Keenan Raiders Looking to Continue Success

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Columbia – The 2023/24 athletic season for the Keenan Raiders was a good year as they had several teams qualify for the playoffs and as usual the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams made deep runs in the playoffs.

Sean Gilley is entering his third year as the Athletic Director and has seen his Raiders program improve in all areas thanks to a coaching staff that is committed to getting best out of their athletes both on the field/ court and in the classroom.

Kiarra Pettway, head volleyball coach, led her team to a second-place finish in region 4AA and an overall record of 16-10 in her first year. She has several key players returning so her Lady Raiders will be a team watch in the Columbia area.

The Raider football team reached the second round of the class AA playoffs for the second time in head coach Ray McCleod’s two-years at the helm. He and his team will look to make it three in a row this year as he returns a talented roster. He also coaches the Raider grapplers.

The basketball teams continued their success even if they fell short of their usual goal of playing for a state championship. Coach Zachary Norris’s boys squad made another trip to the upper state finals but they came up short 45-38. Norris has won seven state championships at Keenan. He also coaches the boys’ cross-country and the Raider track and field teams. The boys’ team finished seventh and the girls’ placed 11^th at the class AA state meet.

Reggie McLain’s girls’ team fell in the third of the playoffs 46-38. It was their earliest exit from the playoffs in the past nine years. In that time McLain has won six state championships including three in a row from 2019-2022. He also heads up the girls’ cross-country team.

Reginald Laroche guided the Lady Raider softball into the class AA playoffs despite having many first-year players on his roster. They lost their two games in the district three tournament but they gained valuable experience.

The rest of the staff is made up of cheer coach Ericka McIntee, boys soccer Pablo Rivera-Arriaga, swim coach Stanley McIntosh, and tennis coach Jennifer Brannon. Despite not making the playoffs each team is looking to change that in the 2024/25 season.