Sports Archive

For most athletes at Saturday’s District 1-4A meet in Tallahassee, it was their first time competing at that level.

And yet, if there were any nerves among the Raiders, they didn’t show. Several athletes rose to the occasion and punched an automatic bid to the regional.

Defense wins championships. And Navarre’s flag football team knows playing well on that side of the ball will be critical to success in the District 1-2A tournament that kicks off Monday night at home against Leon.

The winner moves on to play Chiles or Lincoln in the semifinal round Wednesday at Niceville.

Ten lifters will compete for Navarre at next Saturday’s 3A state weightlifting meet in St. Cloud. The Raiders are the reigning champs in 2A but moved up to 3A this season.

Navarre won’t go into this year’s meet favored to win it but the Raiders do have several lifters who could place at state, including TJ Peltier, who is ranked second in his weight class.

Defense has become a trademark of the 2021 edition of Navarre’s flag football team, and if a reminder was needed, it was sent out Thursday night under the lights of Bennett C. Russell Stadium.

Every time Gulf Breeze tried to make a big play, Navarre shut it down on its way to a 13-0 win over the rival Dolphins on senior night.

When Jessica Farrer crushed a home run over the fence in the fifth inning of Thursday night’s game against West Florida Tech, her teammates and the fans cheering her on as she rounded the bases, it appeared as if Navarre had tightened its grasp on the momentum.

On a personal level for the sophomore, it was a big moment.

An ice bag was taped to the shoulder of his pitching arm. A smile stretched across his face.

Korey Betts was feeling pretty good about how things had just played out for Navarre’s baseball team in its 4-3 come-from-behind win over Crestview Thursday night at home.

Despite falling short of winning its fourth regional championship in program history, not all was lost for Navarre’s boys weightlifting team at last week’s District 1-3A sub-regional at Oak Leaf.

The Raiders still finished as the runner-up of the meet and TJ Peltier won his first ever regional title, claiming the crown in the 139-pound weight division with a total lift of 460 pounds.

Major League Baseball tends to stick to tradition. It doesn’t embrace change the way other pro sports do, sometimes avoiding it like a plague.

That is until two weeks ago when commissioner Rob Manfred dropped the hammer on Atlanta by pulling the 2021 All-Star Game out of the city.

A lot is going Tori Martino’s way right now.

The former Navarre Raider and current standout on the IU East women’s soccer team just earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. She’s also on a team headed to the NAIA tournament.

Tony Carter leans against a fence outside the track and watches the athletes put in work.

Navarre’s track coach loves seeing the athletes continue to strive for greatness and is thankful his Raiders have made it to the finish line of the regular season despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.