With a handful of seconds to play, sophomore guard Sergio Robinson smiled and raised his arms in the air, motioning for the already hyped fans to get an even louder.
Oh, what a roar it triggered inside the Panther Den, the cheers filling this gym Saturday night as Milton’s boys basketball team stood on the cusp of wrapping up another chapter of this storybook season.
Madalyn Grimes held the District 1-1A trophy up so everyone could see as she and her Jay teammates continued with their celebration late Friday night.
Grimes was a proud senior, wearing a smile that said 1,000 words, hugging teammates and posing for pictures with the trophy in her hands.
The Milton Panthers found themselves in an interesting spot entering the 2023 season. They were fresh off a disappointing 6-19 campaign and were looking for a new head coach to lead the program.
Enter head coach Joey Nieves, who not only turned the team around in just his first year, but he’s led his team to a District 1-6A final appearance after a dominating 66-43 win over Niceville Thursday night.
Before awards were given out at the District 1-3A girls weightlifting meet last month in Niceville, the announcer noted the district is the best, not just in the area, but in the state as well.
That might seem like an exaggeration, but the results don’t lie when it comes to the success of girls weightlifting in Northwest Florida.
Aisley Shields nearly willed Pace’s girls basketball team to a comeback win over Gulf Breeze in a District 1-6A semifinal Wednesday night.
With the Patriots facing a 10-point (30-20) deficit in the third quarter, Shields took over.
Central is sending three athletes to the 1A state weightlifting meet next Saturday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Chloe Lowery qualified for state in both Olympic and traditional in the 139-pound weightlifting class while teammates Teagan Baggett and Rilee Jean Wales will compete in traditional in the 101-pound class.
Looking at the final score of Pace’s District 1-6A quarterfinal game against Gulf Breeze from Tuesday night, it doesn’t appear as if it was ever close.
The Patriots were beaten 66-41, but head coach Houston Ramsay said his team didn’t just roll over against the Dolphins on the road in a win or go home situation.
Milton head coach Keith Cone can’t fault his girls basketball team for the effort it gave against Gulf Breeze in a District 1-6A quarterfinal Monday night.
The Panthers played their style of ball, slow-down, scrappy basketball, and went into the final minutes with a chance to win.
Central’s girls basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the District 1-1A tournament with a 33-31 win over Baker Monday night.
The third-seeded Jaguars trailed 11-7 after one and went into halftime down 14-12 before outscoring the Gators 21-17 in the second half.
Northwest Florida will be well represented at the 3A FHSAA state weightlifting meet next Friday in Lakeland. The meet begins at 1 p.m. EST that day.
Reigning state champ Pace has 14 lifters in Olympic and 17 in traditional, including regional champs Lani Bennett (110), Shannon Bryan (139) and Ireland Grimes (169).
