Springstead fell short of collecting a football district championship on Thursday night when it fell to Gaither at Booster Stadium.
But one night later, the Eagles (8-2) learned officially that they are still headed to the Region 5A-2 playoffs. This coming Friday, they’ll face a very familiar foe. It’ll be a rematch with Gaither (6-4), but this time on the Cowboys’ home field at 7:30 p.m.
Springstead, seeded fourth, will have to go on the road against fifth-seeded Gaither due to the district championship loss. This is the third straight season the Eagles have reached the state playoffs.
Nature Coast (5-5) also earned a playoff spot. The Sharks, seeded sixth in Region 3A-3, travel to third-seeded Mulberry (9-1) for a game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. This marks their 10th straight playoff appearance.
Hernando High’s golf season came to an end on Nov. 6 in the Region 2A-2 tournament held at Dubsdread Golf Course in Orlando.
The Leopards had advanced the entire team on the boys side and finished tied with Crystal River for seventh overall with a combined score of 331. Palmer Looper posted Hernando’s best round with a 78, which tied for 17th. Weeki Wachee’s Jacob McGeehan finished a stroke behind with a 79.
Cotton Jackson shot an 82 and Rhett Williams an 83 for the Leopards, while district champion Mason Morgan struggled with an 88.
On the girls side, Weeki Wachee’s Rylie Csont and Springstead’s Anna Talbot each shot 92 and were part of a three-way tie for 10th. Hernando’s Katelyn Carlsen, who was first in the district, shot a 101.
At the Region 2A-2 swimming and diving meet on Nov. 6 at the Florida Aquatic Swimming and Training (FAST) facility in Ocala, Nature Coast’s Elisa Bethke earned a regional championship in the girls 50-yard freestyle, swimming a 25.06 in the final.
That secured an automatic trip to states for Bethke, as did a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a finals clocking of 1:00.14. She won’t be going alone, as Nature Coast swimmer Ellagrace Galioto took second in the 100 free (55.36) and earned an at-large state berth in the 200 free with a fourth-place 2:01.58. The 2A state meet will take place at FAST on Saturday.
Hernando’s Lindsey Horn took fifth in the girls 100 free (57.76) and 100 breaststroke (1:12.66). Weeki Wachee’s Nick Chany came in sixth in the boys 200 free (1:56.55) and 500 free (5:19.50), as did Levy Andrusyshn in the 200 IM (2:17.39) and 100 backstroke (1:03.07).
In cross country, Noah Carpenter qualified for states after his ninth-place finish in the Region 2A-2 meet held Nov. 8 at Sand Hill Scout Reservation. The top eight teams and the top four individuals not on those teams earned a trip to the State Championships on Nov. 16 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.
The sophomore Carpenter ran the course in a time of 17:24.70 to lead the Sharks to a 15th-place finish (377). The Weeki Wachee boys were 13th (350), led by Tyler Boucher in 54th (19:11.00). Hernando’s Aaron Wingfield was 34th (18:35.10).
Nature Coast’s girls came in 13th overall at 337. Xianni Smith was the top runner for the Sharks in 45th with a time of 24:04.30.
Finally, soccer season got underway last week. Springstead’s boys won 9-1 at Lecanto on Nov. 5, behind three goals and an assist by Raul Maldonado.
Weeki Wachee started 1-2, with a 1-0 win over Hernando on Nov. 5 on a goal by Caleb Page. Nature Coast also went 1-2, defeating Central on Nov. 5, 4-0.
In girls soccer, Hernando started off 2-0, beating Pasco 6-0 and Weeki Wachee 8-0. The Hornets bounced back to beat Central, 9-0 on Friday. Adrianna Johnson scored five goals and Abigail Baker had two.
Nature Coast went 2-1, including an 11-0 victory over Central. Giada Chechile had an eye-popping nine goals and an assist in that one, and Hayden Bleser added two goals and an assist. The junior Chechile already has 12 goals on the season.
