Here are the top 10 Polk athletes from 7 spring sports plus 40 more to wach
We've taken a look at athletes in baseball, softball and boys weightlifting to watch this spring, but that doesn't include two of the top four or five athletes in George Jenkins' Chelsi Williams and Winter Haven's Jaden Lippett.
Overall, there are 12 FHSAA-sanctioned sports in the spring with the addition last year of boys volleyball, beach volleyball and flag football.
One name missing from this list is Auburndale two-sport standout McKenna Battilla, who was the girls tennis player of the year last season as a freshman. She was scheduled to undergo knee surgery on Tuesday after being injured in the soccer playoffs.
More: Jaden Lippett's focus on track made him nationally ranked and co-athlete of the year
State meet: Williams wins 2 more gold medals to lead George Jenkins to state runner-up finish
While girls tennis lost a top player, boys tennis gained one as Ben Saltman, a top juniors player, will be playing for Winter Haven after not playing as a freshman. He should battle George Jenkins' Nikolas Kumria, the returning player of the year, for top honors in the county.
Here are the top 10 athletes in the rest of spring sports followed by 39 more athletes to watch.
Top 10 spring athletes
1 Chelsi Williams, George Jenkins (girls track and field)
Still just a junior, Williams is a six-time state champion who competes in both hurdles events, the triple jump and long jump.
2 Jaden Lippett, Winter Haven (boys track and field)
The Florida signee is a two-time state champion in the triple jump.
3 Nikolas Kumria, George Jenkins (boys tennis)
Kumria played high school tennis for the first time last season and was the county player of the year.
4 Ben Saltman, Winter Haven (boys tennis)
A talented juniors player who is the son of Winter Haven City Courts tennis pro David Saltman, Ben is playing high school tennis for the first time.
5 Azaria Whitehurst, Fort Meade (girls track and field)
The 2022 1A state champion in the 100 was injured just prior to the county meet.
6 Rylee Tanner, Winter Haven (beach volleyball)
Tanner emerged as The Ledger's player of the year in the first year of beach volleyball.
7 Erin Miller, Lakeland (beach volleyball)
Like Tanner, Miller excels in beach volleyball and indoor vollyball but has signed with Florida Gulf Coast to play beach volleyball in college.
8 Jayliani Lucas, Auburndale (flag football)
A junior quarterback, Lucas made great strides in her first year ever and was a playmaker as both a passer and a rusher.
9 Jada Hutto, McKeel (girls tennis)
She was county runner-up at No. 1 singles.
10 Tahjana South, Lakeland (girls track and field)
She was the county, district and region champion in triple jump district champion in long jump.
40 More Spring Athletes to Watch
Boys Lacrosse
Gavin Atkins, Winter Haven: Atkins is a three-year starting goalkeeper.
Aidan Barfield, All Saints: Barfield is the offensive leader of the Saints.
Logan Leal, Bartow: The midfielder is a top scorer for the Yellow Jackets.
Larnell Miche, Bartow: He is a returning for his senior year as the top faceoff midfielder in Polk County.
Omari Mixon, Lakeland: A football standout, he is one of the top 25 players to watch this season according to Tampa LAX.
Luke Mowrer, Lakeland: An attacker, the Florida-Tech commit scored 47 goals with 30 assists.
Jeremiah Owusu, All Saints: A senior defensemen, Owusu is the quarterback of the All Saints defense.
Zach Smith, Winter Haven: Smith is a three-year starter as a long-stick midfielder.
Grady Turner, Lake Wales: Turner is one of the top goalkeepers in the county.
Jed Watts, Lake Wales: Watts is a top long-stick midifielder.
Girls Lacrosse
Avery Brown, Lake Wales: A senior captain who scored 96 goals, she posses great leadership on and off the field.
Ally Donley, Lake Wales: A first-team, all-county attacker, she scored 27 goals.
Sophia Hart, All Saints: An attacker who also plays soccer, Hart is a strong offensive player who scored 49 goals last year.
Addison Lenderman, All Saints: A midfielder, she is a multi-sport athlete.
Skyla Ramirez, Lake Wales: A senior goalkeeper, she communicates well with her teammates.
Madilyn Regan, All Saints: A junior goalkeeper, Regan played a lot of offseason club lacrosse.
Boys Track and Field
Caden Baker, George Jenkins: Baker was The Ledger's cross country runner of the year last fall and will complete in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Sytrevion Dyer, Lakeland: Was district champion in the 400.
Darrell Galva, Bartow: He was the county champion in the 100 and was third at districts running for Lake Gibson.
Caden Marsh, Frostproof: Marsh finished second at
Michael Walker, Lakeland: Walker was the county and district champion in the javelin and was fourth at regionals, sixth at state.
Daniel Welling, Santa Fe Catholic: Welling missed the end of the cross country season but is back as one of the top distance runners in track.
Girls Track and Field
Dashanique Henry, Winter Haven: She was the county's top 200 and 400 girls sprinter last year.
Jaade McBridge, George Jenkins: She was the county and district champion in the 1,600.
Jaa’Ln McBride, George Jenkins: She was the county and district champion in 800.
Avery Smith, Lakeland: Smith, is back in action after missing cross country with an injury, was first team, all county in the 1,600.
Emma Wilkinson, Lakeland Christian: Wilkinson was the girls runner of the year last fall in cross country and is the runner to beat in the 3,200.
Areeyanna Bonds, Lake Wales: Bonds was district champion in the 200 and 400 last year and finished seventh in state in the 400.
Lauren Bayes, Lakeland Christian: She finished third at districts in the 1,600 last year.
Violet Smith, George Jenkins: She was the district champion in the discus and state qualifier.
Boys Tennis
Wiley Simpson, Geneva Classical: Simpson has been one of the top boys players tennis players in the county at No. 2 singles and moves to No. 1 with the graduation of his brother Tanner.
Girls Tennis
Abigail Windham, Frostproof: Windham emerged as a first-team, all-county selection last year as a freshman.
Beach Volleyball
Emily Drier, Winter Haven: A sophomore, Driver was a first-team, all-county blocker.
Elle Floyd, Winter Haven: A senior, Floyd was first-team, all-county defender.
Grace Gibbs, Bartow: The senior was first team, all county last year.
Kate Marshall, Lakelnad: Marshall is a key part of Lakeland's number one pair in which she partners with Miller. She is an exceptional server and has a keen sense of court awareness,
Boys Volleyball
Felipe Cusmanich, Mulberry: A senior middle hitter, Cusmanich had 106 kills and was first team, all county.
Jean Paul Gutierrez, Ridge Community: Gutierrez is a setter who finished with 251 assists.
Angel Maldonado Cruz, Ridge Community: Maldonado will serve as a co-captain to this year’s team and he finished last season with 97 kills.
Giovani Solis, Mulberry: Solis is transitioning from a strong outside hitter last season where he had 74 kills and 44 aces to leading the offense as starting setter. As a setter.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Here are 50 Polk County athletes to watch this spring from 7 sports
