This winter Bolles sports include varsity and JV boys and girls basketball, girls weightlifting, varsity and JV boys and girls soccer, and boys wrestling. Each of these athletes had highly successful seasons, despite any losses they had, that in the end taught them all valuable lessons.
The girls and boys basketball teams both had rollercoasters of a season full of victories and defeats. Winning or losing aside, every game has brought the teams closer together. “Our season has had some ups and downs, but our bond and culture as a team have only progressed throughout the season.” Said Mac Verlander ‘25 shooting guard.
Boys varsity basketball had an intense season highlighted by many breath-taking moments on the court, from suspenseful game points to countless free throws. The team started out strong before “losing a handful of close games,” then stepping up their game to win 7 out of their last 8 games. It has taken innumerable hours of practice and excessive dedication for the boys to get as far as they have, with a 13-12 record for varsity, and 10-10 for JV.
“It has been an amazing opportunity, both on and off the court as the team and I have battled through adversity to get to where we are today,” Verlander said. The boys team competed deep into the 3A District 4 tournaments, before their season-ending losses on February 5th and 12th.
The girls varsity basketball team went 19-5 for their regular season, averaging 60 points per game. They ranked 8th in the state, and 4th in the district. Junior varsity has been undefeated this season, going 12-0 and is excited to see how much more the future of this season holds. The girls have strengthened their bonds with each other both in competition and practices.
“Our team chemistry has grown so strong and I think that has contributed a lot to our successes,” Leila Goll ‘26 said. “We have had the opportunity to play against so many skilled teams throughout the season, which has taught us so many valuable lessons and helped us to improve with each win, and especially each loss.” Additionally, team captain Abby Knauff reached an all time achievement of 15,00 points, making her the all time Bolles girls basketball leading scorer, and the team is excited to see how much further she will take them to succeed this season.
The boys soccer team has had an up and down season, going 5-8-4. However, they seem to be on the right track heading into the playoffs.
“We started off slow but over time we’ve gotten a lot better and grown as a team. We’re playing a lot better together and overcame a lot of obstacles and adversity,” said Justin Kang ‘27. Along the way, some wins stuck out more than others. In particular, the Fernandina Beach game was a big win to get the dogs rolling into the playoffs.
“It was a big rivalry and to be able to beat them 6-0 was definitely a good feeling and very exciting for the team,” said Kang.“I think we’ve been able to play together very well and play off of each other and grow together and we have been able to have lots of success when we want to win and buy into the process every day.”
The girls soccer team saw a good amount of success this season, going 9-8-4. Emily Farr ‘27 described how the season went,
“We faced some challenges with our roster size due to a lot of injuries this season and the game that the season ended on was a bit of a letdown. Despite that, we’ve made a lot of progress in developing our younger players and building a hopeful future for the program.”
There was a lot of good moments to look back on during the course of the season, these were some that stood out to Farr,
“Scoring in the last 30 seconds of our rivalry game against Episcopal to tie 1-1 or beating district rivals Fernandina Beach 4-0 during playoffs after losing to them 2-1 earlier in the season.”
Throughout the season, they showed hard work and dedication in order to achieve success and win big games. In particular, one win stood out as Farr’s biggest win, Stanton (won 1-0) because of our results against them in previous years. It was an early and unexpected win that helped us with our confidence for the rest of the season.”
Although the team excelled in many areas, some aspects stood out,
“Our team excelled at integrating new and younger players, making sure they felt welcomed and respected. We were also good at finding a balance between being competitive and pushing each other to improve during training while maintaining a strong feeling of family and unity during games.”
The girls weightlifting team had a season full of PR weights and impactful injuries that the team came back from better than ever. The girls focused highly on their technique this season, which ended up paying off as the team recieved many compliments from others regarding these skills.
“Technique is extremely important to our sport and it is something we pride ourselves on,” said Alexiya Downer ‘25.
Although the girls’ rankings were brought down by losing a few teammates to injuries, through motivating and pushing each other to get stronger, they ended off the season with ample PRs on all ends of the board. The girls weightlifting team earned high rankings at regionals; Lizzy Watkins ‘26 in second, Camilla Clarke ‘26 in third, Alexiya Downer in fourth, and Abby Bradley ‘25 in fourth.
The wrestling team has seen a significant amount of success in a highly memorable year. Cam Coffindaffer ‘27 has been a big part of their success, currently holding a record of 10-9. Coffindaffer is pleased with how the season is going.
“We’re winning a lot more matches as a team and came 8th in a big tournament together,” he said.
Coffindaffer has a lot of moves to take down his opponents. “I’d say I’m best at a neutral game, which is on my feet while taking shots and defending myself.” As the season wraps up, this will be looked at as a very successful season for the dogs.
