D.W. Daniel High School is making an in-house move in athletics, naming Sam Lepa as the school’s new athletic director after the past two years as an assistant principal.
The decision keeps the job with someone already familiar to students, staff, and families while giving the Lions a new leader for one of the school’s most visible roles.
Lepa arrived at Daniel after a move from Minnesota to South Carolina, joining the school as an assistant principal.
Now he shifts into athletics, taking over a position that reaches well beyond game schedules and facilities.
At a school like Daniel, the athletic director role sits close to school identity, community pride, and the day to day rhythm of student life. His background helps explain why the move makes sense.
Before coming to Daniel, Lepa was named director of activities and athletics at Annandale Senior High School in Minnesota, giving him direct experience with the same kind of work he now takes on in Pickens County.
That earlier stop adds a layer of continuity to the hire, because Daniel is not handing athletics to someone learning the job for the first time.
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Lepa has also stayed connected to high school sports beyond one campus.
He has been involved with both the Minnesota State High School League and the South Carolina High School League, which gives him a broader feel for how school athletics operate across different settings.
That kind of experience can matter in a role that often requires balancing student opportunities, program standards, school culture, and community expectations all at once.
For Daniel, the move keeps athletics in the hands of a school leader who already knows the building and has spent the past two years inside its culture.
Instead of starting over with someone from outside, the school is turning to a familiar face with administrative experience, past activities leadership, and a background rooted in student programs.
The next chapter for Daniel athletics now begins with someone who has already been part of the work on campus.
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