Bissonnette, Roundtree making Riverside track-and-field known

ShaMaya ‘Mia’ Roundtree (left) and Charlie Bissonnette have taken Riverside’s track and field program to new heights. Both recently broke RHS school records in the discus throw.

There’s a long and winding gravel road one might not notice when arriving at Riverside High School. It’s nestled in the tall trees behind campus, easy to miss at first glance.

Turning down that concealed road on a sunny spring evening leads straight past several different Riverside team practice sessions — practices for sports like soccer, baseball, and lacrosse. All three are programs where the Warriors consistently show prominence, and all three sports consistently command attention.

At the end of that gravel road, there is a different Riverside athletic program. It’s a program that — much like the unpaved pathway it takes to get to its practice area — is often overlooked and hidden. Despite its large population of partaking athletes, it rarely garners the notoriety of other sports.

That may not be the case for much longer, however.

Thanks in large part to Charlie Bissonnette and ShaMaya “Mia” Roundtree, Riverside’s track-and-field program is starting to make state-wide noise.

Bissonnette, a senior, recently broke Riverside’s school discus record. Bissonnette threw 171-8, beating the previous mark of 165-7. Not even a week later, Bissonette shattered his brand-new record, throwing a remarkable 183-1 during a meet at Southside Christian.

According to SCrunners.com, Bissonnette’s throw was the fourth-longest in South Carolina high-school history.

“Everything has really flipped for me over the past year,” Bissonnette said. “Last year I was really a mediocre thrower who was kind of looking up to the guys putting up bigger numbers. Now I’m here.”

As easy as it would be for Bissonnette to let the success go to his head, he’s made it a priority to stay grounded and humble as he forges his athletic career.

“I’m definitely proud, I won’t lie,” Bissonnette said, “but it’s not really much of a boastful thing for me. I still have a whole lot of work to do to get where I want to be. My coaches keep me humble; my teammates keep me humble. Just because you’re first, that doesn’t always mean you’re the best.”

Ron Carson, throwers coach at Riverside, spoke higher of Bissonnette than he was willing to do for himself.

“See, here’s the thing with Charlie,” said Carson. “This guy could easily be the best at any sport out here, but he chose track. He could easily be the number-one basketball player, number-one football player, baseball player, whatever, if he wanted to. He’s the best athlete out here. I’m just lucky to have him.”

Bissonnette has rapidly emerged as one of the top throwers in the state and the top thrower in Riverside school history. As a senior, his options for throwing collegiately were wide, but he ultimately landed in Columbia.

Bissonnette will attend the University of South Carolina in the fall.

The choice wasn’t a difficult one for Bissonnette. He’s been a Gamecock at heart since he was a boy.

“I actually grew up going to [South Carolina] games,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of family history down there.”

However, while Bissonnette is putting the final touches on his high-school career, his female Warrior counterpart, ShaMaya “Mia” Roundtree, is just getting started.

Roundtree recently broke Riverside’s female discus throw record by 20 feet, throwing 134-3.

Carson spoke highly of Roundtree, saying that her ceiling was “whatever she thought was possible.”

“ShaMaya is so fun to work with. She’s got more speed than anybody I’ve seen, and that’s what it’s about,” Carson said. “I can’t wait to see where that takes her. I want to see her develop into the top thrower in the country if it’s possible. It’s all about what she puts into it.”

Roundtree’s relationship with Carson, she said, is great. The pair constantly bounce jokes off one another and crack the other up.

Roundtree described Carson as being like a “granddaddy” to her.

“Ever since I first came out to be on the team, when I met [Coach Carson], I knew ‘yeah, I’m going to like him,’” Roundtree said. “We have our ups and downs, we may knock heads sometimes, but he’s always going to look out for me.”

Roundtree talked about the moment she first realized she had a future in throwing.

“It was actually fifth grade in P.E. class,” Roundtree said. “The teacher brought out the shot and told us, ‘alright, we’re going to see who can throw this the farthest.’ I threw it the farthest out of all the class, including the boys.”

With Roundtree being just a sophomore, there’s still plenty of room left to finish writing her story. Carson is confident that Roundtree will continue to grow in her remaining time as a Warrior.

“She’s already becoming a leader in her own right,” Carson said. “She gets on the other girls when they’re goofing off too much. If they aren’t able to figure out how to do something right, they’ll look to her for support and ask, ‘what am I doing wrong?’ So, she’s stepped into that leadership role really well already.”

With Bissonnette laying the foundation for success and Roundtree ready to carry the torch, Riverside track and field will likely continue to establish itself as an area powerhouse in the sport.

Both Bissonnette and Roundtree can be seen in action at meets over the next two weeks.

The Region 2-AAAA meet will take place on May 5-6 at Eastside High School, the Upper State Qualifiers will take place the following week on May 13, also at Eastside, and the state championship meets will be held at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC. on May 18.