Our Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week Presented by State Farm agent Mark McGriff for the week of October 26 is BLAKE LOWERY* of the Gainesville boys’ cross country team.
*Lowery helped lead the Hurricanes to the Class 3A-Region 2 team title. The senior ran a Gainesville High and Florida Horse Park course record time of 15:42.80 to win an individual title. He lowered the record by 19 seconds. The Hurricanes, picked to finish second, upset seventh-ranked Ocala Vanguard to win the title by three points and advance to the state meet.
Previous 2015-16 winners:
October 19 – Ray Trimble (Keystone Heights football)
Trimble set the school record by rushing for 401 yards on 45 carries. He scored three touchdowns in a 28-14 win over district rival Interlachen. The senior also scored on a two-point conversion, kicked two extra points and played on every down defensively, intercepting a pass. Trimble, who had a long run of 56 yards against the Rams, leads the area in rushing with 1,418 yards.
October 12 – Hamp Cheevers (Trenton football)
Cheevers rushed for 218 yards on only seven carries and scored four TDs as the Tigers defeated Newberry, 54-6, to take over sole possession of first place in District 7-1A. The Gainesville Sun Super 11 selection had a 64-yard scoring run on the game’s first play from scrimmage and added a 68 yard TD run on his third carry of the game. The senior also returned a kick 32 yards, intercepted a pass and had three pass breakups.
October 5 – Kaitlyn Cronin (Buchholz girls’ swimming)
Cronin helped lead the Buchholz girls’ team to the Rob Ramirez City Swimming and Diving Championship. She won two individual titles and was a part of two winning relay teams in leading the Lady Bobcats to the city title. Cronin won the 50-yard freestyle (23.97) and the 100-yard butterfly (57.92). She was also a part of the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relay teams that finished first. It was the first time since 2005 that both the Buchholz girls and boys each won the city title.
September 28 – Jac’cara Walker (P.K. Yonge volleyball)
Walker had 17 kills and 18 digs as nationally-ranked P.K. Yonge defeated Winter Springs in four sets in a match-up of two of the top six teams in the country. The senior outside hitter also led the Blue Wave to a runner-up finish at the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Arizona, which included two wins against teams ranked in the top 11 of the country. For the week, she finished with 91 kills, 35 service points, four aces, 76 digs and four blocks. She is currently on the MaxPreps National Volleyball Player of the Year Watch List
September 21 – Kaylee Herring (Santa Fe volleyball)
Herring helped lead Santa Fe to a 2-1 week with road wins against Alachua County schools Eastside and Oak Hall. The senior had eight kills, four services points and two aces in the win against the Rams on Tuesday, followed by 10 kills and eight digs against the Eagles on Thursday. In the loss at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) on Wednesday, Herring had one of her better outings for the week with one assist, 11 kills, nine digs, two blocks, two aces and 11 service points.
September 14 – Hoss Marino (St. Francis Catholic football)
Marino ran for 189 yards on 33 carries and scored two TDs, including the game-winner with 1:24 left, as St. Francis Catholic defeated St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) on the road. The senior quarterback/linebacker also tossed a scoring pass and had three tackles on defense.
September 7 – Tyrus Cook (Union County football)
Cook completed 24-of-34 passes and threw for a school record 411 yards as Union County stayed unbeaten with a 39-13 win against previously unbeaten Newberry. The junior accounted for all six scores as he threw four TD passes and ran for two more. Cook had TD passes of 16, 8, 26, & 19 yards while adding a 14-yard TD run and a 19-yard scoring run.
August 31 – Matt Armstrong (Oak Hall football)
Armstrong accounted for all four TD’s as Oak Hall (Gainesville) defeated Aucilla Christian (Monticello), 28-7, to pick up its first win of the season, and just its second victory in the past year. With the Eagles trailing 7-0, the sophomore quarterback completed a 70-yard TD pass to Spencer Marino to tie the game, followed by a 70-yard scoring run for the game-winning score. He added two 3-yard touchdown runs.
The Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week is presented by State Farm Agent Mark McGriff of Gainesville. For more information on auto, life and health insurance, call Mark at 352-372-8406. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
