Athletics News

List of 8 news stories.

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  Henry Stark '24 Wins XC Class 1A State Championship

  11/17/2023
  Congratulations to Henry Stark '24 on winning the 2023 FHSAA Cross Country Class 1A State Championship with a time of 15:30.8. Stark paced the group from the start and while he led by just .2 for a large portion of the race, Stark pulled away in the final 1,000m to win the first Cross Country State Championship in Palmer Trinity history by a comfortable margin. 
  
  Earlier this month, Stark won the District Championship (16:29) and Regional Championship (15:41). He set his personal record earlier this season with a 15:05.95 win at the Spanish River Invitational. 
  
  Go Falcons! 
• 

  Cartaya & Stark Win Class 1A Regional Championship

  11/13/2023
  Congratulations to Daniella Perez-Cartaya '24 and Henry Stark '24 for each winning the FHSAA Class 1A Regional Championship in their respective races. Cartaya finished with a personal best and school record 19:08 on the Girls side, while Stark ran 15:41. 
  
  Eloise Miles '26 (5th) and Natalia Reyes '25 (10th) also medaled for the Girls. Julianne Hartigan '25, Rebecca McDonald '27, Emily Bloom '26, and Isabella Navas '28 also contributed to the team's season best average of 21:12. For the Boys, Gregorio Ramos '25 placed 15th and was joined by Camilo Herrera '27, Juan Pablo Bracamontes '27, Justin Ebanks '27, Alejandro Herrera '29, and Hunter McNamara '25 for a 17:14 average. 
  
  Both Falcon teams placed 3rd overall at the meet and have advanced to the 2023 FHSAA Class 1A State Championship held on Friday, November 17th at Apalachee Park in Tallahassee. 
  
  Go Falcons! 
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  Senior Athlete Spotlight: Henry Stark

  10/20/2023
  When Henry Stark joined the cross country team in 6th grade and the track & field team in 7th grade, he was just merely happy to be a part of the team. His older brother George was very talented within these sports and Stark joined as a way to follow in his footsteps as he looked up to George. The love for the sport, however, was not there.

  
  Running with George had always been a positive experience and they enjoyed the camaraderie, but George was miles ahead, figuratively and literally, in terms of training and results. During Stark’s sophomore year is when it all changed. “I got to the level in which I could run alongside him. It gave me the boost of confidence knowing my brother had my back and I had his as we continued to push each other on the track,” Stark recalls. Stark has only pushed even harder and excelled rapidly in the years since.

  
  Currently, Stark is ranked first in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 1A and overall sixth in the state, regardless of classification, during his senior season of cross country. Recently, Stark broke Palmer Trinity’s cross country 5k record with a time of 15:05.95. Varsity Cross Country and Track & Field Head Coach Tammy King is proud of what she sees in Stark and where his mindset is at. “Henry is extremely focused and dedicated. He will do anything he can to finish out his high school career in the best possible standing.” Additionally, Stark is happy to have the responsibility to help lead the team, believing it is a great honor and it drives him to leave everything out on the course or track. He hopes younger athletes stay true and diligent to their sport because like him, “goals are achievable as long as you work hard enough to reach them.”

   

  When he is not training or competing, Stark ironically likes to be as stationary as possible as he enjoys relaxing, playing video games, and listening to music. You will also find him volunteering at Middle School meets and at local summer camps. His favorite movie is Bullet Train and favorite artist is 21 Savage. Stark also wants everyone to know that he actually has two older brothers and an older sister, but that the two oldest live across the world. He also excitedly claims that chicken parm is his favorite meal because “who wouldn’t love something that is essentially pizza on fried chicken.”

  
  This semester, Stark will plan to apply to a variety of schools such as the University of
  Michigan, LSU, and Ole Miss, but will wait to see where running will take him in his next stage.
  Be sure to come out and support Stark and the rest of the Varsity Cross Country team as Palmer Trinity hosts the FHSAA District meet on November 2nd.
  

   

  Go Falcons!
• 

  Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees 2023

  10/12/2023
• 

  Palmer Trinity Volleyball Hosts Dig Pink

  10/10/2023
  Congratulations to the MSJV, MSV, JV, and Varsity Volleyball teams for each earning a win on Thursday night's Dig Pink event. The Middle School teams defeated Cushman with MSJV and MSV each earning a 2-0 win, followed by JV's 2-0 win over Marathon. The Varsity team capped off the night with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-19) defeat of Marathon. 
  
  Dig Pink is an annual event held to in order aid in Breast Cancer Awareness. The Falcons were also proud to host a bake sale throughout the course of the night with all proceeds being donated to Breast Cancer Research and Awareness. 
  
  Go Falcons! 
• 

  Senior Athlete Spotlight: Hana Hernandez

  10/9/2023
  When a friend’s mom started a cheerleading team at Hana Hernandez’s elementary school, Hernandez’s mom suggested that as a gymnast, she might enjoy cheer. Hernandez’s mom was certainly right. Ten years later, Hernandez is a captain of the Varsity Cheerleading team at Palmer Trinity and enjoying her seventh year within the program. Throughout her time in the program, Head Coach Patty Gassenheimer describes Hernandez as an integral member of the team, stating “her immense dedication to the team and her passion for cheer are evident with her great attitude and incredible work ethic.”

  
  Hernandez, believes that while she has always been competitive and hard-working, she really stepped up as a team leader as she has grown as a varsity athlete. As a junior, she stepped in to help lead and run practices when a captain was absent and she is now thriving in a captain
  role as a senior. Gassenheimer is proud of the way Hernandez is always positive and believes she is a prime example of how to be a leader both on and off the field and always represents Palmer Trinity in the best light.

  
  Hernandez has also worked hard to ensure that underclassmen feel welcomed, involved, and up to date on everything cheer related. As a former middle schooler on the varsity team, Hernandez knows better than anyone the importance of feeling as part of the team and acknowledges how difficult it can be to keep up in terms of skills, performance, and techniques.
  Additionally, she is proud of the bond the team has formed. From the beginning of summer
  practices, the Varsity Cheer team forms a very close connection that only strengthens with each
  practice, stunt, and routine.

  
  Outside of Cheer, Hernandez enjoys reading, writing, playing the guitar, and making art. Her favorite type of cuisine is Mexican, favorite movie is Pitch Perfect, favorite artist is Taylor Swift, and her fun fact is that she is a Virgo. In the community, Hernandez is an active volunteer in Twenty Little Working Girls, a community service organization that volunteers in many different tasks, from gardening at The Underline in Brickell to serving the homeless at the Chapman Partnership. Hernandez is also in the process of applying to multiple colleges and universities as she seeks to study Anthropology and Gender Studies at a liberal arts school in the northeast. Be sure to come out and support Hana and the rest of the Varsity Cheer team as she performs at the Homecoming game and on Senior Day on Friday, October 13th at 4:00 pm.

   

  Go Falcons!
• 

  Senior Athlete Spotlight: Sebastian Lanz

  10/3/2023
  When Sebastian Lanz was in first grade playing T-Ball, all he wanted to do was practice his baseball swing. It was then that Lanz was first brought to the range at the Biltmore and introduced to the sport of golf. “The first swing I took, I felt like I could play it for the rest of my life,” Lanz recalls. It is a swing that Head Varsity Boys Golf Coach, Jeff Rose, acknowledges as one of the smoothest that he has seen. In the years since that first day on the range, Lanz has enjoyed both playing with his father and sister, as well as growing through the Palmer Trinity Golf program.
  
  

  Lanz has been a member of the Varsity Boys Golf team since he was in eighth grade. While he has noticed his swing speed, control, and distance improve tremendously, the biggest difference to adjusting to the Varsity game was mental. “Being able to control your mentality is very important since you are playing 18 holes without a team alongside you, unlike in other sports.” However, despite not playing alongside his team from hole to hole, Lanz easily bonds with the other members of the team, noting he has been in their shoes and tries to ensure that there is comfort and fun in the daily aspects of golf.
  
  Lanz is excited to play for Rose, who returned after a few years away from the game. “He is an amazing asset because he understands the whole team better than anybody else. He knows when to push us and when to calm us during tournaments,” Lanz notes of Rose. Rose is equally proud to work with Lanz, a player he refers to as respectful and responsible as both a student-athlete and a human. “He is, and always will be, a perfect example for current and future members of our golf program of exactly what a PTS golfer should strive to become,” Rose states, noting specifically his character and how he leads by example.

  
  Another asset provided to the Varsity Golf teams for the first time this year is Palmer Trinity’s partnership with the Biltmore that allows our Varsity teams to attend two training sessions a week with a golf pro. Lanz believes that the feedback they are receiving from the coaching staff there has been instrumental in improving the quality of both competition and practice along with the team’s mentality.
  
  Sports have become a huge part of Lanz’s life even off the course and the range. He enjoys watching all kinds of sports and looks forward to a career in Sports Broadcasting, which he hopes to study at LSU, Ole Miss, or the University of Alabama. Lanz has also been impactful in our community, volunteering at Bridge to Hope, First Tee, and Living Instruments for Others where he helped build an aqueduct for a remote village in the Dominican Republic. Lanz is quick to point out that his favorite food is fondue, as it reminds him of traveling to see his family in Switzerland. His favorite movie is Top Gun: Maverick, favorite band is the Bee Gees and fun fact is the he can easily pick up accents.

  
  Be sure to come out and support Sebastian and the rest of the Varsity Boys Golf team as they prepare for the road to state competition. The team will also be honored for Senior Day on Friday, October 13^th.

  
  Go Falcons!
• 

  Varsity Volleyball Sweeps Keys Gate on Senior Day

  9/27/2023
  Congratulations to the Varsity Volleyball team on defeating Keys Gate 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-8) on Senior Day! The Falcons, winners of two in a row, improve to 6-8 on the season. Prior to the game, Sarah Bayas, Gabriela Butler, Keirra Roa, and Cailyn Sullivan were honored along with managers Camilla Alzetta and Alexandra Navarro for their years of dedication and commitment to the Volleyball program. Palmer Trinity will look to keep the momentum going when they travel to Florida Christian on Monday, 10/2 at 7:30pm before returning home to take on Marathon on Thursday, 10/5 for the annual Dig Pink game.