- May 3, 2024
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Two state championships, several huge turnarounds and lots of exciting performances highlighted the 2023 East County high school sports year.
These are the top 10 moments of the year.
The record was 71-0.
That speaks for itself.
It's what Braden River High senior wrestler Jessey Colas accomplished on the road to a Florida High School Athletic Association state title in the Class 2A 182-pound division. He capped his title March 4 at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Colas defeated Satellite High's Michael McCarthy 5-3 in the finals, getting an early lead and hanging onto the win late.
Colas' mantra for the season was "just go," a phrase that reminded him to be aggressive. In his final high school season, Colas wanted to have no regrets, to leave everything he had on the mat. The strategy resulted in wire-to-wire dominance.
Colas was the first Pirates wrestler to complete an undefeated season and the second to win a state title, following Brendan Bengtsson's gold medal win at 285 pounds in 2018.
Colas, now a freshman wrestler at North Iowa Area Community College, reflected on his championship win.
"It just made me happy," Colas said. "I have a note on my wall with all of my life goals. Being a state champion was one of them, but now I've done it. And to be only the second wrestling champion in my school's history is crazy."
The turnaround of The Out-of-Door Academy’s football program is complete.
It began in 2022, when Head Coach Rob Hollway guided ODA through an 8-0 regular season in his first year with the Thunder — though ODA lost 21-0 to Saint Stephen’s Episcopal in the second round of the Sunshine State Athletic Association playoffs. Overall, the year was a success, especially when considering the program went winless the two regular seasons prior to Hollway’s arrival.
Due in part to injuries to key players like sophomore running back Allen Clark, ODA’s 2023 regular season (3-5) was not as smooth as 2022. But the Thunder got healthy by the time the playoffs arrived, and ODA did not waste the opportunity, winning three playoff games to capture the SSAA Class 4A championship.
The title game against Lighthouse Private Christian Academy (4-6) on Nov. 10 saw Clark carry the ball 31 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-14 win. The Thunder sacked LPCA sophomore quarterback Brayden Jackson six times, three by senior Robert Crisci.
"What I admire most about these players is that they continued to compete, stayed (focused) and finished," Hollway said. "We are getting championship rings, and on the inside it says, 'It's how you finish that counts.' That's how these players will be remembered, as champions who refused to quit. The ODA kids and the community earned this and I am so grateful to be a part of it."
It had been building since Head Coach Delaney Riggins was hired by the school in 2018. The Lakewood Ranch girls soccer program capitalized on its promise in 2022-2023.
The Mustangs finished the regular season undefeated, with one scoreless tie against North Fort Myers High, for a 15-0-1 record. The Mustangs clinched the perfect regular season with a 5-0 win over Lemon Bay High (10-11-1) on Jan. 20, thanks to goals from then-seniors Gabrielle Madrid, Makena Murack, Elizabeth Fetchko, Regan Kelly and Julia Magno.
Lakewood Ranch then pounded its way through the postseason, reaching the regional finals before losing 5-4 to Palm Harbor University High (19-1) in penalty kicks.
In completing a perfect regular season, the Mustangs established themselves as a program to be feared in the years to come.
For the second year in a row, the Lakewood Ranch High boys golf team had a high finish in the state tournament.
At Mission Inn Resort and Spa in Howey-in-the-Hills on Nov. 10-11, Lakewood Ranch shot a combined 299 in day two of the Class 3A state tournament — eight shots better than it did on day one — and finished with a 606 total, good for a second-place finish behind state champion Fleming Island High (583).
Individually, junior Parker Severs finished tied for second (70-73—143) and junior Henry Burbee finished tied for fourth (77-68—145). Sophomore Max Colby Bendixen (78-79—157), sophomore Josh Orgen (83-79—162) and junior Luke Wilson (82-83—165) rounded out the Mustangs' lineup.
The team's second-place finish at the state tournament is its best since it won the state championship in 2013. It finished fifth in 2022.
Lakewood Ranch-area girls swimmer Abigail Hite finished her swimming career with a strong performance.
Hite — who attends Bradenton’s Southeast High for its International Baccalaureate academic program, in the hopes of becoming an engineer — finished second in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.90) at the FHSAA Class 3A state meet, held Nov. 11 at Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training in Ocala. She was 0.68 seconds behind gold medal winner Annabelle MacAdams of Ponte Vedra High.
Hite also finished fifth in the 100 yard freestyle (52.25 seconds).
It was the culmination of Hite’s hard work to lower her times, including occasional cross-training sessions, like running, to work on different muscles. Hite said she likes to compete in triathlons in the summer as a different type of challenge.
At states, the challenges she set for herself paid off.
After the Parrish Community High football team's 43-6 win over George Jenkins High on Nov. 3 in its regular season finale, the Bulls players celebrated for only a minute.
They spiked footballs and hugged each other, but quickly settled down to watch the school's band perform, sitting in the end zone. As the music from the band blared, Parrish coaches came around and congratulated each player individually.
They had locked up a FHSAA Class 3S playoff berth — the first in the program’s four-year history.
In 2023, Parrish Community (7-3) matched the program's win total from its first three varsity seasons combined, in which the team went 7-16. To reach the playoffs, the Bulls leaned on a group of players from the East County area, including senior quarterback Jackson Volz, senior tight end Lane Tomlinson, senior offensive lineman Carter Dietz, senior offensive lineman Jimie Roden, senior linebacker Holten Graham, senior defensive end Dustin Springfield, junior defensive end Ashton Springfield, junior linebacker Sean Crowley and junior cornerback Bryson Bender.
Parrish’s season came to an end Nov. 10 with a 42-0 loss to Naples High in the first round of the playoffs But Volz said reaching the playoffs at all, after building to be a winner, should put the area on notice that this is a program on the rise.
The Lakewood Ranch High baseball program went 10-16 in 2022, and early, things looked only slightly improved in 2023. After 11 games, the team sat at 6-5.
Then things became interesting.
The Mustangs started winning thanks to a strong pitching staff and a penchant for getting timely hits. The Mustangs put together a 19-8 record, winning 13 of their last 16 games, and captured a 1-0 district championship win over Venice High (15-13) on May 4.
Lakewood Ranch would earn a 6-1 home win over Winter Haven High (19-8) in the regional quarterfinals. Junior pitcher Lochlan Radloff threw a complete game, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out seven batters.
The Mustangs ran into top-seeded Plant High (19-7) on the road in the regional semifinals. The Mustangs lost that challenge 7-0. Still, the way the Mustangs finished the season showed Head Coach Colton Chupp and the rest of the baseball community that things are on the upswing with the program.
In 2023, the Braden River High volleyball team made it three-for-three.
For the third year in a row, the Pirates took home their FHSAA Class 5A district crown. After an 18-6 regular season, Braden River beat North Port High 3-0 in the district semifinals on Oct. 17, then defeated North Fort Myers High 3-0 on Oct. 17 to win the district finals.
In the title game, senior Aryanna Spainhower led the Pirates with 11 kills, 16 digs and three serving aces, while senior Ericka Freeman led the team with three blocks.
Braden River would advance to the regional semifinals before losing 3-2 to Gulf Coast High on Oct. 28.
The Lakewood Ranch High boys lacrosse team had a middling season, finishing 7-9, but the team's struggles did not stop then-junior Lucas Anthony from racking up points and climbing the state's leaderboard.
Anthony finished with 91 points (58 goals, 33 assists), which was the 14th-most points in the state, and his per-game average of 5.7 points was ninth of out of the same 14 players. Twice this year — on Feb. 16 against Wiregrass Ranch High and on March 24 against Naples High — Anthony amassed 12 points, leading his team to wins both times.
Anthony's 91 points were a 14-point increase from his sophomore season. A similar points jump in his senior season would rank Anthony among the top high school lacrosse players in Florida — if he's not there already.
Flag football is still a growing sport at the high school level, but Braden River High already has established itself as the dominant power in the Manatee-Sarasota area.
The Pirates went 11-1 in 2022 and followed that with a 14-3 season in 2023, a season that included postseason wins over Tampa Catholic (9-6) and Lecanto High (11-4). Against Lecanto in the Class 1A regional semifinals — a hard-fought 6-0 win — then-junior quarterback Cydnee Brooks connected with then-senior Courtney Kawcak on the game’s lone touchdown pass, and then-junior Ameria Smith led the game with eight tackles.
The Pirates’ season came to an end in the regional finals when they ran into eventual state champion Robinson High (21-2) and lost 32-0.The Pirates are not at the Knights' level yet, but the 2023 season was a strong start.
