By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – The 2025 spring sports season at Colleton County High School was again highlighted by a strong season from the softball program. Ranked among the state’s top 10 AAAA teams for most of the season, the Lady Cougars began the season by winning 13 of their first 14 games and five of six in region 7-AAAA. The season took a bit of a downturn over the final few weeks. While they made the state playoffs in class AAAA, Colleton County went 2-2 over their last four region games, finishing with a 7-3 record and in third-place of the standings. In the playoffs, the Lady Cougars notched a win over Airport before losses to May River and Airport ended their season. Colleton County’s final record was 16-7. One thing the Lady Cougars did well this spring was hit the ball at a high rate. Several hitters posted batting averages over .400 for the season. In fact, three players hit over .500. Junior Alexis Eversole led the team with a .565 average and had 22 runs batted in. Junior Brooklyn Holmes finished with a .540 batting average and had 31 RBIs. Senior Lanasia Sanders earned all-state honors for class AAAA. Sanders hit .516 with four homeruns and 35 RBIs. She also did work inside the pitching circle, notching five wins with a 2.68 earned run average. Sophomore McKenzie Cochran batted .358 with 20 RBIs and senior Madison Miller posted a .354 average with 18 RBIs. Colleton County’s future ace pitcher is Brea Gerard . The eighth-grader made her mark this season by posting an 8-1 record and a 1.25 earned run average. She struck out 105 hitters while walking just 21. The boys soccer team finished its season with a 6-16 overall record and 2-8 in a very competitive region seven. Two of the top players this spring were sophomore Dehlani Griffiths (four goals) and senior Jeremiah Howell (nine goals). The girls soccer team finished 4-14 overall. The AAAA state track and field meet was held in mid-May with three individuals from the girls team advancing through qualifying to earn a spot in the state finals. The top performer was Zarione Hudson , who earned a fifth-place finish in the high jump. Akeelyah Daniel finished 13 th overall in the long jump, while Lillian Mitchell ran 16 th in the 100 meter dash. For the boys team, the 4 x 100 relay team qualified for the finals and finished in seventh-place. Members of the relay unit included Daishawn Flanagan, Kenan Koger, Hykeem Ladson and Jayden Nesbitt. In coaching news, the baseball program will be under new direction as former coach Jermale Paige will not return as coach in 2025-26.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Walterboro —The Barnwell High (19-2) and Colleton County High (15-5) softball teams met in a final regular season “play-off tune-up” type game on May, 2 and the Warhorses rallied late in the game to pull-out a hard-fought 9-7 win. “Very proud of the job our 7 th grade pitcher ( Kinsey Terrapin ) did in the circle tonight,” said Barnwell head coach Mike Beasley . “We actually had two other seventh graders starting in this game, and for most of the season, in catcher Genesis Walker and shortstop Shalayah Badger. This just speaks volumes about the future of our softball program in Barnwell.  “This is our 8 th game in 10 days, over the past two weeks, and we played against some real good teams, and we were 5-3 over this stretch,” said Coach Beasley. “We rested our senior number one pitcher Jaidyn Devore tonight to get her ready for the play-offs that start on Wednesday. “All I know is that we will be hosting a four- team district play-off starting on Wednesday (May, 7) and that we will be playing and at-large team in the first game, but right now I can’t tell you who that team will be,” said Coach Beasley. “As long as we can keep winning, we will stay at home in the district, in the lower state play-offs, and in the first game of the state championship best of three series if we are fortunate enough to make it to the AA finals.” Against Colleton County the teams were tied after six innings at 5-5. In their top of the 7 th inning, Barnwell used two singles, and took advantage of five Cougar errors to push across five runs in the inning to take a 9-5 lead. Sophomore Laney Grubbs got things started with a one-out single. Then sophomore Kendall O’Berry singled to put runners on first and second. With two out Brooklyn Gardner reached on an error to load the bases. Then junior Abigial Corley hit a sharp ground ball, to the middle of the infield, that had the potential to end the inning, keeping the score tied. However, four throwing errors during the same play, cleared the bases, even scoring Corley who dove head first on home plate to make it 9-5 on one of the strangest set of errors witnessed by this writer in a long time. Colleton County did not give up. The Lady Cougars came to back in the bottom of the 7 th with redemption on their minds. Brooklyn Holmes started the inning off with a walk and then Alexa Eversole got her 4 th hit of the game off of a single. Both runners stole bases to move up to second and third respectively with no-outs. (At this point Coach Beasley replaced Terrapin in the circle with Grubbs, as the young Terrapin left the circle, she received a loud ovation from the Barnwell fans at the game.) Xiomara Oxner then hit a SAC fly RBI to score Holmes to cut the deficit to 9-6. The next batter Bre Gerard hit a SAC fly RBI to make it 9-7. Then the Cougars got back-to-back singles from Madison Miller and Lanasia Sanders to have two on with two out. Grubbs got the next batter to ground out to short to end the game. After the game, Colleton County 8-year head coach Tavara Edwards , told the HSSR, “We are 15-4 right now and we have a home play-off game on Tuesday, so all-in-all we have had a good season,” said Coach Edwards. “One of our senior leaders has been Lanasia Sanders who started out pitching tonight before we moved her to shortstop. She has been in the program five years and she is a real good leader for us both in the circle and at the plate. “We have two other senior starters, one is center fielder Madison Miller who we moved over to left field later in the game, and the third senior is Kristina Rheam and we will miss all three of our senior starters,” said Coach Edwards. “We are a very young team but if my girls come out here and play with a clear head, they can compete with anyone.” For the game Barnwell had six hits led by O’Berry who had two hits and one RBI. Grubbs had a hit and one RBI, and Corley had one hit and four RBI’s. Walker scored a run and produced two RBI’s, and Arnold scored a run with one RBI. Devore contributed a hit also. In the circle Terrapin allowed two earned runs while striking out three. Grubbs picked up the save with a solid performance. Colleton County had four players with multiple hits. Miller was 2-of-four including a double while McKenzie Cochran was 2-of-4 and junior Alexa Oversole went four-for-four and scored three runs. Bre Gerard had two hits and two RBI’s for the Cougars while Oxner had two RBI’s also. Sanders started the game in the circle for CC and worked three innings with five K’s and she gave up four hits. Bre Gerard worked four innings with 7 K’s and she gave up two hits. Devore, Barnwell’s ace pitcher will enter the AA play-offs having pitched 84.1 innings this season with 168 K’s and she has a stellar 0.83 ERA. Devore has signed to play at Howard University next season. Terrapin is 4-0 having worked 17 innings in the circle with 18 K’s and she has an ERA of 1.65. Grubbs is at 4-1 with 35 K’s in 24.2 innings of work. Grubs has an ERA of 2.84. Barnwell enters the playoffs with seven batters hitting over .300. Junior Shaelyn Badger paces the hit index at .471 and 10 RBI’s. Terrapin is next at .421 and six RBI’s. Shalayah Badger is at .375 with six RBI’s. Devore is hitting .344 with a team leading 23 RBI’s including five home runs. O’Berry is at .333 with 16 RBI’s and Walker is at .333 with 8 RBI’s. Gardner is hitting .317 with 10 RBI’s. Colleton County comes into the play-offs with an incredible .414 team batting average. Holmes leads the way at .607 including 31 RBI’s, five triples and one home run. Eversole is next at .571 with 22 RBI’s followed by Sanders at .527 including 33 RBI’s and four homers. Gerard is at .519 and 22 RBI’s entering the AAAA play-offs while Oxner is at .500 with three RBI’s. Cochran is at .360 with 20 RBI’s and Miller is hitting .356 with 14 RBI’s. The Cougars are le din the circle by Gerard and Sanders. Gerard comes into the play-offs with a 7-1 record with 96 K’s in 60 innings of work with a 1.40 ERA. Sanders is 5-2 with 67 K’s in 40 innings pitched and she has a 2.45 ERA. Retired Hall of Fame coach Rusty Adams serves as the pitching coach for Colleton County.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – With some key veterans returning this spring, it is not surprising to see the Colleton County softball team racking up wins in 2025. The Cougars won 13 of their first 14 games overall this season, which included a 5-1 start in the region 7-AAAA schedule. Colleton County has a chance to win the region and earn some home games in the postseason, which could propel them to bigger and better things in the Lower State playoffs. Tavara Edwards is in her 11 th season as a coach in the program and has built a solid winning program with her veteran players. One of the team’s strengths is how well they get along and play together. “I think we’re gelling really well,” reports the coach. “They work hard because they want to win. We still need to improve on some things but overall we are doing well. We’re an improved defensive team and that has been a big key for us.” Though Edwards, like every coach, would like to see her team be more consistent offensively, it is hard to look at some of the numbers and not see a very capable lineup. Four players posted batting averages of at least .500 in the first 14 games. The leading hitter this season has been junior infielder Brooklyn Holmes , who is hitting .615 with 23 runs batted in. Senior Lanasia Sanders is hitting .561 with three homers and 24 RBI while eighth-grade infielder Brea Gerard is hitting .528 with 13 RBI. Junior Alex Eversole is hitting .512 with 13 RBI and sophomore McKenzie Cochran , who plays first base, is hitting .395 with 16 RBI. Seniors Madison Miller and Kristina Rheam are hitting .375 and .308, respectively. Sanders does more than hit for the Cougars. She also is the team’s No. 1 pitcher, sharing duties inside the circle with Gerard. Sanders is 6-1 with a 1.94 earned run average, striking out 60 hitters in 36 innings. Gerard is 5-0 with a 1.36 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 36 innings of work. The duo share duties at shortstop as well. Rounding out the roster this season are Miya Gant, Timayah Believe, McCayla Shaffer, Caroline Herndon, Janay Manigo and Xiomara Oxner , who is injured this season. The baseball team has had some tough luck this spring, managing just two wins in their first 16 games with a pair of ties. The Cougars are winless in the region with three-game region series against May River and Beaufort remaining after spring break.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – As a former player and graduate of Colleton County High, Jermale Paige is very committed to building a successful baseball program as head coach. Paige is in his ninth season as the head coach and has been able to make his teams competitive overall. The wins and losses (24-53 in last four years), do not tell the entire story. The Cougars have lost a bevy of close games and opposing teams have to show up and play to earn their victories. The last winning season for the program came in 2019 when the Cougars won 12 games. Paige is hopeful that his 2025 team can win more than they lose. The early season has looked promising as Colleton County posted early wins over Woodland and Hampton County, a loss to Berkeley, and ties in tournament play against Goose Creek and Andrews. “Honest expectations are to compete every day, while striving for a playoff spot,” Paige says. “I would like for those guys on my team who aspire to go to college to get the exposure that is needed. We have good senior leadership and more internal drive from our players.” The biggest senior leader, Da’Veon Varner , is also the team’s best player. He is now three-year starter and has batted .350 combined in the last two years. He also is a quality arm on the mound. “He plays the game at a high level,” Paige said. “He is hungry to go to the next level and I am looking forward to him showcasing his talents this spring, while always placing the team first.” Another third-year starter is centerfielder Xavier Oxner , who also is expected to work as the closer on the mound.  Junior catcher Brinton Jerel is back for his third season as a starter. “He has physically grown and is more mature this year. He will command our staff and the defense overall.” Varner and Oxner will hit one-two in the batting order this spring. Sophomore leftfielder Michael Witkin will hit third while sophomore third baseman Galil Frazier hits cleanup. Senior RJ Adams is slated for rightfield and senior Alejandro Marin will play first base. After Jurel, the batting order ends with freshman shortstop Conner Desassure and junior second baseman Kyle Linder . Paige expects Varner, Witkin and Adams to be the top three arms on the mound, with Oxner and Marin filling in their roles. Colleton County will face quality opposition every night of the region 7-AAAA schedule. Perennial state title contender and multiple state champion Bishop England is new to the region. May River and Beaufort also rate as strong contenders. “Every team in our region is going to be able to compete,” Paige predicts.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer  Walterboro – This year’s Colleton County boys basketball team is young, but has a good shot at a successful season with the play of its two seniors and some juniors. The Cougars finished 17-11 overall and 7-3 in Region 7-4A last year, but lost nine seniors from that team. Now in Region 6-4A, Colleton County is 5-6, and after weathering a tough early start in non-region play, the Cougars won three straight games going into their non-region game at Stratford Friday. “We’re pretty much a whole new group,” Cougars head coach Dominic Kahee said. “We have four returning seniors this year, and pretty much a whole new group. They’ve struggled to find their identity early in the season, but I think they’ve caught on.” The Cougars lost two of their first three games, but battled Stratford in a 61-58, two-overtime victory Dec. 3. After that gut check, Colleton County dropped losses to Hampton County , Ashley Ridge , Fort Dorchester and Battery Creek . Colleton County generally plays an up-tempo game that gets its points in transition, from steals to other turnovers. When they play their game, the Cougars can turn the tables fast on an opponent, but there have been moments where they play too fast, and “We like to let our defense create our offense, but we do get a little ahead of ourselves and I have to take it down a notch, slow it down and get them back into their headspace.” A 59-51 win over Bamberg-Ehrhardt Dec. 18 marked the team’s turnaround. Two days later the Cougars played Hampton County—which beat them 65-44 Dec. 6—and won a defensive battle 49-41. Their most recent win came as a 45-38 victory over Ridgeland Dec. 23. Senior guard Da’Veon Varner leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He also averages 3.7 rebound and 2.7 assists per game. Senior forward Amauri Sanders averages 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and senior guard Robert Parks averages 5.9 points and 2.2 boards per game. Junior center Xavion Green is the team’s leading defender with 6.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Jaqueas Martin averages 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. “Sanders and Varner are getting a lot more help from our big guys, Xavion Green and Jaqueas Martin,” Kahee said. “It’s been a gradual process, but they have stepped up a lot.” After Friday’s game at Stratford, Colleton County opened Region 6-4A play at May River Tuesday. The Sharks were 8-2 going into their Saturday game against Benedictine and look to be one of the better teams in the region after 10-1 Bluffton , Kahee said. “We were preseason ranked No.5 in the region, and Bluffton is the team to beat,” Kahee said. “They’ve got a pretty good core of players down there, and for right now they’re at the top of the mountain. Behind them is May River, and with the addition of Bishop England (up from 2A) and Beaufort (up from 3A), they’re going to make a little noise along with us.”

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – The 2024 season is off to a rough start for the Colleton County football team as they continue to work on building a foundation for future success under second-year coach Adam Kinloch . While the team has shown improvement and has competed well at times, the early schedule was a lot to handle this fall. The Cougars enter a region game against Beaufort on Oct. 11 with a 1-5 overall record, 0-1 in region play after a loss to May River on Oct. 4 in the region opener. Colleton County’s other losses in the non-region schedule came to Hampton County , Woodland , Lower Richland and Stratford . Two of the first five losses came to top 1o ranked teams – Hampton County in AA and May River in AAAA. After the region game against Beaufort, the Cougars have remaining league contests against Bluffton (Oct. 18), Hilton Head (Oct. 25) and Bishop England (Nov. 1). Senior Sean Williams and sophomore Galil Frazier have shared playing time at quarterback. Cameron Greyson has been the leading rusher in most games. Kinloch says the anchor on the offensive line is sophomore center Chase Jones , who started as a freshman. Carter Stevens , a senior, also returns with experience and Carter Segura will play a prominent role up front. Senior Kendal Farmer is the top returner on defense. The 6-0, 195-pounder is a key returner at linebacker and has added about 25 pounds of muscle since last season. Another key returner on defense is senior Amari Williams , who will be used at several positions because of his versatility but is primarily an outside linebacker. The Colleton County girls tennis team experienced some early season success in their non-region schedule, getting off to a 4-0 start. The road has been more difficult in region play as the league is very strong from top to bottom. The volleyball team also has struggled against the region schedule, losing their first six contests. The team did pick up two early non-region wins. Seniors on the volleyball team this season include Nykeria Gibson , captain Akeelya Daniel , Lanasia Sanders and TaiAnna Fuller . The cross country program has run a full competitive schedule with the boys team leading the way. Philip Michael Witkin is the top runner for the boys team, followed by LaShombre Johnson and Samuel Witkin . All three runners placed among the top 25 finishers at the recent Hampton County Hurricane Invitational with Philip Michael running sixth overall. The only girls participating this fall on a regular basis are Allyson Scott and Madison Scott , who continue to run in competitive meets as newcomers to the sport.