• Riley Vaughn of Spartanburg was named the 2025-26 South Carolina girls Gatorade Player of the Year.
• Vaughn won the shot put and discus events at the Class 5A-D1 state championships.

Riley Vaughn of Spartanburg girls Track and Field was named the 2025-26 South Carolina girls Gatorade Player of the Year.

Vaughn won the shot put and discus events at the Class 5A-D1 state championships. She nailed a 13.1 meters on the shot and 41.77 meters on the discus. Her 14.41 in the shot at the region meet was the state’s best for 2026. 

The 5-foot-10 junior helped lead Spartaburg to a fifth-place team finish. Vaughn had also competed on the national stage after taking third place in the shot put event at the Under Armour Nationals.

MORE: Christ Church ranked No. 1 among top 25 high schools in South Carolina

“Unbeaten in the discus throw on home state soil this year, Vaughn achieved success in both throws, but really sparkled in the shot put circle,” PrepCalTrack editor, Rich Gonzalez, said. “Her season-best there was the state’s top mark in the event in seven years and moved her to No. 4 on South Carolina’s all-time list.”

Vaughn is now part of an elite group of athletes who have won the prestigious award, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, five-time Olympic medalist Sanya Richards, and 11-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix.

Vaughn was also named to the Greenville News’ All-Upstate First Team in girls’ Track and Field for the second consecutive season.

Kamryn Jackson covers high school and college sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at KEJackson@gannett.com and follow her on X @KamxJack (formerly Twitter).

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – With the primary season concluded, South Carolina’s gubernatorial race is coming into focus, marking the first time in nearly a decade that Gov. Henry McMaster will not appear on the ballot.

Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson and Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson have secured their parties’ nominations and will face off in November as they begin shifting their campaigns toward the general election.

Wilson, a Lexington native and combat veteran, has served as the state’s attorney general since 2011. He is campaigning on a platform focused on tax reform, government transparency, and affordability, including a proposal to eliminate the state income tax.

“I think it signals to us that our message of talking about the people of South Carolina and our message of hope … resonated with the voters,” Wilson said, referencing his primary victory.

Johnson, who has represented Richland County in the South Carolina House since 2021 and lives in Hopkins, is centering his campaign on what he calls a need for change and new leadership. He is seeking to become the state’s first Democratic governor since the late 1990s.

“People are just angry … because their lives just aren’t getting any better,” Johnson said. “If we elect the same type of leadership, we will get the same type of result.”

Johnson pointed to Republican primary results, including the defeat of the sitting lieutenant governor in the GOP runoff, as evidence that voters are open to change.

Wilson has selected state Sen. Mike Reichenbach of Florence County as his running mate, saying Reichenbach would spearhead an effort to audit state agencies if elected.

Johnson has not yet announced a lieutenant governor candidate but said he expects to do so within the next month.

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