ORANGE PARK - St. Johns Country Day School's state champions trophy case got one of its more unique trophies this past 2025-2026 season with a fairly new sport and a very new athlete.

In sports more common to Spartans lore, baseball got another dinger for coach Tom Lucas and girls basketball again produced one of the more prolific shooters in Florida.

Fiore stormed the newest sports on the St. Johns campus with wrestling coach Hunter Hill, a co-builder of state championships at Clay High. He brought in renewed firepower and interest in wrestling.

Hill is well known and the recipient of one of the best coaches and wrestlers in Florida history - Fox Baldwin, a five-time state champion for Osceola High, ushered Bryce Fiore to an unprecedented unbeaten season and state title to a team that barely fielded a full team.

"Winning titles will change the roster," Hill said. "We have a new facility, one of the best around anywhere, and the interest is crazy in the hallways here. We tried this year to bring the entire school aboard in our home meets including our district championship meet."

Fiore was 38-0 during the year for a school that proved to have an atmosphere that was very much in Fiore's wheelhouse.

At the state championship, Fiore blasted through to the finals with a 46-second pin, an 11-0 major decision, an 8-1 decision and a 4-2 final that was slowed by a slight injury to Fiore's hamstring.

"It was enough for us to be cautious," Hill said. "He had enough moves to get the points then play defense for the win."

Also for Hill, son Howard "Colt" Hill added to the Spartan medal grab with a third-place finish. Hill was injured last year at regions and did not compete at the state meet.

For the girls, Kendall Proffitt, who has garnered a truck load of interests and offers from major colleges and is arguably a top Class of 2028 prospect, her near 30 points a game shooting average (28.8) is one thing. Her 53% shooting is another thing. Her 48% shooting accuracy from 3 points is astounding. And her 11 double-digit rebounds in 25 games (8.2 a game) is just another weapon as Proffitt looks to somehow improve for the next two seasons. The Spartans were 16-9 last year and will build around Proffitt to get playoff wins.

Spartans fans also have the shadow of renowned scorer Taliah Scott (36.2 points a game), who averaged a ton of points and got the Spartans to the state's Final Four.

"People forget she is only a sophomore," Miller said. "Her learning curve the next two years will be interesting to watch."

Oddly, or more uniquely, Proffitt averaged 28.7 points a game as a freshman.

State titles and state Final Four finishes have become the norm in a second St. Johns Country Day School sport as senior pitcher Brayden Harris was a mighty presence for coach Lucas in the Spartans dominating performance to a second state title in the past decade.

"We've been to handful of region finals and Final Fours the past six years with, now, two state titles," said Lucas, after winning his second with a 6-2 win over Canterbury in 2026 after a runner-up finish and a 2024 title. "Brayden Harris is about as good a pitcher as a coach could ask for."

Harris, a senior who graduated to play at Florida State University next spring, finished with an astounding 165 strikeouts and an equally astounding 1.07 earned run average. He surpassed the iconic 500 whiffs in a career and finished with 526. Harris was ranked No. 1 in Florida and sixth nationally for his pitching prowess.

That being said, Harris was also a menace with his bat with seven homers and a .400 batting average, making him a gamechanger.

In cross country and track, St. Johns featured the Mighty Mites of youthful runners, getting state bids in both sports. Kate Staten, Ella Rose Hanna, Matilda and Olivia Morris, Hadley Price and Xiaoxing Troxell got the Spartans running to cross country and track state meets. The key is the roster was sixth graders through freshmen.

The boys lost one senior - Wyatt Hollingsworth - and also return a state cross country and track team to battle one more season with juniors Arlo Kistner, Nathan Kipnis and Thomas Nichols returning.

Volleyball finished at 8-17 with first-year coach Amy Walker, and it will return without two seniors - Brooke Pickett and Eden Orriz - but will have two Proffitts; Kendall and sister Brynley, and freshman setter Brooklyn Butler returning as key players.

Golf will have state tournament player Beckham Cummings back for the boys.

In the winter, wrestling returns with renewed momentum and a larger roster, while girls soccer will be the most interesting story of the year with Mike Pickett stepping away from his storied state championship run as girls soccer coach.

Pickett's longtime assistant and state champion goalie, Sarah Voglewede, is set to take over.

The Lady Spartans finished at 15-4-3 and a Final Four finish; 3-1 loss in state semifinal, featuring mega players like Victoria Sarka, Calli Berrang and Madisyn Bauman who all graduated. The missing piece may have been senior Reagan Ropero, a top goal scorer, who was injured before the season started, leaving Sarka as top scorer with 32 goals.

Goalkeeper Alyvia Bishop was nearly invincible with 14 shutouts to rank fourth in America, and only nine goals for the year.

Boys basketball coach Ian Gibson lost his top scorer to transfer - Carter Cooper to Nease after averaging 18 points a game - that turned a 14-12 season to 6-13 in 2026.

For Gibson, though, the reward was some new faces with freshman sharpshooters Kaden Rocco (14.5 points) and 15 points a game from Gabriels Blaubuks, plus inside power from Erik Williams in the paint with 13.8 points and 11.4 rebounds.

In girls weightlifting, newly hired coach Rodney Keller returned to his former school, Clay High, but left a handful of lifters that had solid region finishes; Addison Kipnis, sixth in Traditional; Sarah Mejias, eighth in Traditional and Troxell, eighth in Traditional.

Swimming got top performances from sprint specialist Gaige Jackson; 13th in 50 free and 12th in 100 free at regions plus 11ths in relays.

For girls, Alexandra Kuczkowski was 19th in 100 breast at regions with a 14th for the medley relay team. Bolles dominated the meet with 672.5 points.

In spring sports, girls softball got a shot in the arm with an exciting come from behind district title 5-4 win over Christ's Church Academy and region playoff game under first-year coach Joseph Anzalone. Christ's Church returned the favor with a region win over the Lady Spartans. Anzalone finished off the regular season game with a flurry of runs in game scores with 16, 26 and 16 runs apiece.

St. Johns got top bats from Emery Schneider (.472), Caden Brown (.459) and Taigen Lebel (.447).

Ethan Kent, 13-0 in regular season matches, got a state ticket in tennis with a district singles title. He got to the Class 1A quarterfinals.

Calli Berrang was top girls player with a 7-3 season record. She was a top singles player, making the finals as the No. 1 seed. She finished second in districts to Episcopal, and she joined Emily Steckler to make the doubles finals. The team did get a regular season win over Fleming Island.