It should have been an easy night in the gym for Navarre’s boys basketball team.

Down the final stretch of a challenging regular season, Navarre’s girls basketball team showed a great deal of promise.

Payton Watson and Savannah Diel etched out a special place in Navarre girls weightlifting history last Thursday, joining Kylie Shelley as the only lifters to repeat as individual state champions.

The Lady Raiders won the state weightlifting title for the third straight year and the fourth time in the last five years last Thursday at Belleview High School.

Niceville 3, Raiders 2

Niceville eliminated the Raiders from the regional playoffs at Twin Oaks on Jan 31. Niceville took a 3 – 0 lead and the Raiders had to dig deep to find out what kind of team they were.

Dante Wright had just hit a jump shot in the lane in the fourth quarter, pushing Navarre over Gulf Breeze back to 10 in an intense rivalry game Tuesday night in Navarre.

Mario Cruz sat on the field at the Ashton Brosneham Complex Wednesday night, his face, with tears streaming down it, buried in his hands.