East County: Top 5 Teams of 2015

Pirate Pride: Braden River Football 

Coming off a perfect regular season and its first district championship in school history in 2014, the Braden River High football team believed it could go even farther in 2015. 

The Pirates lived up to expectations, capturing their second-consecutive Class 7A-District 11 title with a 35-0 drubbing of Palmetto Oct. 23, and advancing to the state's Final Four. 

After capping another perfect regular season with a 41-6 victory versus St. Petersburg Gibbs Nov. 6, the Pirates started a playoff run of three consecutive wins. 

They beat Naples Gulf Coast 37-14 in the Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals. the blanked Vence 17-0 in the regional semifinals. Braden River traveled to Plant City for the regional finals, and after a sluggish first quarter, powered to a 17-7 victory and the first regional championship in school history. 

Braden River 's season came to an end in the state semifinals Dec. 4 with a 27-10 loss to eventual Class 7A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas. 

National Champions: Tampa Mustangs 16U

After finishing each of the past two seasons as a national runner-up, the Lakewood Ranch-based Tampa Mustangs 16U travel softball team made an improbable run at the 16U Premier Girls Fastpitch National Softball Championship on Aug. 1-8 in Huntington Beach, Calif.

After dropping their first game 1-0, the Mustangs won 12 straight games to capture the title.

The Mustangs posted six shutouts on their run, including a 1-0 victory over the Beverly Bandits in the title game. Lakewood Ranch’s Kinsey Goelz drove in the lone run with a single that brought home Lakewood Ranch’s Denali Schappacher, who had reached on a single. 

Other area championship players included Bethaney Keen, Myah Moy and Kylie Toler of Braden River and Maddie Biggs, Kyra Klarkowski and Kaylee Misiti of Lakewood Ranch. 

The Mustangs returned to the field this fall as an 18U team and won titles at Florida’s Finest, Rising Stars, Xtreme Dimensions and the USA Elite Select Region 1 Qualifier. 

Heart of a Champion: Lakewood Ranch Girls Tennis 

Ed Bongart was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief this spring. 

After several near misses, the Lakewood Ranch High girls tennis coach saw his team win its first Class 3A state championship April 13-14 in Altamonte Springs. 

Led by Ashley Bongart, now a freshman at the University of Tennessee, the Lady Mustangs entered the state tournament as one of the favorites after cruising to district and regional championships earlier in the month. 

Lakewood Ranch held a one-point lead over Terra Institute heading into the second day of team competition, but it wasn’t until Ashley Bongart and Lauren Proctor won No. 1 and No. 2 singles championships, respectively, and advanced both their doubles teams to the finals that Lakewood was able to clinch the team title. 

Lakewood scored 14 points to edge past Terra Institute (12 points) for the school’s first tennis team championship. 

World Series Champions: Manatee Cal Ripken 10U All-Stars 

With a year of regional tournament experience under their belts, the Manatee Cal Ripken 10U All-Stars hit the diamond this summer with World Series aspirations. 

After finishing third in last year’s regional tournament, Manatee went 5-1 to win the 2015 Babe Ruth Southeast Regional Tournament July 22-25 in Glen Allen, Va. 

As the Southeast regional champion, Manatee advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 8-15. 

Manatee posted a 4-0 record in pool play, including a pair of 10-0 shutouts against teams from Arkansas and California, to earn the No. 1 seed in the National Division. 

Manatee advanced to the semifinals Aug. 14 where it beat Pacific Northwest champion Kennewick, Wash., 8-4. 

In the championship, Manatee scored 15 runs on 12 hits and eight walks, cruising to a 15-2 victory over host Jonesboro, Ark., Aug. 15 to clinch its first World Series crown. 

Championship players included: Ashton Lamb, Ryan Hanson, Ryan Rushing, Judson Hildreth, Drew Marra, Liam Senkow, Stone Russell, Austin Olander, Mack Woolever, Ryan Combs, Ryan Gargett and Jaden Stockton.

State Bound: Lakewood Ranch Girls Golf 

Behind a new coach in River Club PGA Professional David Lamm, the Lakewood Ranch High girls golf team posted its best season in school history in the fall. 

The Lady Mustangs opened the season with victory in the Mustang Cup — an annual tournament between Lakewood’s boys and girls golf teams. It was the first time the girls had beaten the boys. 

The Lakewood Ranch girls won their first 10 matches before finishing third in the Barron Collier Invitational Sept. 16. 

Following a near-perfect regular season, the Lady Mustangs captured the Class 3A-District 14 title by 11 strokes Oct. 13 to advance to the Class 3A-Region 5 Oct. 20. 

Led by sophomores Katie Kroos-Roberts and Sophia Warren, the Lady Mustangs slipped past Venice by a shot to capture the program’s first-ever regional championship and earn a berth in the state tournament for the first time since 2008. 

In the Class 3A state tournament Nov. 3-4 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Lakewood shot a combined 649 to finish seventh in the 16-team field.