Eagles Look To Build On Playoff Experience From Last SeasonChesnee will go into the 2019-2020 season looking to replace Dez Tate who finished his Eagles career as the ninth leading scorer in school history but the Eagles believe the experience that the returning players got last season against a very tough schedule is going to be very valuable this season. The Eagles were able to finish high enough in region play last year to earn a spot in the 3A playoffs and that experience should only make Chesnee that much more hungry tp get back to postseason play. The Eagles will be returning three of their five starters from last season and one of those players was All-Region selection Alijah Means who averaged almost sixteen points a game last season while also picking up over seven rebounds and two assists a game. "Alijah has worked hard this offseason to improve his ability to score on the move and at the rim," said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. Means will be joined again in the starting lineup this season by KJ Valentine and Matthew Lawter. Valentine was nominated for preseason All-Region after averaging over six rebounds a game as a freshman last season. Lawter will be entering his senior season for the Eagles but has been a steady presence for the team while averaging over four points and rebounds a game last year while taking fifteen charges on defense. Coach Pitt says that both players are going to be key to the Eagles success this year but for different reasons. "KJ is a rangy athlete that has the ability to guard on the perimeter as well as inside against bigger players," said Pitt. "Matthew's poise is going to be key for us and he provides us a steady demeanor on the floor." Chesnee will also have Nyquille O'Fair, Lorenzo Duren, and Usir Barnes also returning to the Eagles program this season as each logged significant minutes last season and should see an increase in their playing time this season. The Eagles will also count on newcomer AJ Littlejohn who started at the point guard position for the JV team last year but should see major minutes at the same position for the varsity team this year. "AJ has the ability to guard the floor for 94 feet and offensively like to push the tempo," said Pitt. "His ability to finish at the basket will be an asset for us this season." Chesnee will hope to use their athleticism to apply pressure on defense this season and turn that into opportunities to run on offense. "We look to be competitive in a talented region," said Pitt. "We hope to use the playoff experience from last year into even more success this season." Chesnee will once again host the fifth annual Chesnee Roundball Classic this season on December 27, 28, and 30th but it won't be the only tournament that the Eagles will be a part of this season. The Eagles will participate in the Farm Bureau Insurance Tipoff at Dorman on December 7th and the Visit York County MLK Showcase in Rock Hill on January 20th. The first game for the Eagles will be on December 2nd when they travel to take on fellow district school Boiling Springs. Lady Eagles Look To Use Size And Strength This SeasonChesnee lost two key players in Sierra Bowen and Whitney Haulbrooks last season to graduation but they believe the presence of their inside game should help with that transition this upcoming season. The Eagles finished last season with a 4-4 record in region play that was good enough for third place and a trip to the 3A playoffs. "Our team has big shoes to fill with losing Sierra and Whitney to graduation last season," said Chesnee coach Carey Burns. "We will look to take advantage of our size in the paint on both offense and defense with the presence of Abbey Ray, Jessa Beach, and Maya Evans near the basket." One of the reason for the Eagles confidence in their post play is the presence of All-Region player senior Abbey Ray who was also named preseason All-Region this year and is coming off a season where she averaged a double-double for the season with twelve points per game and over ten rebounds a game. Ray wasn't the only player to be named preseason All-Region as Jessa Beach was also named to the team after coming off a season where she averaged six points, six rebounds and two blocks a game last season. The Eagles also believe that they will be a lot quicker this season with Kymiah Blair (who was selected as the team's best defensive player last season), Carley Hammett, and Hanna Henderson that will allow them to have more of an inside-out game that will only help to highlight their post game. They also look to get lots of athleticism from Logan Lawter, Brie Smith, and Jameka Evans which will only help the Eagles on the court this season. Chesnee will look to kick off their season with a brand new tournament that the Eagles will host named the Turkey Tipoff Tournament on November 25th and 26th. Other teams that will be participating will include Riverside, Greer Middle College, and Berea in the inaugural Thanksgiving tournament. SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR CHESNEE WRESTLING THIS SEASONChesnee will look to a lot of new faces this season as they look to improve on last season where they finished second in the region last season.
"We will have a lot of new faces on the team this year but these new faces have a lot of experience on the mat," said Chesnee wrestling coach Jon Rentz. One person that the Eagles will be looking to two seniors as Ford Thomas who is a three time region champion and is a two time state runner-up while Avery Greene is a region champion and two time state qualifier. Chesnee will also have eight returning starters returning from last year's team in Luke Hollifield, Luke Castillo, Bryson Wallace, Trevor Blankenship, Josh Weeks, Corey Seay , Blaine Thompson, and Angel Pardo. The Eagles will also be welcoming newcomers Garret Williams, Aedan Mendoza, Cade Spake, Ricky Henderson, Deonte Falls, and Adam Parks. Coach Rentz hopes that the mixture of veterans and newcomers could help lead to some great results for the Eagles this upcoming season. "With the help of the seasoned veterans and this large group of experienced newcomers Chesnee's future looks very promising," said Rentz. "If we can get in the right weight classes the sky is the limit." Chesnee will look to start their season when they travel to Broome on December 3rd. Comments are closed.
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