A championship-filled 2025-26 high school sports season has concluded in Lexington County. 

This past season saw eight local teams win states. Historic programs reclaimed their place among contenders, past champions defended their titles and some teams finally had their breakthrough.   

Lexington County won trophies in football, baseball, softball, soccer, golf and cheerleading. 

Many individual athletes also found success, winning medals in swimming, wrestling and track and field. 

Read a bit about each 2025-26 Lexington County state champion below. 

Chapin baseball wins state title in Dell Lever’s 1st season

In his first season, Dell Lever got Chapin back to the top. 

The Eagles swept T.L. Hanna to win the 5A Division II championship, winning game one on the road 7-3, before returning home and closing the series with a 4-3 win. 

Lever knew the potential of his team before he even took the job. He spent the past decade going against the Eagles, serving as an assistant at other Lexington County schools. 

His stops include Lexington, Dutch Fork, White Knoll and Irmo, all teams that have been in Chapin’s region. 

Taking the Chapin job didn’t come without pressure. The Eagles are a historic program, holding the second-most baseball state titles in the state, earning No. 12 with their win. 

“We just started finding ways to win, and they started to believe in themselves and believe that they could get it done,” Lever said. “I don't really know what to say, you know. First year, set the bar pretty high.”

3 in a row! Gray Collegiate stays unbeaten

Gray Collegiate’s streak of softball dominance continues as the War Eagles captured their third straight state title, sweeping AC Flora in the 4A championship. 

With the pair of wins, Gray concluded its 2026 season undefeated, going (34-0). The War Eagles were considered one of the best teams in the country, sitting fifth in the MaxPreps national rankings. 

Last season, the War Eagles finished the year (32-3) and beat York in the 4A championships. The year before, Gray won 33 games and beat Marion for the 2A title. The team also won the 2A championship in 2022. 

No team came close to taking down Gray in the postseason, and AC Flora was no different. The War Eagles won game one of the championship series at home 7-1, before downing the Falcons on their field 11-1 in game two. 

Gray will move up to 5A next season after the latest SCHSL realignment. Don’t expect the team to fall off, as many players from this season’s squad will return, and they’ve proven they can compete against anyone. 

“When it got tough, somebody got up on us, they'd come back. They never quit, they never fade. They kept fighting and fighting. This group is very special,” head coach Doug Frye said. “This is the best team I've ever had.“

Chapin girls claim long-awaited state title

Chapin’s girls soccer team has stood on the doorstep of a state championship the past two seasons, only to see it slip away at the final hurdle. Despite this, the team kept its faith.

The Eagles finally broke through and earned the title trophy that had eluded them. Chapin defeated Eastside 4-0 in the 5A Division II championship game to claim the program’s first title since 2016.

Senior captain Sydney Stoner scored the game’s first goal, deflecting a corner kick into the net about 15 minutes in. A few minutes later, her sister, Avery Stoner, increased the lead with a goal in the 18th minute. 

Avery increased the Eagles’ lead to 3-0 early in the second half.

No comeback was on the table for Eastside. Chapin prevented its opponent from getting any clean looks at the net and extended its lead one more time in the 56th minute thanks to a goal from Liz Kujawa.

As the final minutes ticked away, the excitement on the Chapin sideline was building.

For many of the players, this was a culmination of years of hard work, heartbreak and adversity. The previous losses were in the past. Now, nobody could say they were a better team.

“They say, run the town, run the region. Well, for this year, we will run the state,” head coach Chad Bridges said.

Dutch Fork’s dominance continues with historic 10th championship 

Dutch Fork captured its 10th state championship in program history this past season after defeating Summerville 40-20 in a rematch of the 2024 title game. 

It was a historic win for the team as head coach Tom Knotts tied the state record for most titles as a head coach with 10. It was his 17th overall championship across stops in both North and South Carolina. 

While the final scoreboard shows a big Dutch Fork win, Summerville put up a strong fight early. The Green Wave clawed back from a 14-0 deficit and tied the game early in the third quarter. 

The Silver Foxes’ ability to generate turnovers and capitalize on them gave them the separation needed to pull away in the fourth. 

For the group of Dutch Fork seniors who played their last game, they went out securing their fourth championship, never knowing what it's like to fall short of a title. 

“ There's not many people in the country that have done that at any level,” Knotts said. “ It's a special group, and there are 40 of them. So, that's pretty much unheard of.”

Lexington girls golf reclaims throne with 15th state championship

Lexington is back on top of the girls' golf podium in South Carolina, claiming its 15th title after finishing first at the 5A Division I state championship last week. 

The Wildcats finished with a score of 336 through 18 holes of match play. Rainy conditions shortened the competition to a single round, giving Lexington a one-stroke win over runner-up Dorman.

With their 15th title in hand, Lexington continues to be the standard for girls' golf teams in South Carolina. The Wildcats have 10 more titles than the next-highest team and won seven in a row from 2004-10. 

The team fed off its motivation from last season’s third-place finish and snapped a four-year championship drought. 

“This is by far our most rewarding state title that we have ever won,” Lexington head coach Brandon Smith said. “This group of girls worked so hard and improved so much over the last two to three years to put themselves in a position just to have a chance to win.  Then, to see all that hard work pay off, is so rewarding to Coach Airasian and myself.”

River Bluff boys go back-to-back

The River Bluff boys golf team claimed back-to-back championships, winning the 5A Division I boys golf title in 2026. 

Howie Vroon shot back-to-back 69's to finish second overall with a three-under 138, just a shot behind overall medalist Will Ruth of Dorman.

Maddox McCamy chased his opening round 69 with an even par 72 to finish in third place overall.

Sam Booth finished in 14th, Jesse Carlisle followed right behind in 16th, and Cooper Raley came in 18th. All five golfers finished inside the top twenty.

"I am extremely proud of how the guys handled the pressure, especially after a tight first round." Gators head coach Roger Smith said.  "I told the team on Tuesday morning that we had a plan. Just stick to the plan and play for each other."

Chapin, Lexington competitive cheer teams sweep 5A titles

Two Lexington County competitive cheer teams were named champions of their classification at the SCHSL state competition at Colonial Life Arena.

Chapin extended its historic streak, winning its 19th state title, and 18th under coach Vicki Williams. In 5A Division I, Lexington won its fourth state title in the past six seasons.

Lexington County swept the podium in Division I, with River Bluff finishing second and Dutch Fork third. 

21 athletes medal at SCHSL swim championships

Swimmers from all over South Carolina traveled to Columbia for the SCHSL state title meets. Lexington County had athletes from multiple schools participating in all eight championship meets.

River Bluff shined at the 5A Division I girls meet. Gray Collegiate finished near the top in both 4A meets, and American Leadership placed top 20 in both 3A meets, despite being a 2A school in other sports. 

In total, 21 local athletes earned a spot on the podium after placing top three in their events. Gray’s girls led the way with seven different swimmers medaling. 

Gray’s boys had five different athletes medal. River Bluff’s girls had four, and Chapin’s girls had four medalists. 

Ten swimmers earned a gold medal. Most came from relay events, but River Bluff’s Anna Ray, Chapin’s Jackie Bonavilla and two swimmers from Gray won individual gold medals. 

Lexington County athletes win titles at SCHSL individual wrestling championships

Four local athletes captured a gold medal at the SCHSL individual championships. 

Dutch Fork’s Jackson Stocker and Lexington’s Grace Beeson got the championship festivities started, wrestling side-by-side on the 5A and girls mats. 

Stocker came into his match as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in his class. He proved his status and defeated Indian Land’s Josiah Fogarty, 10-2, to win the Class 5A boys 132-pound championship.

Beeson’s match went the distance before ending in a 7-0 decision in favor of the sophomore. She clinched her second title in two years. 

Airport’s Givyn Dyer won the next title for Lexington County a few matches later, defeating Greenwood’s Malia Hart to win the girls 140-pound title. Dyer pinned Hart less than four minutes into the match to win the title. 

River Bluff’s Kyrra Shipman-Lutz ended the day for Lexington County with a historic victory. 

Her pin against Greenwood’s Heaven Whatley in the 190-pound championship gave the Gators their first individual state title in program history. 

Lexington County athletes compete in 2026 SCHSL track and field championships

Lexington County had a slew of local athletes compete in the 2026 SCHSL state championships.

In total, 44 athletes finished in the top three to medal, including 12 who won a gold.

While no team won a state championship, a few did finish near the top of the final team standings. Lexington’s boys and White Knoll’s girls were the highest-placing teams, finishing fourth in their respective contests.

Josh Voegele brought home two gold medals for Lexington, winning the boys 800-meter race and being a part of the first-place winning 4x800-meter relay team. 

Cheyenne Love won the most medals of any athlete from Lexington County. 

She earned golds in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. Love added a bronze from being part of White Knoll’s 4x400 relay team. 

In 2A, Batesburg-Leesville’s Keira Frye also finished with two gold medals. She defended both the titles she won last year, winning the discus and shot put.