Playoff performers: How Big Bend athletes performed in district, regional and state tournaments
The fall sports regular season is officially over, with each sport in the postseason after months of competition.
With golf, swimming and volleyball at the state championship rounds and cross country and football in regional play, there is plenty of action for athletes around the Big Bend looking to win in the postseason.
With both 1A and 2A swimming competing at the state championships in Ocala over the weekend, the 3A and 4A rounds start on Friday, Nov. 10. Wednesday marks the start of the chase for a state title for Chiles volleyball and golf state championships are taking place all week,
With all that said, let's dive into the Big Bend state placers, qualifiers and top performers!
Swimming
Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training in Ocala was the site for the 1A and 2A state swimming championships over the weekend, with Maclay and Rickards diving into elite competition.
1A State Championship: Maclay's Bella Ekk shines in 100 free: Ekk posted 49.69 in the 100 free in the state finals to take second place and claim the lone podium placement for Maclay at the state championships. The Marauders finished 12th overall in the girls competition and finished 18th in the boys competition.
2A State Championship: Rickards place sixth in 200 medley relay: The Raiders were flying on Friday evening, placing sixth overall in the 200 medley relay with swimmers Joshua Osborn, Arrow Harris, Kevin Wang and Kevin Mao posting a 1:38.33 finishing time. The Raiders finished 13th overall at the state championships with 63.5 total points.
Cross Country
District meets took over Florida last week, as thousands of runners competed with hopes of qualifying for the regional rounds of the season. From meets in the Big Bend and beyond, here is who qualified for the next stage of the chase for a state championship.
1A:
Three teams qualified for the regional rounds of the cross-country postseason, with Maclay, Community Christian and St. John Paul II all qualifying for both the boy's and girl's regional meets. Maclay had two runners win the individual races, with Caroline Couch and David Barton placing first in both races.
2A:
Floirda High and Wakulla made the cut for the regional meets, with the War Eagles winning the girl's district title and finishing sixth in the boys. The Seminoles finished second in the girl's race and fourth in the boy's race. The top finisher on the girl's side was Isabella Loughton for Wakulla and War Eagles runner Henry Lewis beat out Florida High's Xavier England for the boy's race.
3A:
It was all Leon in the individual races, with Patrick Koon and Madi Sims winning the two individual races, and Leon claiming the boy's district title. On the boy's side, Leon and Lincoln qualified as teams, and two runners from Rickards qualified in Jamarin Lane and Rashado Arnold making the cut. Sims was the only Leon girl in competition and she advanced as an individual, with Lincoln and Rickards advancing on the team front.
4A:
Chiles qualified for the 4A regional meets for both girls and boys, finishing fourth in the girl's district meet and third in the boy's district meet. Jackson Rowe was the top finisher for the Timberwolves on the boy's side with his fifth place, and Haley Heitmeyer finished eight in the girl's meet.
Golf
Big Bend golfers hit the links last week in hopes of qualifying for the state tournaments. With a handful of golfers making it to states, let's dive into the Big Bend representation.
1A: Maclay's Riner, Cook, and Florida Highs Cowhey make state: There will be Big Bend golfers in the 1A state tournaments, with Maclay senior Ellie Jane Riner being the only girl to qualify after a second-place finish in the regional tournament in Jacksonville. On the boy's side, Jack Cook and Payton Cohwey make it to the state tournament after Cook finished third in the regional tournament and Cowhey finished 12th.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How Big Bend athletes performed in last weeks playoffs action
