First Coast Varsity Weekly: 'Definitely a great time': Soccer stars meet in All-Star game

For Skye Tumbelty, scoring two goals in a minute is a brand-new feeling.

Even though the scoreboard for this game was the last thing on anybody's mind.

"It wasn't too serious," said the Creekside senior central defender, just one week removed from a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A championship. "We were able to have fun with it."

Dozens of the Jacksonville area's top soccer stars gathered for one last game at Patton Park on Sunday in the annual Northeast Florida Senior All-Star Classic games for boys and girls soccer. Players split up among dark uniforms and light uniforms, matching some usual high school teammates in head-to-head battles for the ball.

A few, like the Ponte Vedra defensive trio of Hadley Conway, Alexa Reinheimer and Alia Soares, made the return to Jacksonville as state champions after the Sharks defeated Tarpon Springs East Lake in last week's Class 6A championship.

"Even though we ended our season on such a high note, it's fun to be back again in the uniform," Reinheimer said.

With the pressure off, goals flowed early and often through the evening in both games. In the girls game, the dark uniforms finished on top 4-3, with two goals from Stanton midfielder Emma Griner and two more near the end from Creekside's Tumbelty.

And, every now and then, players got a moment to shine in some different roles. Atlantic Coast multi-sport athlete and Kentucky-signed goalkeeper Gaby Rourke got into the action up front and put away a crisp second-half finish, joining Bishop Kenny's Avery Aniskevich and First Coast's Francesca Timenu on the scoring list.

"It really means a lot to be able to play one more time with a bunch of people that I grew up with playing soccer with, from different schools and different areas," Rourke said. "It was definitely a great time."

Locals selected for FACA All-Star soccer

More than a dozen Northeast Florida players were selected to the North rosters for the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic games in soccer, scheduled Friday and Saturday for girls and Saturday and Sunday for boys at Mulberry High School in Polk County.

Representing the girls are Atlantic Coast goalkeeper Gaby Rourke and midfielders Eden Camacho and Audrey Howard; Bartram Trail defender McKenzie Carlson and midfielder Carolyn Johnson; Ponte Vedra goalkeeper Audrey Johnson and defender Hadley Conway; Suwannee defender Hannah Humphries; and Wolfson defender Natalie Hall. Atlantic Coast's Kenny Mukasa will coach the North team.

Local boys selections are Mandarin defenders Sasha Maric and Luke Renne, Nease goalkeeper Evan Miriello and Suwannee midfielder Joel De La Cruz, with Suwannee's C.J. Joyner listed as a North team coach.

Perfection again for Episcopal's Jones

The cleanest game had the messiest ending.

That's what happened for Episcopal starting pitcher Grace Jones, who wrapped up her second perfect game of the season with Friday's 12-0 shutout of Fletcher.

Then things got wacky, with the Mercer-committed ace and Episcopal teammates erupting in a minutes-long battle of powder and silly string in a general free-for-all of messiness to cap the senior night festivities on the St. Johns River with a little extra team spirit.

"The key is just the people around me," Jones said. "They're really building me up and stuff, and I'm staying calm, going out there and having fun."

It's paying off. Jones surpassed 800 career strikeouts last week, and on her current pace — 131 K's through 10 Eagle games — she might surpass 1,000 by the season's end. She led Northeast Florida with 344 strikeouts as a junior.

She's doing the job with her bat, too, including a triple and home run against Fletcher, leading a much-improved batting order in which Riley Applebee, Riley Valent, Claire Cinnamond, Crissie Clayman and Amelia Oreair are also batting .360 or better. Episcopal's team batting average and OPS have both increased 40 points since 2023.

"I'm definitely looking forward to getting into postseason and trying to beat [reigning regional champion] Baldwin this year," Jones said.

Tigers, Mustangs track full speed ahead

Just in time for the Bob Hayes Invitational Track Meet this weekend, a Northside school is rolling into full speed on the track.

The Jackson girls took first place in the standings in the inaugural Lewis James Invitational at Raines last Saturday, holding off Oakleaf by a single point. Kaitlynn Webbe won the 200-meter run in 25.04 and Laila Brown took the 400 hurdles in 1:11.69, in addition to two relay titles. Tallahassee Lincoln won the boys standings.

Many of the weekend's fastest times, meanwhile, entered the record books in the North Florida-South Florida Challenge in Flagler County.

While Miami Columbus and Miami Northwestern topped the overall standings, Mandarin sprinters set several blistering times, including Stephen Degregorio's 10.42 in the boys 100 and 21.24 in the boys 200 and Kyla Skinner's 55.13 in the girls 400. Fleming Island sophomore Mikayla Shavers also sailed a state-leading 39 feet, 3 1/4 inches in the girls triple jump.

Providence used field-event excellence to win the boys standings at the Coach Hunt Classic: Tiago Tauler's wins in the triple and long jumps, Samuel Peters in the discus, Ryan Stuart in the high jump, Sam Hayward in the javelin and Blake Young with an area-leading 13-9 pole vault. Host Episcopal won the girls standings, boosted by Skyler Watts' 200-400 double.

In the Ancient City Invitational in St. Augustine, Creekside led both the boys and girls standings, including a boys hurdles sweep from junior Paolo Castro.

Next up is the latest edition of Jacksonville's long track tradition, when the Bob Hayes Invitational begins the high school portion of its meet on Saturday at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

Bolles, Nease, Paxon swimmers win in Ocala

More than a half-dozen Jacksonville-area swimmers took home first-place honors at the Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships, which wrapped up Sunday at Florida Aquatic Swimming and Training in Ocala.

Bolles accounted for many of the medals: sophomore Victoria Edgar won the women's 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.78), junior Andy Kravchenko captured the men's 50 (20.06) and 100 freestyle (44.25), senior Carter Lancaster took first in the men's 100 backstroke (48.72) and junior Antoine Destang won the men's 100 butterfly (47.80).

Also from the First Coast, Nease junior Jack Mainville won the men's 50 breaststroke (25.42) and Paxon senior Cameron Watson won the men's 50 butterfly (22.26).

The Bolles Sharks club also earned multiple relay titles, including the women's 200 free relay (Maryn McDade, Julia Murphy, Simany Lee and Kate Meyers-Labenz), men's 200 free relay (Kravchenko, Seth Tolentino, Alex Meyers-Labenz and Anthony Whittall), men's 400 free relay (Destang, Kravchenko, Xavier Sohovich and Landon Kyser), men's 200 medley relay (Kyser, Lancaster, Destang and Kravchenko) and men's 400 medley relay (Kyser, Lancaster, Destang and Kravchenko).

Hoops all-stars set for Saturday

Coming Saturday to the basketball court will be the North Florida All-Star Classic presented by RepsOnReps, bringing together more than two dozen of Northeast Florida's leading seniors.

The annual event will tip off at 5:30 p.m. at Florida State College at Jacksonville South Campus, including girls and boys all-star games.

A 3-point competition and a slam dunk contest are scheduled between the two games.

Around the area

Middleburg outside hitter Brooke Forkum committed to Troy volleyball. … Bartram Trail goalkeeper Megan Waskiewicz committed to Austin Peay women's soccer. … West Nassau senior Gracie Carpenter committed to Great Lakes Christian women's soccer. … Mandarin girls basketball coach Anthony Flynn stepped down after a long coaching career that also included nearly a decade in charge of Ribault football. … Middleburg athletic director Casey Thompson announced his plans to step down, with the school to seek a successor for the 2024-25 year. … Former Creekside defender Zane Bubb signed with the United Soccer League's Tampa Bay Rowdies. … Creekside baseball coach Kris King earned his 100th career win. … Bartram Trail's Taylor Braughton, Delany McClean, Kinsley Braughton and Macey Millard combined for a school-record 1:49.78 in the girls 4x200-meter relay. … Fleming Island's Gideon Gillaspy (13 feet, 3 1/2 inches, boys pole vault) and Kaylib Singleton (10.54, boys 100 meters) broke their own school records. … Registration is open for the FHSAA Student-Athlete Leadership Seminar, scheduled for Faith Christian Academy in Orlando on July 16 and Santaluces High School on July 18.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Northeast Florida Senior All-Star Classic hosts 2024 soccer stars