Eagles VolleyballThe Chesnee volleyball team is just three years removed from winning a state championship and with a lot of experienced talent back this season, the Eagles are looking to make some noise in the 2A ranks again this year. Chesnee is led by head coach Katie Jolley who enters her sixth season leading the Eagles program and her 18th season overall. After a third-place finish in region last season, that saw the Eagles battle into the second-round matchup in the 2A playoffs, they hope to enter the playoffs this year in front of the home crowd. "We are going to try and battle for a first or second place finish in the region this year so that we can host in the first round of the playoffs," said Jolley. "We then hope to make a run in the playoffs since we have so much of our core returning." The Eagles expectations are high with so much of their talent returning from last season including five starters and their entire front row. The group will be led by All-State selection Pearl Holloway, who is just 45 assists away from her 1,000th career assist. Holloway will be joined by returning starters Hayden Roberts, Carlee Turner, Maggie Blanton, and Jayla Dunn. Chesnee will also look to get key play from returners Harley Grady, who played a lot last season as a designated server, along with Rachel McKinney and Cayla Cash. They will also look to get key minutes from middle schoolers Dacie Green (7th) and Payden Pittman (8th). Jolley believes between the returning experience and the youth that the Eagles will have a strong season this year. "Our strong group of seniors and juniors will lead the team this year," said Jolley. "Our All-State player Pearl Holloway returns this year as well as our front row players from last year. We also have two athletic middle schoolers who will add to our hitting and blocking this year." Chesnee will begin their season with some strong preseason matchups against Greenville on August 8th and at district foe Boiling Springs on August 15th. Eagles Girls GolfThe Chesnee girls' golf team enters the 2023 season with some lofty goals but that's not new territory for the current two-time defending state champions and they enter the new season believing that they can make it three in a row. The program enters its sixth season, all six under head coach Kyle Scruggs, having won the state championship twice in the five seasons of its existence and they're going into this year looking to make it three titles in six years, which means the team would have won a state championship fifty percent of the time. The Eagles finished last season with a 5-2 record in nine-hole match play while winning three 18-hole tournaments and also capturing the Region I-2A championship along with the 2A state championship. They also have the defending individual state champion in Olivia Robets and the state runner-up in Addy Parker both returning this season to lead the Eagles. Chesnee has a lot of reasons to be excited about their chances this season as they not only return both Roberts and Parker but they also return fellow All-State players Olivia Shields and Abigail Watson along with returning players Abby Herrington and Jada Flynn. Eagles head coach Kyle Scruggs is making sure to prepare his team for another run as they play in some very strong tournaments throughout the season to help them get ready for the postseason. "We look forward to competing on the Palmetto Preview, Short Par 4 Palmetto Tournament of Champions, and WSCGA High School Invitational to prepare to make a run in the postseason," said Scruggs. "Our ultimate goal this year is to continue the success we had last year and try to bring home another state championship to Chesnee." With the success of the Eagles program since the beginning of the program, they will also be adding a JV program this season to help give the younger players opportunities and continue to grow the success of the program. Chesnee will kick off their 2023 title defense at the Lady Blue Jacket on August 26th-27th before seeing where they stack up against a lot of competitive local teams at the Lady Rebel Invitational at River Falls on August 29th. Eagles Cross CountryThe Chesnee Eagles cross country team enters the 2023 season with some high expectations as they have plans to compete for a region championship and a spot in the state championship meet this year. According to Chesnee head coach Terrance Hamilton, who enters his fifth season, believes that this year's boys' team could be the best team the Eagles have put on a course in many years. "This year's team looks to be the strongest team Chesnee has had in a number of years," said Hamilton. "We look to challenge for the top region spot this year and have a goal of going to the 2A state championship meet as a team for the first time since 2017." Chesnee returns lead runner Omarion Ocampo-Rios, who competed in the 2A state championship meet last year as an individual where he finished in 22nd place. He will be joined by fellow starters from last year's team in seniors Noah Gottschalk, Tyrel Hamilton, and Hayes Nix along with juniors Andrew Cash and Tyler Sumerel. The Eagles are also looking forward to a group of newcomers to the team that they think will help reach their goals and that group is led by eighth graders Luke Edmonds and Hayden Held along with junior Hudson Jones. They'll also look to juniors Jacob Sumerel and Davis Wall, sophomore Jace Proffit, eighth graders Grayson Luzniak and Keagan Riggs, along with seventh grader Dalton McGatha to help the Eagles reach the goal of a region championship. On the girl's side, the Eagles look to build on a strong season from last year that saw them finish third in the region and in ninth place as a team in the state championship meet. The Eagles will return four starters from last year's team as they'll be led by juniors Lanie Arrowood and Claire Walker along with fellow runners Abrie Cox and Madelyn McDowell, who Coach Hamilton says will take on bigger roles for the Eagles this year. They will also look to get key contributions from eighth grader Anna Cobb who the Eagles say has looked strong in the offseason. Chesnee will kickoff their season on August 19th in the 15 Mile Relay at Boiling Springs before competing in the Eye Opener at the Milliken Research Center on September 2nd. *We sent out an email to the head coaches of all fall sports for information, if a team isn't represented it's because we never received a reply.
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