Branford's Mallory Blue swings at a pitch against Columbia on Feb. 22. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
Sports
NEWS STAFF
BASEBALL
— Fort White 22, Ocala Christian 0: Kenton Haase went 4 for 4 with five RBIs while Hayden Adams, Ben Bullard and Garrett Depaola each drove in two runs to lead the Indians (5-6) to a run-rule victory over the Crusaders (2-10) in three innings on the road.
Monday, March 25, 2024
Columbia’s Grant Bowers makes contact with a pitch against St. Johns Country Day on March 1. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
PREP BASEBALL: Bowers, Phillips lead Columbia past First Coast
NEWS STAFF
Grant Bowers and Ayden Phillips combined to throw a 3-hitter while Bowers also went 3 for 3 at the plate with four RBIs to lead Columbia to a 6-1 win over First Coast at the Fernandina Beach Tournament on Saturday.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Fort White guard Tafari Moe is the LCR’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (BREGAY HARRIS/Special to the Reporter)
WINTER ALL-AREA: Fort White guard Tafari Moe named LCR Boys Basketball Player of the Year
MORGAN MCMULLEN
FORT WHITE — Tafari Moe remembers the feeling in the locker room.
Down 11 at the half against Hawthorne in the Region 3-1A semifinals, there wasn’t much to say. Sure, head coach Elven Sheppard went about his business, trying to fire guys up with talk of accountability and grit.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Columbia forward Jolena Gardner is the LCR’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year. (MANDI SLOAN/Special to the Reporter)
WINTER ALL-AREA: Columbia forward Jolena Gardner named LCR Girls Basketball Player of the Year
JORDAN KROEGER
If you’ve spoken with Columbia coach Anthony Perry over the past three seasons, there’s one player in particular he’s always said has the potential to take his team to another level.
That player is forward Jolena Gardner. And this season, she began to prove him right.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
PREP ROUNDUP: Scores and stats from 3/22/24
NEWS STAFF
BASEBALL
— St. Joseph Academy 5, Suwannee 4: The Bulldogs (5-4-1) tied things up in the fourth inning but the Flashes (9-3) answered with a run in the fifth before holding on for a win at home.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Columbia pitcher Bynton Edge pitches against Creekside on March 12. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
PREP ROUNDUP: Scores and stats from 3/21/24
NEWS STAFF
BASEBALL
— Episcopal 10, Columbia 9: The Tigers (4-7) coughed up a seven-run lead in the final three innings, falling to the Eagles (7-3) at the Fernandina Beach Tournament.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Fort White goalkeeper Colt Patterson is the LCR’s Boys Soccer Player of the Year. (HOLLY MALCOLM/Special to the Reporter)
WINTER ALL-AREA: Fort White goalkeeper Colt Patterson named LCR Boys Soccer Player of the Year
MORGAN MCMULLEN
FORT WHITE — Fort White head coach Steven Lopez isn’t sure if he’s seen a performance like Colt Patterson’s game against Columbia.
The Indians dropped the Dec. 21 contest to the Tigers 2-1, though it wasn’t for a lack of effort, least of all from Patterson.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Lafayette forward Ella McAdams is the LCR’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year. (JACK HOWDESHELL/Special to the Reporter)
WINTER ALL-AREA: Lafayette forward Ella McAdams named LCR Girls Soccer Player of the Year
CONCEPCION LEDEZMA
MAYO — On a Lafayette team with two established juniors and seniors, one of Ella McAdams’s main objectives entering this season as a sophomore was to earn those players’ confidence.
She did just that, plus more.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
WINTER ALL-AREA: Austin McKinney repeats as LCR Wrestler of the Year
JAMIE WACHTER
LIVE OAK — As Austin McKinney’s freshman season was winding down in 2021, Suwannee coach John Wainwright got an inkling of what was to come.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
WINTER ALL-AREA: Brianna McCullers named LCR Girls Weightlifter of the Year
JAMIE WACHTER
LIVE OAK — On the mat at the state meet, it all was on the verge of slipping away.
Suwannee’s Brianna McCullers’ vision for a state championship her senior year was hanging in the balance, as well as her own consciousness.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024