All-Area Athletes & Teams
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1503113
www.yoursun.com Page 23 BEACH VOLLEYBALL FIRST TEAM Ali Estis (DOY finalist) Ashley Reynolds (DOY finalist) BASEBALL FIRST TEAM Trent Adrian Jon Embury Jackson Lucas Brady Schumaker Second team Nick Dunn Simon Yochum SOFTBALL FIRST TEAM Zoey Lynn Kenna Tippman Kaylin Smith SECOND TEAM Emily Beam Myah Purdy Riley Sullivan BOYS TRACK AND FIELD FIRST TEAM Ben Tary (AOY finalist) Matthew Groves Trevor Owens SECOND TEAM Chase Graziadei Keyon Sears GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD FIRST TEAM Alyson Francolini (AOY finalist) Carina Fiorucci SECOND TEAM Kyla Freddolino Emily Ireland REWIND FROM PAGE 22A "Last year I didn't get to play because of my grades, but it feels great to be out here with my friends. I'm so happy I scored. My plan was to beat (Buenrostro) and now I'm ahead of him. "I hope I get to score more." Now that might be an inter- esting challenge – Buenrostro will be returning to the Bulldogs for his senior season. With Vargas and Buenrostro on the pitch, who's going to bet against DeSoto County in 2023-24? GIRLS WEIGHTLIFTING MADISON ATWOOD IMAGINE The last 12 months have been quite a ride for Imagine School weightlifting star Madison Atwood. It's been so great that the third state high school championship she won in February seemed almost like a step down. And while you could make an argument that her twin sister, Tristain, should get the award, it is Madison, who was named the Charlotte Sun Girls Weightlifter of the Year. The year culminated in Lakeland at the Class 1A state meet, where she won her third state championship in the 183-pound weight class with a combined total of 445 pounds, including a state record 240-pound clean and jerk. She was 75 pounds better than the runner-up. Coached by her father, A.J., Madison joined her sister at the top of the podium. Tristain won at 199 pounds to help Imagine to a second-place finish in the state despite having only three lifters. Madison's great season start- ed before her senior year when she won a National Weightlifting Title in Las Vegas in the 81-kilo weight class. She was first in clean and jerk and in total weight, while being runner-up in snatch, which is not performed in high school, but is done in the Olympics. She rolled through the regular season as well as the districts and regionals, the latter of which she won by 115 pounds over teammate Makayla Waterhouse. Atwood, who became the first Imagine athlete to win a state championship as a junior, won her first state crown at North Port High School in 2021 after Imagine didn't qualify due to being on probation. Madison and Tristain will take their talents to Mars Hill University in North Carolina, but not before she attempts to win another national cham- pionship later this month in Colorado Springs. WRESTLING CAEL NEWTON CHARLOTTE A matchup nightmare for any opponent regardless of weight class due to his 6-foot-6 frame, Newton wreaked his havoc on the 220-pound weight class during the 2022-23 wrestling season and was the runaway choice for Sun Preps Wrestler of the Year. At regionals, he won all four matches via pins with only one of those matches lasting longer than 45 seconds. At the state meet? Cael Newton was inevitable. It took just 108 seconds for Newton to become what he always knew he would be – a state champion. New Smyrna Beach's Dylon York barely had enough time to know what was happening. "I knew I was gonna go out there and get it done," Newton said. "So it was over when I stepped on the mat." Newton was the area's lone victor among eight wrestlers vying for a title during the FHSAA state wrestling champi- onships at Silver Spurs Arena. When the dust settled, Charlotte – led by Newton – celebrated a third-place finish in the Class 2A competition with all nine wrestlers finding a spot on the podium. Newton's title run was the cul- mination of a wrestling career that began at age five and ended with him carrying Robinson off the mat in an impromptu celebration in the moments following his first-round pin of York. Newton's future will be play- ing football at Army, but he said he might still find his way onto the mat at the service academy. WINTER FROM PAGE 15A SUN FILE PHOTO BY TOM O'NEILL Charlotte wrestler Cael Newton was the one to beat all year in the 220-pound weight class. Spoiler alert: He would not be denied. He became the area's lone state champion with a domi- nating effort at the state championships.