Football
By Merrick DiCarolis
Last week the Oviedo Lions football team beat the East River Falcons 55-7, marking Oviedo’s 4th victory and 2nd time going over 50 points this season. Going into the game, the Lions had a record of 3-2. Their only losses came at the hands of 5-0 state title favorite Lake Mary Rams and the 6-0 University High School Titans. Both teams are ranked in the top 50 in the state per Maxpreps.
The Lions were led into the game by a high flying offense, averaging nearly 40 points a game, 15 more points than the Lions were averaging at the same time last year. Quarterback Jackson Latour has shown growth in his 2nd year leading the offense, throwing for 274.2 yards per game, leading the 3m district and ranking 10th in the entire state of Florida. Latour is set to smash the long-standing Oviedo touchdown record, as he’s already scored 21 touchdowns on the season, pacing himself for well over 28 touchdowns- the record set by former star quarterback Morgan Mitchell.
The Lions top performers against East River included senior running back Kevin Watson, who ran for 94 yards on 9 carries and scored 1 touchdown. The Lions ran all over East River to the tune of 269 yards and 5 total touchdowns scored by 5 separate players. Senior Marquet Williams led the Lions in receiving, catching 4 passes for 62 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Lions defense allowed just one touchdown for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. The defense was led by senior captain Bryson Blanford, who caught his 2nd interception of the season, running it back for a touchdown. Senior transfer Alejandro Bello caught his first interception of the season as well.
The Lions will face the Lake Howell Silverhawks in their next game, who hold a record of 3-2 and a ranking of 353rd in the state of Florida.
Girls Volleyball
By Hunter Fuehrer
Following a 5 set loss to Bishop Moore in week 5, the Oviedo girls volleyball team’s record was 13-6. Looking back on week 6, the Lions faced off against the Lake Howell Silverhawks on Tuesday September 26, followed by the Winter Springs Bears on Tuesday September 28.
Lake Howell was 8-6 entering Tuesday’s match against the Lions. Oviedo took the first set 25-17 after a strong defensive performance. Looking toward the second set, Oviedo was looking to close out the match with another strong performance and took the set 25-15. The third set saw the Lions carry the momentum from the second with Oviedo winning 25-15.
Following Tuesday’s 3-0 sweep of the Silver Hawks the Lions looked to take down the 10-10 Winter Springs Bears. The bad blood between the team was more than your usual club teammates and school rivalries. Over the summer junior outside hitter Anna Cathcart transferred from Oviedo to join the Bears roster. Cathcart made varsity as a freshman and sophomore amassing 331 kills, 19 aces, 32 blocks, and 140 digs. Leaving the Lions behind left some bad blood between players and coaching leading up to the non conference match.
From the first serve the two teams went back and forth fighting for a lead. The Lions took the first set 25-13 after taking a commanding lead midway through the set.
As the student section for the Bears began to overflow onto the gym floor both teams stepped back onto the court for the second set. The second saw the Bears offense come alive with big swings from both sides. Oviedo was unable to close the end of the set, and Winter Springs took the set 20-25.
Following the close set the Lions stepped back on the court with a new resolve. They’d return to their dominant form from the first set, ultimately winning the third 25-17.
Heading into the fourth the Bears had everything to lose as they needed to win the fourth to stay in the game. Both teams went back and forth trading point for point. Winter Springs took a lead over the Lions however with the game on the line Oviedo managed to go on a 4 point run to tie the game 24-24. The end of the fourth saw the Lions win 28-26 taking the match three sets to one.
Next week the Lions take on the Timber Creek Wolves, on Wednesday October 4th, followed by the East River Falcons, on Thursday October 5th.
Cross Country
By Riley Sanderson
On Saturday the 30th, the Oviedo cross country team brought their top ten boys and girls varsity runners to Tallahassee to compete in the 2023 Florida State University Prestates Invitational. The team was upgraded from the Varsity A races to competing in the boys and girls Elite 5K races, skipping over the Select level.
The top ten boys consisted of Aiden Aysun, Colin Aysun, Myles Edgerton, Jack Nugent, Brody Aysun, Yaniel Petrovich, James Unwin, Tucker Johnson, Aidan Zahn, and Liam Swisher. The top ten girls were Maya Cabal, Courtney Calhoun, Hannah Atwell, Hannah Adamson, Audrey Wood, Mady Falk, Gigi DeCesare, Loren Blumenfeld, Soleil Schnoor, and Lilly Johnson.
The meet took place at Apalachee Regional Park, the same course the FSU Seminoles cross country team uses for home meets as well as the FHSAA State Meet. The course contains an infamously steep hill, nicknamed “The Wall” by runners.
The team started their journey to Tallahassee on Friday the 29th by departing from Oviedo High School on a charter bus at 10:30am after 3rd period. The team arrived at their hotel later that day, then headed over to Apalachee Regional Park to complete a pre-race team tradition of running a lap around the course the evening before their race.
The next morning, the Lions woke up bright and early to head over to the course at 6:00am. The girls Elite 5K began at 7:40am and the boys Elite at 8:05am.
The girls team’s performance was marked by a sub-20 minute time of 19:59.20 by senior Maya Cabal, who placed 63rd out of 279 runners in the highest level race of the meet. Junior Courtney Calhoun and senior Hannah Atwell rounded out the top 3 Oviedo girls.
“It felt amazing to run a sub-20,” said Cabal. “I haven’t run a time like that since sophomore year so it really feels like all the hard work I’ve been putting in this season is finally paying off.”
Freshman Colin Aysun finished first out of the Oviedo boys, placing 108 out of 299 runners with a time of 16:48.00. Senior Myles Edgerton and freshman Aiden Aysun finished in the top 3 Oviedo boys.
The FSU Prestate Invitational is viewed by runners and coaches as a precursor for the state meet, so the Lions’ performance at this race was crucial in order to prove themselves as a true state meet contender.
“This performance shows that I can overcome anything because this past year has been really tough on me mentally and physically,” Cabal said. “The experience has kind of reworked my mindset and I’m starting to go into every race more confident and less pressured.”
The Lions cross country team’s next meet is the Hawks Last Chance Invitational at Lake Minneola High School on October 14 and the state championship meet will be November 18 back at Apalachee Regional Park.
Swim and Dive
By Merrick DiCarolis
This week the Oviedo Lions girls and boys swim team swam at Oviedo against Lake Mary. The girls swim team won by 100 points, one of their best meets of the season. The boys won as well, dominating the competition by 154 points.
The girls were led by Sophomore Addie Barowsky who swam in the 100 butterfly with a time of 30.63. Freshman Natasha Goodwin also had a great meet, swimming in the 100 butterfly as well with a time of 29.32. Next week the girls swim at Seminole where they will have their first conference meet where they will hope to replicate their success from this week.
The boys were led by Senior Thomas Youngblood who won the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.07. Senior Ryan Walker also swam well, winning the 100 fly with an incredible time of 53.80. The Lions also have their first conference meet of the season at Seminole.
Golf
By James Bryant
On Tuesday September 26, Oviedo High School traveled to Twin Rivers Golf Course to take on Orange City University. Oviedo beat Orange City 135-225, as they were dominant against them.
In their big win, the team was led by their sophomore Tyler Adamczyk who scored a 35. Adamczyk felt good about the score he got in the game, and is starting this season off strong. Tre Dahm (sophomore) and Tyler McGrath (Junior) both scored 29’s, and Caleb Anderson (Sophomore) scored a 40. Overall it was a solid game for everyone, as they were able to take command of the game.
On September 28, the Oviedo Lions played a tight game against Timber Creek, as they won 151-158. Coach Howell was very proud about the game they played, as they were able to win despite the bad weather conditions.
The Lions were once again led by Tyler Adamczyk, as he shot a 36 on the game. Adamczyk was upset by the bad balls he hit in the rain, but was still able to cap off a great performance. He was able to finish the day off with an even par, and also as a low medalist.
The other notable golfers for today were Tyler McGrath with a score of 37, Tre Dahm with a 38, and Caleb Anderson with a 40. Besides getting a bogey on a par 5, McGrath had a solid day on the course, being the second highest scorer on the team. Dahm struggled with his putts on the course, but was still able to finish with a solid score.
Bowling
By Josh Sabbia
On Monday the 25th, Oviedo’s bowling team went against the Lyman Greyhounds in a close match. Senior Zach Horribin had a high game of 247, and followed it up with a high series of 454. Junior Spencer Wainright had a score of 343. Oviedo finished their baker game with 434. The Oviedo boys team ended up losing 2,539-2,183.
“Spares and getting better with reading the lanes as the lane’s oil breaks down,” said Coach Freund.
The girls team ended up dominating the Lyman girls team 1,795-227. Tayler Hennessy had a high game of 212, and later had a high series of 353. The girls team ended up finishing their baker game with 372. Oviedo won by +1,568.
On Wednesday the 27th, Oviedo’s bowling team went against the Winter Springs Bears. Horribin had another high series this game of 432. This was followed up by freshman Alex Coghill with a high series of 332. The Oviedo boys team finished their baker game with 572. They ended up having a close match, but got the victory by beating Winter Springs 2,347-2,329.
The girls team also had a victory over the Bears. Senior Natalie Harvey had a high game 175, and a high series of 343. They ended up winning the game 1,756-1,515. Next week, the Oviedo bowling team will go up against the Crooms Academy Panthers.