With 2025 coming to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the success many local Lexington County teams and athletes achieved this past season. 

In all, 2025 saw 10 teams and dozens of home-grown athletes win championships. Here is a look back on the highlights. 

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.”

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. 

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. 

Airport, Batesburg-Leesville end baseball title droughts

Baseball was the only sport in which multiple local teams captured state championships. 

Batesburg-Leesville and Airport each snapped long title streaks. The Panthers won their first championship in 76 years, beating Phillip Simmons in the 2A title series. The Eagles won their first baseball championship ever after a sweep over Seneca. 

Airport clinched the 4A baseball title on its home field with a 10-0 win, capping an undefeated playoff run.

The Eagles previously made the baseball championship game four times but lost all four. The team’s last opportunity came in 2018 when head coach Casey Bradwell was an assistant.

Bradwell, a former Airport student himself, talked about how remarkable this win was for his team, the school and the community. Years of building and getting close to the top had finally paid off. 

“ I've got friends that I hadn't seen in 15 years here,” he said. “ This place is one of a kind man. It's been a place that I thought we could win at.”

For Batesburg-Leesville, its 8-5 win over Phillip Simmons gave the team its first championship since winning back-to-back in 1948 and 1949. 

The championship concluded a highly successful year for the Panthers, who finished 19-6-1 and won their region’s regular season title. Batesburg-Leesville’s only loss in the postseason came in game one of the championship series. 

Batesburg-Leesville’s run to the 2A championship came as a surprise to head coach Rob Bouknight. 

While he thought his team was good, he originally wasn’t sure they were championship material. But as the season team kept winning, the vision became clear.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, and I don't know if it’ll sink in for a while,” Bouknight said. “ I can't express what I'm feeling right now. I'm so happy for our players who have worked so hard. I’m so happy for our parents, who put time and effort into it. I’m happy for our coaches and their families, and I’m happy for the community.” 

Gray Collegiate softball goes back-to-back

The Gray Collegiate softball team won its second consecutive title after beating York in the SCHSL 4A championship series. It was the first season of 4A play for Gray, and the team finished the year above all others. 

The War Eagles clinched their third title in four years on their home field in the third and final game of the series. 

Game one was played at Gray, except the final half inning, which was delayed because of rain. The game was resumed and finished in York before game two. 

The War Eagles lost game one, meaning the team needed to win game two in enemy territory to stay alive. The War Eagles did and earned the right to return home for a chance at the title. 

Gray left it all on the field Saturday, beating the Cougars 5-2 in the decisive game.

“It feels good, just a little extra, a little better. We’ve been in 2A, and people said we couldn’t play in 4A. But we knew we could,” Gray head coach Doug Frye said. “We’ll play anybody.” 

Lexington girls lacrosse wins 1st championship in program history

For the first time in program history, the Lexington girls lacrosse team ruled the state. 

The Wildcats secured their first state championship after a 12-7 win over Spartanburg in the 5A Division I girls title game. The win capped a dominant season for Lexington that saw the team finish 16-1 and undefeated in region play. 

Senior goalie Emersin Clamp and senior midfielder Izzy Saville played like they knew it was their last game in a Wildcat uniform. Clamp saved 17 of 24 shots faced, and Saville scored a game-high five goals. 

Lexington won its first championship just two years into head coach Tiffany Tortorello’s time on the job. Since her arrival, the team set a program record for wins in a season and defeated powerhouse Wando for the first time ever. 

For the past two years, Tortorello has been installing her system and her mentality into her team. This year showed that hard work does pay off. 

“It means everything,” she said. 

Gray girls track wins 2nd consecutive championship, 43 athletes medal

Over the course of three days, athletes from all over South Carolina traveled to Spring Valley or Richland Northeast High School for the state championships. The best-of-the-best came together to compete head-to-head for gold in various track and field events. 

In all, 43 Lexington County athletes left with a gold, silver or bronze medal. Many others finished in the top eight to earn a spot on the expanded podium.

Gray Collegiate’s girls team won its second consecutive state title, and first in 4A, after finishing three points ahead of Daniel.

The War Eagle girls were propelled to first place thanks in part to an excellent showing from Tamara Steward. She finished the day with four medals, two gold, one silver and one bronze. 

Steward was on the track and in the field, finishing first in the girls 100m hurdles and long jump. She got a silver medal in the girls 400m hurdles and a bronze in the 4x100m relay. 

Steward was not the only athlete to win multiple medals at the games. Her teammate, Tresta Miller, won two silvers in the 100-meter and 400-meter races. 

Gray’s Damarcus Gaither won three medals in the boys events, claiming first in the 200-meter run and 4x100-meter relay and second in the 400.

Brookland-Cayce’s Aden Price won three medals, finishing first in the 400-meter race, third in the 100-meter and third in the 4x400-meter relay.   

In the 2A meet, a pair of Batesburg-Leesville athletes double-medaled in field events. Keira Frye won gold in the girls discus and shot put, while Ja'Quan Corley earned bronze and silver in the same boys events. 

River Bluff wins program's 1st boys golf  championship

River Bluff’s boys golf team won its first title in program history after finishing with the lowest score during the two-day championship event. 

The Gators defeated second-place Dorman by three strokes to clinch the trophy. Both teams played closely together, sitting tied after the opening day of competition. River Bluff pulled away on day two, taking a five-stroke lead at one point. 

River Bluff’s Nate Caughman and Dorman’s Will Ruth and Casey Kosney battled for the individual title, needing extra holes to determine the winner. 

Ruth, the defending state champion, held off Kosney and Caughman to reclaim his title. Caughman finished second and Ruth came in third. 

5 Lexington County wrestlers win gold at SCHSL championships 

The wrestling season concluded with five different Lexington County athletes winning gold, three boys and two girls. 

Each classification was split into 14 different weight classes. Each weight class took the top eight wrestlers from the upper and lower state competitions and had them wrestle in a bracket-style tournament until one was left. 

Chapin’s Preston White secured his third state title with a 16-1 win over Myrtle Beach’s Gunner Musilunas in the 5A 120-pound championship. 

Dutch Fork senior Kaleb McNeil concluded his Silver Fox career by capturing his first state championship by beating region rival Cael Edwards of River Bluff.

Pelion’s Landon Byrd won the 2A/1A  113-pound championship match, beating Mid Carolina’s Carson Sturgess 11-3. 

Lexington freshman Grace Beeson earned a title in the girls 120-pound weight class after pinning Arielle Daniels of South Florence. 

Swansea sophomore Aniya Ruiz was the fifth and final Lexington County athlete to earn a title, winning the girls 235-pound championship.