Ridaught: High school sports wrap up another incredible year

It was an unbelievable sports year in 2022 with state champions in football, boys basketball, boys weightlifting, girls cross country, volleyball, and individual state champions.

I think we topped it in 2023.

In fact, instead of a top 10, I’m going to list a total of 15 moments chronologically from this past year.

There were certainly more than 15 but I felt it was important to add the additional five just to punctuate the great year we just concluded in high school sports in the area.

We started out the new year by making history, as Buchholz quarterback Creed Whittemore was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football for the 2022 high school football season.

Whittemore, who signed to play at Mississippi State, led Buchholz to a 10-3 record and its second straight state semifinal appearance by completing 179-of-305 passes for 2,693 yards with 35 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,285 yards (8.29 yards per carry) and 17 TDs.

Less than three months later, the Hawthorne girls basketball team won the Class 1A state title, giving head coach Cornelius Ingram his second state championship in a span of three months following a state football title last December.

A week later, the Williston boys basketball team won the Class 1A state title. It was the first title in program history.

In mid-April, two area boys weightlifting teams went head-to-head for a regional weightlifting title. They each won a state title.

For the third consecutive year, Keystone finished first in Class 1A traditional, with 41 points to Suwannee’s (Live Oak) 35, while the Bulldogs, who were the Class 2A Olympic champion in 2022 but dropped down to 1A in 2023, won the snatch competition with 49 points ahead of Keystone and South Sumter (29).

Keystone’s Brian Overton competed in the 169-pound division and won both the traditional (585 pounds) and the Olympic (500) competitions, while teammate Larry Jeffries III (219-pound division) had a lift of 645 pounds.

Chris Gonzalez (119 pounds, lifted 350), Marquavious Owens (154, 485), Sam Wainwright (183, 575) and Will Wainwright (199, 590). Owens and Sam Wainwright also won traditional titles.

Later that month, Eastside quarterback Anthony Richardson was drafted 4th overall by the Indianapolis Colts.

Richardson became the highest-drafted Gainesville high school player ever. He is now second all-time in the area in top five picks behind Union County’s (Lake Butler) Gerard Warren, who was selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2001 NFL Draft.

The good fortune for the area continued into the month of May.

Area athletes returned home from the FHSAA state track and field championships with five state titles.

Among the highlights was Santa Fe’s Kyren Washington repeating as state champion in the high jump with a leap of 6-9½. He ended up signing with the University of Oklahoma.

The Branford softball team, which would later advance to its first volleyball state championship game this past fall, defeated defending state champion Jay, 2-1, in the Class 1A state semifinals before falling to Liberty County in the title game.

I’m going to package the Bucs’ memorable moment with the Newberry baseball team, which also advanced to the state semifinals and extended the final four streaks for three of the biggest high school sports.

June and July used to be known as the “dog days of summer” with little activity for sports.

However, with the University of Florida baseball team’s run all the way to the College World Series national championship game, and the upcoming Major League Baseball draft and another potential top five pick for the area, there was never a dull moment in the month of June.

Then, in early July, Trenton native Wyatt Langford, who was a key contributor to the Gators’ run, was drafted 4th overall by the Texas Rangers. He was given a substantial payment to turn pro.

In September, Buchholz grad Ben Shelton exploded on to the national scene by reaching the US Open Semifinals. A month later he moved up to No. 15 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings.

Although the Gainesville High volleyball team came up short of reaching a final four, the Hurricanes did win their first district title since 2011.

Speaking of the state semifinals, three area volleyball teams advanced to the FHSAA state tournament in at Polk State College.

Branford defeated Newberry in a 1A state semifinal before losing a close state championship match, while Oak Hall lost to 2022 state runner-up Boca Raton Christian in the 2A state semifinals.

Also, in November, P.K. Yonge’s Lillie Nesty, who ended up signing with the University of Texas, won two Class 1A state titles, Ava Fuller of the GHS girls swimming team won an individual state title, and the Eastside boys swim team finished as state runners-up.

And for the third straight year, the Buchholz girls won the cross country state title, while the Buchholz boys finished as state runners-up as University of Florida signee Riley Smith won the individual Class 4A cross country state title

The month of November was definitely one to remember for Alachua County athletics programs.

But of course, there was more to come.

We ended the year with a bang as the Bradford (Starke) football team won a program record 14 games and advanced to the Class 2S state title game, while the Hawthorne football team won its second straight state title.

In fact, the Hornets became the first Alachua County team to win back-to-back football state titles.

As stated, there were certainly more than 15 moments, which speaks to the remarkable year that was in 2023.