KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - In one of the toughest lineups in the state boys weightlifting ranks, the Keystone Heights High boys team put themselves back in the mix of top programs with double third place finishes at Class 1A championships with baseball punching in with a district title and track ace Ryder Thomas doubling as a district champion.
With the boys weightlifting team primed to return to the state ranks with two state titles in the trophy case, the Indians battled with a much-improved Fort White team to deliver coach Steve Reynolds thirds in Olympics and Traditional scores.
"There are a lot of new programs from the small school segment that are now starting to emerge as challengers in Class 1A," said Reynolds, who saw a state title to Elijah Mize and top 10 finishers by handful of athletes led by a second and third place by Colton Hollingsworth and a third by Jackson Herman. "Coaches are building programs first from generating interest in the sport then building that into the benefit it has on other sports like football, soccer and track."
Keystone Heights' girls weightlifting dominated their district meet led by individual titles by all by two weight classes in Olympics and all but four in Traditional. Double titles went to Cadie Bowles, Kaylee Park, Chloe Still and Ave Herman. Still got a second at regions with Ashlyn Brown third, and Ava Herman and Lily Mitchell both fifth in Traditional. Also at regions in Olympics, Park was sixth, Still was sixth, Brown was third and Paige Harrington and Herman were sixth.
On the diamonds, Keystone Heights baseball and softball both had treacherous runs to post season play with the Indians not shying from taking on the best programs in the state.
Baseball coach Chris Roach, with a district title built off a 19-9 record had the likes of region finalist Clay on their schedule, finished up facing No. 5 Bishop Snyder in the region quarterfinals.
Roach rode the scholarship arms of Ty Mitzel and Gage Barry throughout the season and a strong batting lineup led by Barry's .420 and Austin Smith's outstanding.400 average with the Indians sporting a .300 overall batting average.
In wrestling, Atreyu Conte and Mikey McCall both got top four district finishers; second and fourth, to advance to regions.
In softball, coach Jessica Marquart's rough schedule got the Lady Indians, led by Kadence Massey on the mound and in the batter's box with Amberlea Wagner both over .300 batting averages. Keystone Heights finished with excruciating losses in their district final; a 2-1 eighth inning loss to Newberry, and in their region playoff, a 4-2 loss to Final Four finisher Trinity Catholic that started with homers, but ended with a Keystone Heights flurry that fell short in the late innings.
At the college level, former Keystone Heights softball standout Kiley Channell competed with Florida Atlantic University in the NCAA Div. I regions at University of Florida as one of the top doubles hitters for the Owls and also an outstanding shortstop.
On the track, Ryder Thomas whipped up district titles in the 1600 and 3200 to lead the Indians track team with a region finish of 12th in the 3200 and 18th in the 1600. Thomas led the boys squad with hurdler Kaylee Park, third at districts, taking ninth at regions in the 100 hurdles and Olivia Griffin, third at districts, taking 15th at regions in the 800, leaders for the girls team.
In soccer, Keystone Heights boys and girls teams both had outstanding season with the boys finished 11-7-3 behind team scoring leader Aaron Wiley's 33 goals with Indians losing in regions to Final Four finisher South Walton.
For the girls, coach Roger Laurent had a new team of athletes and put together a 13-7-3 season with a No. 1 district seed, but a loss to No. 5 Eastside in their semifinal. Laurent has his two top scorers; Kayden Huntley (27) and Halea Lam (21) both returning next season.
In golf, the Keystone Heights boys team finished second in their district tournament to Oak Hall, led by a sixth place finish by Ty Mitzel and a 10th from Jacob Beach. Keystone Heights advanced to region to finish 12th with Mitzel and Beach top two finishers for Indians; 59th and 65th.
The girls golf team finished third in districts led by Aubrey Brooks and Rebecca Binet both finishing tied at 15th.