Beaufort Eagles
Cody Slaughter returns to the lowcountry at Beaufort and is getting to know all of his coaches and learning how this district functions.
By David Shelton Senior Writer Beaufort – With the non-region schedule completed, the focus for basketball teams in the state turn to region play in January. Playoff berths and seedings are determined by region finish, making region play the most important part of the regular season. To that end, the Beaufort girls basketball team is off to a great start, posting wins in their first two region 7-AAAA contests and winning 11 of their first 15 games overall this season. The team is on track to bettermg last year’s win total of 16 while contending for the region title. Among the top performers early on this season are junior Amiyah Brown , sophomore Jania Hayward , freshman Da’Leah LaBoard , and freshman Zaria Coaxum . Hayward is leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. She also averages nearly five rebounds and three assists per contest. Brown adds 13.7 points per game, adding 3.7 boards, while Coaxum is scoring 7.9 points per game. LaBoard is adding just over five points per game. Coming off a 1-19 season of a year ago, the boys basketball team is looking to improve but has found it to be a tough road. The Eagles managed just one win in their first 11 contests, including an 0-2 start to region play. But coach Jeremy Huff is optimistic about his team showing marked improvement in the 2025-26 season. “The sky is the limit for these young guys,” Huff says. “They have been working hard, but with our schedule and region, the competition is tough. We are expecting to be middle of the region and contend for a playoff spot.” Huff has several returning players and the playing experience gained last season, despite the record, should lead to improvement overall. As the season begins, Huff lists only one senior, guard Austin Miles , as starting. Miles is a returner from last season and is a team captain averaging 4.1 points per game. Junior guard Kobe Hernandez averages 4.0 points per game and junior guard Willis Watson is averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Junior Qualeek Isnar is the starting center and averages 7.3 points per game. Freshman Keaton Layman averages 5.2 points per game. season. Sophomore forward PJ Davis rounds out the starting lineup. The wrestling season also is heavy into region competition and Beaufort has several grapplers ranked among the best in AAAA in their weight class. Colton Freeman is the second-ranked wrestler in the 215-pound weight class and Santino Communale is ranked fifth in AAAA at 120-pounds. Jaden Proctor is ranked sixth at 285 pounds and Jessob Paris is ranked seventh at 157 pounds. Another key performer is Cameron Posey in the 144-pound weight class. Among female wrestlers, Olesya Mullins is the top-ranked wrestler at 105 pounds.
By David Shelton Senior Writer Beaufort – Beaufort High has a long, rich tradition in the sport of track and field. The program has won several state championships, mostly under coach Herbert Glaze, and individual athletes from the program have competed very well against the top athletes in the state. Once again this spring, Beaufort competed at a high level, participating in more than 10 meets around the state. Through region and Lower State qualifiers, 11 Beaufort athletes worked their way to the Class AAA state track and field meet in mid-May. In the region 7-AAAA meet, Beaufort produced several medal winners (top 3) in assorted events. Hurdler Eric Smart won two gold medals, taking first in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles. Smart advanced to the state meet in both events, finishing third in the state finals in both events. Caleb Stephan earned second in the 400 hurdles at the region meet and duplicated that effort in the state meet. Amare Patterson won the region titles in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. He placed second in the 200 at the state meet and was sixth in the 100. Edward Green qualified for the state finals in the 200 and 400 dash, taking 11 th in the 200 and 13 th in the 400. Antonio McKnight finished 16 th in the 400 hurdles and Elias Johnson finished 13 th in the triple jump. Johnson finished third in the long jump and third in the triple jump at the region meet. From the girls team, Divaria Smith won the region title in the shot put. Amir Harrison was second in the javelin in the region meet Lanique Simmons was the region champ in the 100 hurdles and the 400 hurdles. Ahmyna Belk won the triple jump in the region meet and finished second in the long jump. Elle Borgan was third in the javelin at the region meet and parlayed that into a seventh-place finish in the state meet. Beaufort’s baseball and softball teams qualified for the AAAA Lower State playoffs. The baseball finished third in the region and the softball team was the region runner-up. The baseball team was led by a strong group of seniors, including Hudson Mullen, Reece Mullen, Gunner Hollingsworth, Will Herron, Carter Womack, Dylan Rast and Samari Bonds . All were key contributors. Juniors Jayden Davis, Sellers Lynn and Tanner Altman also were contributors and will be key leaders next season. Adalyn Johnson was a key leader in softball. She batted over .400 and worked 107 innings inside the pitching circle. Cayla Adkins and Alayah Aiken also hit over .300 for the season.