BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School had a memorable 2022, with two athletic programs winning their first-ever state championships.
The first state title was won by the girls weightlifting team, which brought home the Class 1A trophy after scoring 38 points. That put the Tornadoes nine points ahead of runner-up Suwannee.
Three lifters won their weight classes, including Mahailya Reeves, who became the first ever Florida high school girls weightlifter to win four state titles. Her 570 total put her in first place by 155 pounds. She broke her own state record of 375 in the bench press (2020) by lifting 380.
Courtney Comer won her second straight state title, topping the 169 class with a 450 total, which broke the previous state record set in 2017. She also broke her own state record of 245 in the bench press (2021) by lifting 260.
Brianna Jordan was Bradford’s third individual champ. She had an overall total of 400 to win the 154 class.
Gabby Oliver (199 class) and Jessica Traylor (unlimited) earned second-place finishes with overall totals of 355 and 415, respectively.
The Tornadoes also got points from Takeirra Bakken (183) and Hannah McFarland (110). Bakken had a third-place total of 380, while McFarland had a fourth-place total of 255.
In all, the Tornadoes won three team championships and 14 individual championships at the district, region and state levels.
Bradford won the District 5 championship with 74 points, finishing 13 points ahead of runner-up Palatka.
Seven individuals won their classes: McFarland with a 245 total, Jordan with a 435 total, Comer with a 440 total, Bakken with a 355 total, Oliver with a 340 total, Reeves with a 575 total and Mikayla Cooper (119 class) with a 240 total. Jordan, Comer and Reeves each won her class by at least 155 pounds.
The top six lifters in each class earned the right to advance to the Region 2 finals. Bradford got second-place finishes from Traylor, who had a 405 total, and Allie McFarland (139), who had a 245 total, while the following placed third: Abbie Markham (101) with a 175 total, Breann Ponce (129) with a 220 total and Raven Ford (154) with a 250 total.
Presley Acree (119) had a fourth-place total of 150, while two lifters placed sixth: Kristen Hodges (129) with a 180 total and Emma Franke (169) with a 210 total.
Bradford had no problem capturing the Region 2 team championship, with its score of 43 putting it ahead of runner-up Branford by 16 points.
Winning their classes to automatically qualify for state were Jordan with a 420 total, Comer with a 450 total, Oliver with a 350 total and Reeves with a 565 total.
The Tornadoes got the following finishes from its at-large state qualifiers: McFarland with a 250 total (second), Bakken with a 365 total (second), Traylor with a 395 total (second) and Cooper with a 240 total (eighth).
BHS gets hot late, wins basketball title
Bradford had an 8-10 record before it reeled off eight straight wins, culminating in a 64-44 win over Paxton for the boys basketball program’s first-ever state championship.
The Tornadoes closed the regular season with two straight wins before defeating Fort White 77-54 in the District 6-1A tournament semifinals. Bradford then won the tournament championship by defeating Bell 55-49.
Amari Jones and Robbie Godwin-Simmons each scored 13 points to help the Tornadoes capture their first district trophy in three years. Shayne Davis and Dae’Jon Shanks had 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Jontez Williams had four. Torin Brazell and Chalil Cummings each added two points.
Bradford got six rebounds each from Brazell, Simmons-Godwin and Williams.
The Tornadoes went on to win their two region games and two state games by an average margin of 19 points, beginning with a rematch against Bell in the Region 3 semifinals, which Bradford won 59-30. That put the Tornadoes in the Region 3 championship game against Madison County. Williams posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to send Bradford to the Final Four for just the second time in school history.
Davis and Shanks scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Jones had eight. Simmons-Godwin and Brazell added five and two points, respectively.
Bradford faced off against Hawthorne in the state semifinals, with Davis pouring in a game-high 17 points in a 53-35 Tornadoes win.
Cummings and Jones each had eight points, while Shanks had seven. Bradford also got five points from Simmons-Godwin, four points from Williams and two points each from Brazell and Hunter Crawford.
Shanks and Davis had eight and seven rebounds, respectively, while Cummings and Williams each had six.
In the state-championship game, Bradford led by as many as 24 points in the first half en route to the 20-point win over Paxton.
Davis again scored 17 points to lead all scorers, while Williams and Cummings finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Tornadoes also got nine points from Jones, five points from Shanks, four points each from Brazell and Crawford and two points from Simmons-Godwin.
Davis and Jones each grabbed seven rebounds, with Davis also recording five assists. Cummings had five rebounds.
Bradford ended the season with an 16-10 record.
Football team is dominant in winning district, region titles
Bradford put together quite a season in football, recording nine shutouts and outscoring opponents by a combined 411-79 as the Tornadoes won district and region championships before losing 31-21 to eventual state champ Cocoa in the Class 2S state semifinals.
The Tornadoes had no problem winning the District 6 title, defeating its three opponents by a combined score of 100-14. After 38-0 and 27-0 wins over Keystone Heights and Tocoi Creek, Bradford claimed the district trophy with a 35-14 win over Palatka. Willie Pollard rushed for 219 yards and three scores as the Tornadoes led by at least three scores most of the game.
Quarterback Jeremiah McKenzie rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown, while also completing 5 of 9 passes for 78 yards and another score, which was caught by Chason Clark.
Bradford’s defense got a fumble recover from Trente Jenkins and an interception by C.J. Carn. Bryson Bowen recorded a team-high 11 tackles, while Devon McBride and Torin Brazell had nine and eight, respectively.
The Tornadoes’ final two shutouts of the season occurred in the first two rounds of the Region 2 playoffs, with Bradford defeating Crescent City 48-0 and Eastside 37-0. That set up a showdown between big-time rivals Bradford and Baker County for the Region 2 title. The Tornadoes outscored the Wildcats 21-0 in the second half to win 28-17.
Jametrius “Jip” Pringle got the big second half started with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Pollard rushed for 138 yards and one score, while McKenzie rushed 73 yards and a touchdown. McKenzie also completed 4 of 5 passes for 139 yards, with 79 yards coming on a touchdown pass to Clark.
Clark and Bowen had a big night on defense with 14 and 13 tackles, respectively. Brazell added nine tackles, while Jenkins had eight.
Carn and Chalil Cummings each had an interception.
Bradford ended its season with a 12-2 record after the 10-point loss to Cocoa in the state semifinals. It was the first time Cocoa found itself tied with an opponent in the fourth quarter.
McKenzie rushed for a score, while the Tornadoes got two special-teams touchdowns: a 95-yard kickoff return by Pringle and a return by Brazell of a blocked punt.
Clark led the team with 12 tackles, while Cummings and Gavin Cook each had eight.
Booker wins district title for BHS in track
Kaelyn Booker ran her way to a championship when she ran a time of 1:01 in the 400m at the District 3-2A track and field finals.
The top four finishers in each event qualified for the Region 1 finals.
Bradford had three girls relay teams earn third-place finishes. The 4x100m team of Booker, Diamond Ferguson, Holly Holt and Alyssa Hunt had a time of 55.51, while the 4x400m team, which consisted of the same lineup, had a time of 4:46. Layne Loper, Lindsey McCoy, Alissa Reddish and Natalie Thomas teamed up to run a time of 13:11 in the 4x800m.
Reddish earned a fourth-place finish individually with a time of 15:28 in the 3200m.
Other highlights
—The girls basketball team was the District 6-1A runner-up after a 43-40 loss to Fort White. The Tornadoes, who advanced to the game off a 31-23 semifinal win over Dixie County, finished the season with a 9-11 record.
—Six boys weightlifters advanced to the Region 2-1A finals after their performances at the District 7 finals: Easton Wynn (second place), Marcus Hewitt (fourth), Devon McBride (fourth), Jacob Brugh (fifth), Dayton Roberts (sixth) and Nathaniel Bowlan-Smith (sixth).
—The volleyball team was the District 3-3A runner-up after a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) loss to P.K. Yonge. Bradford, which finished with a 6-10 record, advanced to the title match off 3-0 wins over Taylor County in the quarterfinals and Palatka in the semifinals.
—Tristan Holder qualified for the Region 1-2A cross-country finals after his performance at the District 2 finals. Holder was the third-highest finisher not on a region-qualifying team, placing 28th overall in the 147-member field with a time of 18:24.
