‘They gave me a chance’: Aiken sends first girls lax player to next level
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Girls lacrosse is continuing to grow country-wide.
The Palmetto state is home to the first women’s only lacrosse facility at Clemson University.
However, Aiken County Public School District is home to only one girls lacrosse program and they just reached a major milestone.
Brynlee Rice had only one request when she moved cross-country from Utah in 2023. She wanted a school with a girls lacrosse program.
“I was looking for a girls lacrosse team. I thought the school I went to had one, and then I found out they didn’t,” said Rice.
But Aiken High School did.
“When I moved sophomore year, I wasn’t able to play for a while. So after being able to play, it felt really good, because I couldn’t play club or anything because I was in the process of moving, but they gave me a chance, so I took it,” said Rice.
She’s now the first girls lacrosse player for the Hornets to play at the next level.
Rice will play for Shorter University. “I’m setting an example to show girls that they can do whatever they want to do,” she said.
Aiken girls lacrosse’s first season was back in the 2021-2022 school year.
“Neither one of us knew anything about lacrosse, especially girls lacrosse, realizing that’s a completely different game than the boys. So having to learn that on the fly, and then getting to learn and then see the ion grow is awesome,” said Coach and Athletic Director Phil Blacha.
Rice’s g marks the next leg of the Hornets’ still-new program.
“We hope that more girls will see now this is an opportunity. They’ll keep coming out. They’re learning the game, and the game is really growing in the CSRA here, and so it’s only going to continue to grow and get bigger,” said Assistant Coach Philip Barkhau.
“A g like this is tremendous for the program because it only just kind of piggybacks off the success that the girls are not only having but shows that we can compete at the next level,” said Blacha.
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