, March 3rd. There is lots to look forward to in a sports season.  Varsity softball is coached by Mr. Scalise. The varsity team has a total of 22 games scheduled and junior varsity, coached by Ms. Stroud and has a total of 18 games scheduled. Coach Scalise said, “I am looking forward to seeing the growth of the young players of the squad and the continued development of our veterans, especially the pitchers, Shania and Delcie.”

Mr. Scalise told SNN about his favorite part of the past softball season saying, “Defeating the region champ James Island in our last regular season game to qualify for the state playoffs, for the first time in seven years.” Good luck this season to both the varsity and junior varsity Lady Seahawks Softball teams.

Lax is Life

by: Tristen Simmons

On the seventeenth of February the Hilton Head High School girl’s lacrosse team played a scrimmage against Beaufort High School. Both the scholars Lexi and Jessica play for the Lacrosse game. They prepared for this scrimmage “mentally and physically with team bonding and hard driven practices.” They proceeded to go over drills necessary to warm up “partner pass, laps around the field, stretch, and a loud chant” to show the other team they came to play and they came to win. They showed very great communication skills as a team. The team proceeded to use their great communication to storm over Beaufort 22-3, GO SEAHAWKS!!! This will lead the team to a very successful and positive attitude into the start of the season. The coach assumes how the Seahawks win will continue to “fire up school spirit” and enlight more students and parents to come out and watch. The coach was filled with energy, proud of her athletes for leaving the effort and hustle out on the field. The athletes feel really passionate about lax as most of the star players including Lexi and Jessica chant “Live, Love, Lax.” This sport contains a variety of positions such as attack, defense, and goalies. Despite their victory Jessic and Lexi feel “there is always room to improve” and they won't stop there.

Individual States Wrestling

Andres F. Abril

The Hilton Head Islands wrestling team is headed to state playoffs. After a tough season the Seahwaks earned a playoff seed. Shaikh Thompson is a junior at HHIHS who is on the wrestling team. He played his first match of playoffs, and won. He is now in the second round of playoffs for wrestling. Shaikh along with three other teammates are on the road in search of a victory ring.

Shaikh has had a positive season having far more wins than losses during the regular season. Shaikh said, “The hardest part is staying in the right weight class, because sometimes I'm over or under.” He also plays football which gives him natural strength for wrestling. He also said, “Wrestling is very mental because unlike football I have no teammates who can back me up.” In important tournaments like playoffs it becomes a very mental game.

He has been preparing for this all season and hopes to come out on top. However it’s not easy as he is playing against the top 32 wrestlers in his weight class in the state. Wrestling in playoffs is a commitment, as further into the tournament it’s obligatory to miss some school and personal free time. Shaikh hopes all goes well the rest of playoffs as he strives to accomplish the goal of becoming a state champion for Hilton Head High.

More Than A Game

By Angel Andreucetti

This week the Sea Hawk Times interviewed Boys variety soccer player Diego Ramirez. Diego is a junior who’s playing his second year with varsity soccer. Diego told the Sea Hawk Times. “ So far this season I feel like the team is really good, we have a lot of depth in the team and I guess as friends we are all doing really well and we all have chemistry with each other.” Having chemistry as a team and being friendly with everyone is really important. If there is conflict in a team then the team falls apart. The Boys Varsity team has their first game this Friday against Christian Academy. Diego said, “I’m feeling good about this week's game, unfortunately I am going to be on the bench due to a hamstring injury. Both teams are looking solid and we’ll see which team comes up top for the win.” This game is going to be a good game since both teams know each other well. Diego said, “I’m anxious about regionals coming up and playing against bluffton. We've been rivals with them since day 1 and last year we lost one and won one and this year we are going to try to win both.” Each time Bluffton plays HHIHS for any sport there is a lot of tension, this game is referred to as the Bridge Bowl since each school is separated by a bridge. Diego said, “I am really happy with the freshmen that are playing varsity this year, the school's soccer future is looking pretty good.” There are 5 Freshman on the team with 2 of them already starting. Diego said, “I feel really good about the chemistry the team has due to the fact that everyone knows each other and have been playing with each other in other teams.” The boys varsity team looks really good this year and the school has high hopes for them to make it to states and hopefully bring it back home.

HHIHS is Back on Track

By:Patrick Balfour

The Hilton Head track season is starting This week. It starts on Monday, January 30th and the season goes through the end of May. Tryouts are through monday january 30th-friday fed 2. Tryouts will be at the football stadium  on the track afterschool between 4:00 to 6:00. For anyone new to track, they will need a sports physical in order to join.

For anyone that is new to track, it is important to make sure that your physical state is on par with your mental state. “Track is one of the sports where you have to be mentally strong, as well as physically,” Coach Holland stated. Coach Holland is one of the track coaches for the HHIHS track team. He has been coaching for around 21 years and won outstanding field events for 2 years and 7 ACC championships in college. “This year we are looking for growth from a lot of new athletes as well as returning players.” He also plans to have more athletes qualify for states and regional championships. 

The best thing for new athletes coming to track is that there are so many events they can try. Such as running from 100 meters all the way to 3k meters. So athletes can try if they prefer running between short or long distances. There are also field events that require less running. There's long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, discus, pole vault, and hurdles. There are also relay events where athletes have to work as a team to get a baton (or stick) around the track, with four teammates running a certain distance. 

Just a reminder that the track season has officially started. Anyone interested will need a physical in order to join. If you are planning to go, make sure you bring water, and some food for after practice. Start sprinting seahawks!

Journey through the Lady Seahawks basketball season

By Deja Godsun

The Lady Seahawks basketball team placed third in the region this season and is heading to playoffs. Coach Niki Perry is the assistant coach to Coach Russell Raniszewski. Team sports are effective ways to build relationships as well as having fun. In an interview with Coach Perry, she stated, “My favorite part about this basketball season would hands down be the relationships built with the players, parents, coaching staff, and community this season.”

The season is not yet over but the Lady Seahawks ended region play with a 7-3 record.“I would say due to the growth I’ve witnessed from the team makes this without a doubt a very successful season. We play together as a team. We accept each other for who we are. We all made commitments and sacrifices. We all love each other on and off the court. To me, this is success and we finished 3rd in the region up from 4th last season.”

Playing as a team has built connections and bonds. Coach Perry said, “I genuinely love each player on our team and I have enjoyed getting to be with them as we’ve grown this season together. With each day of this basketball season, Hilton Head has felt more like home. “

The difficulties of the season were faced in forms of losses, injuries, and tough games with adversity. “With every season in life as well as sport there are of course difficulties. Some come from our own thoughts and opinions of ourselves while some difficulties are residues of the past. One issue that was present in the beginning was me learning the plays and style of play here from my previous school. The vocabulary was also different but throughout the season we learned to speak each other’s language,” Perry added. 

Lastly, Coach Perry has said,” I’m looking forward to growing deeper and demanding more of myself and the team next season. We are going to miss some incredible young ladies but we also have a phenomenal core returning and I’m excited to see how much more we continue to improve and raise the bar for athletics here on the island.”

If it’s to Be it’s Up to Me

by: Tristen Simmons

Coach Taylor is one of the many track coaches. Coach Taylor the track coach will want “the team to have as many students as possible.” With having the question. How can the students make the track team? The tryouts consist of showing up and giving the best effort you can offer. The good news is that everyone makes the team. So with this information the students should have no reason to not come out and try if they would like to. This experienced coach has been coaching for many years. The exact number being twelve years of coaching. He was very accomplished as a runner due to him and his team breaking the men’s time in 2003 penn relay’s collegiate record. While also breaking the world record and american record in the shuttle hurdle relay. He is recognized as an inspirational coach. He has put many people into college through scholarships. The way he helps out the students by giving them all the tips to be the best in their events are phenomenal. He has increased times that many people thought couldn't get any faster. To do this he has had to get people to commit by putting in extra hours with players who wanted to get better. Quoted by him “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”. For all the track runners it is up to you to be a better athlete. If you want to be great you have to work for it.  He is one of the best you can talk to and train in person to excel in track. So what are you waiting for? Get up and go do track!!!