- December 26, 2024
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Three years after Seabreeze’s girls bowling team won the state championship, it was the Sandcrabs’ boys turn. Seabreeze won the 2024 boys state bowling championship on Oct. 31 at the Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando.
Seabreeze showcased its resilience in the championship final. Down 2-0 to Leesburg, the Sandcrabs were in danger of losing a Baker match for the first time this season with the state title on the line. But they stayed alive with a 222-199 victory, then tied the match at 2-2 with a 188-176 win and finally, with a narrow 204-200 triumph in the final game of the three-day state tournament, the Sandrabs were able to celebrate with the championship trophy. Dalton Boice bowled a spare and a strike in the 10th frame to secure the title.
“It was tied 2-2 so, no pressure,” Boice said. “Luckily, I could pull through and get my boys the trophy. I think our performance did the talking. We couldn't have won this title without everybody here. We needed every person here.”
After qualifying for the Baker matches as the fourth seed, Seabreeze beat Apopka, East Ridge (winning 169-167 in the deciding fifth game), Heritage, Leesburg in the semifinal round and Leesburg again, 3-2, in the final.
“At state, they were unbelievable,” Seabreeze bowling coach Paul Shuler said. “They were such a team. Absolutely amazing. Everyone stepped up and did their job. … I’m just so happy for the guys.”
After they won, Shuler did a handstand walk in front of the bowling lanes to celebrate, just as he had done three years ago.
Mainland’s Elijah Walker lifted a total of 755 pounds to win an unlimited weight class championship at the Class 2A state boys weightlifting meet on April 20. He won the traditional title by 25 pounds with a 440-pound bench press and a 315-pound clean and jerk.
Walker, who weighed in at 342 pounds, clinched the title with his second bench press of 425 pounds. He then went for a personal-record 440 pounds on his final lift.
“He already had first place locked up at that point, so why not try 440? He just smashed it out,” Bucs boys weightlifting coach Chris Fricke said. “He probably could have gone higher if he needed to.”
Walker came back from June 2023 knee surgery after tearing his MCL and meniscus during a Bucs intrasquad football scrimmage. His clean and jerk had been up to 365 pounds before the injury. Returning from knee surgery, he had to start that lift from scratch, struggling at first to lift 135 pounds.
Mainland’s boys and girls basketball teams advanced to the state Final Four in Lakeland for the second year in a row. The girls won the state championship in 2023. They nearly repeated, losing in overtime 60-55 to Plantation American Heritage in the Class 5A championship game on March 8. After winning a dramatic 56-53 regional final at Pensacola Washington to reach the Final Four, the Bucs defeated River Ridge 62-31 in the semifinals.
Mainland’s boys team got to cut down the net for the second year in a row after winning the regional final on their homecourt. They defeated Tallahassee Rickards 42-36 to advance to the Final Four. A year after advancing to the state championship game, Mainland lost in the semifinals in Lakeland, 53-40 to Tampa Blake.
Mainland and Seabreeze both hired new football coaches in 2024. Mainland grad Jerrime “Squatty” Bell replaced Travis Roland who was named head coach at Camden County, Georgia. Roland led the Bucs to the 2023 Class 3S state championship and was named Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year. The 2024 Bucs lost their first five games under Bell but rallied with five straight victories to advance to the playoffs for the 31st consecutive season.
Former DeLand defensive coordinator Mike Klein replaced Lester Davis at Seabreeze. Klein was hired just a week before the start of spring practice in May.
“The timing is terrible, but the opportunity is fantastic,” Klein said.
The Seabreeze girls soccer team came one goal short of advancing to the state semifinals for the second year in a row. After losing 3-2 in overtime to Cypress Creek in regional finals in 2023, the Sandcrabs fell to Horizon 1-0 in the regional finals in 2024.
“This group of girls, especially the seniors, they’ve been through so much. They’ve had more playoff wins than any group of girls in the last 20 years at our school,” coach Eli Freidus said after the game.
