First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bolles' Jillian Candelino races to region cross country record

Bolles senior Jillian Candelino set the school record in girls cross country at the Alexander/Asics Invitational in Georgia.
Bolles senior Jillian Candelino set the school record in girls cross country at the Alexander/Asics Invitational in Georgia.

Hurricane Ian blew a giant STOP sign into the path of most of Florida's high school sports scene.

It didn't slow down Bolles record-breaker Jillian Candelino.

Candelino raced away from the pack to win Saturday's Alexander/Asics Invitational in Fairburn, Ga., breaking the tape in 17:16.23 to attain the fastest time by a Northeast Florida runner since the Florida High School Athletic Association changed to 5-kilometer distances for girls cross country in 2002.

Nease's Karen Xiang set the previous area record of 17:20 at the Foot Locker South Regional in 2013.

Facing a field of elite runners from around the Southeast, Candelino broke clear to win by 20 seconds over runner-up Margaret Wade of Savannah Art. Bolles' Ella Mickler also surpassed her personal record in 17:50.80 to finish fourth, as the Bulldogs took second in the team standings behind Marietta.

It's the latest step for recent University of Tennessee commit Candelino, the 2021 Class 2A state champion. She chopped 20 seconds off her personal best of 17:36.50, set last October at the FSU Invitational and Tallahassee, and vaulted into the top 40 in the MileSplit national rankings.

That wasn't the only headline feat for blue and orange.

Sixth-grader Sofia Stam ran 19:17.59 at the meet, moving into No. 1 in the national MileSplit list for girls cross country in the class of 2029.

In the boys race, Bolles senior Aidan Ryan ran a personal-best 15:16.90, finishing ninth in the race and posting the fastest time so far this year for a Northeast Florida runner. Ryan's time ranks second all-time at the school behind Charles Hicks' 14:53 in 2018.

The next challenge awaiting Bolles is a trip to the Big Apple, taking on an elite national field at the Manhattan Invitational.

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Power Polls: High school football, volleyball, cross country through Week 6

Riverside to open new home

Welcome home, Generals.

Riverside marks the opening of its renovated stadium on Friday, when the Generals take on Trinity Christian in the first meeting since the installation of artificial turf at the Backyard.

A playing surface long noted as one of the messiest in Northeast Florida — including iconic slopfests like the playoff Mud Bowl three years ago against Columbia, scoreless through regulation and overtime — received a full-scale makeover in a process that sent today's Generals on the road for the season's opening month.

The new surface at Riverside's home — the stadium was known through the decades as Cawthon Field in honor of Rainey Cawthon, a former University of Florida captain at fullback who compiled a 23-3-1 record as Lee High School's coach from 1930-32 — is the first of the artificial turf fields planned for installation across Duval County high schools following voters' approval of a tax increase in August.

As reported by the Times-Union earlier this year, the Riverside project was estimated at $780,000.

Eventually, the school district intends to install similar fields at the other Gateway schools as well. Next in line in the priority list would be Ribault, followed by Raines, Fletcher and Englewood, although the precise timetable remains to be determined.

Orange abounds at Hoyt B. Cotney Stadium, high school football home of the Orange Park Raiders, pictured on August 23, 2007.  [Bill Johnson/My Clay Sun/File]
Orange abounds at Hoyt B. Cotney Stadium, high school football home of the Orange Park Raiders, pictured on August 23, 2007. [Bill Johnson/My Clay Sun/File]

As Riverside fans welcome their new field, however, Orange Park is saying a temporary goodbye to its longtime home.

Demolition begins this week on the stands at Orange Park's Hoyt B. Cotney Stadium, the home field of a school that began football six decades ago. Orange Park had been scheduled to close the stadium in its current form last week against Columbia, but Hurricane Ian pushed that game back by one week to bring an abrupt end to the structure's tenure.

The school district plans for renovations to be complete before the end of the school year and in time for graduation.

Orange Park, which has no further home games scheduled in the 2022 football season, will now make up the Columbia game on Friday, four and a half miles to the southwest  at Ridgeview.

Halftime highlights: Northeast Florida high school football's highs, lows at 2022 halfway point

Sandalwood-Nease: Saints' Jordan Bean leads rushing charge

Mandarin's Gavin Nelson (554) races to the finish line to win the Gateway Conference boys cross country championship on October 13, 2021. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
Mandarin's Gavin Nelson (554) races to the finish line to win the Gateway Conference boys cross country championship on October 13, 2021. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]

Cross country, aquatics next for Gateway

Is Mandarin ready for a repeat? The Mustangs, defending Gateway Conference champions in cross country, get October's first chance to defend their Gateway trophy to begin what will be a very busy month in Duval County.

County public school championships begin at Cecil Field Thursday, with championship meets in cross country and diving, followed by the swimming championship on Saturday.

Mustangs senior runner and 2021 boys individual champion Gavin Nelson is among those returning for Mandarin, the Gateway team champion in both boys and girls cross country last year. He holds the fastest time so far this season among runners at Duval County public schools.

The boys golf tournament takes place Tuesday at Jacksonville Beach, and the volleyball tournament tips off Tuesday.

Ridgeview middle blocker Haley Robinson (10) lines up before a point during a high school volleyball match against Bartram Trail on Sept. 24.
Ridgeview middle blocker Haley Robinson (10) lines up before a point during a high school volleyball match against Bartram Trail on Sept. 24.

Robinson, Washington top v-ball list

Looking for Florida's fiercest finishers at the net? Start the search on the First Coast.

Ridgeview junior middle blocker Haley Robinson tops the statewide MaxPreps list for hitting percentage at .706, closely followed by Ponte Vedra senior Zeta Washington in second place at .627.

A busy week is ahead for Washington and the Sharks, who take on a national field later this week at the Geico Invitational.

Ridgeview's Robinson also leads locals with 77 blocks in only 49 sets, and could hit triple figures this month.

Here's a look at additional notable numbers:

• Bartram Trail's Jenna Otts and St. Johns Country Day's Ashlyn Anderson have been neck and neck in the race to reach the 300-kill mark first. Otts completed last week with 292 kills, while Anderson is just behind at 286. Senior Jaycee Davis, at 265 kills, also ranks inside Florida's top 10.

• Heading the area pack in digs are two Clay County players, both inside the state top 10. St. Johns Country Day's Kate Jacobs has collected 344, while Ridgeview's Kasey Casiple is up to 331.

• Columbia's Madison Glenn leads area setters with 459 assists thus far. Also of note is Ponte Vedra senior Jessica Shattles, who is averaging 10.7 assists per set.

• Particularly effective on the serve are Beaches Chapel's Victoria Papineau and Lindy Short, Bishop Snyder's Faith Kennedy and Covenant School's Addison Holt. All four have accumulated 68 or more aces, enough for the state top 10.

Fewer than two weeks remain until the start of district volleyball tournaments across the Sunshine State, which tip off Oct. 17. Saturday marks the final day in which results can count toward district tournament seeding.

UC's Kardatzke more than pitching ace

Sophia Kardatzke is dominating on the stat sheet once more — and this time, the junior is showing that isn't just one of Northeast Florida's premier softball players.

Kardatzke also plays multiple roles for UC's volleyball squad, leading the Fighting Christians to consecutive victories last week over Hilliard and Eagle's View.

She scored a rare triple-double in the Hilliard match with 10 kills, 10 digs and 15 assists, and followed up with 11 kills, nine assists and four aces in the Eagle's View win.

On the season, Kardatzke has 120 kills and a .301 hitting percentage for a UC (11-5) team that also includes two more starters from the school's final four softball squad, libero Macie Bourgholtzer and right side Jahliyah Robinson.

During the softball season, Kardatzke ranked at or near the top of the state in multiple offensive categories, batting .532 with 15 home runs, 50 RBI and a 1.930 OPS, along with 254 strikeouts as a pitcher.

Around the area

Nease attacker Connor Angst committed to Huntingdon men's lacrosse. ... St. Johns Country Day setter Bella Gomez surpassed 1,000 assists for her high school career. ... Former Bartram Trail midfielder Morgan McDonald scored her first goal for Florida Atlantic women's soccer in Sunday's 2-0 shutout of Charlotte. ... Former Suwannee quarterback Jaquez Moore scored his first college touchdown for Duke football, a 59-yard rush in Saturday's 38-17 win at Virginia. ... Bartram Trail senior Sydney Lewis, already the Bears' all-time leader in digs, moved into first place in school history with 191 aces.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Jillian Candelino breaks Northeast Florida record