After finishing third in Western AAA a year ago, Belton-Honea Path wrestling made winning the region a primary goal for this season.

And when the Bears knocked off Greenville on Thursday, it became reality — their sixth region title in the last seven years. (Pickens won last year). Now they get the next step: opening the AAA playoffs in Bear Nation with Pickens on Wednesday.

B-HP didn’t quite take the easiest path to the crown, though. It started 3-7 before becoming the Anderson County champion.

“I think the light came on for a few people,” B-HP coach Matt Wurst said. “Had some guys that started the season slow.”

The Bears have gone 19-3 since, and are led by a trio of consistent performers who have all collected 30 wins.

Senior 119 Wes Sexton (30-3) has 103 career victories, and is ranked No. 4 in the state. Sexton has bounced back from a right foot injury that slowed him last season. Junior 145 Kyle Blankenship is 30-4, and junior 152 Josh Smith is also 30-3.

“Those guys have been probably the three most consistent,” Wurst said. “Wes has a lot of experience, and Josh and Kyle have been able to push each other in the practice room.”

Wednesday’s meeting with Pickens will bring back some memories of the Bears’ 39-34 victory earlier this season when they knew they’d have to make up 12 points. Pickens senior 103 Chris Barrett is ranked No. 2 in the state, and the Bears forfeit at 112.

Wurst said he hoped his first-round matchup came against a team outside of the region, because familiarity sometimes puts teams at a disadvantage. Still, it should be a close match, he said.

“We’re pretty even teams,” he said. “They’re kind of stronger where we’re not as strong, and we’re stronger where they’re not as strong.”

BUTLER SWITCHES TO GEORGIA TECH

Westside all-purpose football speedster Lee Butler de-committed from Duke last week and has pledged to sign with Georgia Tech next week, according to Scout.com. Butler, 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, recently narrowed his list to Duke, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. He had an in-home visit on Wednesday with several Tech coaches, including new head coach Paul Johnson.

“It’s like a dream come true for me,” Butler told the site. “I’ve dreamed all my life of playing at a place like Georgia Tech, and now it will come true.”

Butler plans to major in electrical engineering.

CRESCENT’S IMPRESSIVE SEASON

After a come-from-behind victory over Walhalla on Jan. 11, third-year Crescent coach Michelle Parnell had plenty of reasons to explain her team’s surprising yet impressive season.

“The big thing especially in trying to build the program, is we have to get our kids to believe that they can play with anybody,” Parnell said. “I think we’re finally getting to the point that they’re seeing that, ‘hey, we can be a team to beat.’”

For the majority of Parnell’s tenure, the Lady Tigers have had the same nucleus: Point guard JeRita Adger, forward Haley Taylor, and shooting guard Amber Sutherland. Taylor and Sutherland combined for 35 points in the 59-36 victory at Abbeville on Friday to lift Crescent to 11-4 and 7-2 in Region 1-AA.

“Gaining that confidence, because confidence goes a long way, has been very positive for us,” Parnell said. “Because we’ve beaten some teams this year that we haven’t beaten since I’ve been here. They’re finally starting to see, ‘hey, we can do this.’

Those victories include West-Oak and Belton-Honea Path. And Crescent also took first-place and region unbeaten Pendleton to overtime on Jan. 8. The Lady Tigers wrap up their schedule at West-Oak today, at home against Pendleton on Friday and at Walhalla next Tuesday.

Crescent is two games behind Pendleton, and two ahead of Palmetto and Walhalla.

“The final two weeks of the season will definitely be interesting,” Parnell said in an e-mail Monday. “It has been a long time since the girls basketball program has been in the mix come playoff time. The girls are excited about the possibility and continue to work and play hard.”

CALHOUN FALLS COACHES IN LIMBO

First-year Calhoun Falls athletics director and football coach Kenya Fouch said last week he and many of the coaches at the school are in a wait-and-see mode.

“No. 1 is to definitely finish out this year on a positive note,” Fouch said.

With the chance of the school transitioning to a charter school, Fouch said, “staying on is an option.”

The former assistant at several Georgia schools said he’s had interest and some offers from about 10 schools, two for head jobs, all in the Peach State.

Among some of Fouch’s questions about remaining with Calhoun Falls: Will he have enough longevity to retire from coaching the Blue Flashes, and will there be a commitment from the town?

Fouch said any offers for next season likely would come this week or next, so he should be able to make a decision soon.

PRESEASON BASEBALL POLLS

The S.C. Baseball Coaches Association preseason polls were released last week. The four No. 1 teams are North Augusta, Riverside, Bishop England and Landrum. Ranked teams with local interest include No. 7 Laurens, and No. 7 Pickens.

North Augusta lost to Hartsville last season in two games in the AAAA state championship series. Bishop England is the defending state AA champ after defeating Mid-Carolina in two games. Landrum beat Bamberg-Ehrhardt in two games to win its third title in six seasons.

PRESEASON SOCCER POLLS

Dixie, Walhalla and Palmetto are ranked in the top nine of the coaches preseason boys soccer polls released Saturday. The Hornets (4) were 11-10-2 last season, the Razorbacks (6) were 13-7 and the Mustangs (9) were 15-6-1. On the girls’ side, T.L. Hanna (13, 17-5) and Wren (14, 14-6) look to add a chapter to their Region 1-AAAA rivalry. D.W. Daniel (19-5) is ranked No. 12 in AAA, while West-Oak (8-4) is No. 9 in AA-A.