The Caroline County Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame is inducting its first class this fall.
The honorees will be recognized Friday night at 6:15 p.m. prior to the Caroline High School varsity football game against Courtland. They will be honored formally during a gala on Nov. 12.
The group spans several generations, beginning with former Union High School baseball coach Walter Lowe, who compiled a 224-20 record and directed the Pointers to four state championships when schools in Virginia were still segregated.
In addition to his legendary coaching career, Lowe was a pioneering educator. In 1967, he earned his doctorate in education from George Washington University, an accomplishment that was considered a “remarkable achievement” for a Black educator in that era, said Joy Fortune, who provided information on Lowe to the hall of fame committee.
“His lifelong commitment to academic and athletic excellence reflected his belief that education and sports were powerful vehicles for opportunity and community uplift,” Fortune said. “Dr. Lowe’s legacy continues to resonate in Caroline County and beyond.”
The 16-person class also includes former Bowling Green Senior High football coach George Spaulding, who also coached Caroline High and served as its athletic director. Spaulding led Bowling Green to the 1974 Group A state championship game, where it lost 10-7 to Clintwood. The football stadium at CHS is named after Spaulding, a former school board member who died in 2023.
Former basketball coach and athletic director Jimmy Blanton and current track and field head coach Sansberry Harvey also have facilities named after them and are members of the inaugural class.
Blanton, who died in 2021, served as boys basketball coach from 1980-93 and as athletic director from 1993-2008. As coach, he compiled 172 victories, including a 44-game Battlefield District winning streak from 1981-83. HIs teams reached the Group AA state tournament four straight years from 1981-84.
The track and field facility at CHS is named in honor of Harvey, who has been employed by CCPS for 48 years, and coached numerous district, region, and state individual champions. Harvey’s teams, both boys and girls, are regularly top competitors at the region and state levels.
Gwen Durrett, a late former girls basketball, softball, track and field, volleyball and cheerleading coach at Bowling Green and Caroline will also be honored for her “deep impact on the lives of student-athletes.”
“She was a consistent mentor and role model who taught generations of young people the invaluable lessons of discipline, resilience, and character that carry forward long after they left the field,” Durrett’s nomination form stated.
Former boys basketball coach Reginald Underwood, who is now a member of the county’s board of supervisors, will be inducted as well. Underwood had a stellar run as CHS head coach from 1993-2001. He led the Cavaliers to five appearances in the Group AA state tournament, including trips to the final four in 1995, 1999 and 2001. The Cavaliers lost to Martinsville, 53-50, in the 2001 state title game.
Damian Woolfolk was one of Underwood’s standout players, and he’ll join his former coach in the hall of fame. Woolfolk was an all-district, all-region and all-state performer from 1993-96. He went on to Norfolk State University, where he was one of the leading scorers in Division I. He finished his Spartans career with 1,711 points, good for 12th on the school’s all-time scoring list.
During Woolfolk’s run on the court, Andre Braxton was dominating the gridiron for the Cavaliers. Braxton, a 1995 CHS graduate, will join the hall after amassing 5,064 rushing yards and 61 touchdowns in his Caroline career. Braxton ended his career at Virginia Union University as its all-time leading rusher with 5,008 yards, a mark that lasted more than 20 years.
A decade earlier, inductee Tony Beasley was roaming the baseball field for the Cavaliers. Beasley’s number is displayed at the county’s Little League field and at the CHS baseball stadium. After excelling at Caroline and Liberty University, Beasley had an exceptional Minor League Baseball career as a player and coach. He’s currently the Texas Rangers’ third-base coach, having earned a World Series ring in 2023.
Kellie Ross Hundley, a multi-state champion hurdler for the track and field team, who is a member of Lincoln University’s Hall of Fame, Alantra Mines, a four-time state champion in the triple jump, and LaTonya Anderson, a three-time state champion in the 400 meters, are three of Harvey’s athletes who will be inducted.
Harvey also coached inductee Jamal Sullivan. Sullivan was the All-Area winter track athlete of the year as a junior in 2006 and a football standout as well. The former running back rushed for more than 1,500 yards his senior year, including 313 in a win over Orange. He was a standout at James Madison University, most notably contributing a 77-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the Dukes’ historic upset of Virginia Tech in 2010.
Sullivan was a Caroline teammate of inductee Jabrel Mines, who later starred as a linebacker for William & Mary after an all-state career with the Cavaliers.
Salita Childs Richardson was a four-year starter on the Cavaliers’ girls basketball team from 2001-05. She finished her career with 1,085 career points and 718 rebounds. She averaged an area-best 21.9 points per game as a senior. She went on to compete at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. from 2005-07 before finishing her career at Virginia State University.
