In 2018, the College of Charleston athletic department began recognizing Cougar Trailblazers in honor of Black History month and the celebration of 50 years of integration at the College of Charleston. Below is a list of individuals who have bee honored as Cougar Trailblazers.
Carrie Nesbit Gibbs - 2018
The first Black female graduate from the College of Charleston
Linda Dingle Gadson - 2018
The second Black female graduate from the College of Charleston
Remus Harper - 2018
The first Black student-athlete graduate from the College of Charleston
Otto German - 2018
The second Black student-athlete graduate from the College of Charleston
Dr. Lou Robinson - 2019
A 1977 graduate of the College earning a bachelor's degree in fine arts. A consummate scholar, Robinson earned her graduate degree from Nova University and doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University.
Tanya Harper - 2019
A 1973 graduate of the College earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Harper was the first African American to graduate in the area of Chemistry. In the same year, Harper became the first female chemist to be hired by the Bayer Corporation in Charleston.
Derrick Williams - 2020
During his senior year of his collegiate career, Williams served as team captain of both the cross country and track & field teams. A former school-record holder in the 8K and 10K, he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in English and was also a graduate of the College of Charleston Honors College. Williams would later earn his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2002, where he was a member of the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal.
In March 2007, Williams became one of the youngest-ever to be appointed Commissioner of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. He served in that role until January 2013, before deciding to return to private practice.
Cheryl German - 2022
German attended the College of Charleston from 1974 to 1977. Along with Renee Dominick, she was one of the first two black players on the women's basketball team. She was also on the college's first intercollegiate volleyball squad.
Kieron van Wyk - 2023
A sophomore from South Africa, Kieron was the inaugural recipient of the Adrian Stills Award presented to the Black College Golfer of the Year by the College Golf Coaches Association a season ago. He was also recognized as the BCGCA Outstanding Freshman while earning a spot on both the BCGCA All-America and All-Freshman teams.
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He put together a freshman campaign for the ages in 2021-22 becoming the first Black golfer in CAA history to win medalist honors at the league tournament. van Wyk was also named the CAA Golfer of the Year and selected to the All-CAA First Team after firing a 71.1 scoring average.
Chakosha Lance Coleman - 2024
Coleman competed for the Cougars from 2003 through 2026 and is the first College of Charleston track & field athlete to compete at NCAA Regionals, finishing 24th in the hammer throw in 2004. In 2006, Coleman returned to the regional meet placing 20th in the same event.Â
Coleman still holds the school and Southern Conference indoor record in the weight throw (19.54m) and owns the third-best indoor shot-put mark (12.41m) in the College of Charleston record books. In outdoor competition, she ranks first all-time in school history in the hammer throw (55.36m), third in the discus (40.54m) and fourth in the shot-put (12.51 meters). She was inducted into the Charleston Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.
Everett German - 2025
German started with the Charleston Radio Network in 2005 and took over men's basketball play-by-play duties in 2015. German is one of five black official team play-by-play announcers in Division I men's basketball.* A 1994 graduate of Spartanburg Methodist, Everett has missed just two broadcasts during his twenty years covering Cougar basketball – neither of which came during 2011 after a kidney transplant and dialysis.
He has been on the call for three CAA Championships and three March Madness contests, the voice so many think of when they think of Charleston men's basketball. German was voted as the Voice of the Year by the Post & Courier in 2019 and completed two separate stints on the board of the Charleston Athletic Fund for a total of eight years.
