Top-five 2016-2017 East County high school moments

It was a “not quite” school year for many East County area high school athletic teams and athletes at the state level.

But once again, the area did produce state champions, a wealth of talent and plenty of excitement. Here are the top five sports moments from the 2016-17 school year.

5 —Braden River freshman swimmer takes two top-10s

Braden River swimming is used to success from the Walker family. In 2015, Ryan Walker, then a senior, won the first gold medal in program history, swimming the Class 3A boys 100-yard breaststroke in 56.41 seconds.

This season, his sister Kate Walker, a freshman, started down a path to match or even surpass her brother’s accomplishments. Walker finished ninth in the girls 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.36) and 10th in the girls 100-yard butterfly (58.01) at the state meet Nov. 4 at Sailfish Splash Waterpark in Stuart. In both races, Walker was the only freshman in the top 10.

“She’s farther along than I was (as a freshman),” Ryan Walker said of his sister. “She’s a driven person, she knows what she’s doing. I believe in her.”

4 — Three area wrestlers take second place at state meet

The “not quite” theme was evident at the state wrestling tournament March 4 at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Braden River senior Chance Sharbono and junior Brendan Bengtsson finished second in the 138- and 285-pound divisions of Class 2A, respectively, and Lakewood Ranch senior Hunter Reed finished second in the 132-pound division of Class 3A.

However, it was an accomplishment for all three. Sharbono took third place the year before. Reed failed to make weight because of an illness. Bengtsson never strapped on a singlet before last season. He’ll get another shot at first place next year. Reed and Sharbono have graduated.

3 — Lakewood Ranch  Boys basketball Team reaches first Final Four

One year after St. Petersburg knocked Lakewood Ranch’s boys basketball out of the playoffs in a regional final, the Mustangs returned the favor Feb. 24 as senior Sam Hester scored 24 points in leading Lakewood Ranch to a 73-68 win. Junior Damien Gordon added 13.

“Last year, they beat us, and we felt like we deserved (to advance),” senior Devin Twenty said. “To come back from that like this was awesome.”

The win sent Lakewood Ranch to its first-ever Final Four in Lakeland. However, in the state semifinal against Sickles, Hester injured his ankle in the first quarter, and the Mustangs went on to lose 54-49. Head coach Jeremy Schiller said his heart will forever be broken for Hester and the rest of the seniors, who turned the program into a state contender.

2 — Lakewood Ranch boys soccer team reaches state title game

The 2016-2017 Lakewood Ranch boys soccer team was coach Vito Bavaro’s best. Led by senior Ricky Yanez and junior Pablo Vargas, the team made opponents pay with deadly counterattacks after suffocating them with a stingy defense anchored by senior Tyler Puhalovich. Sophomore goaltender Ryan Freeman was solid all year.

The team hit its apex Feb. 10 in a 4-3 win over Seminole in a state semifinal. Vargas had two goals in the victory, a back-and-forth affair that sent the Mustangs to their first-ever title game on Feb. 18 at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand. They would fall 1-0 to Cypress Bay in that game. That didn’t diminish the run.

1 — Lakewood Ranch and Out-of-Door Academy track stars win state titles

The No. 1 accomplishment this school year is a three-way tie.

Lakewood Ranch seniors John Rivera and Sophia Falco brought home two state titles each from the May 5-6 state track and field meet at IMG Academy. Rivera won the Class 4A boys 800-meter race in 1:53.16 and ran the anchor leg of the Mustangs’ winning time (7:53.45) in the boys 4x800 relay. Falco won both the Class 4A girls long jump (6 meters) and triple jump (13 meters). Next season, Rivera will attend the University of Mississippi, while Falco heads to Vanderbilt University.

Out-of-Door Academy eighth-grader Saraiah Walkes won three state championships, finishing first in the Class 1A girls 100 meters in 12.35 seconds, the 200 in 25.20 and the 400 in 55.57.

“I’m very happy that God blessed me enough to be healthy,” Walkes said after her final race. “I’m happy my coaches kept running with me and making sure I was healthy, and never lost faith in me. I’m just excited.”

Walkes said her dream is to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.