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By David Shelton Senior Writer Columbia – Weather played its usual role in the 2026 SCHSL state championship soccer games on May 21-23 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. If it wasn’t too hot or humid, it was storming and dropping tons of rain. By the time the final whistle had blown, it was 1:40 a.m. Sunday morning. That final contest, the Division II-AAAAA finals, saw Eastside beat Chapin, 1-1(3-2 on penalty kicks) after 30 minutes of overtime. Eastside keeper Brandon Jaramillo proved to be the hero in penalty kicks, swatting away successive attempts. Eastside then got goals from Frazor Ka zian and Hunter Kazian to complete the win. ‘These boys have so much heart and determination and I never count them out,” said Eastside coach Steven Wood . “I think the region we play in, and the schedule we play, prepares us for something like this.” Eastside has won seven state titles, but this is the first since 2022. Chapin ended the season with an 18-5 record, and all five losses came in penalty kicks. “I hate it for these guys because they do everything we want them to do,’ said Chapin coach Bob Taylor. Despite the long delay in starting, both teams seemed fresh and aggressive early. In the 16 th minute, Eastside’s Ryder Martin headed in a pass from Asher Wilson for a 1-0 lead. Later in the half, Chapin got the equalizer on a penalty kick by Lucas Rogers . In the penalty kick phase, Chapin led 2-1 after successful kicks from Sam Szarkawski and Cole Keys . Chapin keeper Cooper Hughes made two saves and Chapin had momentum. But Jaramillo rose to the occasion, and stymied Chapin’s chances. His clincher was off the foot of Gabe Salisbury .
Ruby Cecchini from AC Flora in match play. She would go on to win the #4 Singles Champion.
Chapin high school hires Billie Williams as Athletic Director after retirement of longtime AD Ronnie Wessinger.
Dutch Fork defensive end Julian Walker recorded 50 tackles, 19 TFLs, 11 sacks in the 2024 season.
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Chapin’s girls soccer team came close to winning the 5A Division 2 state championship at Columbia’s Memorial Stadium May 24, but Eastside punched in a tiebreaking goal in the overtime period to win 3-2 and claim its third straight state championship. All State senior Payton Nutzman scored two goals, including the game winner. Senior Camille Carter also scored for the Eastside. “We knew Eastside was a good team, we knew their No.9 (Nutzman) was a really good player,” head coach Chad Bridges said. “We had a game plan to stop her and for the most part I thought we were effective.” Sophomore Mayson Donahue put Chapin on the scoreboard in the 17 th minute of action to give Chapin a 1-0 lead. The Eagles took that lead into halftime. Eastside got goals from Nutzman and Carter to take a 2-1 lead in the second half, but Chapin senior Kat Hagler came through with a goal in the 71 st minute to tie the game 2-2. Nutzman’s overtime goal was unanswered, and Chapin finished as the 5A Division 2 runner-up. “We had a lead at halftime and they came back and answered,” Bridges said. “We had some good chances but came out a little short in overtime. I’m disappointed in our seniors, but we had a great season. I just hate for them that they didn’t get over the line and finish it. It doesn’t take away what we accomplished and a great season that we had, and Eastside’s a great program, it’s the fourth year in a row that they’ve been here. We’ll continue to get better, continue to grow, we’ve been back now twice, and we’ll see if we can bet back again next year.” Chapin’s boys soccer team (18-6, 10-0) also went far in the playoffs. The Eagles claimed the Region 4-5A championship, and after a first-round bye in the 5A Division 2 playoffs, the Eagles Beat Socastee 8-0 May 10, and Myrtle Beach 1-0 May 14. Eight Chapin players racked up goals against Socastee: seniors Jalen Tucker , Brayden Sipe , Dylan Kingsley , and Nick Brown ; juniors Lucas Rogers and Eli Vance ; sophomore Sean McNeil and freshman Landon Brown . Rogers scored the team’s only goal against Myrtle Beach. Chapin fell 3-2 to Lucy Beckham in the lower state final May 17. In that game the Eagles got goals from Sipe and Rogers. Rogers had an assist, as well as Brown and Vance. Chapin baseball (18-7) finished 6-4 in a hotly competitive Region 4-5A, but received a No.3 seeding in the 5A Division 2 playoffs and a first-round bye in the District 4 tournament. The Eagles beat Lucy Beckham 8-7 in the second round May 10, but fell 6-4 to Florence in the third round May 15. Chapin ended the season with 3-2 loss to Lucy Beckham May 17. Senior and Spartanburg Methodist signee Ty Harper led the team in batting with a .373 average. Junior Weston Plotner hit .361 and junior Felix Flecha - Ruiz hit .357. Senior and Troy signee Caden Reeves led the team in home runs with three, on top of a .305 batting average. Chapin softball (13-11) finished second in the region at 7-3 and a No.4 seeding in the state playoffs. The Eagles got a first-round bye in the District 3 tournament and beat North Myrtle Beach 9-6 in eight innings May 7. They fell 6-0 to Berkeley May 9 and ended the season with a 6-5 loss to the Chiefs May 12.