The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week Presented by State Farm agent Mark McGriff for the week of April 24 is EMMA SHELTON* of the Buchholz (Gainesville) girls’ tennis team.
*Shelton helped lead the Lady Bobcats to their second state tournament in three years and their first state championship appearance since 1985. Buchholz swept Newsome and Winter Park at the state tournament to advance to the title match, but lost to 5-time state champion Dr. Krop (Miami) in the final. Watson went undefeated at the Class 4A state tournament and had a win in doubles against Dr. Krop. She is undefeated in singles for two years running. The sophomore, who won a Regional Final doubles match after losing the first set but came back and won the second and the tiebreaker, had to win this doubles match to make it to the state tournament.
Previous 2016-17 winners:
April 17 – Talaysha Williams (Eastside girls’ track & field)
Williams helped lead the Eastside girls’ track and field team to the Class 2A-District 5 title. The senior scored a team-high 32 points in leading the Lady Rams to their fifth championship in six years and third in a row. Williams won the 100-meter hurdles, finished second in the long jump and triple jump and finished third in the 300-meter hurdles.
April 10 – Sara Michal (Gainesville girls’ tennis)
The senior helped lead the Gainesville girls’ tennis team to the Class 3A-District 5 title at the Jonesville Tennis Center. Michal won an individual singles district title and she teamed up with freshman Olivia Bryant to win No. 1 doubles.
April 3 – Kamario Bell (Columbia boys’ weightlifting)
Bell helped lead the Tigers’ boys weightlifting team to a Class 2A state runner-up finish at DeLand High School by winning an individual state title. The senior, who will play football at Southeastern University in the fall, totaled 720 pounds (400 bench, 320 clean and jerk) to win the 199-pound division.
March 27 – Georgia Clark (Santa Fe girls’ lacrosse)
Clark helped lead the Raiders to a 3-0 week. She found the back of the net five times to lead the Raiders to an 11-7 win at Apopka. The freshman scored a total of nine goals to lead Santa Fe over Mandarin (Jacksonville) in the Raiders’ final game of the season. The Lady Raiders (7-6) finish their second season as a program with a winning record after winning only two games last season.
March 20 – Teala Howard (Union County softball)
The junior helped lead the top-ranked Class 1A Tigers to a 2-0 week. Howard was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, double, five RBIs and two stolen bases for the Tigers (13-1, 7-0) in a 13-0 district win against Williston. In a 10-6 win at 3-time defending state champion Chiefland, she went 3-for-4 and scored three runs.
March 13 – Ike Walker (St. Francis Catholic boys’ track & field)
Walker won two events at the Alachua County track & field championships. He won the discus and shot put, setting two school records in the process. Walker finished first in the shot put with a throw of 43-7 and first in the discus with a score of 121-2 in helping the Wolves to a 6th-place finish overall.
March 6 – Ethan Thompson (Santa Fe baseball)
Thompson helped lead the Raiders to a 3-0 week. In a 10-0 win against Palatka, the sophomore went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Against P.K. Yonge, his first inning 2-run homerun helped spark the Raiders to an 8-3 victory against the Blue Wave. For the week, Thompson was 5-for-9 with 6 RBIs and six runs scored with two doubles and his first homerun of the season. He was also 3-for-3 in stolen bases in a 17-4 win against Newberry.
February 27 – Brittney Robinson (Santa Fe softball)
The senior helped lead the Raiders to a 4-1 week as she went 10-for-16 with six runs scored, 10 RBIs and a triple. Robinson’s best game came in a 15-0 win against Bolles (Jacksonville). She went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, two runs scored, and she was 2-for-2 in stolen bases. Robinson had at least two hits in four of Santa Fe’s five games during the week.
February 20 – Hallie Karas (Gainesville softball)
Karas had three multi-hit games in helping lead the Hurricanes to a 3-0 week. The junior batted .538 for the week, including a 3-for-5 performance with one double, two RBIs and two runs scored in a 12-5 win at Columbia (Lake City). She finished the week 7-for-13 with 3 RBIs and four runs scored.
February 13 – Nick Baskin Jr. (St. Francis Catholic boys’ basketball)
Baskin scored 25 points and had five steals as the Wolves (18-7) won at Pensacola Christian Academy, 76-60, in a Class 3A boys’ basketball regional semifinal. The win secured St. Francis Catholic’s second trip to a regional final in school history.
February 6 – Clifford Jackson (Dixie County boys’ basketball)
Jackson helped lead the Bears to the Class 1A-District 7 title by scoring 52 points in three games, including a game-high 20 points in a 76-30 district quarterfinal win against Cedar Key. The senior guard scored 19 points and had three steals in a 71-52 win against Bronson in the semifinals, and he also contributed 13 points in a 63-58 win against top-seed Bell in the championship game.
January 30 – Kacey Carter (Fort White girls’ weightlifting)
The sophomore forward helped lead the Lady Tigers (22-3 heading into the district tournament) to a 2-0 week. On Tuesday, McHenry finished with 30 points, including four 3-pointers, adding six rebounds and five steals as Trenton defeated Williston, 78-51. Two days later, in the regular season finale, she had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five steals as Trenton defeated Newberry, 47-30, in a non-district game.
January 23 – Standrea McHenry (Trenton girls’ basketball)
The sophomore forward helped lead the Lady Tigers (22-3 heading into the district tournament) to a 2-0 week. On Tuesday, McHenry finished with 30 points, including four 3-pointers, adding six rebounds and five steals as Trenton defeated Williston, 78-51. Two days later, in the regular season finale, she had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five steals as Trenton defeated Newberry, 47-30, in a non-district game.
January 16 – Kim Melton (Santa Fe girls’ soccer)
Melton had a big week in leading Santa Fe to its fourth straight girls’ soccer district title. She began the week by scoring six goals in an 8-0 win against Crescent City in the Raiders’ opening game of the Class 2A-District 5 tournament. She followed that up by scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win against Newberry in the semifinals. Then, in the championship, the senior forward had all four goals in a 4-1 win against No. 2 seed P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) to win the title and secure a first-round playoff game at home on Thursday, Jan. 26.
January 9 – Devin Lawrence (Hawthorne boys’ basketball)
The junior helped lead the Hornets (16-3) to a 3-0 week, including a 2-0 mark in 1A-District 6 to stay unbeaten (11-0) in league play. On Saturday, Lawrence scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds and added four assists in a 70-68 win in overtime against Eastside. In a 76-70 district win against Williston on Thursday, he had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Lawrence began the week by shooting 64% from the floor against district foe Newberry, scoring a game-high 18 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
January 2 – Dylan Murray (Williston boys’ basketball)
Murray led the Class 1A Red Devils to a 3-0 week by averaging just under a double-double (22.3 points/9.7 rebounds). The senior forward scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 69-48 district win against Fort White, followed by 21 points and 11 rebounds against Hilliard in a 72-57 league victory. He finished the week by scoring 29 points and eight rebounds in a 68-54 win against Class 9A Lyman (Longwood) at the Dante Anderson Memorial Invitational.
December 12 – Caio Carvalho (Keystone Heights boys’ soccer)
Carvalho helped lead the Indians (11-3-1) to a 2-1 week. The senior scored two goals and added an assist in a 5-0 district win at Newberry. Carvalho began the week by scoring two goals and assisting on two other goals in a 6-2 win at Palatka.
December 5 – Ailey Tebbett (Oak Hall girls’ soccer)
The senior helped lead the Lady Eagles (8-2-1) to a 2-1 week by recording two shutouts. The University of Florida commit made 30 saves, and she also scored a goal by coming out of her goalkeeper position for a penalty kick in a 2-0 win against Hamilton County. Tebbett, who currently holds a 3.7 GPA, has 93 saves in nine games, and 996 saves in her varsity career despite missing her sophomore year due to injury.
November 28 – Macey Martin (Buchholz girls’ soccer)
Martin helped lead the Bobcats to a 4-0 week, including a first-place finish at the Maclay Invitational in Tallahassee. The sophomore had a goal in a 4-0 win at Mandarin (Jacksonville) and two or more goals in each of the Bobcats’ three tournament games (total of eight goals) in tournament wins against Lincoln (Tallahassee), 3-2, Columbia (Lake City), 5-2, and Florida High (Tallahassee), 9-1.
November 21 – Lee Ducharme (P.K. Yonge girls’ soccer)
The junior forward single-handily outscored Keystone Heights in leading the Blue Wave to a 6-3 District 5-2A win. Ducharme scored four goals, including a hat trick in the first half in helping P.K. Yonge to a commanding 4-0 lead at the break. That’s 10 goals in two games for Ducharme, who had six goals in a win against Interlachen.
November 14 – Ayanna Rollins (Oak Hall girls’ basketball)
Rollins helped lead the Lady Eagles to a 2-0 week. The junior guard had 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and five steals in a 59-4 rout of Florida School for the Deaf & Blind (St. Augustine). She followed that up with a monster game against Bronson, scoring 19 points and recording 15 rebounds in a 64-17 win.
November 7 – Naomi Peng (Eastside girls’ swimming & diving)
The senior won the Class 2A state diving title, leading to a top 10 finish overall for the Lady Rams at the FHSAA Swimming & Diving state championships in Stuart. According to the Gainesville Sun, Peng’s state title marked the Rams’ first girls individual state title since Allison Wagner won a pair of them in 1994. Peng helped lead the Eastside girls’ swimming & diving team to a sixth place finish overall.
October 31 – Grace Blair (Oak Hall girls’ cross country)
Blair won Oak Hall’s first individual cross country state title in school history while leading the Lady Eagles to the Class 1A state championship – their second title overall. The junior finished with a personal best time of 18:22.85.
October 24 – Mindy Herrick (Buchholz girls’ golf)
The University of North Florida commit helped lead the Lady ‘Cats to a third place finish at the FHSAA Class 3A state tournament. The Bobcats finished with a two-day total of 638, behind only West Orange (625) and state champion Lake Mary (614). Herrick finished second individually with a 1-over par 145 in two rounds.
October 17 – Logan Locascio (Gainesville boys’ cross country)
The senior helped lead the Hurricanes to the Class 3A-District 5 cross country championship. Locascio finished second in a time of 16 minutes and 21.20 seconds to take top area honors.
October 10 – Luke Whittemore (Buchholz football)
Whittemore caught nine passes for 220 yards and a TD as the Bobcats (4-2, 2-0) stayed unbeaten in 7A-District 3 with a 17-10 win at Bartram Trail (St. Johns). The senior, who is a Troy commit, hauled in an 86-yard scoring pass. He also had five carries for 29 yards and a 25-yard kick return.
October 3 – Tyler Winkel (Gainesville football)
The senior was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points, including the game-winner in double-overtime, and he also added a 31-yard FG, as the Class 6A ‘Canes edged rival Buchholz, 31-30, to snap a two-game losing streak against the Class 7A state-ranked ‘Cats.
September 26 – Blake Sanders (Keystone Heights football)
The junior running back had a career night with 277 yards on 47 carries to go along with four touchdowns as the visiting Indians defeated P.K. Yonge, 25-19 in double-overtime, in a 4A-District 3 game. Sanders had the game-winning 10-yard score on the Indians’ first play in the second OT. Keystone ran 54 plays on offense, and Sanders touched the ball on 49 of them (47 handoffs, two receptions).
September 19 – Jenna Wiggs (The Rock volleyball)
Wiggs helped lead The Rock to a first-place finish at the Gator Town Classic at Buchholz. The senior finished the tournament with 31 service points, 85 digs and seven aces, including one to end the match. In that third set, she scored the last four points, and point 25 was an ace. She served at 99 percent. The Rock (16-4) had wins over Citrus (25-7, 25-11), Okeechobee (25-11, 25-15), Santa Fe (25-10, 25-17), and Ocala Forest (25-27, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22) in the semifinals.
September 12 – Andre Hampton (Union County football)
The senior linebacker had 29 total tackles with six for a loss in the Tigers’ 43-8 win over Hilliard in the District 6-1A opener for both teams. The 29 tackles for one game is the most recorded by a Union County player in the modern era.
September 5 – Jakhai Mitchem (Newberry football)
Mitchem carried the ball 13 times for 187 yards and four TDs as Newberry upset Class 1A No. 5 Union County (Lake Butler), 40-22, for its first win against the Tigers in four years. The sophomore had scoring runs of 20, 28, 15 and 14 yards as the Panthers (3-0) remained undefeated.
August 29 – Jack Holloway (Gainesville boys’ golf)
The senior claimed low medalist honors in Gainesville’s quad match victories over Buchholz, Eastside & Newberry at Ironwood Golf Course. Holloway parred holes two through seven and birdied number eight en route to a 37 total. He helped the Hurricanes (4-0) stay unbeaten.
August 22 – Jacquez Jernigan (Newberry football)
Jernigan, who plays fullback, scored three rushing TDs to help lead the Class 1A Panthers to a 22-6 win at 4A Santa Fe (Alachua). The senior overcame two early fumbles and finished with 129 yards on 24 carries. He had TD runs of 6, 1 and 11 yards.
The Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week is presented by State Farm Agent Mark McGriff of Gainesville. For more information on auto, life and health insurance, call Mark at 352-372-8406. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
