Top Teams 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.

State Champ: Riverview High Girls Swimming
State titles have become commonplace for the Riverview High girls swim team, and this season proved no different.

The Lady Rams captured their fourth-consecutive Class 4A Swimming and Diving Championship Nov. 16, in Stuart. Riverview scored 209 points to finish 26 points ahead of state runner-up East Lake (183).
In addition to its team title, Riverview also saw junior Nancy Hu win gold in the 200 individual medley; she finished in 2 minutes, 2.75 seconds. Hu also won silver in the 100 butterfly (55.44 seconds).

Sophomore Spence Atkins bested her state-finals debut from a season ago, finishing second in the 500 freestyle (4:49.16) and third in the 200 freestyle (1:49.50).

Hu also helped lead the 400 freestyle relay to a second-place finish, while Atkins was the leadoff of the girls 200 freestyle relay team, which finished third.

Perfect Season: ODA Girls Tennis
The Out-of-Door Academy girls tennis team took a unique approach to the game in 2013.

During the regular season, every player on the team took it upon herself to rise to the occasion whether it was taking on a more challenging opponent, stepping back and letting others control the net or simply cheering on her teammates from afar.

In a sport that embodies individual accolades, the players’ willingness to forgo their own successes for the betterment of the team is truly unique.

ODA’s approach paid off this season, as the Lady Thunder finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in school history.

With 12 players on the roster — eight of whom play junior tennis — ODA shuffled its players in and out of the lineup.

Following its perfect 10-0 regular season, ODA captured its second-consecutive Class 1A-District 9 championship April 1 and April 2. The Lady Thunder went on to capture its first Class 1A-Region 5 championship April 11.

On April 15 and April 16, ODA competed in the Class 1A championship, during which they finished tied for third after No. 1 seed Caroline Dailey, who now plays for the University of South Carolina, was forced to withdraw from the tournament with an injury.

Tremendous Turnaround: Sarasota High Football
Their journey together began four years ago.

The seniors were freshmen at the time, and Ed Volz had just returned home to Sarasota to tackle his new job as the Sailors’ head football coach.

The players didn’t quite know what to expect, at first, but Volz believed that, over time, the players would eventually buy into Sarasota’s system.

The Sailors went through their fair share of growing pains, finishing 11-19 over the past three seasons.
Sarasota won its first two games of the 2013 season before suffering a four-game skid. Shortly thereafter, Volz announced he would be resigning at the end of the season to spend more time with his family.

The news prove to be both a source of shock and motivation for the Sailors.

Sarasota rallied together, winning its next two district games and putting itself in position to clinch its first district title since 2006.

Clinging to a 17-14 lead versus Lakewood Ranch, Dominique Austin intercepted the ball on the opening play of the second half and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. The turnover proved to be the turning point for the Sailors, who defeated the Mustangs 41-14 and sent Volz out with his first district championship at Sarasota.

District Dominance: Sarasota High Basketball
After finishing as the district runner-up to Port Charlotte in 2012, the Sarasota High girls basketball team had high expectations heading into the 2013 season.

And it didn’t take long for the Lady Sailors to assert themselves atop the district standings.

Sarasota won its first 12 games of the season, including a 46-35 victory over Port Charlotte, before suffering its first loss of the season Dec. 20.

Sarasota rebounded to win nine of its final 11 games to earn the top seed in the Class 7A-District 11 standings.

The Lady Sailors easily knocked off Charlotte 60-32 in the district semifinals Jan. 30 to advance to the district championship and earn a berth in the regional tournament.

Sarasota faced Port Charlotte for the third time Feb. 1. Led by Natasha Wilcox and Emily Harding and a strong defensive effort, the Lady Sailors held off the Lady Pirates 43-29 to capture the district title and finish the district season with a perfect 10-0.

Running Wild: Riverview High Boys Cross-Country
The Riverview High boys cross-country headed into the 2013 season with four varsity runners returning from last season.

But neither the runners nor the coaches were quite prepared for the success the Rams saw early on in
the season.

Runners Blake Riley, Warran Grajalez and Bryce Vokus all broke 16 minutes, breaking the previous school record mark of 16:08. Riley now holds the school record with a time of 15:46.

After winning a handful of meets during the season, Riverview went on to win the Class 4A-District 8 meet Oct. 23. It was the Rams’ first district title since 1999.

The Rams followed up their district title with their first regional title Nov. 2.

Riverview closed out the 2013 season with its second-consecutive trip to the Class 4A cross-country finals. The Rams made their first state meet appearance last season in which they finished 16th.

Hoping to finish in the top 10 this season, Riverview achieved its goal by finishing eighth in the state out of 24 teams.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected]