GREEN COVE SPRINGS - For Clay High sports, one dominant athlete did what she does and another made a gallant return to a sport he dominated in his first try to overcome a few obstacles to return to his forefront.

Athletes of the Year

For Clay weightlifter Emma Heck, a junior, taking on the strongest athletes in Florida is a matter of waking up from a nap and lifting a car over her head. Heck, who wowed the world with a freshman pair of state weightlifting titles, answered the call not once, but twice, with a third pair of state weightlifting titles in 2023.

Heck not only won the third title but won the best lifter in Florida, record-setting best weightlifter in Florida and added a sixth-place World Junior finish in Peru. Not a bad resume and she has one more high school season to improve.

For Clay wrestler Jacob Bucci, who rolled into to town with a third-place finish in Class 2A as a sophomore with 59 matches (57 wins), was expected to roll into his junior season as a seasoned state returner, but injury put a little hiatus on that journey and kept the question open until the Clay Rotary where Bucci looked like the old Bucci with three pins to the final.

Bucci, though, kept the needle on the record, rehabbed the heck out of his body and maintained his excellence all the way back to the state championships where he finished as Class 2A runnerup at 113 pounds with just a 9-1 season record. Bucci’s opponent was junior Malachi Ortiz of Tampa Jesuit with a 38-6 record. Bucci’s battle at the state meet included guys with 27 wins, 40 wins and 46 wins before Ortiz.

For their relentless chase of excellence; Heck, with a ton of expectation, and Bucci, with a ton of apprehension, are the Clay Today Clay High Athletes of the Year for the 2023-2024 seasons.

For the boy’s wrestling season, Rylan Herrera also blasted through a tough season with just 10 matches (8-2) to finish second at 126 while also handling matches of guys with 34, 49 and 53 wins plus a 54-1 championship final.

Vasheer Burke had one of the more dynamic battles in the Clay Rotary final against Middleburg Skyla Fisher in what would have been a great region or state rematch but got injured at regions to finish 28-7.

Volleyball

In volleyball, senior Aubri Martin capped off a stellar career manning the back line for the Lady Blue Devils with a nationally-ranked 1608 digs. Martin heads to Mercer University to continue playing.

Cross-Country

In cross country the dynamic duo of Kaygen Williamson and Ericka Martinez were a double dose of Blue Devil shirts at the finish line with the tandem usually finishing within eyeshot of each other; 22nd at districts for Martinez, 25th for Williamson. Williamson ran the region race finishing 28th with Martinez slightly injured.

Noah Looney, a senior, also got to the region race finishing 77th.

Golf

In boys golf, sophomore Jack Newell had one of his best rounds with an 82 at regions to finish 23 and ahead of Clay stalwarts Robert Young and William Guy.

For girl’s golf, senior Rebecca Gibson was 38th at regions.

Swimming

In swimming, junior Kylie Elrod got her ticket to the state championships in five events; two relays, the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke where she was 12 in the final just five seconds off the winner.

Basketball

In basketball, one story that turned into a possible Cinderella Story was the turnaround of the girl’s team under sophomore guard Teaghan Moses, freshman surprise Aiyana Haynes and rookie coach Doug Deters who built a 15-11 season with two three-game wins streaks and one four-game streak.

For the boy’s hoops, an early 6-2 season-opening streak included a 57-55 win over Orange Park, showed off some Blue Devil athleticism with quarterback/baseball player Merrick Rapoza putting his muscle in the paint for coach Jared Moses.

Soccer

Soccer got double titles with the boys and girls soccer getting district titles and region playoff berths as boys coach Wale Leyima’s balanced attack; five players with more than five goals-Aidan Pinnix eight, Isaack Espino and Gavin Tenga with seven and Louvens Jorssaint and Anthony Lopez with six fueling the Blue Devils (11-4-3) first district title and a region playoff berth.

In girl’s hoops, the two top scorers; Kirra Dodson (19 goals) and Brooke Bunton (36 goals) got their district title, and three region playoff games including a loss in the region final. Ericka Martinez also added 10 goals after a solid cross-country season.

Spring Sports

In the spring, flag football and baseball dominated the headlines with Teaghan Moses, the basketball ace; senior Shelby McClain; the soccer goalie ace and speedy Kirra Dodson and Tatum Waugh, two more soccer aces getting the Lady Blue Devils to a one-loss regular season, a district title and four playoff game s including a state quarterfinal loss to Choctawhatchee.

Track

Track’s boys had a tough trio of 400-meter runners led by Alex Weiss, 51.18 at districts for third with Gavin Baillie and Oliver Pierre sixth and seventh. Jack Wilkening blasted some fast 100s with an 11.16 for sixth at districts and a fifth place 22.61 200 for the scrappy soccer defender.

The top thrower was football strongman Omar Goosby with a fourth at districts, and sixth at regions (44’-6”).

Kaygen Williamson got tough 11 in a strong district in 800 meters.

Baseball

In baseball, coach Josh Persinger (18-10) nearly reversed a disastrous season-ending; extra innings 1-0 win over Middleburg and a district finals loss to Orange Park before stringing together two region wins and a tough 2-0 loss to top seed Tallahassee Lincoln. Rapoza’s five homers were a big part of Clay’s attack with Easton McMahan and Cole Carnell providing last-inning fireworks that got Clay into familiar playoff territory.

Softball

In softball, in one of the surprise endings that finished with a sad face, coach Matt Lewis and senior pitcher McKinsey Bardroff (94Ks) and senior big-bat Bailey Parker (22RBIs) nearly turned an “Un-Clay-Like” season into a final surge with streaks of five wins and three wins with surprise wins over Ridgeview, Palatka and Keystone Heights, but the Blue Devil luck ran out after a dramatic eight-inning win over Ponte Vedra in the district semifinals and a district final loss to Fleming Island.