The spring sports season is over in Lexington County following the SCHSL baseball and softball state championships. 

Only three local teams made it this far, propelled by major performances from their biggest stars. A season’s worth of fatigue failed to hold them down as they shined on the biggest stage. 

The final Athlete of the Week winners of the 2025-26 season come from Chapin and Gray Collegiate, as they both helped their teams capture state championships. 

Voting for Athlete of the Week runs from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Monday each week at lexingtonchronicle.com/athleteoftheweek. To submit a nominee for consideration, email a photo and short bio to sports@lexingtonchronicle.com.

Felix Flecha Ruiz

Chapin baseball’s Felix Flecha Ruiz helped the Eagles win their first state championship in eight years. 

Flecha Ruiz crushed two home runs out of the field in the Eagles’ closeout title game. His first tied the game for Chapin after conceding two runs to TL Hanna in the top of the first. 

The second home run came in the fourth inning and broke the 2-2 stalemate to give Chapin momentum the rest of the game. 

Counting his stats from game one, Flecha Ruiz finished the title series with three hits, three runs and three RBIs. 

Peyton Hendrix 

Gray Collegiate’s softball team added another championship to its trophy case last week, and Peyton Hendrix was a big reason why. 

Hendrix pitched two straight complete games to help Gray sweep AC Flora in the title series. She combined for 20 strikeouts and gave up just 12 hits, two runs and eight walks. 

The rising senior has been a part of three straight championships at Gray and will go four No. 4 next season. 

Hendrix is perfect as a pitcher at Gray and will test her win streak against some of the toughest teams in the state’s largest classification next year.