Wagener-Salley hires Gillespie as head football coach, Erskine as new athletic director
Wagener-Salley High School has announced their new head football coach and athletic director to replace the roles left vacant with the departure of Willie Fox, who took the head coaching job at Swansea High School. Blaze Gillespie has been hired as the War Eagles head football coach, and Corey Erskine has been name athletic director.
Below are the official releases from Wagener-Salley High School:
WSHS is excited to announce the hiring of Coach Blaze Gillespie as the new Head Coach of the War Eagles. Coach Gillespie has over 12 years of successful coaching experience in South Carolina and North Carolina. He is coming from Camden High School, the 3A State Runner-Up. While a member of the Bulldog coaching staff, he served as Special Teams Coordinator and Co-Defensive Coordinator as well as serving as the JV Head Coach and a baseball coach.
Prior to Camden, Coach Gillespie was in Lee County, SC for five years as the Defensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator at Lee Central High School under Coach Justin Danner. During his time at Lee Central, Coach Gillespie was a part of the school’s first Region Championship. He also served as Head Track and Field Coach as well as an assistant baseball coach during his time with the Stallions.
In North Carolina, Coach Gillespie spent the beginning of his coaching career on the offensive side of the ball in Cumberland County at Douglas Byrd High School. He coached the Eagles during the “Stone Age” under Russell Stone where they accumulated three back-to-back Conference Championships.
Coach Gillespie started his coaching career while still serving in the United States Army. He served at Fort Bragg, South Korea, Fort Bliss, TX, and Fort Still, OK. He has been a part of three coaching staffs with an overall record of 104-42, 10 playoff seasons, 6 region championships, one lower-state championship and one state championship appearance.
Wagener-Salley High looks forward to welcoming Coach Gillespie to our team and we are glad to have him join the War Eagle family.
Wagener-Salley High School is excited to announce the hiring of Corey Erskine as the school’s new athletics director. Coach Erskine will be replacing Coach Willie Fox who has moved on to take the head coaching job at Swansea High School. Coach Erskine joined the Wagener-Salley High School football staff in 2017 while still teaching at Pelion Middle School. He began teaching at Wagener-Salley High school the following year in 2018. During that time, the team was 57-21 winning three region championships.
Coach Erskine is currently a social studies teacher, assistant football coach, instructional coach, Leader ni Me school coordinator, and Title I facilitator at Wagener-Salley High School. He began his coaching career at Pelion High School where he served as a coach in football, boys’ basketball, and girls’ basketball for 1 years.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from USC Aiken and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University. He holds certifications in middle school social studies, secondary social studies, and secondary principal certifications, as well as an endorsement to teach advanced placement US history.
“I am excited to have this new opportunity at Wagener-Salley High School,” Erskine said. “The school si near and dear to my heart and I look forward to leading the charge as we transition to new facilities in the near future. My goal is to continue to build and grow our culture, maintain our athletic excellence, and support all our War Eagles.”
Wagener-Salley looks forward to continuing its legacy of athletic excellence under Coach Erskine’s leadership.
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