The top-10 moments of the Sarasota sports season

2021 was a different kind of year in many ways, but one thing that remained a constant was the success of Sarasota athletes and teams. 

It was 12 months of winning big events, even traveling across the world to compete with Earth's best. This sports year brought championships, but it also paved the way for future ones. 

Here are the top-10 moments of the Sarasota sports season. 

1. Emma Weyant wins silver medal at Tokyo Olympics

Former Riverview High girls swimmer Emma Weyant, 19, won a silver medal in the women's 400-meter individual medley at the Summer Olympic Games on July 24 in Tokyo. 

Weyant entered the event's final as the top qualifier. She swam the event in 4:33.55 in prelims, more than a second faster than anyone else. Weyant managed to best that time in the final, setting a personal record with a 4:32.76 swim. It wasn't enough to win gold thanks to a near-perfect swim from Japan's Yui Ohashi, who finished in 4:32.08, 0.68 seconds better than Weyant.

But if Weyant was disappointed with her silver medal, she didn't show it. 

“Honestly, this is crazier than anything I could have dreamed,” Weyant said in a post-race interview on NBC. “I’m just so happy to be here with the best in the world. It’s so much fun.” 

2. Mary Tucker shoots for silver at Tokyo Olympics

Three days after Weyant's second-place finish, former Sarasota Military Academy rifle shooter Mary Tucker competed for an Olympic medal of her own. 

Tucker, a national champion at the University of Kentucky, teamed with U.S. teammate Lucas Kozeniesky and took a silver medal in the mixed 10-meter air rifle. Through a multi-stage qualification process, Tucker and Kozniesky reached the gold medal match against China's Qian Yang and Haoran Yang. The match was tied 11-11 through 10 rounds, but China pulled away late to win 17-13. 

Tucker was happy with her performance while also giving respect to her competitors. 

“I’ve been trying to treat this as just another competition,” Tucker said during a news conference. “Luckily, I had a great partner who has been to the Olympics before. He's been very helpful and everyone at home has been very supportive. I think the biggest challenge is that everyone here is competing at a very high level." 

3. Riverview girls, Sarasota boys swim teams win Class 4A state titles

The Riverview High girls team captured the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4A team title on Nov. 12 in Stuart, beating Winter Park High 275-256.5. It is the program's first team title since 2013.

Sophomore Addison Sauickie won the 200 freestyle (1:47.78) and sophomore Gracie Weyant, the sister of Emma Weyant, won the 200 individual medley (2:01.15) and the 100 breaststroke (1:01.61). The Rams also finished second in the 200 medley relay (1:44.60), the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.89) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:24.81).

Gracie Weyant said watching her teammates accomplish those things and sending the seniors out with a victory — something that was a goal at the beginning of the season — felt incredible.

Not to be outdone, the Sailors were attempting to repeat after winning the title in Class 3A in 2020. They were bumped to Class 4A this year, now competing against the biggest and best schools in the state. That brought some doubt: the Sailors didn't have a single individual race winner in 2020, instead relying on the team's depth to carry the victory. 

But the team believed and that gave them a chance. In the end, the Sailors did exactly what they did in 2020: They had no individual champions and won the whole thing anyway, besting Venice High 211-173.

Among other results, junior Evan Keogh finished third in the 200-yard individual medley (1:50.22) and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (50.14); senior Cole Firlie finished sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.25) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:31.47); junior Liam Heary finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (57.39) and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle (21.09); and sophomore Casey Aten finished eighth in the 200 IM (1:52.64). 

The Sailors are the first team to win back-to-back state titles at different classification levels since the FHSAA went to a four-classification format in 2013. 

4. Area swimmers find individual success at state meet 

Their teams might not have won state titles, but three individual swimmers from our area managed to earn medals on their own. 

Cardinal Mooney junior girls swimmer Michaela Mattes won a gold medal in the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.51) and a silver medal in the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.71) at the FHSAA Class 1A state championship meet, held Nov. 6 in Stuart. It was Mattes' second-straight win in the 500 freestyle. 

Riverview High senior boys swimmer Liam Custer won the took home two individual gold medals at the Class 4A meet: one in the 200 individual medley (1:46.82) and one in the 500 freestyle (4:21.11).

Sarasota High senior girls swimmer Sumner Chmielewski earned a silver medal in the 200 IM (2:03.90) and a bronze in the 500 freestyle (4:51.91) at the Class 4A meet. 

5. Riverview beach volleyball is the last team sand-ing

It came down to one final match-up. 

The Riverview Rams beach volleyball team, undefeated through the regular season, found itself in a tussle with Bishop Kenny High in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference's Class AA state title match. It was the final match of a two-day tournament in Tavares, held April 30-May 1, to determine the best in Florida, and it was tied 2-2. The Rams' No. 1 and No. 2 pairs had won their individual match-ups, but their No. 3 and No. 5 pairs had lost. 

It came down to a battle of No. 4 pairs in a best of three-set match. Seniors Carlye Perrigo and Ella McMullen, were ready for the challenge. They won the first set, meaning winning the second would clinch the championship. Bishop Kenny made a run to start the second, but Perrigo and McMullen soon calmed down and won the set — and the match.

Perrigo said she will never forget the ball hitting the sand and turning to see her teammates running toward her in celebration.

6. Sarasota Crew rower earns Youth Nationals silver medal

The 2021 USRowing Youth National Regatta, held June 10-13 at Nathan Benderson Park, was an opportunity for junior rowers to make a name for themselves nationally. 

One local rower took advantage of that opportunity. Sarasota Crew junior Eva Harris had the area's best finish in the showcased Youth (U19) division, finishing second in the Women's 1x Final A (8:10.66), just under 10 seconds behind winner Ella Berry of Oak Neck Academy (Bayville, New York).

Harris was not a stranger to the Youth National Regatta, having competed in the 2019 event in Sarasota's lightweight 8+ boat that finished third overall (6:44.77). She also competed in last year's virtual national championships in the 8+ boat. But 2021 was Harris' first time competing in the 1x. Harris was a little nervous, but her performance was rock steady. 

"You never know what to expect on a national stage," Harris said. "A lot can happen. But it feels good to see it all through and get a medal." 

7. Cardinal Mooney girls basketball reaches Class 3A title game

The young, upstart 2020-2021 Cardinal Mooney High girls basketball team defeated The Master's Academy 47-32 on Feb. 24 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland to advance to the Class 3A state title game. 

Then-sophomore forward Jordyn Byrd had 15 points and 12 rebounds in her first game back from an ankle injury that sidelined her in Mooney's previous two playoff games. Then-sophomore Olivia Davis had 14 points and then-junior Madison Smithers had 10 points.

Cardinal Mooney (20-9) played Miami Country Day (23-3) for the state title on March 5 and lost 59-34, but for a team just scratching the surface of its potential, the run was a good sign of things to come. 

8. Max Middleton throws for silver at Class 2A state championships

Cardinal Mooney High senior Max Middleton felt himself spin.

He saw the discus fly out of his hand and land with thud, and he knew it was a good throw. But even he could not believe just how good. 

"When I heard the distance called out, I thought, 'Holy cow, that is far,'" Middleton said. 

His attempt had gone 45.95 meters, or approximately 150 feet, 9 inches. It was the best throw of his career, and it couldn't have happened at a better time. Middleton was competing at the 2021 FHSAA track and field championships, held May 7-8 at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville.

The throw earned Middleton a Class 2A silver medal. Middleton was seeded fifth entering the event. 

9. Tornadoes girls 4x100 relay runs into second place

Not to be outdone, Booker High's girls 4x100 relay team took silver in Class 2A (49.40 seconds) at the track and field state championships. The Tornadoes finished 1.03 seconds behind Paxon High. 

The team, made up of seniors Dominique Starr and Raja Arrington and freshmen Terrietta Smith and Jakai Peterson, entered the event seeded third. The Tornadoes said they felt confident they could finish higher than that, even though the team was missing junior Ty'Anna Ash, who was out with an injury. Starr took her place and ran the first lap, giving Booker the positioning it needed to finish high.

The team's run was 1.61 seconds off the school record time, set in 2010. 

"For us (Starr and Arrington) to go out like this, it was perfect," Starr said. 

10. Former Sailor gets drafted by San Francisco Giants

Sarasota High baseball alumnus Vaun Brown can now call himself a professional baseball player. 

Brown, a 2016 grad, was selected in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the San Francisco Giants (pick No. 296 overall). The draft was held July 11-13 in Colorado.

Brown played collegiate baseball at Florida Southern College. In four seasons with the Mocs — five if you include the shortened 2020 season — Brown hit .285 with 28 home runs, 28 doubles, 100 RBI and 140 runs scored and held a .984 fielding percentage. His senior season was his best: Brown hit .387 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI in 26 games. He was named the 2021 Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year for his efforts, as well as the NCAA Division II All-America Second Team.