Peak performances

It was a year to remember for athletes across our area. Struggling programs turned around and successful programs continued paths of brilliance. Some individuals even found gold at the end of their journeys.

Here are the top moments from a wild 2017 year in area sports.

10 — Braden River continues football success

On Nov. 10, the Braden River High Pirates made the South Fort Myers Wolfpack seem like puppies, rolling to a 41-14 regional quarterfinal win.

Senior defensive back Tyrone Collins started the scoring for Braden River, taking a bouncing punt 75 yards for a touchdowne.

"It kept bouncing toward me, and I saw an opening," Collins said. "I went straight down the sideline. I knew my teammates were going to make good blocks."

After forcing another Wolfpack punt, senior running back Deshaun Fenwick made the most of the Pirates' first offensive possession, rumbling through South Fort Myers' front seven and racing past the secondary for a 76-yard score. Fenwick added a goal line touchdown run later in the quarter, and another in the second half.

Pirates coach Curt Bradley said he was proud of his defense.

A week later, the Pirates was eliminated 41-32 by Venice, the only school to beat them the last two seasons. Venice would eventually win the Class 7A state championship. While the loss stung, Braden River’s dominance against South Fort Myers proved it was one of the best teams in the state.

9 — Braden River loses Jaco connection

Not every big moment has to do with wins and losses. Sydney Jaco held back tears as she walked into Braden River High’s gymnasium Oct. 9 with her family at her side.

She embraced them as she received flowers and a hug from head volleyball coach Matthew McElhiney, holding her composure the entire time. Once her teammates started speaking, though, her resolve crumbled. Those teammates, and her school, meant so much to her.

It was Senior Night for the Pirates volleyball team. Since the school, which opened in 2005, started its volleyball program in 2007, there has always been a Jaco on the volleyball team. First it was Kaleigh, then Brittany and Maddie. Last was Sydney, and now, the Jaco presence at Braden River is gone.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Sydney said of wearing the Pirates uniform for the final time. “I really don’t want it to hit me, but I know it will.”

The Pirates beat Bradenton Christian in four sets on Senior Night (27-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19). For Sydney, the final Jaco, it was tough to put her feelings into words.

“They are such an amazing group of people,” she said, speaking not just of this year’s class but all the Pirates she played beside, or watched from the bleachers. “I get emotional talking about this, oh my gosh. I hate to be leaving, but I hope they do well next year. I’m going to come to games when I can. I have to come. They just mean everything to me.”

8 — Mustangs softball reaches regional finals

Lakewood Ranch High’s nationally-ranked softball program smashed East Lake 10-0 May 9 to earn a spot in the regional finals.

Junior Morgan Cummins had three hits (two doubles) and three RBI in the win, and senior Logan Newton threw a shutout with five strikeouts. It placed the Mustangs one win from a trip to Vero Beach and the Final Four.

Three days later, though, Lakewood Ranch would have its heart broken, falling 1-0 in 11 innings to Plant City High. It was a disappointing finish, but the players took the season in stride and were proud of getting as far as they did.

“We showed so much heart,” Newton said. “What more can you ask for?”

7 — ODA football earns playoff win

The Out-of-Door Academy's turn around in football left its coach "speechless."

Head football coach Ken Sommers knew his team was good enough to win its playoff game Oct. 27 against Santa Fe Catholic, but how the Thunder won stunned him. They crushed Sante Fe in all three phases, and won 42-6. ODA led 35-6 at the half.

"I loved our physicality," Sommers said. "I loved our belief. I loved our composure when things got chippy. Just generally proud of these guys all around. The win speaks for itself. We literally came into this season (with) people asking me if we were going to have a program. Now, players are getting texts from kids in the school. There's a vibe, there’s an energy. People are psyched to come to the game and cheer.”

Thunder senior running back Dakota Dickerson ran for four touchdowns, and senior quarterback Gus Mahler added one of his own, in addition to a 52-yard touchdown strike to senior Ethan Bertrand.

ODA would fall to Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in the next round.

6 — Mustangs reach boys basketball Final Four

The Lakewood Ranch boys basketball team put some demons to rest Feb. 24.

One year after the Mustangs were eliminated in the regional finals by the St. Petersburg Green Devils, they returned the favor with a 73-68 victory that sent the program to its first Final Four.

The team’s scoring depth was the key. Senior Sam Hester scored 24 points, junior Damien Gordon had 13 and senior Devin Twenty added 12.

"We have been working hard for four years for this moment," Hester said.

Hester left the March 3 state semifinal against Sickles High in the first quarter with a leg injury, and Lakewood Ranch fell 54-49.

Schiller credited the senior class with turning the program into a state contender.

5 — Area wrestlers reach state finals

On March 4, three East County wrestlers awoke with a chance to reach the state championship match of their divisions and weight class — Braden River High senior Chance Sharbono at 138 pounds and junior Brendan Bengtsson at 285 pounds, and Lakewood Ranch High senior Hunter Reed at 132 pounds.

All three succeeded.

In Sharbono’s way was senior Grant Cardwell of Dunedin in the semifinals. Sharbono said he was not nervous before or during the match. He and Cardwell had faced each other a handful of times before, and Sharbono had a blueprint in his mind of how to handle him.

“I knew as long as I was on the attack that he would not be able to do anything,” Sharbono said. “He started to back up after I started to attack him. It all went according to plan.”

Sharbono won by major decision, 9-1, locking up a tango with Land O’ Lakes High sophomore Jacob Conrad (40-3), the 14-seed entering the tournament, in the first-place match.

Bengtsson defeated Harmony High junior Carter Harris by fall, and Reed defeated Southwest Miami junior Alex Urquiza by a 5-4 decision.

All three would fall in their respective finals, but surviving the grueling state tournament to reach the end was a huge accomplishment.

4 — Mustangs reach boys soccer title game

Prior to the 2016-17 season, the Lakewood Ranch High boys soccer team had reached the state Final Four once, in 2013-14.

The Mustangs lost then, 3-0 to Melbourne High in the semifinals. Last year, they returned to the state semifinals with redemption on their minds, and this time they won.

Lakewood Ranch edged Seminole 4-3 Feb. 10, sending it to its first state championship game. Seniors Ricky Yanez, Conor Bezet and Tyler Puhalovic all contributed goals, as did then-junior Pablo Vargas.

It was the Mustangs’ “three-man weave” system that allowed them to play up-tempo, high-scoring games like the one against Seminole. The attack, led by Yanez and Vargas, was deadly.

Unfortunately, that offense was stifled by a controversial red card against Yanez Feb. 18 in the state title game against Cypress Bay High, and the Mustangs lost 1-0. 

3 — Krug family dominates in tennis

The Krug family continued to dominate the national tennis scene in 2017.

First it was twins Connor and Jake Krug, who on Aug. 12 won the doubles title at the United States Tennis Association Boys' 14 National Championships in Mobile, Ala. The Out-of-Door Academy ninth-graders won the title by defeating Connecticut's Evan Lee and New York's Thomas Navarro 6-1, 7-5. They were only taken to three sets once, in the round of 64 by South Carolina's Matthew Rundle and North Carolina's Rohan Sachdev.

Their sister Ava Krug followed suit. She partnered with McKinney, Texas’ Liv Hovde Aug. 26 to win the USTA Girls' 14 National Doubles Championship in Orlando, defeating Anna Babayan and Ari Siegel, both from Bradenton, in the finals (4-6, 6-2, 6-4).

The Krugs are the grandchildren of famed college basketball broadcaster and coach Dick Vitale. As he would say, their 2017 was “awesome, baby!” 

2 — Lakewood Ranch boys set 800 meters record

Running at the Pepsi Florida Relays on March 30 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, the Mustangs boys 800 meter relay team was in an unusual spot three quarters through the race.

It was behind.

The team, made up of sophomore Johnny Reid, junior Andrew Dean and seniors Brice Easton and John Rivera, had been running the relay together since their first effort March 17, 2016 at the IMG Academy Invitational. In 2017, the team has consistently dropped time, finishing in 7:55.18 in its winning effort March 24 at the FSU relays in Tallahassee.

Just when it seemed the Mustangs would suffer a setback, their fate took at a record-setting turn.

“When I came around the second-to-last turn with about 300 meters to go, I popped my head up pretty high and knew I was in contention to get him (Miami Northwestern’s Micheal Thompson) by a lot,” Rivera, the team’s anchor, said. “I knew I had a lot in me. With 250 to go, I took off, I was sprinting, basically. After the race I looked at the clock and I could not stop cheering.”

That is because the clock read 7:45.58, the fastest time in the United States at that point this season and a school record. In the end, four of the top five 800 relay times in the country came from that race. The Mustangs eventually claimed a state championship.

1 — Saraiah Walkes wins 3 track golds

The Out-of-Door Academy eighth grader Saraiah Walkes had three events on her docket May 6 at the Class 1A state track and field championships: The 100, 200 and 400 meter races.

She won all three.

Walkes ran the 100 in 12.35 seconds, the 200 in 25.20 seconds and the 400 in 55.57 seconds.

Despite her new bling, Walkes was not entirely pleased with her performance on the day. After she crossed the finish line in the 200, Walkes turned to check her time. Once she saw it, she rolled her eyes and swung her body back toward the track's exit.

"There was a headwind," Walkes said. "As soon as I got to the last 100 meters, the wind was blowing me back. I was battling my other competitors and the wind. I was just like, 'Ugh! Come on!'"

Her family, friends and fans didn’t seem to notice, or care. Despite the blustery conditions, this was the day Walkes cemented herself as one of the top runners in Florida.