The following is a look at the high school varsity teams and individuals that won championships at the district, regional or state levels, earned medals in state competition or that qualified to participate in regional and state competitions in 2021. Any omissions are unintentional.
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School student-athletes Rylie Blankenship and Elijah Kellum combined to win five championships in 2024, with Kellum’s state title in track and field being the highlight.
The Tornadoes also got a district championship from its girls flag football team in 2024.
Kellum won two events at the District 3-2A track-and-field meet, recording distances of 21-11.75 in the long jump and 44-3.5 in the triple jump. He was also the runner-up in the 100m.
Jaleel Easley earned the right to advance to region-level competition with a third-place finish in the 400m and a fourth-place finish in the 110m hurdles.
The boys 4x100m relay team of Branden Williams, Justin Hall, Trejan Tyson and Elijah Lawrence placed second to advance to the Region 1 finals.
Brayden Smyth was sixth in the long jump and competed at regionals.
Bradford also qualified for the Region 1 meet in the girls 4x100m relay, with the team of Kaelyn Booker, Melissa Hardin, Diamond Ferguson and Kendell Shanks running to a third-place finish.
At regionals, Kellum was the runner-up in both of his jumping events. He had a distance of 22-6.5 in the long jump and a distance of 44-2 in the triple jump.
Kellum would go on to win the state championship in the triple jump with a distance of 45-9.75. He took fourth in the long jump with a distance of 22-7.75.
Blankenship lifts her way to 2 titles
Blankenship collected a couple of gold medals for BHS in girls weightlifting, with the first one coming at the District 6-1A meet. Blankenship won the 119-pound class in the traditional event with a clean and jerk of 125 and a bench press of 115.
It was the second straight year Blankenship won a district championship, which earned her an automatic berth in the Region 2 finals.
Five of Blankenship’s teammates earned at-large regional bids: Addison Thornton, with a third-place finish in the 199 class, Raelynn Moore with a fourth-place finish in the 119 class, Brianna Brooks with a fourth-place finish in the unlimited class, Blakeleigh Smith with a fifth-place finish in the 154 class and Kellsie Cochran with a seventh-place finish in the 169 class.
Blankenship was the only Bradford lifter to qualify for state, winning her weight class at the Region 2 finals. She had the same overall total she had at the District 6 meet, but this time had a 115 in the clean and jerk and a 125 in the bench press.
The bench-press total was a personal record for Blankenship, who was in fourth place after the clean and jerk. Her effort in the bench led to her tying West Nassau’s Savannah Cothren. Blankenship was awarded the championship due to weighing in at half a pound less than Cothren.
At state, Blankenship finished in a four-way tie for 13th and was officially 16th. She did 115 in the clean and jerk and tied her PR of 125 in the bench press.
Cheer team reaches state tournament
The competitive cheer team placed fourth at the region level and qualified for state, where the Tornadoes finished in eighth place.
Bradford, which competed in the Medium Non-Tumbling division, had a raw score of 66.5 at the Region 1 meet, which earned it a trip to the state meet. Factoring in point deductions, the Tornadoes had a final score of 63.5, which tied them with Interlachen and left them trailing West Nassau, Orange Park and Parker.
In the semifinal round at state, the Tornadoes had a final score of 74.2 (28.7 building, 26.6 cheer, 20.9 overall), which had two penalty points factored in.
The team consisted of Alexis Berry, Skyla Bounocore, Teagan Bradley, Abigail Casey, Jhailaa Coleman, Kami Crawford, Jakyiah Dean, Nivaiah Foster, Hayden Goodwin, Chloe Hales, Lily Mercer, Abbigale Moore, Emma Mueller, Kayla Mueller, Sade Peterson, Myia Sanchez, Haydn Sanford and Rose Wilsey.
Flag football team wins district again
Bradford’s defense had three interceptions and shut out its second straight opponent in defeating Middleburg 7-0 for the Tornadoes’ second straight District 4-1A championship in flag football.
The Tornadoes got two interceptions from Ar’Nayshia Griffin and one from Ajiyah Jackson, with all three occurring in a scoreless first half.
Bradford scored toward the end of the third quarter, with Jackson catching a 3-yard touchdown pass from Griffin. Griffin then completed a pass to Nichelle Brown on the conversion attempt.
Griffin completed 21 of 36 passes for 98 yards and rushed for 31 yards on eight carries.
Brown had 10 catches for 38 yards, while Cummings had four receptions for 27 yards. Jackson had 18 yards on five receptions.
The Tornadoes reached the championship game by defeating Keystone Heights 6-0 in a semifinal game.
Keystone had two early drives that resulted in goal-to-go opportunities, but the Indians couldn’t score against the Bradford defense. Brown intercepted a pass to stop the first threat, while the defense forced a turnover on downs on the second.
Griffin had a 17-yard run that helped set up the game’s only score — a 1-yard touchdown run by Griffin on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The offense was led by Griffin’s 58 yards on 10 carries and Brown’s 50 yards on five carries.
Griffin completed eight passes and also caught two from Brown for 30 yards.
The defense got two interceptions by Griffin.
Bradford’s season ended with an 8-2 record after visiting Middleburg scored twice in the fourth quarter to win a Region 1 playoff game 12-7.
After a scoreless first half, a Griffin interception gave Bradford’s offense good field position. A 14-yard pass from Griffin to Cummings set up Griffin’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jackson. The duo hooked up again on a successful conversion attempt and a 7-0 lead.
Middleburg scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Griffin completed 13 of 34 passes for 134 yards, with Jackson catching five passes for 43 yards.
Brown had three receptions for 34 yards, while Cummings had three catches for 29 yards. Jada Hankerson gained 28 yards on just two receptions.
2 golfers qualify for regional competition
Boys golfer Cody Spratlin and girls golfer Sarah Rantz qualified for the Region 1-1A tournament, receiving at-large bids following their play at the district level.
Spratlin placed sixth in the District 3 tournament with an 18-hole score of 83, while Rantz was 12th in the girls tournament with a score of 110.
Prior to the start of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s postseason, the Bradford boys team qualified as an alternate for the inaugural Florida 1A Public School Golf Championship. The Tornadoes placed sixth in the eight-team field with a score of 345.
Spratlin and Charlie Zink each shot a 79 and were part of a five-way tie for 10th. Avery Burgin shot an 86, tying him for 27th.
First-year players Steven Carter and Tucker Griffis placed 42nd and 44th, respectively, with scores of 101 and 107.
Football team wins playoff game
Bradford’s football team put together an 8-1 regular season and earned the second seed in Region 2-2A for the playoffs.
The Tornadoes hosted The Villages in a quarterfinal game, getting touchdowns from four different players on offense as well as a defensive score in a 35-0 win.
Gino Addison, who rushed for 83 yards on seven carries, scored on a 7-yard run, while Bradford got touchdown runs of 41 yards from Branden Williams, 11 yards from Jy’Quez Cason and 2 yards from Jeremiah McKenzie.
The Tornadoes gained 277 yards on offense, with 228 coming on the ground.
Marlin Haywood had two interceptions and returned one 67 yards for a touchdown.
Brian Cliffin also had an interception.
Cy Cubbedge was 3 of 4 on extra-point kicks, while McKenzie was successful on a two-point conversion run.
It was the third straight year Bradford opened the postseason with a shutout win.
That set up another showdown with Newberry, which defeated the Tornadoes 21-7 in the regular season to win the District 5-2A championship. Bradford had homefield advantage, but the visiting Panthers walked away victorious again by a score of 39-14.
Bradford fell behind 27-6, with the score coming on a 31-yard pass from Zack Paulk to Haywood.
Iyen Addison, who rushed for 46 yards on six carries, scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run.
The Tornadoes finished with 305 yards to Newberry’s 290.
Paulk completed 11 of 16 passes for 125 yards, with Haywood catching three passes for 43 yards. Mikey Oliver and Elijah Lawrence had 28 and 22 yards, respectively, on two catches each.
McKenzie and Gino Addison rushed for 37 and 33 yards, respectively.
Girls hoops team qualifies for playoffs
Bradford earned the fifth seed in the Region 1-3A girls basketball playoffs, but the Tornadoes’ season came to an end in the first round to the same team that defeated them in the District 2 tournament.
The Tornadoes lost 52-44 to P.K. Yonge in the District 2 tournament semifinals and then lost 42-38 to the Blue Wave again in the Region 1 quarterfinals.
In the district tournament, Bradford was able to cut a double-digit deficit to four points. P.K. Yonge scored 10 of the final 12 points in the third quarter and scored the first points of the fourth quarter to take its largest lead at 38-27.
The Tornadoes’ Ar’Nayshia Griffin scored on a drive to the basket. She drew a foul in the process and made the ensuing free-throw attempt. Bradford then got a basket off a rebound putback by Ajiyah Jackson, while an offensive rebound by Khamyra Hankerson led to a three-pointer by Destiny Crum.
A Jackson steal led to a basket by Jada Hankerson, which left Bradford trailing 48-39 with 2:15 to play.
Bradford, which could never overtake the Blue Wave, got 10 points from Griffin, eight from Jada Hankerson, seven each from Nichelle Brown and Khamyra Hankerson, six from Jackson and three each from Crum and Kayla Evans.
In the Region 1 quarterfinals, Bradford failed to score in the final 4:13 after a Brown free throw gave the Tornadoes a 38-37 lead.
Griffin led the Tornadoes with 13 points. Brown and Jada Hankerson each had eight, while Bradford also got four from Khamyra Hankerson, three from Jackson and two from Kailyn Teal.
Bradford finished the season with a 14-9 record.
