Over the past couple of weeks, Ella Nighbor has put together an extraordinary run of accomplishments. After winning the 1600m and 3200m South Carolina state championship titles on May 14, she went on to address her senior class as Valedictorian at graduation on Thursday, May 28. She then capped off the week by winning the steeplechase at the NCRunners Elite Tune-Up in Concord, NC, where she set a new facility record at Jay M. Robinson High School and established a new personal best of 6:55.03.
This season, Ella has also set South Carolina state records in both the 5K and the 2K steeplechase. She is scheduled to compete at New Balance Nationals in Pennsylvania, racing the 5K on June 18, followed by the 2K steeplechase on June 20. She currently ranks among the top 10 in the nation in the steeplechase, and her 16:40 in the 5K stands as one of the top five times nationally.
Keep up the great work, Ella! South Carolina is rooting for you! #GamecocksXC
NIGHBOR & JAGIELSKI GO 1–2 IN THE 1600
CLOVER BOYS 4x800 BREAK 8:00 IN A HISTORIC SCHSL 5A D1 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Ella Nighbor swept the 1600 and 3200, breaking a 21-year state meet record and delivering what is arguably the greatest girls distance double in recent SCHSL championship history. Ava Jagielski ran a lifetime best to finish second in the 1600, and the Clover boys 4x800 shattered the school record in 7:53.44 to earn a place on the state podium.
A historic day in Columbia for the Blue Eagles.
Spring Valley High School, Columbia, S.C. — May 14, 2026
From the Trackside
It was a bittersweet close to the 2026 track and field season. With part of the program set to split between Clover and Lake Wylie High School next year, and with several foundational seniors racing for the final time, the Blue Eagles closed the SCHSL 5A Division I State Championships with the kind of day most programs spend years chasing.
Clover left Columbia with two individual state titles, three personal records, multiple top-8 finishes, and a school record in the boys 4x800. More importantly, the Blue Eagles left with performances that reshaped the program’s history.
Lady Eagles Rise
Girls 4x800m Relay — Setting the Tone
13th Place | 10:12.02 (seeded 10:10.20 — right on seed)
The Blue Eagles opened the distance portion of the meet with the girls 4x800. The quartet of Jackie Kirk, Makenna Young, Nadia Andrews, and Kaya Best competed in one of 5A’s deepest fields and held their own, finishing within seconds of their seeded entry time.
The 4x800 has long served as the early-meet barometer for effort, composure, and willingness to compete, and the girls established that tone before Nighbor, Jagielski, and the rest of the distance squad took the track.
Ella Nighbor (Sr., South Carolina commit) — Double State Champion
☘️ 1600m: 1st Place | 4:56.28 (entered as #1 seed)
☘️ 3200m: 1st Place | 10:43.17 (new SCHSL 5A state meet record)
Nighbor capped her Clover career by climbing to the top of the podium twice. A year after winning the 1600 and placing sixth in the 3200, she returned determined to complete the double, and she did exactly that.
Her all-time PRs of 4:54.36 in the 1600 and 10:26.58 in the 3200 remain the standard, so both races came just off her lifetime bests in what were true championship efforts rather than chase-the-clock performances.
This double cements her as the most accomplished female distance runner in Clover history and one of the best in state history: four individual state titles, a team cross country state title, 13 school track records including relays, a 5K best of 16:40.44, a 2K steeplechase mark of 6:58.71, numerous event and facility records, and multiple state records. In evaluating the best 1600/3200 doubles ever produced on a championship day in South Carolina, Nighbor’s performance is among the very top.
After breaking Kate Niehaus’s 21-year-old 3200 record for Spring Valley, Nighbor surpassed the combined doubles Niehaus produced in 2005 and 2006. Niehaus ran 4:59.14 and 10:47.72 for a 15:46.86 total in 2005, then 4:55.45 and 10:48.29 for a 15:43.74 total in 2006.
Nighbor’s combined performance was better than both:
4:56.28 + 10:43.17 = 15:39.45
With only about an hour between races, her 10:43.17 now stands as the SCHSL state meet 3200-meter record — the Viking mark finally falling to a Blue Eagle. Ella heads to the University of South Carolina with tremendous momentum. @CHS_BlueEagles@BlueEagleAD@LKWChargerAD@lwhschargers@YCPrepSports #CloverXCTF
Ella Nighbor wins another state title in the 3200m and shatters the 21-year-old state record!
She took down Kate Niehaus’s 2005 mark of 10:47.72 with a blazing new South Carolina state record of 10:43.17! 🔥
@lwhschargers@LKWChargerAD@BlueEagleAD@CHS_BlueEagles@YCPrepSports
🏆 STATE CHAMPION 🏆
Congratulations to Rock Hill High School’s Aidan Graham on winning the 5A Division I Shot Put State Championship! 💪🔥
And he’s not done yet… next up: a shot at the DISCUS state title! 👀 @Coach_JDuncan@RockHillSchools@WRHI
The Clover men’s 4x800 relay team (Seniors Ethan Solomon, Alex Bohlen, Aidan Barkaway, and Junior Cody Waid) delivered a huge performance at the South Carolina 5A Division I Track & Field Championships, taking 4th place and shattering the previous school record (8:08) with a time of 7:53.44!
Ethan Solomon set the tone right away, leading the field the whole way, ripping a strong 1:54 opening leg. Anchor Cody Waid brought it home with a clutch 1:57 split.
Their time ranks amongst the top 15 times in South Carolina history.
What an outstanding achievement !
#GoBlueEagles @LKWChargerAD@lwhschargers@CHS_BlueEagles@BlueEagleAD@YCPrepSports
Congrats to our Softball team…District Champs!
Will head to Seneca Thursday in the first game of the Upper State series. 6pm first pitch
Loved seeing all of the Cougar fans tonight!!
Blue Eagles Rise at Upper State
Under the lights at Dorman High School on May 8, the Clover Blue Eagles delivered a deep, emotional performance at the SCHSL 5A D1 Upper State Championships. Personal records fell across the track, runways, and throws sectors, Upper State titles were claimed, and the program’s depth was on full display. When Upper, Mid, and Lower State results were merged, Clover earned 20 qualifying performances for the State Championships at Spring Valley High School on May 14. The Lady Eagles finished 4th in the Upper State with 95 points, while the boys placed 8th with 52 points in one of South Carolina’s toughest divisions.
For some Eagles, this was their last meet in a Clover uniform; for others, it was the springboard to one more week on the biggest stage. But every single athlete who toed the line or entered a ring or runway contributed to what this group accomplished together.
Champions, Records, and Automatic Qualifiers
Three Blue Eagles stood atop the podium as Upper State champions, including a historic distance double and a dominant performance in the javelin.
• Ella Nighbor — Double Upper State champion in the 1600m (4:54.36 PR, 1st) and 3200m (10:45.03, 1st), heading to State as the #1 statewide seed in both events
• Trinity Hall — High jump champion at 1.60m PR (1st), leading a Clover 1–2 sweep
• Amaiya Mayfield — Javelin champion at 31.55m (1st) and shot put at-large state qualifier with 9.88m (6th / statewide seed 16)
School-Record Boys’ Relays
The boys’ relays not only qualified, they rewrote the record book.
• Boys 4x800m Relay — William Kolodziej, Cody Waid, Aidan Barkaway, Wade Ward ran 8:08.80 for 2nd, locking in an automatic bid and breaking their own school record of 8:11 set at last year’s State Championships
• Boys 4x400m Relay — Cody Waid, Brayden Kucharczak, Jamari Jones, Dylan Kozel flew to 3:25.67 for 3rd, automatically qualifying and breaking the school record they also set last year at State
Additional Auto-Qualifiers (Top-3 Upper State)
Girls
• Ava Jagielski — 1600m (3rd, 5:08.79)
• Eliza Grieves — 400m (3rd, 58.89)
• Clara Powell — High jump (2nd, 1.60m PR)
• Shively Smith — Javelin (2nd, 30.99m PR)
• Girls 4x100m Relay — 3rd (49.76)
• Girls 4x400m Relay — 3rd (4:07.53)
Boys
• Boys 4x800m Relay — 2nd (8:08.80, school record)
• Boys 4x400m Relay — 3rd (3:25.67, school record)
At-Large Qualifiers and Distance Breakthrough
When the three regional meets were merged into one statewide list, eight more Blue Eagle performances landed inside the 16-deep state fields.
Boys
• Chase Hensley — 3200m, 9:48.96 (Upper State 6th / statewide seed 14), becoming the first individual boys’ distance qualifier since 2016, when current assistant coach Ben Clark placed 6th in the 3200m at State
• Jamarqusie Wilson — 400m hurdles, 58.45 (Upper State 6th / statewide seed 9)
• Jeremiah Farmer — Triple jump, 13.62m PR (Upper State 5th / statewide seed 10)
• Latrell Ellison — High jump, 1.90m (Upper State 4th / inside statewide top-11)
• Boys 4x100m Relay — 42.81 (Upper State 5th / statewide seed 14)
Girls
• Ava Jagielski — 800m, 2:24.42 (statewide seed 13), qualifying in her second individual event
• Girls 4x800m Relay — 10:10.20 (5th Upper State / statewide seed 10 of 16)
• Amaiya Mayfield — Shot put, 9.88m (Upper State 6th / statewide seed 16, second event)
All six Clover relays — girls and boys 4x100m, 4x400m, and 4x800m — are headed to
Columbia with full relay pools, and every listed athlete is a State qualifier, whether as a runner or as an alternate. @CHS_BlueEagles@9GC_BlueEagles@BlueEagleAD@lwhschargers@LKWChargerAD@CloverEagles
York Post 66 will be fielding Sr & Jr Legion teams this summer. Any high school player that attends York, Clover or YPA that is interested in playing please use the sign up link below. @YCHSbaseball@CloverBaseball_@YorkPrepSports@YCPrepSports
https://t.co/INCTf6Vgwv