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As classes on campus are put on hold for Spring Break, the Case Western Reserve University athletic teams will be on the road with a busy stretch ahead. The last competitions of the winter season will feature the track & field and swimming & diving teams at the NCAA Championships, while baseball, softball, and men's and women's tennis will all be very active over the next 12 days.

Men's Track & Field

CWRU will send its distance medley relay team of senior Logan Singer, first-year Josh Bates, sophomore Nate Gilbert, and senior Joe Jaster to the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama this weekend. The quartet became the first Spartan squad to qualify for the indoor championship in the distance medley relay in program history after notching the 10th-best time in Division III this season (9:54.31) at the Tufts National Qualifier last weekend. The event will be held at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday night.

The Spartans will then open their outdoor season the following weekend at the Washington & Lee Track Carnival in Lexington, Virginia.

Schedule Friday, March 10 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships Birmingham, Ala. · Birmingham Crossplex 7:10 PM ET Live Results | Video

Friday, March 17 - Saturday, March 18 W&L Track Carnival Lexington, Va. · Washington & Lee Univ. Live Results | Video

Men's Tennis

Fresh off a win at the 2023 ITA Indoor National Championship, the second-ranked Spartans (10-2) will play 11 matches in five days during their spring break trip to Florida next week. Highlights for the trip include matches against two of the top teams in Division II with matchups against #1 Indianapolis and #3 Barry.

Schedule Saturday, March 11 vs. Florida Palms (Orlando, Fla.) · 11:30 AM vs. #38 Hardin-Simmons (Orlando, Fla.) · 3:30 PM · Live Stats Sunday, March 12 at (#28 DII) Lynn · 10:00 AM · Live Stats vs. Florida National (Boca Raton, Fla.) · 10:00 AM · Live Stats Monday, March 13 at #3 (DII) Barry · 10:00 AM · Live Stats vs. Keiser (Miami Shores, Fla.) · 2:00 PM · Live Stats

Tuesday, March 14 vs. Oneonta State (Orlando, Fla.) · 11:30 AM · Live Stats vs. #1 (DII) Indianapolis (Orlando, Fla.) · 11:30 AM · Live Stats

Wednesday, March 15 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Orlando, Fla.) · 8:00 AM · Live Stats vs. Illinois Tech (Orlando, Fla.) · 8:00 AM · Live Stats vs. Skidmore (Orlando, Fla.) · 11:30 AM · Live Stats

Softball

The 11th-ranked Spartans are off to a red-hot start to their season after going 4-0 during their opening weekend last week, including a win over top-ranked and reigning National Champion Christopher Newport. CWRU will now travel down to Winter Park, Florida for 10 games in a six-day stretch at THE Spring Games. Fans can follow the action with live video from FloSoftball for a fee.

Schedule (All games at THE Spring Games in Winter Park, Fla.) Sunday, March 12 vs. Ramapo · 9:00 AM · Live Stats · Video ($) vs. Ohio Northern · 11:30 AM · Video ($) Monday, March 13 vs. Salve Regina · 11:30 AM · Video ($) vs. #20 Babson · 2:00 PM · Video ($) Tuesday, March 14 vs. Geneseo · 9:00 AM · Video ($) vs. Endicott · 11:30 AM · Live Stats · Video ($)

Thursday, March 16 vs. Westminster · 2:00 PM · Video ($) vs. Hood · 4:30 PM · Video ($)

Friday, March 17 vs. Hope · 9:00 AM · Live Stats · Video ($) vs. Wis.-Stout · 11:30 AM · Video ($)

Baseball

The Spartans may be off from classes, but next week won't be a 'break' for the CWRU baseball team, which will seven games, including five against nationally-ranked opponents. The Spartans (4-4) will begin the week at Lexington Country Stadium in Lexington, South Carolina, before returning to Northeastern Ohio for three games the following weekend, including a pair at home.

Schedule Sunday, March 12 (Lexington, S.C.) vs. Oswego State ·11:00 AM · Live Stats · Video vs. #17 Cortland ·2:00 PM · Live Stats · Video

Monday, March 13 (Lexington, S.C.) vs. #17 Cortland ·2:00 PM · Live Stats · Video

Tuesday, March 14 (Lexington, S.C.) vs. #17 Cortland ·11:00 AM · Live Stats · Video

Friday, March 17 vs. Adrian · 4:00 PM · Live Stats · Video

Saturday, March 18 at #6 Baldwin Wallace · 4:00 PM · Live Stats · Video

Sunday, March 19 vs. #11 Denison · TBA · Live Stats · Video

Women's Tennis

The 11th-ranked women's tennis team will be headed to California for three matches during its spring break. CWRU, which stands at 7-3 on the campaign, will be facing three nationally-ranked Division III opponents during the trip, including a matchup at fourth-ranked Pomona-Pitzer to conclude the stretch.

Schedule Sunday, March 12 at #31 Chapman · 1:00 PM ET · Live Stats

Tuesday, March 14 at #15 Redlands · 8:00 PM ET · Live Stats

Wednesday, March 15 at #4 Pomona-Pitzer · 1:00 PM ET · Video | Live Stats

Women's Swimming & Diving

The CWRU women's swimming and diving team will conclude its 2022-23 season at the NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sophomore Abigail Wilkov will be competing in the three-meter dive on Wednesday and the one-meter dive on Friday, while sophomores Angeli Paull and Gabriella Chambers, and first-years Claire Kozma and Eliza Dixon will compete in the 200-medley relay on Wednesday, the 200-free relay on Thursday, the 800-free relay on Friday, and the 400-free relay on Saturday. Preliminaries will begin daily at 10:00 a.m., followed by the finals at 6:00 p.m.

COLUMBIA — A Lexington County poultry festival could soon join South Carolina’s list of official state symbols.

A Statehouse bill that would designate the South Carolina Poultry Festival, a large annual festival in the small Midlands town of Batesburg-Leesville, won approval from a House Agriculture subcommittee March 7 to be the official such gathering.

“I noticed it the first time because … the South Carolina Pecan Festival in Florence is designated as the state pecan festival,” said bill sponsor Rep. Cal Forrest, R-Monetta, a Batesburg-Leesville native whose district includes the 5,000 person town 35 miles southwest of Columbia.

If passed, the fowl event would join a list of state symbols that range from obvious, such as the Palmetto being South Carolina’s official tree, to less well-known, such as the state’s appointed picnic cuisine being barbecue.

Other categories with official designations include fish, flower, wildflower, fruit, dance, fossil, snack food, stone, gemstone, tapestry and tobacco museum.

Milk is the state beverage, but sweet tea is recognized as the official hospitality beverage. There is also a state mammal, the bottlenose dolphin, not to be confused with the state migratory mammal, the northern right whale.

As the list grew, lawmakers pushed a moratorium on state designations in 2014, which ultimately failed, but none have been passed since.

Even so, Forrest believes Batesburg-Leesville’s poultry festival is worthy of a title.

The South Carolina Poultry Festival, a nonprofit organization, started in 1985 as a small carnival, parade and chicken-calling contest in Batesburg-Leesville’s town center. Now nearing its 40th year, festival organizers tout more than “90 craft vendors, 100-plus unit parade, three stages of continuous entertainment and an indescribable Pyromusical, fireworks in sync with music” with about 100,000 attendees, according to the festival’s website.

“The poultry festival just grew exponentially and exploded,” Forrest said. “This is probably one of, if not the largest, local festival anywhere in the state of South Carolina.”

Also, the festival gives back to the community, and holds a number of scholarship programs as part of it, Forrest said.

Trey Byars, executive director at the South Carolina Polutry Federation, said an official state poultry festival would help educate people about the industry.

“We want the younger generation and future farmers to be poultry farmers and to learn that this is a cool, fun way to go about making a living,” Byars said. “We see this (festival) as a great tool in the agriculture sector to expand our base.”

The poultry fest bill must win approval from the House Agriculture Committee and the full House before it could be kicked over to the Senate. If the bill passes, it would be the first official designation in nearly a decade.

COLUMBIA — South Carolina lawmakers gave the first nod to a record-breaking $1.3 billion to entice Volkswagen subsidiary Scout Motors to build in Richland County.

A S.C. House subcommittee was the first to recommend the deal for approval March 7, with legislators praising it as “a huge win for South Carolina.”

The incentives package must still make its way through the full committee and the rest of the legislative process.

If approved, South Carolina will exhaust $1.2 billion in budget surplus dollars sitting in the Contingency Reserve Fund from previous budget cycles, as well as another $86 million in anticipated surplus revenue coming in by the end of this fiscal year.

The incentives package requested by S.C. Department of Commerce will pay for a railroad bridge across Interstate 77 and a new interchange, as well as other road, water, sewer and power infrastructure and soil stabilization at the site.

Scout, in return, plans to build a $2 billion electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the Columbia suburb of Blythewood, employing 4,000 workers as part of the record-breaking deal for Richland County.

“South Carolina is making this pivot with the industry and we’re doing that to ensure that our children and our grandchildren have great jobs for the decades to come,” Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey said.

Lightsey told lawmakers the state has the ability to claw back as much as $800 million of its investment in the site if the company does not meet its commitments under the investment agreement.

The average annual pay for hourly workers at the plant is estimated to be $58,000. Salaried workers could make an average of $100,000, Lightsey said.

Lightsey said VW also anticipates the need for a second phase that could later double the size of its investment and employment in Richland County.

The 1,100-acre manufacturing campus will produce 200,000 vehicles annually, with production expected to begin by the end of 2026.

The Scout incentives surpass all past state agreements. On top of the $1.3 billion, Scout has been approved for further state tax credits based on wages and the number of people it employs, the state Commerce Department said.

In addition to the state-led incentives, Richland County Council is weighing tax breaks of its own that for 40 years would reduce its property tax rate for Scout to 4 percent, down from the 6 percent currently applied to manufacturers.

A second set of special incentives would reimburse the company for millions in permit fees early on and later allow it to further buy down its tax bill by another 50 percent for the final 24 years of the deal.

The county is considering gifting the land, valued at nearly $32 million, to Scout, as well as paying for improvements to a nearby fire station and offering up child care stipends that the company can dole out to its employees, helping to attract workers and possibly bringing more of those caretaking adults into the workforce.

South Carolina is becoming a leader in the nation’s EV industry, with its top vehicle manufacturers making the shift to the production of battery-powered cars.

Scout is the fifth auto manufacturer to build electric vehicles in South Carolina, joining Mercedes, Volvo and Volvo subsidiary Polestar, all outside of Charleston, and BMW in Greer.

Editors note: This article has been changed to correctly reflect the revenue source that will be used to pay for an incentives package offered by the state to Scout Motors.

COLUMBIA — Richland County will consider a $90 million proposal for apartments in downtown Columbia near the South Carolina State Museum.

The development, known for the time by code name Project Wichita, would be built on nearly 6 acres at 1409 Huger St. owned by South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., according to documents filed with Richland County.

The document does not say how many units the development will have but the proposal does call for a 643-space parking garage and 42 surface-parking spaces for downtown visitors.

Environmental remediation on the site, which once housed a gas plant, is part of the proposal, as is a small park. There are also road, water, sewer and electric improvements planned.

To help cover the cost of these improvements to public infrastructure, valued at $21.6 million, the developer is seeking a 10-year, 50 percent tax credit.

The project marks the third multifamily development proposed around The Vista entertainment district on downtown Columbia’s west side.

Developer Ben Arnold wants to build a 183-unit apartment complex on property he owns near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The University of South Carolina Development Foundation has plans for a 938-bed student apartment complex called Gadsden + Greene near Colonial Life Arena. And where Huger and Blossom streets meet, a St. Louis-based developer is gathering approvals for a 960-bed college apartment complex called VERVE Columbia.

Richland County Council is expected to take the first of three required votes on the proposal on March 7.

The city of Columbia will also have to sign off on the deal.

Professional soccer is coming to Georgetown College. Lexington Sporting Club has partnered with Georgetown College to serve as the professional club’s temporary home venue beginning with the 2023 season while the club builds its own stadium.

“It was important for us to find the right home for 2023, and we could not be more pleased with our partnership with Georgetown College,” said Bill Shively, principal owner of Lexington SC. “There are a lot of variables to consider when looking for a home while we pursue our own soccer-specific stadium; we want to provide a fan-friendly atmosphere and need to ensure we supply a professional environment for the team.”

The 5,000-seat stadium is home to Georgetown College’s football, soccer and lacrosse teams and has served as a hub of community activity for years, featuring state and local soccer championship events. Previously, the stadium served as the longtime home of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Summer Training Camp.

“By partnering with Lexington SC, Georgetown College is not only able to offer a first-rate athletic experience for our student-athletes but also bring professional sports to Scott County,” said Dr. Rosemary Allen, Georgetown College President. “The economic impact for the local community will be a significant benefit for the region and for youth soccer players since LSC and GC will partner to offer summer soccer camps. We look forward to the many opportunities students, athletes, families, and the community will enjoy by having Lexington SC at Georgetown College.”

In preparation for the club’s first season, Lexington SC will install multiple facility updates, most notably a new state-of-the-art artificial turf field, which replicates the product installed at the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins training facility. The Matrix Helix turf provides all athletes with a safe surface and relief from the heat, as the field features EcoTherm infill which can reduce the surface temperature of the field by nearly 30 degrees. It is the same surface Lexington SC is installing at its multi-million dollar training facility on Athens Boonesboro Road, which serves the club’s 1,400 youth players and is set to open this spring.

The collaboration extends beyond the field of play as Georgetown College and Lexington SC will integrate the professional club into the college’s Sports Management curriculum, by providing the opportunity to invite club executives into the classroom, students to gain experience through internship opportunities, and more.

“This partnership sends a signal that Georgetown College is a destination for athletics and the broader community. Throughout this process, Lexington SC has been easy to work with, ensuring that this project would happen by making their leadership team available. This partnership will allow us to install the same playing surface that is located in SoFi and AT&T stadiums in the NFL. I want to also thank the Georgetown College Board of Trustees for their support of this collaboration,” said Brian Evans, GC Vice President for Athletics.

Lexington SC kicks off its inaugural professional soccer campaign at One Knoxville in Knoxville, TN, on March 18, followed by a trip to Cary, NC, to play North Carolina FC on April 1. The home opener at Georgetown College is April 8 against Forward Madison at 7:00 p.m. EST; the full schedule is linked here. Ticketing information will be released in the coming days. Fans may still join the season ticket wait list prior to tickets going on sale to the public on the club’s website at www.lexsporting.com.

Electrophysiologists are experts in treating problems with the heart’s electrical system.

Credit: Lexington Medical Center

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lexington Medical Center is the first hospital in South Carolina to receive an Electrophysiology Accreditation from the American College of Cardiology for its ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who come to its electrophysiology lab.

EP labs provide care for patients with arrhythmias, which are irregular heartbeats. Patients with arrhythmias may have hearts that beat too quickly, too slowly or with an irregular rhythm. Electrophysiologists are experts in treating problems with the heart’s electrical system. They employ treatments such as cardiac ablation and implantable devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

"Our team of nurses, technicians, and physicians from multiple areas and levels of care within Lexington Medical Center have worked diligently for the past decade to create a program that provides safe and effective treatment of patients with heart rhythm disorders with excellent outcomes,” said William W. Brabham, MD, FHRS, medical director of electrophysiology at Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular Center. “This is a significant milestone for our program, and we all look forward to providing state-of-the-art EP care to our community for years to come."

Hospitals receiving Electrophysiology Accreditation from the ACC must take part in a multi-faceted clinical process that involves completing a gap analysis; examining variances of care; developing an action plan; a rigorous onsite review; and monitoring for sustained success. Improved methods and strategies of caring for patients include streamlining processes, implementing guidelines and standards, and adopting best practices in the precise care of EP lab patients. Facilities that achieve accreditation meet or exceed an array of stringent criteria and have organized a team of doctors, nurses, clinicians and other administrative staff that earnestly support the efforts leading to better patient education, improved patient outcomes, and more effective and efficient disease control.

Lexington Medical Center has demonstrated its commitment to providing the Midlands of South Carolina with excellent heart care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award Lexington Medical Center with Electrophysiology Accreditation.

The ACC offers hospitals in the United States and abroad access to a comprehensive suite of cardiac accreditation services designed to optimize patient outcomes and improve hospital financial performance. These services are focused on all aspects of cardiac care, including the EP lab.

Lexington Medical Heart and Vascular offers comprehensive cardiovascular care. It has also received a three-star rating – the highest rating possible – from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for coronary artery bypass surgery, aortic valve surgery and mitral valve repair. For more information, visit LexMed.com/HVC.

A local coalition continued spreading information about the dangers of drugs to young people during a Lexington County event this week, extending a program that has been in place for more than a decade.

The Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council, better known as LRADAC, hosted its Youth Leadership Summit with Lexington One Community Coalition (LOCC) students Feb. 6 and 7.

These LOCC clubs are led by students and have been located in every Lexington County School District 1 middle and high school for 15 years. According to Ashley Bodiford, LRADAC’s director of prevention, the purpose of these clubs is to allow students to craft messages and create the norms of their school regarding substance use and mental health awareness.

The clubs typically have between eight and 25 members and have a designated advisor, who is a school staff member that provides resources and helps the students identify meeting times and stay focused.

“To create that understanding around youth substance use, not everyone is doing it and not everyone has to do it,” Bodiford said about what the clubs accomplish. “There are other ways to entertain your time and do healthy things in your school setting and also in your community setting.”

The summit brings together all the clubs from all the schools, with middle schools attending the first day and high schools attending the second day. All together, Bodiford said this year’s event had about 200 students.

It was the first summit to take place in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this year's summit, the students participated in team-building exercises and listened to a comprehensive presentation from FBI Agent Brandon Lackey on alcohol, tobacco and drug safety, resiliency skills, and being strong leaders in the community.

“It’s a nice opportunity for them to get out of their normal day and still be very productive and working towards identifying what they want to accomplish as their club and what they are hoping to see as outcomes,” Bodiford said.

LRADAC is one of 33 drug abuse authorities in South Carolina and provides prevention, intervention, and treatment services along with recovery help to individuals in the county who need it. Bodiford told the Chronicle that the nonprofit tailors its programs to meet the changing needs of the community and the people they serve.

If a resident needs help, they can go to LRADAC for a walk-in assessment, where they will be provided information on treatment services. If they want to continue with these services, they complete a comprehensive assessment with a clinical counselor. The counselor proceeds to work with the individual to identify the best care plan.

“Everyone’s individual walk into recovery is very unique and individualized,” Bodiford said “LRADAC is prepared to be responsive to that and develop a plan of care that best suits needs specific to them”

Bodiford told the Chronicle that LRADAC helped over 5,000 people in 2022.

A majority of funding for the nonprofit comes from the state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and it also relies on federal grants and contracts along with some revenue from program fees.

“We are looking at taking a proactive approach to fighting addiction and drug misuse in our schools and our businesses and our community,” Bodiford said.

Keywords

lradac, lexington county drug prevention, sc substance abuse, midlands schools