Volleyball sweeps Deltona; Boys swimming wins SAC
Seminole celebrated Senior Night on Thursday with a straight-set victory over Deltona, highlighting a busy week of athletics that also saw the boys swimming team capture the Seminole Athletic Conference championship in dramatic fashion.
The Seminoles defeated Deltona 25-11, 25-19, 25-11 on Oct. 8, closing out the evening with a strong performance in front of the home crowd.
Mackenzie Rickheim led Seminole with 13 kills, 10 digs and two service aces, recording a double-double. Ebony Hall added seven kills as the Seminoles controlled the match from start to finish.
The victory came just one night after Seminole dropped a hard-fought five-set match against Olympia on Wednesday.
The Seminoles opened that match with 25-10 and 25-23 victories before Olympia rallied to take the final three sets, 25-21, 26-24, 15-4.
Lia Hufford led Seminole with 18 kills and 19 digs, while McKaylah Mattis turned in an impressive all-around performance with 11 kills, 20 assists, 12 digs and five blocks.
Despite the loss, Seminole bounced back less than 24 hours later to give its seniors a victory in their final regular-season home appearance.
Seminole’s boys swimming team claimed its 12th Seminole Athletic Conference championship in program history, edging Oviedo by just seven points in one of the closest conference finishes in recent memory.
The championship came down to the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Seminole holding a narrow one-point advantage entering the race.
With the conference title on the line, senior Will McWard delivered a blistering 46.29-second anchor leg to help secure the relay victory and the team championship.
Just seven points separated the two programs out of 4,264 combined points in the boys competition.
The Seminoles swept all three boys relay events, a critical factor in securing their second conference championship in three years.
Six Seminole swimmers earned first-team All-Conference honors by winning at least one event.
McWard captured conference titles in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke while also contributing to victories in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
John Slater won the 50 and 100 freestyle events and was a member of the championship 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Alex Quach and Caiden Thompson helped secure the 400 freestyle relay championship, with both also contributing to the winning 200 freestyle relay.
Chase Lampe and Brayden Tarkowski were members of the championship 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Quach also earned second-team All-Conference honors with a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle, while Brayden Tarkowski placed second in the 500 freestyle.
On the girls side, Seminole finished third overall, led by several second-team All-Conference performances.
Abigail Coleman earned runner-up honors in the 100 freestyle and joined Gabby Gogolinski, Peyton Tarkowski and Gabby Pierson on the second-place 400 freestyle relay team.
Combining the boys and girls results, Seminole finished second overall in the conference standings.
The Seminoles will now turn their attention to the postseason, traveling to Ocala on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the FHSAA Class 4A, District 2 Championships at 10 a.m.
Both teams will be looking to capture their third consecutive district championships.
Seminole’s boys and girls bowling teams faced a pair of tough conference opponents during the week, competing against Lyman on Tuesday and Oviedo on Thursday.
The Seminoles celebrated Senior Night on Oct. 6 against Lyman.
In the boys competition, Lyman defeated Seminole 2,474-2,125, while the girls match was considerably closer, with Lyman edging the Seminoles 1,434-1,425.
The nine-pin difference in the girls match made it one of the closest contests of the week.
Seminole returned to the lanes Thursday against Oviedo, another strong conference opponent.
The boys fell 2,354-2,044, while the girls dropped their match 1,719-1,366.
Despite the results, both Seminole teams continued gaining valuable competition experience against quality opponents as the season moves toward postseason play.
