MOULTRIE — Shane Slocumb and Leah May brought national championships back to Moultrie in 2006 and the Colquitt County High gymnastics and golf teams won state championships.

And none of the four were what might have been called cinches.

Slocumb won the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Scholastic Clay Target Program’s International Shotgun championship in October at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Slocumb, a member of the USA Shooting Junior National Team, is part of the growing shotgun program run by Mike Simpson in Hartsfield, which already has produced an international-calibre performer in Emma Simpson, Mike Simpson’s daughter.

Representing the Bridge Creek Clay Busters, Slocumb hit 113 of 125 targets to take the national championship. The competition drew some 100 shooters in grades 9-12 from throughout the country.

Slocumb also won a gold medal in his age group at the Junior Olympic National Championships.

May, who had just completed her freshman year at Colquitt County High, became the Moultrie YMCA’s first all-around National Champion the YMCA National Gymnastics championships held in July at the Hanover (Pa.) Area Family YMCA.

Her team-record, two-day score of 73.975 allowed her to defeat Jessica Buldo of Darien, Conn., by just a half-point in the junior age group. The Moultrie YMCA’s Devin Corgan was the national vaulting champion.

May also was a member of the Colquitt County High gymnastics team that in April won the first state championship by any school outside the Atlanta area

The Lady Packers were coached by Donna Marshall and learned their skills at the Moultrie YMCA under Bob Swadel. The other team members were Arrienne Miller, Krista Wood, Temira Davis, Rachel Dampier, Kaitlin Tucker, Crystal Blizzard and Meghan Marshall.

Colquitt County High got its second state championship a month later when the golf Packers shot a 291 at the Pine Lakes course at Jekyll to claim the Class AAAAA championship. It was the school’s first state golf championship.

The team included Aaron Elrod, Ian Hester, Josh Dale, Clarke Hendrick, Dusty Campbell and Matt Smith. Donald Dale was the team’s coach.

Elrod was the co-low medalist at the state tournament, shooting a 3-under par 69. Smith had a hole in one on No. 17.

The two state championships enabled Colquitt County High to be ranked No. 7 among Class AAAAA schools in the final Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s Director’s Cup standings.

Colquitt County won another state title when sophomore Ryan Helms took his second straight diving championship in February.

The Packers Kelvin Watts won the state weightlifting championship in the 191-205 weight class with a combined lift of 1,145 pounds.

And the Colquitt County Gold 10-and-under all-stars won the state GRPA baseball championship.

Also in 2006, Jerry Croft ended his 30-year tenure as the head coach of the Colquitt County baseball team, retiring with a 449-268-2 record and state championships in 1997 and 2003.

Croft also was a member of the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame’s 10-member class that also included James Stancil, Nina Brannon Cooper, Jill Middlebrooks Stuckey, Veronica Freeman Reese, Lynda Baxter Moseley, Richie DeMott, Dennard Robison, Jeffery Moss and Lonnie White.

Also in 2006 in Colquitt County sports:

Colquitt County High Principal Bob Jones led the battle to keep the Georgia High School Association from moving state championship football games to neutral sites. … Lady Packer golfer Lindsay Hargrove signed to play at Thomas University. … Packers defensive back Josh Brown signed to play at Valdosta State University. … Former Packer Tony Long returned to Moultrie as the Colquitt County football team’s defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coordinator.

Wrestler Antonio Sutton won the region championship in the 275-pound weight class and reached the state semifinals. He finished with a 34-3 record. … In the high state diving championships, Ali Lepech was second, Hannah Moore was third and Anna Aguero was fourth. … James Trimble, Antwan Tuff, Ashley Stafford and Taquella Coates were named to the All-Region basketball team. … Anne Yearta signed to play tennis at Young Harris.

The Colquitt County girls basketball team reached the state quarterfinals and finished with a 21-10 record. The Lady Packers were ranked No. 6 in the final Class AAAAA poll. … The South Georgia Strongman competition was held in Moultrie for the first time and Colquitt County’s Kelvin Watts won the 191-205 weight class. Watts went on to win the state championship. … Whitney Hood signed to continue her soccer career with Abraham Baldwin College’s new program and she scored the Fillies’ first goal. … Ryan Helms and Hannah Moore were named Georgia’s Junior Olympic Divers of the Year for 2005. … Former Colquitt County golfer Harris English, who played at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., signed with the University of Georgia.

The team from Eagles Landing Country Club won the annual Pot o’ Gold Pro-Am at Sunset Country Club. Sunset pro Bob Windom shot a final-round 65. … Yohann Brinson, Jessica Corona, Victoria Dampier and Shontae Robinson were named to the All-Area rifle team. Colquitt County won the area rifle championship, finished second in the National Junior ROTC championships and finished second in the state high school championships, finishing just two points behind champion Northside of Columbus.

Colquitt County Jamal Hayes, one of the nation’s top performers in the 400-meters, signed with LSU. … The Colquitt County girls tennis team won its fourth straight region championship. … Lady Packers Ashley Jacobs and Gracie Qurnell signed to play tennis at Abraham Baldwin College. … The Colquitt County boys and girls golf teams won region championships. … Lady Packers goalkeeper Kaitlyn Price signed to play at Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C.

The girls soccer team qualified for the state tournament and won a first-round game over Stephenson before being eliminated by Starr’s Mill. … Moss Farms diver Elizabeth Ann Kirkland took first place at the East Nationals in Boston, Mass. … Colquitt County won the region track championship for the second year in a row and finished third in the state meet.

Dorothy Strong signed to play her college basketball at Darton College. … James Trimble signed to play basketball at Abraham Baldwin College. … Ashley Stafford signed to play college basketball at Columbus State. … Donna Marshall was named the state gymnastics coach of the year. … Andrew Wallace and Chance Pitts were named to the All-Region baseball team. … Sha Wetherington signed to play college soccer at Darton.

Colquitt County finished second in the Region 1-AAAAA all-sports standings. Lowndes was first with 125.5 points. Colquitt had 112 points and had region championships in boys golf, girls golf, girls tennis and boys track. … Colquitt County golfer Josh Dale, who is heading to Georgia, received one of the first two Region 1-AAAAA scholar-athletes scholarships. … Being named all-region in soccer were Kaitlyn Price, Alba Hernandez, Sha Wetherington, Whitney Hood, Kristin Hall, Maria Bautista, Matt DeMott, Tyler Mobley, Daniel Garcia and Michael Murray.

Ron Piemonte resigned as the head coach of the Moss Farms Diving team to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. … Former Packer Eric McCranie was named Colquitt County head baseball coach, succeeding Jerry Croft. … Colquitt County High divers Ali Lepech, Anna Aguero, Hannah Moore, Ann Perry Blank, Ryan Helms and Nic Price were named high school All-Americans.

The Moultrie YMCA’s championship team placed fourth at Y Nationals in Hanover, Pa. The developmental team was second. Leah May was the all-around junior champion. Devin Corgan was the national vaulting champion. … Ed Goodman was named the head coach at Moss Farms Diving, succeeding Ron Piemonte. … Six Moss Farms divers — Kelsey Goodman, Ann Perry Blank, Ali Lepech, Hannah Moore, Anna Aguero and Ryan Helms — qualified for the Summer East Championships.

Ryan Helms won the 1-meter title at the Summer East Championships. … Nine Moultrie Sharks — Caroline Rogers, Andy Alekseichuk, Burton Brown, Ashlee Paramore, Jessica Price, Haley Goodman, Amy Peek, Connor Walsh and Mitchell Taylor — qualified for the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association’s state swim meet.

Aaron Eubanks pitched a no-hitter for the Danville Cougars in a Carolina Virginia Collegiate League game. … Caroline Rogers won a bronze medal, Haley Goodman had a sixth-place finish and Mitchell Taylor had a seventh-place finish at the GRPA state swim meet in Moultrie. …

Ryan Helms and Kelsey Goodman had fourth-place finish at the Junior National Diving Championships. … Lonnie White was two titles at the 90th American Tennis Association’s National Championships in San Diego, Calif. … Colquitt County defensive back/wide receiver Vance Cuff verbally committed to play at the University of Georgia. … Hannah Moore placed ninth in Senior Nationals. … Becky Bevacqua was honored by the Georgia Athletic Officials Association as its All-Sports Official of the Year.

The Colquitt County High football team was ranked No. 10 in the Class AAAAA preseason poll. … Jamal Hayes headed off to his freshman year at LSU coming off a gold medal-winning performance in the 400 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships in Baltimore, Md. … Colquitt County football coach Tim Cokely suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs when the van he was driving to practice the day before the season-opener was struck by a pickup truck and flipped three times. Cokely led the Packers to a 28-0 victory over Cook High the next day while coaching from the press box.

Valdosta’s Todd Smoot won the Moultrie YMCA’s annual Race of the South. … The Colquitt County High football team defeated Valdosta 17-15, beating the Wildcats for the first time since 1999. The victory propelled the Packers to the No. 1 ranking in Class AAAAA. It was the first time Colquitt County had been ranked No. 1 in the state’s largest classification since 1996. … The Colquitt County girls softball team went 15-13, posting the most victories since the school began playing fast-pitch in 2000. … Colquitt County Special Olympics teams won three gold medals at the State Fall Games in Albany.

The Colquitt County boys cross country team was third and the girls team fourth in the region meet, qualifying both teams for the state meet. Tyler Dismuke, Carlos Charles and Carly Banks were named to the All-Region cross country team. … The Colquitt County competitive cheerleading squad was second in the region and qualified for state for the first time. … Hannah Moore signed to continue her diving career at the University of Georgia. … The Colquitt County football team lost two triple-overtime games and finished 6-4, failing to qualify for the postseason for just the second time since 1990.

Former Packer Brian Knighton, playing running back for Fort Valley State, was named to the All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team. … Tiffany Troupe, Ashley Everett and Morgan Jones were named to the All-Region 1-AAAAA girls softball team. … Former Packer Sherard Reynolds, now playing safety and returning punts for Valdosta State University, was named All-Gulf South Conference, All-Region and was selected to two All-American teams.

B.J. Baker, Vance Cuff, Matt DeMott, B.J. Howard, Channing Hudson, Derek Illian, Dontrell Johnson and Orion Ponder were named to the All-Region 1-AAAAA team. Ponder and Hudson were named to the All-State team … Kelsey Goodman and Ryan Helms were named Georgia’s top junior divers and Hannah Moore was named as the top female senior diver. … Moultrie’s Zeph Touchton won the mini modified points championship at the Albany Motor Speedway. … Lupe “Speedy” Alonzo won a points championship at Southwest Georgia Motorsports Park.

Former Packer coaches Tom White and Roy Saturday were honored at the annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet, which is named in their honor. The Colquitt County boys basketball team took part in the Citizens First Classic in Bowling Green, Ky., and also helped play host to the first Colquitt County Roundball Classic.