Hines Athlete of the Year: First round complete, second round voting now open

The first round of the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year is now complete. Nearly 700 votes were cast from Monday through midnight on Wednesday. Results are listed below.

Josh Fugate | Cross Country | Thomas Sumter Academy - 353 votes (50.7%)
Jonathan Henry | Football | Sumter High School - 343 votes (49.3%)
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Zach Davis | Archery | Thomas Sumter Academy - 385 votes (55.3%)
Steve Scholz | Swimming | Wilson Hall - 311 votes (44.7%)
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Cassidy Brunson | Archery | Thomas Sumter Academy - 362 votes (52%)
Talaysia Cooper | Basketball | East Clarendon High School - 334 votes (48%)
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Margaret McMahon | Volleyball | Sumter High School - 357 votes (51.3%)
Bella Crowe | Cross Country | Thomas Sumter Academy - 339 votes (48.7%)
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Ja’Kheem Heyward | Track and Field | Sumter High School - 428 votes (61.5%)
James Hiott | Shooting | Wilson Hall | - 268 votes (38.5%)
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Christian Acevedo | Soccer | Crestwood High School - 357 votes (51.3%)
William Coulter | Tennis | Wilson Hall - 339 votes (48.7%)
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Jasiah Pack | Soccer | Sumter High School - 355 votes (51%)
Kayla Porter | Track and Field | Wilson Hall - 341 votes (49%)
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Denae Brunson | Golf | Sumter High School - 429 votes (61.6%)
Sarah Faye Turner | Tennis | Laurence Manning Academy - 267 votes (38.4%)
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Voting is now open for round two, and fans can visit TheItem.com/AOTY to cast their votes in all eight second-round matchups. A total of 16 athletes are eligible for second-round voting The initial seeding for the bracket was selected at random.

Second-round voting will continue until midnight Sunday, Aug. 4. The third round will run from Aug. 5-7 , the semifinal round from Aug. 8-11 and the championship round from Aug. 12-15.
The champion will be announced in the Aug. 17 edition of The Sumter Item as well as on line.

To see the complete bracket and voting form, go to TheItem.com/AOTY.

Following are the second-round matchups:

Denae Brunson, Girls Golf/Sumter High School vs. Ann Weathers Blankenship, Girls Shooting/Wilson Hall

Hayden Kirkhart, Girls Swimming/Sumter High School vs. Cassidy Brunson, Girls Archery/Thomas Sumter Academy

Miller Jones, Boys Golf/Wilson Hall vs. Ja'Kheem Heyward, Boys Track and Field/Sumter High School

Josh Fugate, Boys Cross Country/Thomas Sumter Academy vs. Seth Stamps, Boys Bowling/Laurence Manning Academy

Elizabeth Hussey, Softball/Laurence Manning Academy vs. Jasiah Pack, Girls Soccer/Sumter High School

Margaret McMahon, Volleyball/Sumter High School vs. Santana Christmas, Girls Bowling/Robert E. Lee Academy

Christian Acevedo, Boys Soccer/Crestwood High School vs. Austin Windham, Baseball/Robert E. Lee Academy

Zach Davis, Boys Archery/Thomas Sumter Academy vs. Juwan Perdue, Basketball/Lakewood High School