'Leave it better than we found it': Nease lacrosse coach reflects after trucker rescue

If the Florida State Lacrosse Coaches Association ever institutes a Lifeguard of the Year award, Max Gurowski belongs at the top of the list.

Gurowski never planned to spend March in the spotlight, but after a dramatic, caught-on-video rescue in which he plunged into a retention pond two weeks ago to help bring the driver of a crashed truck to safety, Nease's boys lacrosse coach is earning attention for more than just sports.

Nease was supposed to begin a standard pre-spring break two-day lacrosse trip on March 8, a drive down Interstate 95 to take on West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy and Boca Raton Spanish River. It turned into something different.

"Our driver saw a U-Haul-type truck go off the road and we looked up, and we just saw a big splash in a retention pond," Gurowski said.

Moments later, the team bus stopped to assist, and Gurowski — a former Jacksonville University athlete who lined up during the Dolphins' lacrosse launch from 2010-12 and still ranks fifth all-time at JU with 39 assists — sprang into action and into the pond, pulling the truck driver to safety on the shore.

That was just the start. Pretty soon, video found its way to Jacksonville television station WFOX, and the road trip rescue became the talk of Florida lacrosse.

Gurowski said he doesn't want to take the spotlight away from his team's achievements, but he hopes the experience reinforces a lesson.

"We just try to leave it better than we found it, like we always tell the boys," he said.

Even beyond the rescue, that trip might have become a turning point in the Panthers' season. After losing the first game of the trip to Oxbridge Academy, they've won their last four to climb to 8-4, most recently Saturday's 15-6 win over Tallahassee Maclay at the Rivalry on the River tournament.

Gurowski said Nease is particularly riding the contributions of senior face-off specialist Conner Kunce, committed to Detroit, with solid play in the net from goalie Austin Azotea. The freshman is the latest first-year goalie to shine recently for the Panthers as he follows in the path of Gavin Koors, now a sophomore on the roster of NCAA Division II Chowan.

"They're gritty, they never give up," Gurowski said. "We've had a couple big fourth-quarter comebacks where you can tell they care about each other."

Milestones mount for Bears lacrosse

Saturday was milestone day for Bartram Trail girls lacrosse.

The 17-8 victory against county rival Ponte Vedra was only part of the reason for celebration in Bear country at the two-day Rivalry on the River lacrosse tournament at Bolles.

Count up those milestones:

• Senior Ryann Frechette scored her 400th goal and secured her 500th draw control, further extending her all-time totals to near-unbeatable marks for Northeast Florida.

• Senior attacker Emily Barnette hit the century mark for her career during the first quarter.

• Goalie Maddie Stevens also achieved the 400th save of her Bears career, which includes back-to-back FHSAA titles in 2022 and 2023.

Amid all the big numbers, one of the newest Bears, freshman Esa Brenneman, jump-started a 6-0 first-quarter run with a series of successful draw controls to pull away rapidly.

"It's something the girls have done really, really well this season, those first five minutes setting the tone and making sure we play our game," head coach Megan O'Grady said.

Entering Tuesday's game against Colorado Academy, the Bears (7-3) face a battle to defend their state trophy. Lake Mary, Ocala Forest and rival Creekside are all within striking distance for the top seed in Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-2A, but after their Rivalry on the River success, they're building momentum in a winning direction.

"They do a really good job of working together and keeping that energy up," O'Grady said.

Jackets' Hewlett ends Wake commitment

The recruiting market is back open for Locklan Hewlett.

The St. Augustine junior quarterback announced his plans Sunday to de-commit from Wake Forest in a statement on social media. Hewlett had been committed to the Demon Deacons since June.

"I want to thank Wake Forest, Coach [Dave] Clawson, Coach [Warren] Ruggerio, and the whole staff for everything they did for me. But after careful consideration with my family I am decommitting from Wake Forest University and will be reopening my recruitment," he said in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

Hewlett numbers around 20 other Football Bowl Subdivision offers. He helped the Yellow Jackets to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3S final last year, where they lost on a last-second field goal to Daytona Beach Mainland.

Rated as a three-star prospect and a top-50 quarterback in the 2025 class, Hewlett completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 2,712 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions despite missing three games due to injury.

He becomes the latest de-commitment in a particularly promising recruiting class for Northeast Florida. Mandarin five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr. backed away from his Alabama commitment in January following the retirement of Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

Coast to coast: Mandarin 4-star DB Hylton (Drake) Stubbs announces college football plans

White, Johnson top state in Tallahassee

Ponte Vedra's Lindy White is now the fastest in Florida over the track's longest distance, and Creekside's Alyson Johnson is on top of the state in the next-longest.

While weather shook up plans for Saturday's Booker Hill Relays in Jacksonville, dozens of Northeast Florida's top athletes still made the drive to Tallahassee for the FSU Relays at the Mike Long Track.

Sharks senior White ran a patient race to capture the girls 3,200-meter run in 10:41.11, which not only set a new season best but set a new season mark for Florida high school runners in 2024.

Creekside sophomore Johnson also added an FSU Relays title to her career resume, winning the girls 1,600 in 4:56.84. The time is the fastest in Florida this year, although she ran faster last season at the RunningLane Championships in Alabama.

Bolles earned a 1-2 finish in the girls shot put with sophomore Terrell McCoy (41 feet, 9 1/4 inches) and senior Zee Curtis, Mandarin's Danielle Pal took second in the girls high jump by clearing 5 feet, 3 3/4 inches, Suwannee's Will Wainwright placed second in the boys javelin with a personal-best distance of 202 feet, 5 inches and the Fleming Island team of Trace Burney, Sebastian Cruz, Cibastian Broughton and Kaylib Singleton ran 41.98 for second in the boys 4x100 relay.

A busy week on the track includes the weekend's Florida Relays in Gainesville, as well as the Adrain Mann Wolfpack Classic at Wolfson, the Don Hall Invitational at Orange Park and the Chandra Cheeseborough Invitational at Ribault.

FACA hoops honors Ribault's Williams

Add another award to the long list for Caleb Williams.

The Ribault guard earned Most Valuable Player honors for the North team during the weekend's Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Southeastern University in Lakeland.

Williams was among three area players in hoops action on the weekend: Nease center Jack Sullivan also represented the North for the boys game, while Menendez forward Kali Harris competed in the girls All-Star Classic.

Newly committed to Lafayette, Williams scored 1,509 points in four years at Ribault and reached the FHSAA Class 4A final four in 2023.

Commanders flag football to defend Gateway

The final set of Gateway Conference tournaments is just around the corner.

Beginning next Tuesday will be the Gateway flag football tournament, the first Duval County public school championship of the spring. The three-day event includes both a first and second round on April 2, semifinals on April 3 and championships on April 4.

White defeated Stanton 13-7 in last year's final and entered the week unbeaten against opponents from inside Jacksonville's city limits, but the Commanders will likely face significant hurdles against the likes of Stanton, Paxon, Atlantic Coast, Fletcher, Mandarin, Sandalwood and Westside.

Later next month will be the April 5 Gateway track meet, at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium; the softball tournament from April 8-11; and the baseball tournament from April 15-19, with the semifinals and finals held at the Bragan Baseball Complex on the Southside.

Weightlifting districts open Wednesday

March 27: playoff time. This is not a drill.

The spring sports postseason officially opens Wednesday with the first set of FHSAA district championships in boys weightlifting.

First to start is District 4-2A, including Bishop Kenny, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Ponte Vedra, Ridgeview and host Yulee, starting 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. Also on Wednesday are District 5-2A (Beachside, Matanzas, Menendez, Seabreeze, St. Augustine), 3:30 p.m. at St. Augustine, and District 3-3A (Bartram Trail, Buchholz, Creekside, Flagler Palm Coast, Nease, Oakleaf, Spruce Creek, Tocoi Creek), 5 p.m. at FPC.

Meets listed by the FHSAA later in the week are District 3-2A (Baker County, Clay, Columbia, Gainesville, Middleburg), 3:30 p.m. Thursday, at Baker County; District 5-1A (Branford, Fort White, Hamilton County, Madison County, Suwannee, Taylor County, Trenton), 10 a.m. Friday, at Suwannee; District 6-1A (Bolles, Episcopal, Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, Providence, University Christian, West Nassau), 10 a.m. Saturday, at Fernandina Beach; and District 7-1A (Bishop Snyder, Bradford, Cedar Creek Christian, Eagle's View, Keystone Heights, Palatka, Union County), 10 a.m. Friday, at Keystone Heights.

Around the area

Episcopal outfielder, pitcher and defensive back Carson Magyar committed to Hampden-Sydney for baseball and football. … Fleming Island junior Brooke Wilson committed to Florida Tech softball. … Former Columbia wide receiver Marquez Bell announced his transfer to Florida A&M football from Old Dominion. ... Former Ponte Vedra guard Ross Candelino is entering the transfer portal from Wisconsin men's basketball. … Former Bolles midfielder Avery Patterson made her National Women's Soccer League debut with the Houston Dash. Her game Saturday against Racing Louisville matched her against St. Johns Country Day graduate Carson Pickett. ... Bolles announced the retirement of athletic director Matt Morris effective this summer, with Rock Pillsbury Jr. of Sierra Canyon in California introduced as his successor. Morris has served as the Bolles AD for the past quarter-century at the school and has 36 total years at Bolles, in addition to a five-year stint at Nease during the mid-1990s. … Bishop Kenny forward Clare Coyle finished third in voting for Florida Dairy Farmers Class 4A girls basketball player of the year. … Bishop Kenny's Will Mayer finished second in Class 4A coach of the year balloting, with Providence's Gigi Bistrow third in Class 3A and University Christian's Keith Stroud third in Class 2A. … Bishop Kenny broke the same school record three times at Friday night's FSU Relays, with Stephanie Grden (11:05.24), Davis Johnson (10:59.60) and Emily Wheldon (10:52.65) in the girls 3,200. The old record, 11:07.67, belonged to Sarah Davis from 2010. … Johnson and Grden also combined with Alexis Holmes and Isabella Hutchins for second place in the 4x800 relay. … Keystone Heights won the Clay County boys weightlifting title and Wyatt VanZant surpassed the school record in the Olympic lift. … Menendez attacker Cassidy VanderMark set the Falcons' new girls lacrosse career record with her 143rd goal. … St. Augustine boys lacrosse coach David Ott earned his 100th career win. ... Trinity Christian softball's Hannah Rivers hit three homers Monday against St. Joseph. ... Thursday is the annual rivalry series between Bolles and Episcopal, with the private schools facing off in baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis. ... Montverde forward Cooper Flagg won the Gatorade Florida Player of the Year award for boys basketball.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Nease lacrosse coach: Max Gurowski's water rescue of truck driver