The Lead In I should be heading to Gulf Breeze today to cover the Andrews Invitational, one of the main track meets of the season. The meet is a measuring stick for athletes as they inch closer to the start of the postseason in April. You tend to see some of the best performances of […]
Jack Patching grew up playing the game of soccer. It’s been part of his life for as far back as he can remember, and over the years he’s progressed through experiences and opportunities that have shaped him into the player that he is today. He leaves Navarre as one of the top soccer players in […]
The Gulf South Conference cancelled the spring sports season Monday afternoon. Also, all other countable athletic-related activities have been suspended through at least the end of May. That includes spring football. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NCAA’s requirement for waivers for affected student-athletes were significant factors in this decision […]
No one can take you out the ballpark to watch a game just yet, but you can still enjoy the food. Starting Monday, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos will offer their favorite concession items through a new curbside pickup service. Service begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. “While we can’t […]
Kelly Hayes stood in front of her softball team late Thursday night and talked to the players about the effort they put forth in a tightly contested battle with rival Gulf Breeze on the road. It would have been easy for the Raiders to call it a day after letting an early lead slip away, […]
In what was the last week of baseball for the immediate future, Navarre dropped a pair of games and fell to 3-6 on the year. Of their nine games, the Raiders have played from behind in all but one. Last week, it was Choctaw putting a pair of runs up in the second and third inning […]
Brody Roberson remembers back to a time last year when Navarre’s boys lacrosse program was still at the club level. “We didn’t have gloves but we had sticks and we were playing Hungry Hungry Hippo after school on the practice field, and now we are out here playing teams and it’s motivating,” Roberson said. The […]
There was no surrender by Navarre’s girls lacrosse team in its 15-1 loss to South Walton on March 10. Junior Zoey Dezaldivar scored on a second-half penalty shot, beating the Seahawks’ goalie to the top right-hand corner for the Raiders’ lone goal. It was her sixth of the season. Team co-captain Cheyenne Beasley dismissed the final score […]
The Lead In COVID-19 is creating a lot of problems for a lot of people. Good stories, however, have emerged amid the concerns of a virus we have never had to deal with. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are among those feel-good stories. Team owner Quint Studer announced last week he was committing $25,000 to help […]
Silence envelops baseball and softball stadiums throughout the region. The same goes for tracks, tennis courts as well as lacrosse and flag football fields. The clanking of weights in the weight room no longer exists either. COVID-19 and the precautions that have been born because of it have forced the high school sports world to […]
Pinned on the Twitter account of Marc Ryan Struck is a tweet that mixes a small slice of seriousness with a ton of humor. The tweet reads: “After very little thought and consideration, I would like to announce I will be forgoing the 2020 NFL Draft and returning to Huntingdon for my senior season. No […]
For the next two weeks, Santa Rosa County Schools are closed in the wake of COVID-19 concerns. That also means all athletic events and practices are cancelled beginning March 14. Spring break is scheduled for this coming week. But students will now have an extra week off. On Friday, an order by Governor Ron DeSantis […]
The Lead In We are living in a strange time when it comes to sports. Pro leagues have shut down and even high school athletics is feeling the impact of COVID-19. The NCAA has canceled its winter and spring sports championships and the Gulf South Conference is meeting today to discuss the future of its […]
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are supposed to begin their season April 9 against the Tennessee Smokies. But that game is on hold. Minor League Baseball released a statement this afternoon that it will delay the start of its 2020 season. It cited that after consultation with medical professionals and Major League Baseball, the decision was […]
Concerns over COVID-19 has wiped out the upcoming ARCA Menards Series race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. No make up date has been announced to reschedule the ARCA Pensacola 200. However, track and series officials are looking at potential dates later in the season. NASCAR and ARCA intend to work with their respective track […]
The University of West Florida announced this morning attendance at all home athletics events, starting March 13, is limited to certain people. Only student-athletes, coaches, immediate family of the student-athletes, officials, athletic staff and personnel and media will be allowed at games. The move is in response to a decision by the NCAA’s COVID-19 Advisory […]
Marlon Courtney is used to throwing things. He spent the last two years as the starting quarterback for Navarre’s football team, rolling up more than 4,000 yards through the air. These days, the senior standout is throwing a javelin. Navarre head coach Tony Carter convinced Courtney to give it a shot this season. “I was […]
It was a busy opening week for Navarre’s flag football team, with the Raiders going 2-1. Last Monday they ventured to Tallahassee and lost 25-6 to Chiles in their opener before bouncing back with a 25-0 win over Tate Tuesday. The Raiders capped the week with an 18-12 win over Florida State High. The loss to Chiles […]
Allison Gutierrez and Rachel Hester have confidence in each other to get the job done in the circle. Their teammates have just as much faith in them as well. Both pitchers for Navarre’s softball team have shown just how good they can be, particularly over the last two seasons, and it allows head coach Kelly […]
Navarre’s baseball team scored 23 runs in three games last week and came away with a win in two of those outings. The Raiders (3-4) outscored Gulf Breeze 9-7 Tuesday held off Washington 10-9 Thursday, but the Niceville Eagles remained unbeaten through seven games with a 15-4 win over the Raiders Friday night. All three […]
Two school records fell Saturday at the Aggie Invitational at Washington in Pensacola, including one by 2019 state qualifier Talin Griffin in the pole vault. Griffin went 14-feet-5 1/4 inches to set a new mark. However, that might just be a holding point for Griffin. “I am very surprised that it took to my third attempt to make […]
Jade Slaybaugh was once a ball girl at the Subway All-Star Soccer Game. On Tuesday night at the Ashton Brosnaham Complex, the Navarre soccer standout was playing in the game with several of her Raider teammates in a battle between the East and the West. She talked about that experience after the game here on […]
Jack Patching closed in on a scoring opportunity. He wanted to make sure he took advantage of it in the Subway All-Star Soccer Game Tuesday night at the Ashton Brosnaham Complex in Pensacola. Interestingly enough, one of his rivals during the season — Jacyce Dotson of Gulf Breeze — helped make his goal possible late […]
The Lead In Grady Kelly’s recruiting attention is picking up steam. The junior defensive lineman at Navarre received his first offer from Rice last week and also has plans to make a visit to Colorado State, which is where former Raider star Dante Wright currently plays. Kelly burst onto the scene last year as one […]
Another meet ends with a Raider victory. Navarre’s boys weightlifting team dominates Niceville, winning its first dual meet of the year by 20 points, and on the surface, it’s merely business as usual for the reigning 2A state champions. Yet, there is more than meets the eye here on a Wednesday afternoon in the weight […]
Navarre’s baseball team came up one hit short in a 1-0 loss to Tate last Tuesday and dropped to 1-3 on the season. The bases were loaded in the bottom of the ninth and a single would’ve scored two to upset the powerhouse Aggies after the pitching staffs dueled it out. Jozef Vanselow went six innings for the […]
Caitlin Tilton stood at third base in the bottom of the fourth inning of Navarre’s showdown with Milton Thursday looking toward her own dugout. She thumped her chest, flexed her muscles and shouted, sending a jolt of energy through everyone around her. Her triple to right knocked in three runs, slicing the Panther lead to […]
Jordyn York has embraced the adversity she battled through early in her college career. And in some ways, without it, she wouldn’t be the basketball player she is today for the University of Mobile. York has grown from the experience of tearing her gracilis muscle during the fall of her freshman year. It forced her […]
The Lead In Track season is underway and the Navarre Raiders are set to compete in the Patriot Invitational today in Pace. It will be another opportunity for a cast of talented athletes to showcase their skills. The meet begins at 9 a.m. Among those athletes is Rachel Leggett, who set a school record in […]
Navarre’s baseball team dropped its first two games of the season, falling 9-1 to Pace Saturday after losing 7-5 to Crestview Friday night. Navarre (0-2) delayed the start of the season with a rain-out last Thursday, which was rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. So, the first official pitch came Friday night against Crestview where a single […]