All-Area Athletes & Teams
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1503113
www.yoursun.com Page 15 remains one of his favorite memories. "That's definitely my best memory," he said. "We had a nice game and went to the Final Four that year. The whole team was hyped. Everyone knew it was won of those things were we were getting it going for Charlotte." Gamble earned second-team All-Area honors following that season as the lone sophomore, one year after making the same team as a freshman. He moved up to a Sun Preps Player of the Year Finalist following his junior campaign and was named the Sun Preps 2022-23 Player of the Year this season as a rare four-time All- Area honoree. As the area's Player of the Year and perennial All-Area honoree, there had been numerous opportunities throughout his junior and senior seasons to give his com- mitment to a college basketball program. Nothing felt quite right. Earlier this month, though, his patience paid off, handsomely. Gamble signed on the dotted line to continue his hoops career at Tennessee State. An HBCU program with a strong basketball tradition. GIRLS SOCCER SIERRA SPIRK NORTH PORT If Sierra Spirk could be compared to one professional athlete, it would have to be NHL great Wayne Gretzky. Spirk was nothing less than a scoring machine in her four years as a striker for the North Port High School girls soccer team, holding the top two spots for most goals in a season as well as career goals, while averaging more than 1.5 goals per game in her career. This has resulted in Spirk, a four-time All-Area selection, being named the Sun Preps 2022-23 player of the year. Spirk has been followed by the Sun since she was a seven- year-old playing on the 9U North Port Futbol Club, even playing against boys. Great things were expected of her even then. She has more than lived up to it. In high school, Spirk was a four-year starter on varsity and made an immediate impact by scoring 25 goals as a freshman. She set a school record during her sophomore year, knocking home 35 goals, and topped that mark in her senior season, scoring 42 times and adding 10 assists. With the help of junior forward Danielle Van Deusen, who had 28 goals herself, they led the Bobcats on a 10-game win streak late in the season and a run into the regional playoffs. For her career, she scored 128 goals, obliterating the old mark of 67 by Aleena Purvis. She also holds team records in assists (47) and points (303) for boys and girls. Spirk will play soccer this fall for Florida Southern in Lakeland. Coach Hans Duque said a player of Spirk's caliber will be impossible to replace. "When she came in as a freshman, we knew she was something special," Duque said. "When you're a coach and you have a player like that, it's a delight." BOYS SOCCER ANDRI VARGAS DESOTO COUNTY To explain this sophomore's impact on the DeSoto County program requires us to rewind the tape to the 2021-22 season when, as a freshman, Vargas didn't play for the Bulldogs. While he sat on the sidelines, JJ Buenrostro led the Bulldogs on a historic run through the Class 4A playoffs to the state semifinals, where DeSoto County was the last public school team standing. In the process, Buenrostro set the school record for goals. After winning the Sun's Player of the Year award for his efforts, Buenrostro stepped away from the Bulldogs, leaving a huge void. While those close to the program knew Vargas could help with some of Buenrostro's lost production, no one was prepared for what came next. Vargas broke Buenrostro's one-year-old team goals record, passing him during the district championship game. He finished with 28. "It felt great that I got to score," Vargas said of his record-breaking goal against LaBelle in that district title game. WINTER FROM PAGE 14A SUN FILE PHOTO BY CHRIS BLAKE DeSoto County's Andri Vargas (8) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Lemon Bay in this year's district semifi- nals. Vargas went on to set a new team scoring mark with 28 goals this season. SEE WINTER, 23A