- December 21, 2024
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With the high school spring sports season now underway — and in the case of sports like lacrosse, approaching the midpoint — it is time to take a glance at some of the season's under-the-radar athletes.
These eight athletes have impressed with their results. Some of them are seniors who have been consistently producing for years. Others are freshmen who have started their high school careers with a bang. Regardless of their experience level, they are helping themselves and their programs — while putting on a show for spectators, too.
Edwards, a junior, has been a force on the track for the Tornadoes early in the 2024 season. At the 2024 Riverview Ram Invitational on March 7, Edwards won the 100-meter hurdles (17.00 seconds) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:06.71) while helping the 4x400-meter relay team to a third-place finish (4:25.66).
Last season, as a sophomore, Edwards finished seventh at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A state meet in the 100 hurdles (14.90 seconds) and 14th in the 400-meter hurdles (1:08.33). Edwards, like all track athletes, is ramping up to the end of the season, so her times won't be at their fastest until then, but she's already faster in the 400 meters than she was at states last year. That's a good sign that she'll be able to finish higher in the standings come May.
Steinwachs, a junior, is an offensive-minded midfielder who simply gets the job done each game. In seven games played — the Rams are 6-2, but one win was a forfeit win over Canterbury High — Steinwachs has scored in all but one contest, and she's scored three goals or more in five of them.
Steinwachs saved her best performance (thus far) for the team's game against Barron Collier High, when she scored six goals in a 20-13 win. Keeping up that level of performance should propel the Rams in the second half of the lacrosse season.
After putting up solid numbers as a junior in 2023 — a .319 batting average with 11 RBIs — Juan Perez has broken out in a big way as a senior in 2024. Through nine games, Perez is smashing the ball at a .588 average with three doubles and six RBIs. He has also walked four times.
The most impressive part of Perez's start? He has zero strikeouts as of March 12 after striking out 16 times last season. That's elite plate discipline.
Kennon, a sophomore, transferred to Booker from Southeast High this semester. Kennon is primarily a football player and has received scholarship offers from the universities of Colorado and Tennessee, among other schools, for his play; expect to hear a lot about those skills come the fall season.
In the meantime, Kennon is showing that he's an all-around athlete. Kennon is currently ranked sixth in Class 2A in the boys high jump after leaping 1.87 meters at the Calvary Christian Warrior Invitational on Feb. 23, taking gold in the event. Kennon is also ranked 21st in Class 2A in the long jump (6.43 meters) and has helped Booker's 4x100 relay team to a fourth-place ranking (42.77 seconds).
The Rams baseball team's offense has struggled to score in the first part of the 2024 season, but Cooper Backman, a senior, is doing his best to change that. Backman is hitting .370 with a .933 OPS and has scored six of the team's 28 runs as of March 12. Backman is committed to Lander University.
Poznanski, a freshman, has been getting it done at the plate and on the mound for the Blazers. Poznanski leads the team with a .471 batting average, four doubles and four RBIs through five games. He's also pitched seven innings, the second-most on the team, and has allowed just two earned runs, striking out 12 batters while walking five.
It's a small sample size, but it's a great way to start a high school season.
Lacrosse stats tend to highlight offensive production, but Nickelson, a sophomore, has been strong on the defensive end for the Sailors.
Nickelson, a long-stick midfielder/defender, has won a team-high 38 ground balls and has forced a team-high 18 turnovers. That is the type of play that can lead to transition offense. Nickelson has three assists and one goal as well.
Bates, a sophomore, has made a leap in the pole vault rankings this season.
After reaching the district stage of the postseason as a freshman, with a best vault of 3.45 meters, Bates is ranked sixth in Class 4A as of March 12 with a vault of 3.96 meters, set March 7 at the Riverview Ram Invitational.
That may not sound like a big difference to non-metric system users, but it's approximately a difference of 1 foot, 8 inches. In the context of pole vault, that's a sizable difference. Bates is still approximately one foot, four inches behind Class 4A leader Ezra Huber of Bartram Trail High, but he has until May to see if he can make up the difference, or at least get into medal position.
