SWFL roundup for Feb 13-18: Fort Myers, Mariner, Riverdale lifters earn gold at states
Here are the results for high school events played in Southwest Florida between Feb. 13-18:
More:See which local high school track standouts flexed at the Florida Indoor Championships
SATURDAY
Girls Weightlifting
Southwest Florida girls' weightlifters are bringing plenty of medals home after elite performances at the State Finals in Lakeland on Saturday.
Among the winners is Riverdale's Elaina Cook. Cook (199), the only Raider who made the trip to the RP Funding Center, earned gold in the Traditional lift and bronze in the Olympic lift in Class 2A.
Mariners’ Kassidy Emmerick (110) was also the sole representative for the Tritons in Class 2A, and earned a first-place finish in the Olympic lift and bronze in the Traditional lift.
Fort Myers continued its postseason success on Saturday, finishing second as a team in the Olympic lift and third in the Traditional lift in Class 2A.
Julia Knowler (169) picked up gold for the Green Wave in the Olympic lift and bronze in the Traditional lift, while teammate Jillian Jacobs (119) earned gold in the Traditional lift and bronze in the Olympic.
The Green Wave, who have shown exponential growth in the last several seasons, battled for a first-place finish in the Olympic lift all day, flipping spots with eventual champion Clay High School (29 points) until the last few weight classes. The Traditional lift was no different as Fort Myers finished with 20 points, just behind Clay (25 points) and New Smyrna Beach (24 points).
“It was a rollercoaster,” said head coach Patrick Casey. “Even down to the end we were fighting for runner-up in Traditional, too. And it came down to a couple of key moments, but ultimately we came in third. Just a heck of a day no matter how you slice it.”
As Fort Myers looks to celebrate its senior-driven season, their performance in Lakeland only highlights the Green Wave’s growth under Casey and the upward trajectory of the program. As departing seniors leave a legacy of success, younger lifters are looking to build on the foundation that has been laid.
“The younger girls are wide-eyed in an excited way after it was all said and done,” Casey said. “They were already asking questions about next year. It’s awesome, but I know from doing this long enough that this achievement we accomplished doesn’t come around every year. So I was just trying to remind them to enjoy the moment and savor this because it doesn’t always work out.”
Here are the individual and team results for lifters from Southwest Florida at the FHSAA Girls Weightlifting State Finals.
Class 1A
Team Results
Traditional: Evangelical Christian, T34 (1); Bishop Verot, T36 (0)
Olympic: Evangelical Christian, T28 (2); Bishop Verot, T35 (0)
Top Individual Traditional Results
Yani Donnell (169), Evangelical Christian: 6th place, 315 total
Top Individual Olympic Results
Yani Donnell (169), Evangelical Christian: 5th place, 285 total
Class 2A
Team Results
Traditional: Fort Myers, 3rd (20); LaBelle, T9 (6); Mariner, T19 (4); Barron Collier, T33 (0); Bonita Springs, T33 (0); Dunbar, T33 (0); Gateway, T33 (0);
Olympic: Fort Myers, 2nd (22); Mariner, T10 (7); LaBelle, 13th (6); Barron Collier, T31 (0); Bonita Springs, T31; (0): Gateway, T31 (0); Dunbar, T31 (0)
Top Individual Traditional Results
Jillian Jacobs (119), Fort Myers: 1st place, 315 total
Mariannys Ramones (101), LaBelle: 3rd place, 220 total
Kassidy Emerick (110), Mariner: 3rd place, 300 total
Julia Knowler (169), Fort Myers: 3rd place, 365 total
Maya Egalite (183), Fort Myers: 3rd place, 375 total
Grace Basey (199), Fort Myers: 3rd place, 380 total
Morgan Wilson (101), LaBelle: 5th place, 210 total
Samantha Reidenbach (129), Fort Myers: 6th place, 300 total
Jakera Shird, Dunbar: 8th place, 360 total
Top Individual Olympic Results
Julia Knowler (169), Fort Myers: 1st place, 350 total
Kassidy Emerick (110), Mariner: 1st place, 285 total
Jillian Jacobs (119), Fort Myers: 2nd place, 285 total
Samantha Reidenbach (129), Fort Myers: 4th place, 305 total
Grace Basey (199), Fort Myers: 4th place, 340 total
Maya Egalite (183), Fort Myers: 5th place, 305 total
Emma Willis (169), LaBelle: 5th place, 300 total
Cloelle Altaratz (169), Barron Collier: 7th place, 300 total
Janellyne Morillo (UNL), Fort Myers: 7th place, 315 total
Ezarya Dale (UNL), Dunbar: 9th place, 315 total
Shanoya Clemetson, Barron Collier (139): 10th place, 265 total
Class 3A
Team Traditional Results: Riverdale, T10 (7); Palmetto Ridge, T27 (0)
Team Olympic Results: Riverdale, T18 (4); Palmetto Ridge, T32 (0)
Top Individual Traditional Results
Elaina Cook (199), Riverdale: 1st place, 400 total
Top Individual Olympic Results
Elaina Cook (199), Riverdale: 3rd place, 330 total
FRIDAY
Boys Lacrosse
Palmetto Ridge 6, Cypress Lake 5 (2OT): Riley Lloyd scored the game winner for the Bears. Jackson Imbus had a hat trick in the win, while Holden Tucker added two goals.
Immokalee 13, Lely 0: Mario Morales and Jesus Martinez led the Indians with three goals each, while Ivan Jimenez and Marvin Museau added two goals each. Max Sosa, Juan Vasquez, and Ramiro Martinez tacked on one goal each to the winning effort.
Girls Lacrosse
Cape Coral 5, Riverdale 1: Emmy Pardo and Ella Bernard scored two goals each while Mackenzie Scully tacked on one goal. Savannah Hickson tallied six saves in the win for the Seahawks.
Community School of Naples 18, Fort Myers 1
Lely 19, Immokalee 0: Tabby Ubertaccio, Julissa Rosas, Jessica Vorderstrasse, Dayanara Jimenez, and Abigail Peterson led thr Trojans in the win.
THURSDAY
Girls Tennis
Barron Collier 5, Gulf Coast 2: 1S- Katie Ruci (BC) def Mia Martin (GC) 6-3, 6-3; 2S- Marchela Rykowski (GC) def Bella Borda (BC) 6-2, 6-2; 3S- Lexi Pouliaevski (BC) def Sia Dihenia (GC) 6-3, 6-0; 4S- Giulia Nelson (BC) def Ava Rochford (GC) 6-1, 7-5, 5S- Alexa Taviloglu (GC) def Madison Knoth (BC) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0. 1D- Ruci/Borda (BC) def Martin/Rochford (GC) 8-1; 2D- Pouliaevski/Nelson def Rykowski/Harmony Nix (GC) 8-3
Boys Lacrosse
Barron Collier 16, Palmetto Ridge 0: Christian Toth led the Cougars with three goals in the win. Rocco LaTour and Jake Waltbillig added two goals each.
Girls Lacrosse
Golden Gate 16, Cypress Lake 4: Maria Ramirez tallied six goals for the Titans, while Nicole Reyes added four goals. Patria Powell tacked on two goals to the winning effort.
Lely 10, Estero 7
WEDNESDAY
Boys Lacrosse
Gulf Coast 18, Immokalee 0
Softball
Naples 10, Palmetto Ridge 0: Tara Watkins tallied 13 strikeouts in a complete game, notching a two-hit shutout from the circle in the Eagles' preseason opener. Isabella Carson led Naples at plate with 2 hits and 2 RBIs, while Mackenzie Leiti and Addison Scott added a pair of hits each.
TUESDAY
Girls Tennis
Barron Collier 6, Fort Myers 1: Singles: 1. Katie Ruci (BC) def. Gabriella Whitmer (FM) 7-5, 6-0; 2. Bella Borda (BC) def. Elizabeth Kremenchuker (FM) 6-1, 1-6, 1-0; 3. Maddy Welsh (FM) def. Lexi Pouliaevski (BC) 6-4, 6-3; 4. Giulia Nelson (BC) def. Alex Bocanegra (FM) 6-4, 6-2; 5. Madison Knoth (BC) def. Isabelle Rose (FM) 6-0,6-0. Doubles: 1. Ruci/Borda (BC) def. Whitmer/Welsh (FM) 8-1; 2. Nelson/Knoth (BC) def. Bocanegra/Lily Fabrini (FM) 8-0.
North Fort Myers 7, Dunbar 0: Singles: 1. Mikayla Mann def. Gabrielle Brown 6-0, 6-1; 2. Hannah Holmes def. Cynthia Mauvais 6-0, 6-1; 3. Maria Lakes def. Arianna Casanovia 6-0, 6-0; 4. Olivia Myers def. Miya Shields 6-0, 6-0; 5. North by forfeit. Doubles: 1. Mann/Holmes def. Brown/Mauvais 8-1; 2. Myers/Lakes def. Casanovia/Shields 8-0.
Boys Tennis
Cypress Lake 4, Mariner 3: Singles: 1. Ryan Kendrix (CL) def. Karl Schott (MA) 6-1, 6-0; 2. Luis Celaya (CL) def. Kieran Kirkimilis (MA) 6-0, 4-6, 13-11; 3. Jacob Spiegel (CL) def. Robert Preston (MA) 6-3, 6-0; 4. Noah Riascos (MA) def. Sam Lessinger (CL) 6-1, 6-0; 5. Damien Gleason (MA) def. Bennett Hoffman (CL) 6-4, 6-2. Doubles: 1. Kendrix & Spiegel (CL) def. Schott & Kirkimilis (MA) 9-8 (7-1); 2. Riascos & Preston (MA) def. Celaya & Hoffman (CL) 8-0.
Girls Lacrosse
Cypress Lake 15, Gateway 1: The Panthers picked up a win after reaching the mercy rule limit in the first half. Both squads played the second half out in a scrimmage, and finished the game at 18-3. Olivia Zeltman led the way for Cypress Lake with six goals, while Julia Best added four.
Lely 22, Palmetto Ridge 1
MONDAY
Boys Tennis
Canterbury 7, Cypress Lake 0: Singles: 1. Joseph Cooke (CAN) def. Ryan Kendrix 6-4, 6-1; 2. Matthew Kim (CAN) def. Luis Celaya (CL) 6-0, 6-0; 3. Dylan Moon (CAN) def. Jacob Spiegal (CL) 6-0, 6-4; 4. Andrew Ksar (CAN) def. Sam Wessinger (CL) 6-0, 6-1; 5. Diego Bazan (CAN) def. Bennett Hoffman (CL) 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: 1. Harry Disanto & Ksar (CAN) def. Kendrix & Celaya (CL) 8-6; 2. Tolga Hos and Moon (CAN) def. Brandon Lee & Spiegal (CL) 8-5.
Oasis 6, Gateway Charter 1: Eric Feichthaler and John Vezzola both picked up wins in a Single and Doubles match, leading the Sharks to their second victory in their first three matches. Liam Greco and Tyler Feichthaler added wins in Singles for Oasis. Kevin Kass and Greco won in No. 2 Doubles.
Girls Tennis
Oasis 7, Gateway Charter 0: Sophia Abreu (6-0,6-0) and Sophia Pollard (6-0, 6-0) added wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 Singles, respectively. Cecilia Menendez (6-0, 6-0) picked up a win in the No. 3 Singles, while Emily Feichthaler (6-1, 6-0) remains undefeated in singles play with her win in the No. 4 Singles. Isabella Blevens (6-1, 6-1) rounded out the singles with her first win of the season in the No. 5 match. Abreu and Pollard (8-0) tacked on win in the No. 1 Doubles, and Leah Kuchuk and Menendez closed out the sweep with an 8-0 win in the No. 2 Doubles.
Canterbury 7, Cypress Lake 0: Singles: 1. Lorelei DiSanto (CAN) def. Carolina Solomon (CL) 6-3, 6-1; 2. Lauren Teodoro (CAN) def. Orli Gottesman (CL) 3-6, 7-5, 10-4; 3. Gemma Plumb (CAN) def. Bridgitte Maillakakis (CL) 6-0, 6-0; 4. Anika Koka (CAN) def. Catelyn Holcomb (CL) 7-6, 6-1; 5. Maya Shuster (CAN) def. Devin Haddock (CL) 6-0, 6-1. Doubles: Julia Kin and Lila Eisele (CAN) def. Gottesman and Maillakakis 8-4; 2. Haley Hammarberg and Ainsley Grohowski (CAN) def. Holcomb and Haddock (CL) 8-2.
Boys Lacrosse
Fort Myers 8, Riverdale 5: Charlie Beck and Jake Schmidt added two goals each in the loss for the Raiders. Ryan Devore scored one goal. Gavin Weygant forced five turnovers, while Colton and Flint caused three turnovers each for Riverdale.
Coral Reef 16, Immokalee 3: Jesus Martinez scored twice and Ivan Jimenez once for Immokalee.
Girls Lacrosse
Fort Myers 14, Riverdale 3: Jailynn Ledoux scored all three Raider goals in the loss.
Palmer Trinity 21, Immokalee 0
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SWFL Roundup for Feb. 13-18: Tennis and Lacrosse Results
