By TOM WILLIAMS

2025 was another pretty good year and Ocean City High School’s sports teams made the best of it.

The coaches play a big role in this success, especially because the strength of the programs continues even after graduation losses. But you have to have good athletes to put together a success story like this.

And Ocean City High School had them again in 2025.

There were many athletes who brought success to OCHS sports over those 12 months. But the purpose here is to recognize two of them – one male and one female – as the best of the year. It can be somewhat confusing because the winter sports season is split – a couple weeks in December and the rest in January, February and March. And sometimes the top athletes in a calendar year have graduated and are in their freshman year of college.

Such is the case in 2025 when two athletes stood out – Naomi Nnewihe and Jake Chapman,

Naomi Nnewihe is currently a freshman at Brown University where she is playing soccer. But she spent half of 2025 competing in the Cape-Atlantic League for Ocean City High School. Interestingly, her final OCHS soccer season – when she scored 32 goals and had 13 assists, both team highs – was in 2024 so it was not part of this evaluation.

But Nnewihe had plenty of success in the two sports she played in 2025.

On the basketball team she led in scoring with more than 12 points per game, in rebounds with more than eight per game, shot 75 percent from the foul line and added 31 assists and 44 steals. She then went on to become the most valuable player in the all star game of CAL seniors.

Nnewihe was also a champion in track and field, specializing in the sprints and the shot put. She was a winner in the Cape May County Meet after qualifying for the National Junior Olympics prior to high school.

Chapman was 29-10 as a sophomore wrestler in 2025, reaching the final round of the district championships and the third place level of the regions. He added another win in the Raiders only match in December of 2025 for a 30-10 record during the calendar year.

Then came his junior year in football last fall. Chapman was one of the top linebackers in the West Jersey Football League, with 79 tackles, including 49 solos, 17 tackles for losses and nine sacks. He also forced two fumbles.

Naomi Nnewihe and Jake Chapman had impressive performances in 2025. Nnewihe has moved on to college and Chapman is still competing. He is 19-0 on the wrestling mat this season and has another football season coming.

For their success and as representatives of all the other outstanding OCHS athletes, they are the Ocean City High School Athletes of the Year for 2025.

Tomorrow – the OCHS Coach of the Year for 2025.