LAKELAND — George Jenkins was the leading athletic program in all three sports seasons, with improved performances in the fall and winter being the key, as the Eagles ran away with the Big Schools All-Sports Award, which ended a nine-year drought.
In the Small Schools standings, a stronger finish in the spring allowed McKeel to pull away from Lakeland Christian to win back-to-back awards for the second time in school history.
In the first 10 years of the award that began in the ’93-’94 School year, Winter Haven won five times with George Jenkins winning twice. Jenkins, however, then went on a dominating run and won the award 11 times — tied with Bartow once — in 12 years with Winter Haven. Jenkins last won for the ’14-15 school year with Lake Wales’ four titles being the most by a big school in the ensuing nine years. This is George Jenkins’ 14th title overall.
“We’re excited,” Jenkins athletic director Jestin Bailey said. “It’s always good to win an award, especially when it’s an all-sports award. It’s been a long time since we’ve won it, so we’re definitely excited about, it.”
George Jenkins finished with 379 points. Lake Wales was second with 331 points, and Winter Haven was third with 303 points.
Last year, George Jenkins finished second, 10 points behind Winter Haven, but dug itself a whole after fall and winter that its dominating spring performance could not overcome.
This past school year, however, George Jenkins’ fall results was significantly better than the previous year and set the tone for the year. The Eagles were led in the fall by with a district title in boys cross country and district runner-up finishes in volleyball, boys golf and girls bowling. Jenkins finished the fall with 112 points, 21 points than last year, and finished tied with Lake Wales. Lakeland was third 109 points and defending champion was fourth with 89 points.
George Jenkins finished with 108 points in the winter, which were 38 points more than last year. Jenkins won district titles in boys and girls soccer and boys wrestling and a regional title in competitive cheer.
Lake Wales out of contention as finished with just 82 points in the winter. Jenkins’ 220 points after winter, Lake Wales was second with 194 points, and Lakeland was third with 176 points.
George Jenkins followed up with its typical strong spring. The Eagles’ 159 points allowed them to pull away from Lake Wales even more despite Lake Wales finishing second in the spring with 137 points. Jenkins had district champions in baseball and boys and girls track and were district runners-up in softball and boys and girls tennis. Jenkins also were region champions in girls track and region runner-up in boys tennis.
In the small schools race, McKeel, the defending champion, finished with 294 points, 20 points ahead of Lakeland Christian. All Saints was a distant third with 197 points. It was McKeel’s fifth title in eight seasons. Lakeland Christian leads all schools with 22 All-Sports titles.
“I am excited for our athletes and coaches,” McKeel athletic director Chuck Smith said. “We strive for a well-rounded educational experience, and athletics is a part of that experience. I am extremely proud of our coaches and athletes as I know they dedicate a lot of time and effort to their sport.”
McKeel and Lakeland Christian were neck-and-neck throughout the first two seasons. McKeel won the fall with 88 points, Victory Christian was second with 87 points, and points LCS was third with 85 points.
Lakeland Christian won the winter with 97 points, two more than McKeel, which maintained a slight edge over LCS 183-182. LCS won district titles in girls basketball and boys and girls soccer and also were regional champions. McKeel won district titles in boys and girls soccer.
McKeel’s tennis teams proved to be the difference in the winter. McKeel had 53 points combined for boys and girls tennis, while Lakeland Christian had just 12 points.
Big School Standings
(Top 5)
George Jenkins 112-108-159 — 379
Lake Wales 112-82-137 — 331
Winter Haven 89-83-131 — 303
Lakeland 109-67-104 — 280
Bartow 71-98-101 — 270
Small School Standings
(Top 5)
McKeel 95-88-111 — 294
Lakeland Christian 97-85-92 — 274
All Saints 78-37-82 — 197
Mulberry 41-67-77 — 185
Frostproof 89-40-47 — 176
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Here’s how George Jenkins, McKeel emerged as All-Sports Award winners
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
