- December 30, 2025
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Perfection is elusive. Many seek it, but few achieve it.
The Cougars weren't in search of an undefeated season when they stepped into Pitbull Stadium. That dream vanished back in Week 2, well before a trophy was within reach.
Instead, they were perfect when it counted most.
That's just the nature of champions.
Cardinal Mooney football rolled over Jacksonville Bolles, 52-28, with a golden performance Dec. 10 in the FHSAA Class 2A state championship. It marked the second state title in three years for the program, and its third ever.
On eight different trips to the red zone, the Cougars scored a touchdown all eight times. Not once did they punt, settle for a field goal or surrender a turnover.
It was sheer dominance by a squad that dominated all season long. However you describe it, words don't seem to do this team justice. Their path was prolific.
Against in-state competition, Cardinal Mooney was a perfect 14-0, only falling to Cherry Creek (CO) before rattling off 13 consecutive victories. It averaged 45.3 points per game and allowed 13.0 to its opponents.
Offensively, junior running back Connail Jackson turned in arguably the greatest individual season in the area with 2,000-plus rushing yards and 39 touchdowns.
Notre Dame signee Elijah Golden was a beast on the other side of the ball with team-highs of 14.0 sacks and 34.0 tackles for loss, as of Dec. 9.
The Cougars saved their best for last. And now, the program has its holy trinity.
Four years of shortcomings. Four years of disappointments. Four years of tears.
It seemed a cruel and unusual punishment for the Cougars. From 2021 through 2024, they reached the title game every time and only knew defeat.
But no longer. Cardinal Mooney girls basketball knocked off Bolles, 64-54, on March 1 in the FHSAA Class 3A state championship, bringing home the first state title in program history.
Following five straight losses from Dec. 28 through Jan. 8, the Cougars found fire, winning a remarkable 17 consecutive contests to close the season. Coach Marlon Williams — in his third year — guided them to the pinnacle.
Now-Cincinnati freshman forward Kali Barrett polished off her legendary career as the program's all-time leading scorer. She averaged 16.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, tallying an eye-popping 24 double-doubles in all.
Madi Mignery, then-sophomore forward/guard, posted the exact same numbers, though in four fewer games played. Senior guards Sy'monique Simon and Riley Martin pitched in 11.9 and 9.6 points per game, respectively, alongside 9.6 from then-junior guard Talia Busser.
The Cougars roared atop the mountain, at last.
The Tornadoes weaved a path of destruction this season. Almost every foe in their way crumpled, unable to stay standing.
Booker football finished 12-2 en route to a third consecutive regional championship. That feat was accomplished in the very first year under coach Carlos Woods.
And this latest run was special — something unique from 2024 and 2023.
The squad's 9-1 regular season was a better mark than years past. Across the three rounds of regional playoffs, Booker battered its opponents, 193-14 combined. That was the most lopsided set of results for any team across all eight classifications.
One of, if not the, greatest senior classes in program history dictated their dominance. They're also the school's first class to feature seven early graduates.
Safety Karaijus Hayes, wide receiver Tyren Hornes, EDGE Kevontay Hugan, cornerback Chauncey Kennon, quarterback Joel Morris, EDGE Jamaun Thompson and wide receiver Dylan Wester are all headed to Div. I collegiate programs.
Booker ultimately fell to Jacksonville Raines in the FHSAA Class 3A state semifinals, closing the book on a triumphant chapter.
Death and taxes are two certainties in life. At least, that's what the old adage tells us.
Add Sarasota-area high school swimming team championships to that shortlist.
On Nov. 14, the Riverview girls secured their fifth consecutive title while the Sarasota boys nabbed their fourth in the past five years, both in FHSAA Class 4A.
The Rams had never won five in a row before, and for the Sailors — led by first-year coach Andrew Antonetz — their podium-topping performance represented a rebound from last year's uncharacteristic fourth-place finish.
NC State signee Taylor Schwenk reeled in a team-high three golds and one silver for Riverview, including clutch sub-second victories in the 100-yard butterfly (54.54) and 200-yard freestyle (1:47.97). Freshmen Sydney Hardy and Alexandra Pearson won eight medals combined.
Sarasota, meanwhile, was buoyed by Alabama signee Bogdan Zverev, who took home the team's only two golds. He set a pair of personal bests by finishing first in the 200-yard individual medley (1:45.23) and 100-yard butterfly (46.99), while juniors Jackson Irwin, Andrew Malaj and Daniil Siutsou earned seven medals as a whole.
These programs don't rebuild — they reload. When November 2026 rolls around, they'll be at the statewide meet eyeing even more hardware.
Running was merely a means of lacrosse preparation for Madison Muller, at first. Her parents advised her to take on some preseason conditioning.
In middle school, she started with track. Then she figured she'd give cross-country a shot in eighth grade.
That proved to be a golden decision.
Muller, a Riverview sophomore, cruised to the FHSAA Class 4A individual title on Nov. 22 in the girls' 5K, clocking a 17:37.7. She beat out the second-place finisher by over 20 seconds and was the only female in 4A to finish in under 18 minutes.
After settling for runner-up at last year's state meet, Muller powered past 232 other competitors in her return, becoming only the second individual state champion in school history after Alyssa Hendrix (2018, 2019).
At the Class 4A-Region 3 meet, the second-year ran a 16:50.4 to win, representing the fourth-fastest time in state history for the girls' 5K, per flrunners.com.
Muller still has two seasons to go. If they mirror her early successes, more titles could very well be on the way.
Jewel Kerr's mind was made up on her college destination. She was going to Clark Atlanta, and had already paid her enrollment fee.
But then Bethel College, a humble Christian school in North Newton, Kansas, reached out with a unique offer — a full-ride scholarship to play flag football.
It was an opportunity she couldn't possibly turn down.
On May 14, the then-senior at Booker High signed with the Threshers, committing to play at the NAIA level in Region IV. She became the first student in the history of Sarasota County to accept a flag football scholarship.
Kerr only formally played one season of the sport, as Booker introduced flag football for the 2024-25 academic year. She excelled at wide receiver and as a team captain.
Football, though, was something she was always happy to jump into at a younger age. Kerr played frequently with other young boys in her neighborhood.
Now, the sport is funding her dreams of becoming a crime scene investigator.
Unimaginable tragedy struck the Battie family on May 18, 2024.
Brian Battie and his brother, Tommie Battie IV, were shot at the Tallywood Centre Plaza in Sarasota. Tommie Battie IV was pronounced dead at the scene, while Brian Battie was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
For more than two weeks, that traumatic brain injury left him unable to walk, talk, open his eyes or breathe on his own. Doctors initially thought he would be paralyzed on the right side of his body for the rest of his life.
But the former Sarasota running back wouldn't accept that fate. He slowly recovered and gathered the strength to walk with a cane three weeks after the shooting.
On May 28, he received the Wilma Rudolph Award, given annually by the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Professionals to five collegiate athletes who overcome adversity to contribute in the classroom, campus or community.
Battie, who last played for Auburn during the 2023 season, returned to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 22 and was honored for Senior Day. He previously played three seasons with South Florida.
As of Dec. 9, Brian Battie has paused most of his intensive therapy because of financial setbacks. Donations to the Battie family can be made at GoFundMe.com/f/help-the-battie-family.
A foot injury prevented Jordyn Byrd from getting the chance to shine as a freshman at Texas. Once she was healthy a year later, her coach never gave her a shot.
The Gators, though, welcomed her with open arms. And she didn't bother wasting that opportunity close to her Sarasota home.
Byrd, a redshirt sophomore outside hitter, racked up 425 kills on 3.97 kills per set — both team-highs — in her first season with Florida women's volleyball. The team didn't get any farther than the second round of the NCAA tournament, but she made herself known on the college landscape.
She graduated early from Cardinal Mooney in winter 2022 with her name on more than one banner. Byrd was a two-time Gatorade Florida Volleyball Player of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and as a freshman on varsity, became a state champion.
Two years of eligibility remain for Byrd — two more chances to remind the country's premier college coaches of what they're missing.
Coach BJ Ivey pioneered one of the state's most remarkable turnarounds in his first year at the helm. And that was only a precursor for the greatness to follow.
Sarasota boys basketball had just finished at a dreadful 5-20 the year prior. But when he stepped in for 2022-23, the Sailors went 21-6, flipping their fortunes.
In 2025, he got them to a place they hadn't been in 57 years.
Sarasota reached the FHSAA Class 7A state semifinals on March 7 and fell to Windermere, 59-39, in the end. Its record across Ivey's three completed campaigns is a sparkling 73-12 combined.
Guard John Lackaff was a sophomore sensation — he averaged 21.9 points and 3.1 steals in 30 games played. The Sailors also got major contributions from then-senior Oliver Boyle (14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds) and then-junior forward David Young (12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds).
Another big season is in the making.
As of Dec. 9, Sarasota was 6-0, and was selected for the City of Palms Classic on Dec. 18-23 in Fort Myers, one of the nation's premier high school basketball tournaments.
The Sailors didn't win a district championship in 2025. They didn't even survive the district semifinals.
Doubts lingered about whether or not their regular-season resume would be strong enough to earn an at-large bid into regionals.
A second chance, though, was indeed awarded. With it, they assembled a run to remember.
Sarasota softball got all the way to the FHSAA Class 7A state semifinals, standing among the last four teams for the first time since 2015. On May 23, the squad fell to Wellington, 15-0, to finish two wins shy of a state title.
Then-senior Sommer Speers — now playing for Saint Leo — led the team with a sparkling .500 batting average. Then-juniors Ashlan Guengerich and Gianna Williams weren't far behind with clips of .455 and .430, respectively.
Guengerich guided them in the circle, posting a team-best 2.07 ERA and 7-1 record to complement her 51 RBIs at the plate, the most of any Sailor.
Sarasota returns four of its top-six hitters from last season when the hunt for another regional title begins in the spring.
