Mount Dora Christian, Circle Christian defend state cross country titles
Circle Christian girls and Mount Dora Christian Academy boys were the only area schools that took home hardware from a cross country state championship that was dominated by out-of-area schools on Saturday in Tallahassee.
The Centurions and the Bulldogs repeated as Class 1A state champs, winning by 20 and 85 points, respectively.
“The motto going into [the race] was to finish their story together,” Mount Dora Christian coach Zach White said of his team’s three seniors.
One of those seniors, Gabriel Curtis, won the individual title. But he said he was more focused on his team winning when he crossed the finish line.
“It felt really good for a little bit, a few seconds, and then I turned around [to] see if my team was setting their goals,” Curtis said.
For the Centurions, it’s their third title in four years, having won in 2015 and 2017. Coach Mark Caulfield said this one felt the best.
“This actually felt like the best because I know how hard it is, and they realized how hard it is, to win back-to-back,” he said.
In girls 2A, Montverde Academy and Trinity Prep finished third and fourth, respectively.
In boys 2A, Lake Highland Prep finished third in a class that’s been dominated by Jacksonville Bolles and Trinity Prep for the last five years. But times have changed; Trinity Prep finished 10th.
Teams unexpectedly fell short in 4A. Winter Park, the reigning girls state champ, finished 10th overall. Contenders Winter Springs and Lake Brantley finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as Tampa Plant won 4A.
Reigning boys state champ Oviedo also did not repeat. The Lions watched from fourth place as Sarasota won the title.
Coach Dave Tibbetts said he was surprised because he expected his Lions to at least finish second, but didn’t expect the gaps in his pack on Saturday.
“The top of our guys, they ran perfectly,” Tibbetts said. “And then the back end of our guys ran really well, but right there in the middle [it] kinda fell apart.”
But there were bright spots for boys in 4A. West Orange finished 10th in its state finals debut and Windermere improved on last year’s 17th place finish by finishing sixth.
Volleyball
Oviedo shook off a slow start and gained momentum as the match progressed in a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-14, 25-15) over host Riverview in the Class 9A state semifinals on Saturday.
The Lions (27-4), ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 12 in the country by MaxPreps, will now play for the 9A state title against Palm Beach Gardens, a 3-0 winner over Miami Southwest, on Friday in Fort Myers.
Oviedo, which won the 7A title in 2013, is back in the finals for the second time in three seasons, having lost to Boca Raton in 2016.
Ranked 17th in the state, Riverview (23-7) broke a 2-2 tie with five straight points to take a 7-2 lead in the first set.
The Lions roared back, getting even at 12. With the score tied at 22, Oviedo reeled off the final three points and cruised from there.
“My kids are fighters. They refuse to give up. They refuse to lose,” Oviedo coach Jen Darty said. “They’re going to keep chipping away and grinding. They don’t care what the scoreboard says.
“I’ve got an incredible group. I’m so proud of this team and how they work day in and day out.”
Savannah Vach led the Lions with 19 kills. Mikaela Schultz added 11 kills and Lilly Gunter finished with 16 digs. In 2A: top-ranked Geneva School punched its ticket to the state final with a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-12) over Miami Christian on Saturday.
Geneva (17-6) will face Jacksonville Harvest Community in the title game Friday in Fort Myers. Harvest Community defeated Eagle’s View 25-18, 25-15, 25-12 in the other semifinal match.