Top Sports Moments of 2013

Building off of last year’s successes, Sarasota County athletes made remarkable headlines in 2013; they put together one of the most eventful and successful years in recent history.

Over the past year, we’ve celebrated district, regional and state championships. We’ve watched our talented athletes and teams make school history, overcome injuries and adversity and rely on underclassmen to step up to the plate.

As another year comes to a close, we at the Sarasota Observer once again celebrate your accomplishments with our Year in Sports 2013.

Here, you will find some of this year’s Top 5 Moments and Top 5 Teams in Sarasota County sports.
Our top-five teams may not have all won championships this year, but they all embody the spirit of the game in their own unique way and, for that, we offer our support and congratulations on a job well done.

With so many talented athletes, it was an honor to be a part of the Sarasota County sports community in 2013, and we cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in 2014.

We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, and we look forward to seeing all of you in the weeks to come as we embark on another monumental year.

Beating the Odds
The record spoke for itself.

The Out-of-Door Academy baseball team had played rival Cardinal Mooney seven times over the past three seasons — six of which the Thunder found themselves on the outside looking in, including a pair of 5-1 decisions earlier in the season.

But, in a district championship game anything is possible, especially when you have nothing to lose.
With its third-consecutive regional berth already locked up, ODA took the field against a tough Cougars squad led by a pair of Division I prospects on the mound.

ODA pounded out 10 hits on its way to an 11-3 victory over Cardinal Mooney in the Class 3A-District 10 championship April 26, at McKechnie Field. With the win, the Thunder captured their third district championship and first since 2011.

Road Warriors
Sometimes being away from the distractions of your home field can be just what a team needs to get the job done.

Such was the case for the Cardinal Mooney High football team, which went 3-1 on the road this season.
On Oct. 11, the Cougars traveled to St. Pete Catholic, where they held the Class 3A-District 5 runner-up to just 12 points en route to a tough 14-12 victory.

Cardinal Mooney hit the road three weeks later with the Class 3A-District 6 title on the line. The Cougars faced a tough Bishop Verot team, viewed by many as a heavy favorite. But Cardinal Mooney wasn’t fazed by the hype surrounding the contest. Instead, the Cougars did what they had done all season — punish opponents on the ground. The Cougars rushed for 332 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 35-10 victory and their first district title since 2006.

Historic Throw
Riverview High senior Kehtura Merrick sat on the far edge of the discus competition and anxiously awaited the outcome.

Merrick had recorded her best throw of 120 feet, 7 inches on her second of six attempts. After that, all she could do was wait while the final throwers took the field. She kept glancing back and forth between the track and the field in hopes of controlling her nerves.

It was until Merrick was in the car headed back home to Sarasota in the hopes of making her senior prom that she learned just how well she had done.

Merrick won the discus state title at the Class 4A state finals May 4, at the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville.

With the win, Merrick became the first Lady Ram in school history to win a track-and-field state title.

Nation’s Elite
Sarasota Crew member Ben Delaney began to cry when what had happened finally sunk in.
Delaney and his teammates — Andre Dupuis, Nick Edwards, José Colon, Andrew Konecny, Maddux Castle, Travis Taaffe, Ryan Hails and Benson Stevens — won gold at the 2013 USRowing Youth National Championships June 7 through June 9, in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Men’s Varsity 8+ team crossed the finish line of the 2,000-meter course in 5 minutes, 52.99 seconds, finishing ahead of Oakland Strokes (5:55.50) and Marin Rowing Association (5:57.15) to become the first Sarasota Crew team to win a national championship.

The Crew sent 39 rowers to the youth national championships in 2013. The Women’s Varsity 8+ boat won its B final, posting the nation’s third-fastest time of 6:47.98. The Men’s Lightweight 8+ finished sixth in the A final. The Women’s Lightweight 8+ finished third in the C final. Finally, the Men’s 2- boat won its B final in 7:19.25.

The Crew finished second at last year’s national championships.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected]