First Coast Varsity Weekly: Creekside's Avery Robinson earns U.S. Soccer national call

For Avery Robinson, there's a very good reason why she's not wearing the red and white of Creekside girls soccer in the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs this week.

That's because she's wearing red, white and blue instead.

The Creekside junior midfielder received the call to play for the United States Under-17 women's national soccer team at a training camp and two games against England.

The American team will face England's Under-17s at St. George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent on Wednesday and Saturday. The camp is part of a series of events leading up toward the 2024 Under-20 Women's World Cup in a country to be determined.

Robinson, who has battled through injuries to score four goals with four assists for Creekside this season, helped the Knights to their first-ever Class 7A championship last February and scored two goals with a dazzling performance in the state final.

Also crossing the Atlantic is Fleming Island's Lia Godfrey, called up to represent the U.S. Under-23 women for a training camp and a pair of exhibition matches in France. The United States will play France's Under-23 squad on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20 at the Centre National du Football in Clairefontaine, near Paris.

Godfrey, who recently completed her junior season at the University of Virginia, earned her third consecutive All-America selection in the fall after scoring eight goals and five assists this season. She remains the youngest athlete ever to represent the United States at an age-group World Cup after playing in the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan as a 14-year-old.

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Edward Waters honors Ribault's Glover

In more than a century and a half since Edward Waters University opened its doors, no Tigers athletic program has retired a jersey number.

That changed Saturday for a hometown star.

The Tigers retired the No. 3 women's basketball jersey of Ribault graduate La'Quanza Glover, who played for the hoops program from 2017 to 2022.

Glover set multiple records at EWU, closing her senior year with averages of 16.0 points and 11.6 rebounds, and achieved all-time scoring and rebound marks for the Tigers.

In high school, she won back-to-back FHSAA championships with the Trojans, as well as a 2016 national tournament title at the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals in New York City.

The celebration of Glover's career wasn't enough to lead the current Tigers to victory Saturday. In a coincidental twist, EWU lost 69-64 to Savannah State, which got 18 points from guard Nyla Allen of Ribault's longtime rival Raines.

Fleming Island wins Uncivil War

Top honors in Clay County high school wrestling are remaining in green and gold.

Fleming Island claimed victory in the latest edition of the Uncivil War, winning a 55-16 victory against rival Clay. The annual contest was the last major duals competition before the start of IBT districts this week.

Already into the postseason, meanwhile, is girls wrestling. In District 2, Adrianna Barrientos (105 pounds), Kailani Barrientos (120) and Jayla Harrison (170) gave Oakleaf a trio of titles, while Westside also had three first-place finishers in Degriece Coleman (145), Karla Ortiz (155) and Trayce Goodman (235).

Capturing multiple titles in District 3 were Bartram Trail (Katherine Stewart at 145, Ava Burre at 155 and Paige Stewart at 170), Middleburg (Gracie Bradshaw at 100, Skyla Fisher at 105 and Cheyenne Cruce at 190) and Ponte Vedra (Erin Rizzuto at 115 and Olivia Richie at 140).

Girls wrestling regionals are set for Friday and Saturday at Matanzas.

Flag football showcase set for Monday

Mark down Monday as a banner day for flag football on the First Coast.

More than 600 athletes from around Northeast Florida are scheduled to appear at the Jaguars Prep Girls Flag Preseason Classic and Media Day, set for Monday at TIAA Bank Field.

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In all, 28 teams are scheduled to compete throughout the day in morning and afternoon sessions within the main stadium and at Daily's Place.

The regular season begins Feb. 27, a march that concludes May 12-13 with the FHSAA state finals at Mandarin. Last year, Fleming Island qualified for the final four in Class 2A.

Baldwin's Shields earns Super Bowl visit

From Baldwin to the biggest game.

Baldwin head football coach Robert Shields had a weekend to remember in Arizona, traveling across the nation to watch Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium after his selection as the Jacksonville Jaguars' football coach of the year.

Shields made the Arizona trip along with his brother, Steve Shields, who formerly coached the varsity squad for eight seasons and now leads the middle school team.

This season, Robert Shields helped lead Baldwin to a 9-3 record and a trip to the regional semifinal in the FHSAA's new Class 2S.

Englewood walks off for Walk-Off win

The ultimate baseball tongue twister: a walk-off Walk-Off walk.

Englewood's Andy Rico drew a game-ending bases-loaded walk Monday to defeat Yulee 6-5 and open the annual Walk-Off Charities Baseball Classic, the preseason-opening baseball showcase at Sans Souci Park on Jacksonville's Southside.

The Rams rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, with Ethan Anderson's RBI the key play. Catcher Dominick Patruno helped keep Englewood in the contest in the top of the seventh, making a crucial tag-out at the plate.

The annual tournament continues through Saturday, with proceeds to benefit Walk-Off Charities. Also continuing through Friday is the I-10 Preseason Tournament at Madison County and Suwannee.

The tournaments serve as one final tune-up for teams like Stanton, which won the Monday night contest 8-6 against Riverside after home runs from Alex Bairan and Brooks Beach.

"We've got to figure out where we jell," Stanton coach Kyle Fleming said. "These games will figure out where guys need to be, what needs to change, what we need to work on, going into next week and beyond."

And they're off: Top times at Mandarin

Track and field season officially opens Thursday, and athletes across the First Coast are already off to the races.

Host Mandarin and Oakleaf set the pace at Friday's Mandarin Preseason Classic, which included more than a dozen schools across the First Coast.

Among the highlights: Mustangs senior Rayphel Cox sliced his personal-best by a half-second to run 15.59 in the boys 110-meter hurdles, Raines senior Tyrone Ousley ran 34.91 to win the seldom-seen boys 300 and Oakleaf junior Keira Smalls posted a 15.59 to win the girls 100 hurdles by more than a second.

The meet also saw the adjustment to the 400 hurdles, which replace the 300 hurdles this season. Trinity Christian's Tyrone Summerall (57.55) and Ribault's Akira McMillian (1:13:29) came in with the top times.

One runner to watch: Parker freshman London Dawkins. In her first meet as a high school student, she won the girls 100 in 12.99 seconds.

Indoor athletes soar, too

The Florida High School Athletic Association doesn't hold an indoor track season, but many of Northeast Florida's top athletes are showing off their skills under the roof.

Bolles' Vivian Stovall cleared a height of 13 feet and 1/4 inch to win the girls pole vault at the Florida Indoor Championships at the Alachua County Sports and Event Center in Gainesville. That broke her own personal best by more than three inches.

Her Bolles teammate, defending state champion Zee Curtis, also set the best indoor girls weight throw this season in Florida and the 10th-best in the national MileSplit list with a distance of 48 feet, 8.25 inches.

Other feats of note from the indoor track finals:

• Bishop Kenny's Ka'Myya Haywood won the girls indoor 400 in 54.94 and the 800 in 2:10.43, winning by more than five seconds. Her 400 time is Florida's best of 2022-2023 indoors, ranking fifth on the national MileSplit list.

• Sandalwood junior Brittney Jennings topped the meet standings in the girls 60 hurdles in 8.48, and now ranks No. 3 in Florida and No. 9 nationwide.

• Creekside freshman Alyson Johnson won the girls mile in 5:01.09, just ahead of Ponte Vedra's Lindy White. Her indoor mile time ranks first in Florida and third in the nation for the 2026 class.

• Paxon's Cooper Crowell, meanwhile, competed in both the Mandarin and Florida Indoor meets a day apart. He set a personal-best 156 feet, 4 inches to win the outdoor boys discus in Jacksonville, then achieved a distance of 62 feet, 7.5 inches over the weekend in Gainesville.

Around the area

Bishop Kenny kicker and punter Ethan Eddins committed to Southern Illinois football. … Columbia wide receivers Jaylen Cooper and Keeven Young signed with Warner football. … Paxon infielder Miah Jordan signed with Edward Waters softball. … Columbia's Isaac Broxey scored his 1,000th career point for Tigers boys basketball during the District 2-5A tournament. … Oakleaf center Cameron Coachman reached 116 blocks during the District 3-6A boys basketball tournament, setting the Knights' single-season record. … Ponte Vedra guard Nathan Bunkosky moved into a tie for the Sharks' career steals record alongside former guard Jackson Johnson. … Impact Christian took part in the first boys weightlifting meet in school history. … Former Mandarin thrower Da'Moni Kelly set a personal record of 44 feet, 8 inches in the women's shot put for Florida. … Former Trinity Christian volleyball star Jennie Kelnhofer Gifford and former Stanton catcher Cody Ragland were inducted into the Trinity Baptist College Athletics Hall of Fame, along with former soccer coach Bill Brindley and former basketball forward Nicole Collins. ... FHSAA girls weightlifting championships will be Saturday at Lakeland's RP Funding Center.

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: Avery Robinson selected for USA women's soccer