Sports Archive

Matt Wood is headed to Soundside, where he will be the school’s first softball and boys cross-country coach.


Wood was announced as the coach on Tuesday.

It was once again a successful year for area teams in boys weightlifting.

Former Pace baseball standout Jackson McKenzie is among 15 semifinalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player Award.


McKenzie, who is in his first season at Florida A&M, is up for an award that honors the best dual role players in the country.

Carson Lowe continues to write quite a story in his freshman season on the Grambling track and field team.


The former Pace standout claimed a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in the javelin on May 10 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Central’s weightlifting team had two lifters compete at the 1A state meet May 8 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.


Lucas Nezbeth and Cade Scott represented the Jaguars, and having two athletes compete at that level is big for the program.

Even though the baseball season didn’t end the way the Pace Patriots hoped it would, they can look back on 2026 as being a special one.

Former Jay Royal Caitlyn Gavin is a Sun Belt Conference champion.


Gavin and the South Alabama Jaguars won the program’s first championship in 11 years on May 9, beating Texas State 3-2.

Santa Rosa County was well represented at the FHSAA state track meets this past week, with a handful of athletes taking home medals.

Chase Dooley had just made his final lift of the day at the FHSAA 1A state weightlifting meet Friday afternoon look like light work.


Dooley tends to make most of his lifts appear as if he is lifting a feather.

Aiden Spratt had hopes of being a state champion at the FHSAA 3A weightlifting meet Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.


While the day didn’t go as planned, he still enjoyed the experience, highlighting it with a fourth-place finish in Traditional in the 219-lbs. weight class.