- April 17, 2025
Flagler Palm Coast dominated the boys cross country race at the Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational in Tallahassee on Sept. 17. But, unlike the FPC girls, the boys were not perfect.
The Bulldogs' girls team registered their first sweep in school history, claiming the top five places at the Nighthawk for a perfect score of 15 points. For good measure, they also claimed the sixth- and seventh-place spots.
Sophomore Cassidy DeYoung won her first individual title with a time of 21:39.7. Genesis Epstein (22:22.2) was second, followed by Arriana Slaughter (22:23.9), Kayleigh Johnson (22:50.0) and Annabelle Moore (22.58.8).
The FPC boys defeated Class 4A, 10th-ranked George Steinbrenner High School, claiming three of the top five spots and five of the top 12 spots. Braedyn Wormeck broke the 17-minute barrier with a time of 16:51.10 to win the individual title. Hayden Herndon (17:15.20) was second, Barak Olago (17:20.07) was fourth, Justin Gilliam (17:54.8) was 10th, and Brandon Kalasnik (18:19.2) was 12th.
At the Embry-Riddle Cross Country Classic, Father Lopez's Andrew Gazzoli won the individual title with a time of 17:22.6, while Matthew Gazzoli was ninth at 18:13.0. The Green Wave finished in second place behind Melbourne. Seabreeze runners took 10th, 11th and 12th places: Tyler Lewis (18:59.9), Noah Parris (19:03.6) and Dominic Marinaccio (19:03.79).
On the girls side, Seabreeze took three of the top five places: Mackenzie Roy was second with a time of 21:08.2. Ariana Roys was third (21:15.2) and Nickole Dane was fifth (21.54.2). The Sandcrab girls placed second as a team.
Matanzas' Zach Spooner took third place at the Lake Buena Vista XC Invitational with a time of 17:11.20 to lead the Pirates to a third-place finish. Christian Norfolk (18:42.5) was 16th. Nina Rodriguez led the Matanzas girls with a 21:23.8 to finish 10th. Maria Phillips (22:03.8) was 16th and Sierra Howard (22:05.6) was 17th.
The top two boys bowling teams in District 3 faced off on Sept. 14 with Matanzas edging DeLand 4-3 at Palm Coast Lanes to remain undefeated with an 8-0 record.
The Pirates actually clinched the match after the two individual games, collecting four points with two narrow victories, 990-975 and 982-955. DeLand won the two Baker games and then took the point for total pins, beating Matanzas by one pin: 2,336 to 2,335.
Morgan Naydich led the Pirates with games of 227 and 218. Jett Walden bowled a 224. Walden leads the district with a season average of 211.82. Seabreeze's Brayden Barnes is second at 209.0. Barnes rolled a 247 against Spruce Creek on Sept. 12. Naydich is fourth in average with a 202.67.
Matanzas defeated University 6-1 on Sept. 12. Flagler Palm Coast also won two matches last week, 6-1 over Pine Ridge and 6-1 over Mainland to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Defending state champ Seabreeze continued to roll in District 3 girls bowling. The Sandcrabs swept Atlantic and Spruce Creek to improve to 7-0. Seabreeze has won 48 out of a possible 49 points.
Seabreeze bowlers own three of the top four averages in the district. Kara Beissel leads with a 217.71 average. She bowled a 247 against Spruce Creek and a 221 against Atlantic last week. FPC's Emma Pezzullo is second with an average of 212.47, while Seabreeze's Stacey Spaulding (189.31) and Sofia Allem (184.42) are third and fourth.
FPC, which placed third in the state last season, improved to 7-1 on the season last week to place second in the district standings ahead of Matanzas (6-2). The Bulldogs' only loss has come to the Sandcrabs.
Palm Coast's Doreen Chase won a women's 60-plus championship with the Sluggers 60 team at the Softball Players Association's Ridge Hook Memorial World Championship in Dalton, Georgia on Sept. 15-18. Chase was named MVP of the tournament.
Send results and story ideas to Brent Woronoff at [email protected]
