SWU Warriors head to national championship
Southern Wesleyan University Warriors, front row, from left, are Donta Wheaton, Brandon Lloyd, Darryl Edwards, Gary Jones, Jerans Rapley, Brian Petty, Chase Lance, Dominque Quarles, Hunter McKeown and Josh Walker. On the back row are Assistant Coach Robert Wood, Curtis Lorenz, Patrick Currence, Deonta Brinson, Coach Charles Wimphrie, Brandon Callihan, Terry Pope, Rodney Williams, Dealto Marshall and Assistant Coach Mel Haile.
Southern Wesleyan University’s men’s basketball team has made it to the finals in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, thereby winning an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I National Championship Tournament.
Kansas City, Mo., is the site of the 2006 NAIA National Championship. The Warriors leave Sunday to represent the SSAC Conference and Southern Wesleyan University. The Warriors’ SSAC Conference record is 14-6.
The university’s team is coached by Charles Wimphrie, who was inducted into Southern Wesleyan University’s Athletic Hall of Fame last fall.
Wimphrie transferred to SWU in 1979 from The Citadel. He holds the university’s single game scoring record of 48 points (before the three point shot had come into existence). He also holds the single season scoring average record of 27.5 points per game. And he has earned a master’s degree in ministry from Southern Wesleyan University.
Wimphrie was selected as second team NCCAA All-American in 1981 and first-team NCCAA All-American in 1982. After graduating in 1982, he coached the women’s basketball team for two years and led them to the most wins in school history in 1991-92 with 22. Since then, Wimphrie has served as the head men’s basketball coach.
Southern Wesleyan University was established in Central, S.C., 100 years ago by founders who promised to “help men and women become what God has designed them to be.” Today, the university has more than 2,400 students enrolled at locations across the state.
Southern Wesleyan University prepares students for graduate study and leadership in such fields as religion, education, music, business, medicine, law and a variety of civic and social service professions.