South-Carolina
Four-Time South Carolina State Champion Matt Fortson Sends Verbal to Army
Four-Time South Carolina State Champion Matt Fortson Sends Verbal to Army
NEW COMMIT: Futures qualifier Matt Fortson out of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has verbally committed to Army West Point beginning in Fall 2025.
He will join Lewis Esterly as a member of the Black Knights’ Class of 2029.
Regarding his commitment, he said:
I’m blessed to announce my commitment to swim at the United States Military Academy. This has been a lifelong dream and I can’t wait to join my brother and father in the Long Grey Line. I would like to thank my family, coaches, friends, and the entire Army coaching staff for supporting and believing in me. Go Army! Beat Navy!
Primarily a backstroker and butterflyer, Fortson does his club swimming with Wahoo Aquatic Club and had five top-10 finishes at South Carolina Short Course Seniors back in February. Last summer, he took fifth in the 200m back at South Carolina Long Course Seniors before going on to compete at San Antonio Futures.
His best times include:
- 100 back – 51.11
- 200 back – 1:50.87
- 100 fly – 48.85
- 200 fly – 1:53.88
Currently a junior at Porter Gaud School, Fortson won the 100 fly and 200 free at the South Carolina Independent Schools State Championships last fall. He earned gold in the 100 fly and 100 back during his sophomore season after securing runner-up finishes in those events as a freshman.
Under head coach Brandt Nigro, the Black Knights finished second in the team standings at the 2024 Patriot League Championships.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
(WPDE) — ABC15 is the new official broadcast home for South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) drawings, beginning Wednesday, July 1!
Weekday evening drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4, Palmetto Cash 5 and Cash Pop will air live just before the 7:00 p.m. newscast and are approximately one minute long.
ABC15 will also air live jackpot drawings during its 11 p.m. newscast on:
- Mega Millions: Tuesdays and Fridays
- Powerball: Wednesdays and Saturdays
In addition to the live broadcasts, official SCEL results will be displayed on-screen following the midday Pick 3, Pick 4 and Cash Pop drawings. Weekend evening drawings will also be shown through official results crawls.
Richard Hricik, South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, has officially launched his campaign for November’s general election.
Hricik was unopposed in the primary, automatically advancing to the ballot in November. He will now race against the Republican nominee David Stumbo, who beat Republican challenger Stephen Goldfinch in a runoff on June 23.
Hricik launched his campaign on June 25, just two days after the Republican primary runoff concluded.
In a press release Hricik, a Charleston attorney of more than 25 years, said that his campaign focuses on the fact that the rule of law should protect everyone equally.
“The Rule of Law isn’t red or blue. It has to apply to everyone, and be defended for everyone,” Hricik said. “An Attorney General who treats the law as their own political agenda — who protects some people and not others — threatens our democracy and makes every South Carolinian’s rights less safe. If someone attacks the State House in Columbia, I won’t ask who they voted for; it won’t matter — they are going to prison. That’s the law, and the Attorney General’s job is to defend and uphold The Rule of Law. For everyone.”
Hricik also announced that he has a no-money pledge for his campaign.
“An Attorney General is supposed to answer to two things: You and The Rule of Law. No one and nothing else,” Hricik said. “So, I take no money — not from special interests, not even from myself. That’s not a gimmick. It’s my firewall against corruption and influence. When you owe no one, you can fight for everyone and The Rule of Law.”
There has not been a Democrat in the attorney general office since Thomas Medlock, who left office in 1995.
Stumbo, who is currently serving a fourth term as Solicitor for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, ran his primary campaign on the basis of being a career prosecutor and lifelong Republican.
On runoff election night, Stumbo and his supporters gathered at the City Club of Greenville to watch results come in. In his winning speech that night, Stumbo said that while there hasn’t been a Democratic attorney general in South Carolina in many years, there would still be work ahead.
“We still got a lot of work to do, and I need everyone in this room fighting like crazy for the next few months to make sure that when we’re standing there on election night in November that we are officially the next attorney g eneral of South Carolina,” Stumbo said.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development. Contact her at rcronin@usatodayco.com.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A judge has started the process for South Carolina to pursue the death penalty against Brandon Council, the man accused of killing two women during an armed bank robbery at CresCom Bank in 2017.
Council is charged federally with murder after authorities said he walked into the bank to commit an armed robbery that ended with two employees being shot and killed.
He was originally sentenced to death in federal court, but the Biden administration commuted the sentences of 37 death row inmates, changing their status to life in prison.
With Council no longer facing execution under the federal sentence, South Carolina is moving to revive state charges that had been dropped before he was federally charged.
READ MORE: Spectators pack courtroom as Alex Murdaugh returns to court after convictions overturned
In court, prosecutors sought to add dates to the case calendar as they pursue the death penalty again.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said the state had initially been looking at April 2027 for a trial date, but the judge denied that as too soon.
“We were being as aggressive as we could be. But by July 17th, the defense will give their order. We will turn in another order, and we’ll see if we can’t come to an agreement. That way, the judge doesn’t have a lot of problems. It’s just an agreement between the two sides,” Richardson said.
During the hearing, the judge and the state were asked about any bias before moving forward.
Richardson said, “I don’t know him. So he’s from a different state, and, they ask us to let them know about any bias. I don’t know about any bias. I just, you know, it’s whatever the crime is.”
He added, “The main thing for me was to get the schedule in order so that we know where we’re going, and it looks like we’re on the road to that, but we’re not there yet.”
READ MORE: Florence woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for 2-year-old’s death
At one point, Council sought to represent himself in court and objected to statements made by the prosecution.
By the end of the hearing, he changed his mind and accepted representation.
Richardson said he does not expect the trial until 2028.
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