Chesnee BaseballFor the Chesnee baseball team, the Eagles had some unusual struggles last season but this year they're looking to rebound and get back to the top of the region where they're used to being. Last season the Eagles finished in fourth place of the region, which is strange for a team used to being one of the top two teams each year. They're not planning on repeating last season and look to compete for a region championship again this season. "We look to bounce back from a sub-par 2022 spring season where we finished out of the top two in the region for the first time in many years," said Chesnee head coach Scott Wease. The Eagles will return seven starters from last year, which include four players in the field and three pitchers from last season's team. They will lean a lot on their pitching this season, especially early, as they have several returners and newcomers they look to rely on heavily this season. The pitching staff will be led by three returning left-handed pitchers in Eli Henderson, Carson Williamson, and Tucker Johnson. They will be joined by newcomers on the mound in right-hander Jordan Fitch and left-hander Kohen Orr. "We will lean heavily on our pitching staff with several returners and a couple of newcomers," said Wease. "Offensively, we have three returners that should lead the way while we have some newcomers that should help as well." On the offensive side, the Eagles will count on Ethan Lawson, Tucker Johnson, and Carson Williamson at the plate while also getting contributions from newcomers Kohen Orr and Dawson Pruitt. The Eagles will compete in the Steve Sander's Tournament at Duncan Park from February 24th-25th before opening their regular season at home on March 7th against Traveler's Rest. Chesnee SoftballIt's easy to say that the success of the Chesnee softball brings high expectations for the team every year and this season is no different as the Eagles return three players that have started at least three years each and seen a lot of success. After winning the region championship last season and just two years ago playing for a state championship, you could say the Eagles are hungry to keep that success going. "We play to compete for another region championship and hopefully will be playing well into May," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "Being able to return six starters is a huge benefit especially having three players that have started at least three years should help us hit the ground running early in the season." Chesnee will be led in the pitching circle by senior All-State player and four-year starter Maddie Handy, who was also named Co-Region Player of the Year last season. She will be joined by fellow All-Region players, junior Skylar Barrett (also a four-year starter) and Emily Pruett (a three-year starter). Those three will make up half of the returning starters from last year as the other three starters returning this year are Aubrey Aparis, Jada Sellars, and Harley Grady. Chesnee will also look to get key contributions from returners in senior infielder Brandolin Bearfield and junior outfielder Katie Faith Watson. They will also be looking for big things from newcomers Bixley Koon, Natalie Morris, Mikayla Cannon, and Rubye Watson. The Eagles will kickoff their regular season on March 1st in a home game against Clover starting at 6:00 PM. Chesnee Boy's GolfThe Chesnee boys golf team enters the 2023 season with some high expectations after a strong finish at the state tournament last year and with the Eagles returning all five starters from last year. The Eagles come into the new season ranked 5th in AA in the preseason coming off a 7th place finish at the AA State Championship last year which provides another boost for the Eagles. As they will be returning all five starters off of last year’s team, the Eagles are poised to make a run at the Region Championship and a strong finish in the AA State Championship. Chesnee will be led by All-Region players junior Peyton Lawter and freshman Creighton Rentz. Those two will be joined by fellow starters, sophomore Jake Hefner, freshman Hughston Johnson, and the lone senior Jackson Ramsey. The Eagles are playing a tough schedule with trips to big tournaments throughout the season. Chesnee will make their debut for 2023 at the Red Raider Invitational hosted by Greenville HS at Greenville CC. March shows a full slate of tournaments for the Eagles; including the Rebel Invitational, Battle at the Dam hosted by River Bluff, Magnolia Invitational at Sumter, the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Anderson, and the Spartanburg County Championship hosted by Boiling Springs at Woodfin Ridge. In April, Chesnee will travel to the Ponderosa Shootout, which will highlight a field of teams from AAA-AA-A only. On April 25, Chesnee will again host the TC Ezell Invitational at Meadowbrook which honors their former principal. There are 16 teams scheduled to compete that day including defending champion Mauldin, as well as 2022 5A State Champions Boiling Springs. Coach Pitt said, “I feel like we have another strong field for the TC Ezell which will prepare all the teams as they ready themselves for their respective region tournaments”. Each year, the Eagles have been able to donate a portion of the proceeds from the TC Ezell Invitational back to the Tom Ezell Scholarship Fund. Chesnee will host the Region I-AA Tournament at Meadowbrook on May 9 and look to advance to the AA State Championship at Newberry CC on May 15-16. Coach Pitt hopes the Eagles continue to progress as the season moves forward and they are playing their best golf at the right time. “If we can be playing our best at the end of the year," said Pitt. "I’d love to be able to challenge for a top 3-4 spot at the state championship this year." Chesnee Track and FieldAfter a successful season last year that saw the Eagles accomplish a lot of big time goals, the expectations for the Chesnee track and field team is high and they're looking to build on that success. On the boys' side of the team, the Eagles finished last year with a second-place finish at the region meet, a sixth-place finish at upper state, and a 19th place finish at 2A state. With 21 returning starters, the Eagles hope the success from last season will lead to ever greater success this year. "This year we are looking to build on a successful 2022 campaign," said Chesnee head boys track coach Terrance Hamilton. "The young group who started years ago as freshmen have now become the leaders and they have set high expectations for not only themselves but the new athletes as well." The Eagles will be led by All-Region and All-State senior Terrell Kessler and he will be joined by fellow returnees Aiden Allen, Andrew Cash, Clay Davis, Josh Deland, Cade Fisher, Donte Glenn, Noah Gottschalk, Tyrel Hamilton, Malichi Hill, Hudson Jones, Noah Lawter, Marcus Linder, Kaleb Mason, Hayes Nix, Omarion Ocampo-Rios, Jesus Ponce, John Owens-Kong, ET Valentine, Garrett Williams, and Jayden Williams. They will also look to get key contributions from newcomers Austin Bigford, Luke Edmonds, and Hayden Webb. While the Eagles lost a lot of sprinters last season, they believe the young guys are ready to step up while the long-distance runners and field specialist continue to get better. "We lost quite a few sprinters to graduation last year, but we have a lot of talent still remaining and the young runners are ready to step into the roles we need them to," said Hamilton. "The distance team continues to grow after a 2022 season that saw a number of mid distance and long-distance runners compete at the state meet and our goal this year is to improve on that. We also return a strong team of throwers who were able to be competitive all the way to the state level last season." Hamilton says that his team has worked really hard in the offseason and he believes that people will see the evidence of that hard work once the season begins. "This group of young men work hard every day at practice and we feel that the hard work that they put in will be evident once the season starts," said Hamilton. "I think the experience of competing at state last year really lit a fire in a lot of the returning athletes and they are going to push to get back there this year with the expectation of being on the medal stand at the end of the year." On the girls' side of the team the team continues to grow and they're going to look to build off a successful season last year. The Eagles finished in fifth place in the region last year and 15th at the upper state meet. "We're returning a strong group this season," said Chesnee head girls track coach Kimberly Hamilton. "Last year we had a highly competitive distance core who able to compete at the state meet in the 4x800m relay. That group is all returning and are poised for another run at the state championship." While the Eagles distance team will be their strong point, they will look to a lot of underclassmen who are excited to lead the Eagles sprinters group. On the field side they have a great mix of returning athletes with newcomers as they have a lot more athletes competing than in year's past. The Eagles will return 10 starters from last year's team in Lanie Arrowood, Nardi Barnes, Amy-Rae Breitenbach, Essence Durham, Zibi Edmonds, Tanner Jones, Cheyenne Puckett, Olivia Stowell, Cami Tilley, Claire Walker, and Olivia Wampler. They will also look to count on newcomers Hannah Barnes, Abrie Cox, Anslie Middleton, and Cade Newman. Coach Hamilton says that as the team continues to grow, it continues to build a sisterhood mentality that sees them encouraging each other. "Our track team continues to grow in members and it's a very young talented group that over the past two years have become for their hard work and competitiveness," said Hamilton. "They have already created a "sister" mentality and encourage each other at every turn. We expect that this team will continue to surprise our competition and should be able to be at the top on many of our track meets this spring." The Eagles will start their season with an intrasquad meet on February 28th before starting their regular season on March 9th in a meet at Broome High School. Chesnee Boys SoccerChesnee Girls Soccer*If any sport doesn't have a preview, it's because we never received a reply to our multiple requests from the team
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