As a Chapman student, I’m ecstatic that our football team is able to play in the State Championship this year. I was in Williams-Brice Stadium nine years ago when Chapman played in the state championship, and even though we didn’t win, I was still excited that our football team had made it to the game.

Now as a junior in high school at Chapman and a student-athlete, I’m excited that our football has made it to the game against the Wildcats of Dillon High School. The idea that a team of my fellow classmates has made it to state makes me have hope that another team can make it to state.

The team that we are playing may have gone to the championship multiple times, but our team has both the community of Inman and the entire student body of Chapman behind them as they go into the game.

The community and students have grown closer together, and I feel that without the football team going to state, the players wouldn’t have been to connect so much with both their fellow classmates and the community of Inman.

As a result of the team going to state, all athletes have the idea to push themselves to reach the goal of going to state in our respective sports. I have seen my friends and classmates being able to go to the Championships and it makes me want to fight and become a state champion in Cross Country.

My fellow athletes are a sign that me and other teams have the chance to go to State and next year I am beginning my push to become a state champion cross-country runner. I hope that the team wins, but no matter what happens, the football team has shown that any team can go to state.