Sunday, Sep. 14, 2008

Five others from Richland County

Jermaine O’Neal

Eau Claire High graduate jumped straight to the NBA in 1996, when he was selected in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers. His career took off in 2000 when he was traded to Indiana and blossomed into a superstar. O’Neal was named the NBA’s most improved player in 2001-02, earned spots on six consecutive All-Star teams and was third in the NBA MVP award voting in 2003-04. The Pacers traded the 29-year-old O’Neal to Toronto in June.

Monique Hennagan

A 1994 Spring Valley High graduate, Hennagan won a gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics as part of the 1,600-meter relay team. As a Viking, she won 12 state championships in track and was also named all-state in volleyball. Hennagan was twice named the nation’s top 400 runner. During her senior season in 1994, Hennagan ran the nation’s fastest 400 time (52.19 seconds).

Peter Boulware

Burst on to the local athletic scene as a football star at Spring Valley High before continuing his career with Florida State and in the NFL. The 6-4, 255-pound defensive end led the ACC in sacks (10) as a sophomore and followed that with 12 sacks and 151 tackles as a junior when he was named national defensive player of the year, All-American and all-ACC. An early entrant into the NFL Draft, Boulware was selected in the first round by Baltimore in 1997 and played eight seasons with the Ravens, finishing in 2005 with 70 sacks and earning a Super Bowl ring in 2001.

Xavier McDaniel

Starred at A.C. Flora High before continuing his career at Wichita State and in the NBA. In 1985, as a senior at Wichita State, McDaniel became the first player to lead all Division I players in scoring (27.2) and rebounding (14.8) in the same season. Selected fourth overall in the 1985 draft by Seattle, McDaniel made the All-Rookie team and made his lone All-Star Game in 1988. That season, the 6-7 forward averaged 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In 1990, Seattle traded him to Phoenix, where he played the remainder of that season. McDaniel also played with the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets before retiring following the 1997-98 season.

Kate Niehaus

Ran cross-country and track at Spring Valley, winning 14 state championships before graduating in 2006. Niehaus was a four-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and owns state prep records in cross country as well as the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. Now a cross-country and track athlete at Stanford, Niehaus placed eighth in the Pac-10 in the 10,000 meters as a freshman. Last fall, as a sophomore, she placed 89th at the NCAA meet as the Cardinal won the national championship.

About Richland County

COUNTY SEAT: Columbia

POPULATION: 357,734 (2007 estimate), 320,667 (2000 Census)

SIZE: 756.41 square miles

HISTORY: Richland County’s status in the state was elevated in 1786, when the legislature voted to form the city of Columbia and move the state capital there from Charleston. The move was made because the number of inland residents had surpassed the number of people who lived in Charleston and along the coast. The thriving cotton industry and various modes of transportation (canal system, rail service, etc.) allowed Richland County as a whole and Columbia in particular to grow. ... The University of South Carolina was founded here in 1801. ... Richland County remained safe from The Civil War’s battles until Feb. 17, 1865, when Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman’s troops arrived on their march to the sea. It took Union Troops one day to burn about one-third of Columbia. ... In 1917, Fort Jackson became the Army’s largest facility for training soldiers to fight in World War I. ... By 1942, an Army air base had been created on the site that is now the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Among those who trained there were Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his men, dubbed Doolittle’s Raiders. The group successfully bombed Tokyo a few months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

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