First Coast Varsity Weekly: 'Great moment' for JU-bound Providence trio on Signing Day

From Providence teal to Jacksonville University green.

When a 17-strong class at Providence led off Wednesday's national signing day inside the Barfield Gymnasium, it must have felt like a Dolphins pre-reunion.

Three Stallion stars, all among the city's top-ranked prospects in their sports, all celebrated their signings with the ASUN school: guard Chris Arias in men's basketball, setter Emily Collings in volleyball and left-handed starter Kyle Powers in baseball.

"It's a great moment," Arias said. "I'm proud of all of us, all the athletes. We all probably dreamed of this as little kids to make it to college sports."

The ceremony linked Dolphins of the past and future: Introducing Arias was Stallions basketball coach and former Dolphins guard Jim Martin, who described him as a player who's "going to help JU win that conference."

National Signing Day 2024: See Jacksonville-area players with college football signings

The work at Providence is far from done for Arias, one of three Stallions basketball signees (along with David Fonville at High Point and Caleb McAbee at Anderson). The Stallions, final four qualifiers last year, stand third in the Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 3A basketball rankings entering Thursday's District 3-3A semifinal against Bishop Snyder.

"We've got a chip on our shoulder [after last season's semifinal elimination]," Arias said. "We're going to come out, play our hardest."

Providence football, coming off a 7-4 season and a playoff return, also cheered three signees of its own. Two-way athlete Jett Hood signed with Chattanooga and receiver Alex Wright selected Sewanee, while powerful right guard Ben Turner is making the move to Memphis as a preferred walk-on.

Non-football signings: Jacksonville-area signings in baseball, softball & more

Turner, who paved the way for a 2,000-yard ground game, becomes the second Providence lineman in as many years to choose the Tigers, following Jacob Gray last winter.

"Right before the season, I was like, 'Huh, maybe it won't happen,'" Turner said. "Then I got some late offers and I'm just blessed."

Providence's large signing class was far from alone Wednesday morning. Fletcher celebrated its largest football signing class on record with 13 players, and the size of Mandarin's 16-member signing class forced the school to relocate its ceremony to the gym. Bolles, Episcopal, Fleming Island and Ridgeview also celebrated double-digit signees in the morning.

Bears soccer bounced by FHSAA formula

Bartram Trail kicked off its district boys soccer tournament two weeks ago with the advantage in the Florida High School Athletic Association rankings over Ocala West Port, which competed two districts away. The Bears won their district opener. West Port didn't.

Yet when the dust settled and the FHSAA released its bracket Friday, West Port qualified for the Class 7A first-round playoffs on Feb. 13 and Bartram Trail missed out.

How does that happen?

Mark down the hard-luck omission of the 9-3-2 Bears boys as the latest chapter in the often-perplexing saga of the FHSAA's ranking formula, which is officially based in part on the MaxPreps system but often diverges from the national figures.

West Port's District 3-7A participation was one-and-done, a 3-1 loss to Ocoee. Bartram Trail shut out Tocoi Creek 3-0 in the opening round of the District 1-7A tournament and then lost 3-2 in extra time to Creekside, which by the FHSAA's own ranking system is a stronger opponent than Ocoee (15.052 for Creekside, 13.402 for Ocoee).

Bartram Trail still held the seventh-best ranking in Region 1-7A, which is usually good enough for an at-large bid. Not this time, though: Orlando Boone, 10th in the region, received an automatic bid by winning District 4-7A, and Bartram Trail's bubble burst when Sanford Seminole upset Lake Mary for the automatic berth from District 2-7A.

MaxPreps itself, incidentally, continues to rank Bartram Trail four places above West Port (15-3) in its Class 7A standings for Florida.

Battle of the Bridge, again and again...

Acosta, Main Street, Fuller Warren, Hart, Mathews, Buckman, Dames Point…

St. Johns County's Battle of the Bridge rivalry of Ponte Vedra and Nease nearly matched Jacksonville's major bridge count in the span of barely a week, a four-sport smorgasbord of head-to-head matchups for the St. Johns County opponents.

Ponte Vedra held the upper hand with a 2-1 record going into Wednesday night's District 3-6A girls basketball semifinal. That game was not complete at press time.

Ponte Vedra started the run with a 3-0 win in District 3-6A girls soccer last Tuesday, including two goals from Quinlee Irwin. The Sharks also won 52-46 in Friday night's boys basketball, highlighted by 15 points from David Sanchez Barrera.

On Thursday, it was Nease's turn to get the upper hand, a 1-0 triumph in the District 3-6A boys soccer final on a Colin Negron goal.

Depending on games later this week, the rivals could face off a fifth time on Saturday, if Ponte Vedra and Nease both advance to the District 3-6A boys basketball final.

Suwannee girls win weightlifting regionals

What's as strong as a live oak? Maybe the Suwannee girls weightlifting team out in Live Oak.

The Bulldogs repeated their Region 1-1A championship in both traditional (52 points) and Olympic (54) categories on Saturday, setting the stage for yet another run at a state title. Caroline Allen, Jordyn Rodriguez, Brianna McCullers and Kaly Cuffy won individual regional championships for Suwannee.

In Region 2-1A, West Nassau captured a team title in Olympic lifts, while in Region 2-2A, Clay's Emma Heck was named top lifter for all weights in the Olympic category. Teams get a week off before the championships on Feb. 16-17 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Ready for some football at The Bank

With Jacksonville Jaguars football finished up until August's preseason kickoff, EverBank Stadium is about to open its gates to high school athletes.

The Jaguars' NFL home welcomes both football and flag football players for three days of competition from Feb. 16-18.

The two-day Girls Flag Preseason Classic will bring 32 teams to the stadium as well as the indoor flex field from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 16 and from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 17. Then, on the following Sunday morning, more than 150 players are scheduled to participate in the Girls Flag College Showcase in front of college flag football coaches.

Also on Feb. 18, more than 200 high school quarterbacks arrive for the annual QB Skills Challenge, which includes multiple prospects from Florida and Georgia on the stadium and the flex field between 12:30 and 4 p.m.

Wrapping up the weekend, 16 teams from 7-on-7 football participate in the 7v7 Battle at the Bank between 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Feb. 18.

Around the area

Orange Park's Hailey Revak set a school record with her 61st 3-pointer this season. … Eagle's View girls basketball won the Florida Christian Athletic League tournament, with Jayda Parker named tournament most valuable player. … Former Nease athlete Sasha Gregory won the women's pentathlon with 3,611 points, breaking the school record for Charlotte at the Doc Hale Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. … Former Mandarin sprinter Terren Peterson helped USF's women's 4x400-meter relay team to a school record 3:35.19 at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational in Boston. … High School 9:12 has scheduled Spring Sports Media Day for Feb. 20 at the Winston Family YMCA in Riverside from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. … The FHSAA lacrosse season opens Monday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: National Signing Day: Providence trio to Jacksonville University