- January 1, 2025
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You can count on the East County sports scene to remain alive and exciting in 2025 due to its variance.
While sports like football, soccer and basketball always will be popular, volleyball, cross country, wrestling, swimming and other sports all feature terrific athletes.
To list all of the quality athletes would be impossible, so in lieu of that, here are 10 at the top of the list to keep an eye on in the new year.
Up until fall of 2024, Broden Beorlegui attended Lakewood Ranch with all of his teammates — that is until soccer intervened. Beorlegui, a 2026 graduate, traveled to Germany twice to trial with two teams from the Bundesliga, the country’s top soccer league.
Beorlegui now attends Florida Virtual School, but still plays for Lakewood Ranch, 10-1 as of Dec. 15.
In the 2023-24 season, the Beorlegui finished second on the team with 11 goals.
Nine games into the 2024-25 season, Beorlegui’s already eclipsed that mark, scoring a staggering 21 goals, averaging 2.3 scores a match. Beorlegui hasn’t been afraid to share, however, chipping in eight assists to bring his point total up to 50 on the season.
Ironically, the Mustangs' striker said that he hasn’t been as focused on trying to score this season, which has led goals to come more organically within the flow of the game.
Beorlegui will have to continue to let the game come naturally to him if the Mustangs want another shot at the Class 7A District 8 title later this season after losing in the championship game to North Port High in penalty kicks in 2023-24.
Freshman Brooklyn Cullen burst onto the scene in a big way in the fall 2024 season, averaging a 37.8 for all of her rounds.
Cullen, who said she averages around 220 yards with her driver, is a distance player and has had to work on her short game in and around the green. In the fall of 2024, she worked on hinging her wrists prior to her swing when hoping to gain more consistency around the green and it showed.
Cullens got her season rolling with an eighth place finish with a score of 75 at the Crutchfield Hawkins Invitational at River Greens Golf Course in Avon Park on Sep.16. Cullens followed up her strong performance with a third place finish (75) at the SSAA Girls Championship at Cleveland Heights Golf Course on Sep. 21.
Cullen's best finishes came at the Clearwater Central Catholic Invitational on Oct. 21 and in the FHSAA 1A District 11 Girls Championship on Oct. 28, when placed first in both tournaments, with scores of 73 and 78, respectively.
Cullen's signature moment came at the 1A Region 3 tournament on Nov. 6, at the Eagles Golf Club in Odessa. In need of a third place finish to advance to the state tournament, Cullens won a one-hole playoff to cement a final score of 75 and a spot in the state tournament.
"Brooklyn's love and passion for the game are evident in the way she practices and competes," said McClellan. "She's only a freshman and has a bright future ahead for her."
When Braden River won the Class 5A District 10 title last season, it did so mostly without the help of 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Jerrod Long.
Long was a call up midway through the 2023-2024 season after averaging over 20 points a game. With 2023-24's leading scorers Marcus Schade (21.5 points per game), Isaac Heaven (15.0 points per game) and Jacobi Murray (8.2 points per game) having all graduated after last season, the Pirates are going to have to rely on Long to pick up the slack.
So far, the sophomore has been up to the task, averaging 13.7 points per game, shooting 49% from the floor and a team-high 35% from beyond the arc this season.
On a loaded Lakewood Ranch boys varsity golf team that finished second in the FHSAA 3A state tournament at Mission Inn Resort for the second year in a row, sophomore Brett Traver didn’t just hold his own — he proved to be essential to the Mustangs’ success in the fall 2024 season.
Traver, who also plays quarterback for Lakewood Ranch's football team, was a medalist at the Lakewood Ranch Invitational at King’s Dunes on Aug. 30-31, shooting a team-low 71 on day one to help power the Mustangs to a second place finish.
At the Mooney Match Play Invitational at Founders Club on Sept. 8, Lakewood Ranch took first place thanks to standout performances from its entire starting five, including Traver who shot a third place 69.
Traver was a medalist when Lakewood Ranch shot 11 under par en route to winning at Sarasota on Oct 22 at Royal Lakes, shooting a 34 on the day. Traver shot a 71 at the 3A District 11 Championship at Jacaranda West Country Club on Oct. 28, helping Lakewood Ranch secure the team victory and finishing fourth individually in the match.
With the departure of seniors Severs, Burbee and Wilson, the Mustangs will lean on Traver in the fall 2025 season if they look to make a run at the state title once again.
When Out-of-Door Academy boys varsity soccer Head Coach Dave Walker spoke about key contributors for his team this season, he was quick to point out junior midfielder Thomas Mesia.
Mesia scored seven goals across 16 games for ODA as a sophomore, waiting in the wings behind senior Zack Weisblatt and all-district striker Josey Rubinstein, as ODA won the Sunshine State Athletic Association title and posted a record of 14-4.
This season, Mesia and his team, 7-1-2 as of Dec. 15, are hungry for more. Mesia has taken on a higher offensive load, already eclipsing his 2023-24 mark of seven goals by scoring eight in ODA’s fist 10 games this season. Mesia scored a hat trick in ODA’s Dec. 3 5-2 win over Fort Myers Southwest Florida Christian School and twice in the Thunder’s 3-1 defeat of Bradenton Christian on Dec. 12.
If ODA wants to make a deep run in the FHSAA 1A state tournament later this season, it’ll need Mesia to continue to thrive.
Ava Collins, a junior outside hitter, stepped up in a big way for the Mustangs in the 2024-25 season. Collins having a large role on the team was not new — the 5-foot-8 junior ranked second on the team in kills and attack attempts to senior Taryn Eddy in the 2023-24 season.
What had changed, however, was Lakewood Ranch’s fortune. The Mustangs went 7-16 in 2023 falling to Plant City’s Durant High 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 7A District 11 tournament.
This season, Collins and the Mustangs were out for blood. Lakewood Ranch went 15-9 in the fall 2024 season, reaching the 6A District 11 title game before falling to Parrish Community 3-1 on Oct. 17.
Lakewood Ranch reached that point — and has reason to be optimistic about the 2025-26 season — in large part by Collins’ emergence as the team’s leader.
Collins reached another level offensively in 2024, leading the team in kills (228), kills per set (3.4), kill percentage and serving aces.
Collins also took on more responsibility as a complete player, upping her solo blocks from four in 2023 to 16 in 2024. Look for Collins to be a big part of the Mustangs success moving forward.
In a high-powered Braden River offense, junior midfielder/forward Maddie Baehr is the glue that holds it all together. After losing its two leading goal scorers Niley Molina and Carly Stella due to outside commitments this season, the Pirates needed players who could put the ball in the net.
Enter Baehr. Through 10 games, Baehr is tied with freshman Jordynn Roberts for second on the team in goals, with eight.
Baehr's contributions go beyond just putting the ball into the net, however. Her versatility has allowed Head Coach Don Engelberger to slide her up into the striker spot or back into midfield depending on the situation.
From either position, Baehr sets up her teammates extremely well, leading the pack with 14 assists on the year for a total of 30 points on the season.
Baehr’s connectivity has proven essential for Braden River’s success — the Pirates other two leading scorers, Roberts, a freshman and Victoria Caiazzo, are both new to the team. If Braden River makes a deep run in the tournament later this season, chances are it will have a whole lot to do with Baehr.
Lakewood Ranch High junior Shawn Maestre might have only started wrestling competitively in the beginning of 2023-24 but one wouldn’t have known it from the season he had. Maestre, who quit football after his sophomore season, wrestled at 165 pounds and went 20-9 in 2023-24, his first varsity season.
Maestre finished second in the 3A District 7 Championship, qualifying for the regional tournament, where he ended the year ranked 15th in the state for his weight class. This year, Maestre is back and hungry for more, undefeated thus far in his junior campaign.
Maestre wants to make it to the state tournament in the 2024-25 season, a goal that Head Coach Pat Ancil thinks is a real possibility.
"He looks fabulous so far this year," said Ancil.
Out-of-Door Academy junior Kevin Gyurka can flat out fly, whether it be on the track or the trails.
Last spring, Gyurka dominated for ODA's varsity track team, finishing first in the 3200 three separate times: on April 12 at the Cardinal Mooney Invitational (9:50.27), at the Sarasota County Track and Field Championship on Apr. 18 (9:43.51) and in the 1A District 11 meet (9:53.11). Gyurka capped of his outdoor track season with third place finishes at the 1A Region 3 meet on May 7 (9:37.66) and the state championships in Jacksonville a week later, with a personal best time of 9:28.28.
On the trails in this fall 2024-25 season, Gyurka finished first in the FHSAA District 1A-6 meet on Oct. 31 with a time of 16:31.4 and would finish 15th and 27th at the Regional and State championships.
Look for Gyurka to have a huge outdoor track season for ODA this spring— and maybe even a bigger cross country season next fall.
Lakewood Ranch High junior Payton Griffin is quickly establishing herself as one of the most versatile swimmers in East County in the 2024-25 season.
On Sept. 21-22, Griffin finished first in the 1000 yard free (10:53.03) at the Gulf Coast Swim Team Fall Invite at the FGCU Aquatic Center in Fort Myers, helping to lead her club team, Sarasota Tsunami, to an overall victory with a score of 344.1.
While swimming for Lakewood Ranch, Griffin placed first in the 500 yard free (5:13.91) and 200 yard free (2:00.16) at the County Championships on Oct. 4, guiding the Mustangs to an overall win. Griffin had a strong showing at the FHSAA 4A District 9 Championships on Oct. 26 as well, with 5th and 6th place finishes at the 500 yard free (5:10.83) and 200 yard free (1:58.97).
Griffin’s times in the 500 yard free continued to improve as she competed in the 4A Region 3 Championship on Oct. 30, finishing 7th (5:09.111) and 11th in the 200 yard (1:56.74).
In the 4A state championships in Ocala on Nov. 9, Griffin posted a 5:03.61 in the 500 free, good enough for a ninth place finish and a 1:57.0 to finish 20th in the 200 yard free.
