By Randy Lefko
randy@claytodayonline.com
FLEMING ISLAND - With a year full of dramatic finishes that led to thrilling state championships; boys track 4 x 800, 800 meters on the track, boys …
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By Randy Lefko
randy@claytodayonline.com
FLEMING ISLAND - With a year full of dramatic finishes that led to thrilling state championships; boys track 4 x 800, 800 meters on the track, boys golf from near disaster, and tennis just a match away, it was back-to-back and back-to-back-to-back performances that stood out for the Fleming Island High School athletic teams.
Kevin Reyes, who as a sophomore, was admittedly intimidated by the thought of throwing a couple hundred pounds of iron over his head, overcame his anxiety to be instrumental in a team weightlifting title for the Golden Eagles while winning his first individual state title in the Olympics scoring in Class 3A. Olympics scoring combines total weight for the Olympic Snatch (floor to overhead) with Traditional scoring (Clean and Jerk plus bench press).
For Reyes, winning the title his sophomore year fueled an ambition to repeat his junior year. From the start of the 2024 season, Reyes looked like he was going to be successful in his endeavor with repeated wins in regular season meets and massive wins in district (495-410) with a tight win at regions (540-540) with body weight determining Reyes as region champion.
At state, Reyes, attempting to win big from his first left, failed at his first two lifts before coach Sean Coultis and Reyes decided he should go big, make other lifts match him, and hope it was enough for the win.
For Reyes, who missed twice at 230 pounds for the Olympic Snatch, the pickle was to regroup and make the 230 lift in his final attempt to repeat as state champion or go home.
The successful 230 lift was just phase one of the repeat as Reyes and a much heavier challenger, Lecanto High's Burke Malmberg, who weighed 276.30, were in a mano-a-mano battle for Reyes' journey with Reyes' body weight, just 260.70, his advantage.
With Malmberg successful at 235 pounds in the Olympic Snatch and Reyes second best at 230 with Choctawhatchee's Landon Rome (also heavier at 265.40) also hitting 230, the deciding phase two of the Olympics scoring would fall to the Clean and Jerk.
In the Clean and Jerk, Malmberg and Rome hit their first lifts; 305 and 300, with Reyes missing at 300 to put Reyes repeat in jeopardy.
In the second lifts, Reyes was good at 320, Rome was good at 310 and Malmberg failed at 320.
With Malmberg's 320 missing a technique failure more than a lack of strength failure, Reyes and Coultis decided to force Malmberg's hand by Reyes going for 325 on his final lift; a personal best attempt.
"Kevin was the defending champion and we wanted to win back the title on our merits," said Coultis. "He agreed."
In the final lifts for all three, Reyes hit 325, Malmberg hit 320 and Rome hit 315 to give Reyes his second Olympics title in dramatic fashion.
For Reyes, the decision to go ahead and win the title outright fueled a second state title run, this one in wrestling, where Reyes was new to the high school wrestling game and put his faith in Fleming Island coach P.J. Cobbert.
"I knew I needed to learn along the way having not wrestled since middle school, but I was set to learn as the season progressed with coach Cobbert one of the best at just giving me enough to get better each week with a push toward state by season's end," said Reyes. "I wanted to win a second state title in a second sport."
For his wrestling, Reyes brought his immense physical strength, plus his natural athleticism from football plus a high sport IQ to learn.
Reyes kind of stormed the world of Florida wrestling, but his biggest early December win was a final win in the Keystone Memorial Invitational hosted by Fleming Island over Georgia state runner-up JaQuavian Daniels of 7A-Colquitt County High by a 5-2 score. Daniels was a Fargo All-American and ranked No. 1 in Georgia plus an all-region football offensive tackle.
Reyes' season progressed with the momentum gained from the win over Daniels in December and continued with his progress through the state ranks to wind up as a district champion and a region champion with his region winning another dramatic final over another much bigger opponent, Mosley High's Logan McCallister.
At state, with Reyes a top-ranked contender in the 285 weight division, an overtime loss in his second match ironically put Reyes in the consolation rounds against McCallister where McCallister returned the favor with a 5-3 win over Reyes to eliminate Reyes. McCallister continued to finish seventh.
In the swimming world, Fleming Island senior freestyle specialist Maryn McDade's history is quite astounding in that she won a third consecutive 50 free title in a scorched Earth (or pool) fashion with her main competitor from last year's final opting to swim the 200 free in 2024.
In an event that lasted about 22 seconds, McDade's relentless tenacity to win at all levels and all meets was impressive.
McDade, heading to Florida State University in the fall, simply dominated her event throughout her final season and also added a 100 freestyle state title along the way.
McDade, the only double gold medalist at the Class 3A championship meet, was also named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A swimmer of the year with a 23.18-second win in the 50 free after a 22.99 prelim split and a 50.49 winning time in the 100 after a best of 50.48 in the prelims.
For their impressive pursuits to attain the highest levels of their sports, Kevin Reyes and Maryn McDade have earned the Clay Today/Fleming Island High School Athletes of the Year.
FALL
In cross country, where seniors Graham Myers and John Keester IV were virtual shadows of each other and just steps behind most leaders in the most prestigious races in Florida, the Fleming Island High boys cross country team rolled out to attempt to bank on a cycle of strong cross county melding into strong track with Myers, headed to University of Florida, topping his two-years at Fleming Island with top-three finishes in just about every big race; bests of 4:14.11 mile, 15:17.8 cross country 5K, 1:55.20 800, 9:03.45 3200, with Keester right behind him most of the way; 4:21.36 mile, 15:45.0 5K cross country, 1:57.77 800 and 9:14.91 3200. Keester IV history will be four straight Bob Hayes 3200 titles.
Along the way, a guy named Roman Mollicone was quietly honing his way to a spectacular track finish; an 800 state title in 1:50.52 with a handful of school records (his own after the first one) along the way. Mollicone stayed a consistent third runner for Fleming Island cross country coach Dave Allen.
For the cross country girls, senior Allie Knotts had her own shadow in sophomore Brooke Reynolds as the pair was nearly shoulder to shoulder at most finishes with Reynolds switching her focus from a standout swim season to cross country and track to emerge as Fleming Island's top finisher in Class 3A with a 21st place finish in 19:30.8.
Knotts, who had some nagging injuries, still finished the Class 3A race and had a 19:22.0 season best and sub-20s until regions, but it was senior Reese Scott who took up the number two spot.
In football, quarterback Cibastian Broughton was the highlight reel for first-year coach Chad Parker with his two wingmen; power back Demhir Jackson and speed back Trace Burney, but the Golden Eagles finished a disappointing 3-7 for the year with Parker and his new coaching staff looking to improve on that in 2024 with all three marquis players still in uniform.
The biggest loss to the 2024 roster will be all-state tackle Braden Cunningham to Florida Atlantic University leaving the Fleming Island offensive line a little light.
Parker has a slew of headhunters on his 2024 defense led by linebacker Cohen Cioffi and safety Sebastian Cruz.
In volleyball, coach Amy Schemerhorn, now Amy Yoder, will return with senior power player Rauly Eason after a 19-7 season chasing region finalist Ponte Vedra.
And then, there was golf. Holy Smokes!!
With sophomore Tyler Mawhinney steady as the season went, the Fleming Island boys team put on a show of drama that would give coach Bruce Cloud a few early gray hairs as the boy's team seemed destined to dominate to the Class 3A championship tournament with a slew of tournament wins and a 33 point district championship win over Nease and Creekside; 280-313-314, but regions proved nearly apocalyptic as the Golden Eagles finished nearly the same gap away in third place to Nease and Creekside (288-296-310) with Mawhinney and junior Dylan Frein scoring 70 to possibly go as solos to the Class 3A championship tournament.
As golf has a strength of course rating, Fleming Island was chosen to play in the Class 3A championship and Mawhinney and the boys took the reigns and crushed the field with Mawhinney winning his first state title.
Part of the intrigue of the weekend was that Frein got sick and could not compete and it was sophomore Carson Moore who stepped up as well as the rest of the Golden Eagle team; Jaylen Abbas, the lone senior, Moore, sophomore Ryan Houck and junior Emmet Kuhlenkamp all playing sub-76 rounds to secure the win and give Cloud optimism for 2024.
For the Fleming Island girls, two seniors; Cambree Hodge and Kalia Polete pushed the Lady Golden Eagles to a sixth place Class 3A finish with a runner-up region finish and a district title.
In swimming, McDade was the obvious top athlete for the team with diver Ava Brinkman returning to her sport after an injury as a freshman ending her season at districts to take second by just a hair; 483.60 to 482.65.
Fleming Island freshman William Shoesmith got seventh in the 500 free and 12th in the 200 free to be a top returner in 2024.
Sophomore Elizabeth Loehr finished 10th in her 500 free.
WINTER
In Wrestling, Fleming Island coach P.J. Cobbert got his seasoned group of athletes to the Class 2A tournament in mass and came away with a sixth-place finish with Tampa Jesuit and Lake Gibson dominating the top spots; 201-146.5, with Fleming Island at 71.5 points.
The top eight medals went to senior Matthew Newman, seventh at 113; senior Jordan Mukkadam, fourth at 120; junior Laird Duhaylungsod, fifth at 138, and senior Kaden Schaefer, second at 150 who finished his career with a 44-1 record with scholarship to Bucknell University.
Boys and girls basketball had early exits from districts with the boy's team winning a thrilling round one match against Orange Park but losing to Ponte Vedra in the semifinals. Ponte Vedra finished in the Class 6A Final Four.
Freshman Carson Crawford led the scoring with 16 plus points per game battling against much bigger and heavier dudes in the middle. Senior George Hamm was the point man directing traffic and the hero for one more game in the district win over Orange Park with a heads-up inbound pass to fuel the Fleming Island win on a buzzer-beater.
Girls basketball fell on hard times with an 8-16 record not indicative of the young and talented lineup beyond the lone senior in London Jenkins. The rest of coach Michael Hayward's lineup is all back next year which should reverse the wins and losses with Devyn Dudones, Victoria Nobles and Kristina Gallagher all quality players.
Boys soccer, 12-7-1, battled some hefty opponents through the season; Bolles, Ponte Vedra (twice losses 1-0, 1-0), Englewood and Chiles (twice, win 4-3, lost 2-2 OT) and got to regions with some tough play with an overtime loss to Chiles in regions. Lead players were Daniel Vizcarrondo, Cade Dailey, Blake Gaucher and Lucas Horvath.
Girls soccer, under new coach Taylor Berry, finished 7-8-3 and had a strong finish with wins over Mandarin and Oakleaf before Ponte Vedra ended the season. Senior Taylor Tamares and junior Sophia Pontieri were top scorers with Tamares hitting seven goals and Pontieri putting in 14. Sophomore Rylie Gardner added six with linebacker Jenna Moreland and Hayley Sakowski both punching in four. Senior Megan Cobb was the top assist-getter with seven dishes.
In girl's weightlifting, coach Sean Coultis breathed new life into a program that took its beatings with a young crew two years ago by sending a strong contingency to state led by Bradi Johnson second in Olympics and fourth in Traditional at 119 and Leah Anderson fifth in Tradition and eighth in Olympics at 183. Kyla Marshall is another young lifter with a ninth in Olympics at 101.
At regions, Johnson won her two titles to fuel the Golden Eagle squad. One to watch will be sophomore Kathryn Ward who won an Olympic region title but had a strong state meet lineup.
SPRING
With the crew from cross country naturally morphing into track athletes, it was no wonder that the Fleming Island track boys went into the Class 3A championships with a truckload of confidence and it was seniors Myers and Keester who set the tone with blistering 800s in the first two legs of the 4 x 800 final race with Michael DeRousse holding off his challengers in the third lap. In the anchor leg, senior Roman Mollicone let the state know that he was not to be caught as the boys set a top 10 in the nation time while destroying the field with a 7:43.03 total time and the state title.
Mollicone would later add to his final three weeks of the track with a scintillating 1:50.52 state title in the 800.
Sadly, the three monsters on that squad will graduate with Myers heading to Florida and Keester heading to South Florida. Myers is taking third in the 3200, Keester ninth to finish stellar careers. Keester leaves with one bit of legacy in four straight Bob Hayes Invitational 3200 meter titles.
In the hurdles, sophomore Jarius Rodgers looked to equal older brother Glenn's state title of a few years ago but finished 11th while the superfast boys 4 x 100 missed a medal by .42 of a second.
In the jumps, Rodgers finished sixth in the high jump with senior Gideon Gillaspy finishing fifth at 13'-9.25" in a brilliant season.
Not to be outdone by the boys, high jumper Gabby Flores won her event while sophomore triple jumper Mikayle Shavers got her second silver medal by whiskers with her 39'-5" finish just .25 inches off the top jump of the day.
For the girls, sophomore Brooke Reynolds got her best 1600 with a 5:12.55 split for 10th.
Flag football continued its dominance on the field with a stellar group of all-star veterans led by London Jenkins (22TDs, 14INTs), Gabi Musa (30 pass catches, 9INTs, 99 Tackles) and Emerson Rucker (5-Sacks), but coach Clint Lyons has a handful of returners; Devyn Dudones( 1195 Pass Yds, 40TDs), Daisy Fletcher and Emily Poucher (44 Tackles) to continue his string of strong seasons; 15-1 in 2024 with a playoff loss to Fletcher ending an unbeaten season.
On the diamonds, baseball and softball got playoff spots with thrilling play through the year; Fleming Island though had to face off against eventual 6A runnerup Buchholz in district play, then Pace, a 3-2 loss in region play. Baseball was led by Josh Murray at the batter box (.400 BA, 17RBIs) and three strong guys on the mound; sophomore Chris Reali (48Ks), senior Keegan Leckband (46K) and senior Aaron Hawkins (42Ks).
For softball, a season turnaround from 11-15 in 2023 to 19-8 in 2024 came from a six of seven-win season-ending surge which included an eight-inning 10-9 win over rival Clay followed by a district tournament final 8-1 win two weeks later only to lose a heartbreaker in the region round one to No. 2 seed Fort Walton Beach 3-1.
The Bucklew coaching duo only loses two seniors; Ella Morris and Breanna Wadley with the rest; including freshman Jolee Rich (23RBIs), junior Olivia Sykes (6-doubles) and junior Emma Massey (4 HRs) all due back to bank on their 2024 finish.
Tennis saw Zack Hyatt get to state in singles and doubles with Anthony Williams joining him in double.
Fleming Island lacrosse teams; boys and girls, had solid seasons with the girls finishing 7-5 with a district tournament loss to St. Augustine. Senior Chloe Perry will head to St. Leo University to continue playing.
Boys lacrosse finished with a loss to St. Augustine after a 6-9 season record. Top scorers with 28 goals apiece were senior Damon Kelly and sophomore Ty Teschner with Teschner dishing out 40 assists. Daniel Hawley added 25 goals on the year and will return in 2024.
In boys weightlifting, with Reyes winning his second state title, Fleming Island got a seventh in Olympics from Dehmir Jackson at 219 with Aidan Johannsen in 154 hitting a 525 total in Tradition. David Smith, in 183, totaled 395 in Olympics.