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Although Booker (10-4) didn’t finish its dominant season with a state title, the football program still made its mark on the Sarasota sports scene. Since the arrival of Head Coach and Athletic Director Scottie Littles, the Tornadoes have turned a once bottom-dwelling program into a bona fide powerhouse.
In 2022, Booker went 6-5. Last season, Booker made it all the way to the final four of the 2S FHSAA Football state championship tournament and followed it up this year with another regional championship win, before losing 28-23 to Jacksonville’s Raines High in the state semifinal.
“One thing I know for sure is that everybody in the state knows who Booker is now,” said Littles.
In 2024, Booker cemented itself as a flashy, high-scoring team, bursting at the seams with high-end Division 1 talent — many of whom transferred into the school. Senior QB Ryan Downes connected with junior wide receiver Tyren Wortham for 14 touchdowns.
Freshman wide receiver Tyree Mannings Jr. established himself as a force to be reckoned with, with 11 total touchdowns in the regular season. Junior defensive end Kevontay Hugan continued to excel, leading the tornadoes in sacks with 14 in the regular season.
Riverview High freshman Madie Muller burst onto the cross country scene this fall. Muller kicked off the year with three straight first-place finishes: the Lemon Bay Invite (Aug.24), Lakewood Ranch XC Invite 2024 (Aug.31) and the Venice Invitational on Sep. 14.
Muller ran a personal best 17:33.2 in her first-place finish at the FHSAA Region 4A-3 meet on Nov. 9. Muller followed up her regional championship win by placing second (17:54.2) to MacKenzie Roy (17:19.5)of Port Orange’s Spruce Creek High in the Class 4A state championships on Nov. 16 in Tallahassee.
The Men’s Eight is one of the oldest and most storied races in the Olympics. It is a race that the United States has historically dominated since its introduction in 1900, winning 12 gold medals.
Recently, however, the U.S. Men’s Eight boats have struggled in the Olympics, failing to medal since winning Bronze in 2008
That all changed on Aug. 3, when Sarasota native Clark Dean and his teammates took to the water in the final of the Men’s Eight at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Dean, who sat in the boat No. 4 seat and grew up rowing for Sarasota Crew, had been there before. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, his boat finished fifth in the Men’s Four. This time, he was determined to have a different outcome.
Team USA won bronze in the race, with a time of 5:25.28, a tick behind second-place Netherlands (5:23.92) and Great-Britain (5:22.88), which won gold.
For much of the year, Cardinal Mooney appeared to be untouchable. The Cougars didn’t lose a game until they fell to Cocoa 31-21 in the semifinals of the 2A FHSAA football tournament. Cardinal Mooney’s 18-game win streak, which stretched back to Oct. 27, 2023, was apparent of the program’s positioning in the Sarasota football ecosystem.
Under coach Jared Clark, the Cougars have thrust themselves into the upper echelon of high school football — and have reason to believe that the trend will continue.
Junior quarterback Devin Mignery excelled in his first full year as a starter, throwing for 21 touchdowns and rushing for nine. Sophomore running back Connail Jackson also thrived in his first year as a full-time starter, averaging over 128 rushing yards per game and totaling 28 touchdowns.
Junior Elijah Golden showed why he’s the top-rated defensive end in the country per 247 sports, recording eight sacks during the regular season, after transferring in from IMG Academy.
The Cougars held their own against a more experienced Cocoa team that saw its star wideout, FSU commit Jayvan Boggs, break the Florida high school single-game receiving yards record with 378 on 17 catches.
The Riverview High alum had herself quite the year in 2024. It began in March at the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Championships, when Weyant, a senior swimmer at the University of Florida, won a gold medal in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Weyant followed up her gold by winning silver in the 500-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley.
In July, Weyant competed for Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games, winning the bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley. It was Weyant’s second Olympic medal — the 23-year-old won silver in the same event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Riverview High girls varsity swim team won the FHSAA Class 4A title by 67 points over Windermere High. The girls’ team won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:41.03 and were led by Junior Brynn Lavigueur, who won the 100-yard backstroke (52.67) and the 200 yd individual medley (1:59.31)
Other winners included Danica Aten in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.16) and Lauren Milbaum in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.13).
If there was ever a way to judge a head coach in their first year, this would be it. When Allan Knight took over the Cardinal Mooney indoor volleyball program, he knew the team had potential. He just wasn’t sure what its ceiling was.
Although Cardinal Mooney (22-5) lost to perennial powerhouse Berkeley Prep in the – round of the 3A FHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships, the Cougars proved they could hold their own against the best when they hosted the 16-time state champions on Oct. 1.
Cardinal Mooney edged out Berkeley Prep 3-1, thanks to monster nights from some of its top seniors.
Outside hitter Izzy Russell — who didn’t let a ball touch the floor, said Knight — and middle hitter Zoe Kirby had 14 kills each. Middle hitter Riley Green had nine kills along with 10 digs. Junior setter Layla Larrick kept the Cougars in rhythm, setting the table with 44 assists.
For Knight and his team, the regular season defeat of Berkeley Prep was a statement: The Cougars are here to stay.
After two seasons, Sarasota Paradise has established itself as the soccer team in Sarasota. A pre-professional team playing in USL League 2, Sarasota Paradise had its best season yet in 2024 while playing at Sarasota High.
This summer the Paradise, which sported a roster full of local talent like captain Felipe Rojas, posted a 8-1-3 record, good enough to win the USL’s South Florida Division title and earn the team its first ever postseason berth.
Sarasota Paradise grew most significantly off the field, however. Since its inception, Owner/CEO Marcus Walfridson’s goal has been to turn Sarasota Paradise into a fully professional organization by making the jump from USL League 2 to USL League 1.
Walfridson grew closer to that goal by adding investors such as the Papanicholos family and creating brand partnerships, like the team’s three-year apparel deal with hummel PRO North America, a Danish sportswear brand.
In December, Walfridson announced Sarasota Paradise would finally have a home of its own — for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Sarasota Paradise will play under the lights of Premier Sports Campus’s 3,000-plus capacity stadium in Lakewood Ranch.
In the competitive world of Sarasota high school basketball, the Sailors emerged as a legitimate postseason threat in 2024.
Sarasota posted a gaudy 21-6 record in 2023, but fell to crosstown rival Riverview in the Class 7A-District 12 game in head coach BJ Ivey’s first year.
The Sailors came back with a vengeance in 2024, going 24-3 en route to beat North Port 63-36 in the district title game.
The Sailors were led in scoring by then-freshman Johnny Lackaff, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard with a silky jump shot, who averaged 13.0 points per game and senior forward Michael Drayton, who chipped in 12.9 points per game.
The Sarasota High boys varsity soccer team experienced a significant improvement in 2024. The Sailors posted a 9-5-4 record and made it to the semifinal of the district tournament game before losing 1-0 to North Port.
While these numbers aren’t glamorous, they are significant — in 2022-23, the Sailors went 5-8-5. The year prior they went 3-11-2 and in 2020-21, Sarasota bottomed out at 3-13-3.
In 2024, the Sailors are already off to a strong start, having logged wins against Booker, Venice, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch and more.
Dylan Campbell is the sports reporter for the East County and Sarasota/Siesta Key Observers.
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