From today's Rock Hill Herald:
Trojan soccer star loses appeal
SCHSL rejects Arroyo's bid to play after clerical error
By Barry Byers The Herald
(Published February 23‚ 2006)
COLUMBIA -- By an 8-2 vote, the appeal of Northwestern soccer star Nathan Arroyo was turned down by the executive committee of the South Carolina High School League on Wednesday.
Arroyo, a senior, was declared ineligible because he is in his 10th semester of high school. He began the ninth grade at the Greater Atlanta Christian School but did not play sports. He repeated the ninth grade in an Atlanta public school and began playing soccer his freshman year.
Under high school league rules, once a student enters the ninth grade, he or she has eight consecutive semesters of eligibility.
Arroyo's appeal was presented by Northwestern principal James Blake and director of athletics Jimmy Wallace. Arroyo was allowed to speak on his behalf.
"I'll stay with my team as the manager,'' Arroyo said after the ruling. "I thought I had more of a chance. I definitely want to thank Ben Freeman. I wish the other people would have felt the same way.''
Freeman, Pelion High School athletic director, and Quincy Moore, principal at Gaffney High School, cast the votes in Arroyo's favor. Blake and Wallace said Arroyo was a victim of a clerical error on his transcripts.
"I have a hard time penalizing him because this is not his fault,'' Freeman said before the vote. "It was a clerical error. He still has a semester left and I hate to take it away from him.''
Arroyo was the Class AAAA Player of the Year last season, and the Trojans are one of the favorites to win the state championship this spring. He led the Trojans to the Upper State championship, setting school records with 46 goals and 122 points.
He also punted for the football team after quarterback and punter Bart Blanchard was injured and missed 11 games. The football team must forfeit four wins, dropping it's record to 0-12.
The football matter was ruled on separately, and the decision came on a 9-0 vote, with some abstentions. The football program could have been placed on probation, but Blake said the team will receive only a warning.
Rock Hill attorney David Benson attended the meeting to support Arroyo. He said Arroyo will not be defeated by the SCHSL.
"Nathan is a champion and this will not change his life,'' Benson said. "He's proved in the classroom and on the soccer field that he believes in hard work. It hurts, doesn't feel right and doesn't feel fair. But Nathan is not a quitter.''
Barry Byers • 329-4099
bbyers@heraldonline.com
