Meet The Jags' New Starting Quarterback, Nick Foles
Leaving a Legacy Britany Range Middleburg High School
Union County Weightlifter Aiming for the Stars Mahailya Reeves
Live In the Game
JUNE/JULY 2019
Northeast Florida Winter & Spring Sports Banquets
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25th Year of Jaguars Football
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Jumbo Shrimp Manager Completes Cycle of Baseball in Jacksonville
Defying the Odds One Cheer Routine at a Time West Nassau High School
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21 Leaving a Legacy Britany Range Middleburg High School
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Union County Weightlifter Aiming for the Stars Mahailya Reeves
Providence’s Mackiewitz
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Coach, Dean, Pastor, Family Man
Gateway Conference
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38 Walk Off Charities Helps Kids Play Ball
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Tierney Robinson St. Augustine High School
How to Prevent Rotator Cuff Injuries for Overhead Athletes
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Northeast Florida State Champions 59 Top 10 High School Athletic Training Facilities
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PLAYER PROFILES Frank Iturriaga Chloe Iuliano Kiya Turner Logan Zapp Will Weinbecker Josh Gray Camille Hobby India Watts Jalen Chance Michael Hume Matthew Rodriguez Kenny Moore
Teen Lacrosse Player Is Licensed Referee
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Northeast Florida Winter & Spring Sports Banquets
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jumbo shrimp manager completes cycle of baseball in jacksonville Written by: Jeff Elliott
Photography by: Edwine Pierre Louis
He’s one of a kind. No one in the last 50 years can match Kevin “Smoke” Randel’s claim to having been a player, a hitting coach, and eventually the manager of Jacksonville’s minor league baseball team. That dates back to 1970 when Jacksonville became one of the founding members of the Southern League. There may have been a player-manager combo prior to that, as such statistics and records were not recorded. There’s no denying that Randel is in a category by himself. And he’s enjoyed success in his previous stints in Jacksonville. In 2009, he played a key role as an infielder who helped lead the then Jacksonville Suns to the Southern League championship that year. He retired as a player following that season, but five years later he was back in Jacksonville, serving as the Suns’ hitting coach. He was instrumental in developing such future Major League players as J.T. Realmuto, Austin Barnes, and Isaac Galloway. Jump ahead five more years to the current season, and you’ll find Randel calling all the shots for the Jumbo Shrimp as he serves in his first season 24 | itgnext.com
as manager of the Jacksonville team. “I had a lot of great teammates from that 2009 team that went on to the major leagues, including Mike Stanton,” Randel said. “We had some good hitters, but the key to that team was our bullpen. They referred to themselves as 'The Unit' and really dominated teams. “The 2014 championship team was special. That title maybe means more because as a player you’re fighting for your teammates and yourself. But as a coach, you’re in it for all the other guys. You just want it for all your players. In 2014, we were one of those teams that just never gave in to anything.” If Randel is to add a third Southern League crown to his resume, he’ll have to do so by virtue of a strong second-half showing by the Jumbo Shrimp. The team struggled in the first half of the season and finished well behind in the South Division standings. But all teams started 0-0 on June 20 when the second half of the 2019 season started. If the Shrimp can improve on their hitting from the first half, they
could contend for a second-half title, as the team’s starting pitching and the bullpen rank among the best in the league. Randel, who turned 38 on June 11, retired from baseball as a player. He was only 28 years old. “I just decided it was time to move on to something else,” he said. “I finished strong and had a great playoff, and I loved the game and my teammates, but I just felt it was time to move on. I knew coaching was in my blood to do this grind every single day. The daily grind of minor league baseball doesn’t bother me – to be away from family or the bus rides, or the daily peanut butter sandwiches or the lack of money. It’s what I knew and what I liked, and I never felt a need to do anything else.”
Nominate Male & Female Athlete of the Year
Submit your nominations to nefl@itgnext.com
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2A Cross Country, Boys Bolles 2A Cross Country, Girls Bolles 2A Cross Country, Boys Charles Hicks Bolles 2A Golf, Boys Ponte Vedra 7A Football Mandarin 4A Football Raines 1A Football Madison Co. 3A Swimming, Boys 100 Yd Freestyle Creekside Ian Cooper 3A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd Free Relay Bartram Trail Jacob Camp, Mason Campbell, Christopher Sylvester & Luke Williams
3A Swimming, Girls 100 Yd Fly Bartram Trail Summer Stanfield
1A Swimming, Boys 100 Yd Breaststroke Bolles Paul DeGrado
3A Swimming, Girls 200 Yd Freestyle Relay Nease Hannah Kim, Haven Hinkle, Ria Maholtra & Olivia Peoples
1A Swimming, Boys 100 Yd Butterfly Episcopal Cole Crane
3A Swimming, Girls 200 Yd IM Bartram Trail Summer Stanfield 3A Swimming, Girls 200 Yd Medley Relay Creekside Jennifer Bird, Emma Chestang, Grace Gavin & Madison Koutavas 3A Swimming, Girls 400 Yd Freestyle Relay Bartram Trail Haley Harris, Alexia Smith, Nicole Sowell & Summer Stanfield 2A Swimming, Boys 100 Yd Butterfly Paxon Tyler Watson
3A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd IM Bartram Trail John VanDeusen
2A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd IM Paxon Tyler Watson
3A Swimming, Boys 500 Yd Freestyle Bartram Trail High School John VanDeusen
2A Swimming, Girls 100 Yd Butterfly Clay High School Sara Stotler
3A Swimming, Girls 100 Yd Breaststroke Nease Olivia Peoples
1A Swimming, Boys 50 Yd Freestyle Episcopal Cole Crane
1A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd IM Bolles Paul DeGrado 1A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd IM Swim-off Bolles Herman Miles 1A Swimming, Boys 200 Yd Medley Relay Bolles Daniel Bowen, Paul DeGrado, Rafael Ponce DeLeon & Jackson Kirk 1A Swimming, Boys 400 Yd Medley Relay Bolles Paul DeGrado, Noah Emerson, Jackson Kirk & Ethan Thomas 1A Swimming, Girls 200 Yd Medley Relay Bolles Faith Khoo, Emily MacDonald, Sasha Ramey & Carly Schwab 1A Swimming, Girls 400 Yd Freestyle Relay Bolles Camila Bautista, Karaline Gavin, Megan McGrath & Adair Sand 1A Swimming, Girls 500 Yd Freestyle Bolles Leah DeGeorge
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2017-18 ITG Next Northeast Florida Winter & Spring Sports Banquets Written by: Susannah Parameter Photography by: Aaron Musgroves
At ITG Next, it is our goal to live each day with passion, determination, and positivity. We love highlighting those who drive home these qualities and inspire us along the way. Our awards banquets allow us to lift up top athletes across Northeast Florida as a community and give them extra recognition for all of their achievements. It is such an honor for us to highlight these students who work hard each and every day, whether it be in sports, academics, or doing some good in the community. It is also special because we get to recognize these athletes alongside their parents and coaches who play an invaluable role in their path to success. At our Winter Sports Banquet, athletes and their families heard from the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute’s Dr. Brett Frykberg as he explained the importance of a healthy lifestyle and offered tips on how best to achieve that lifestyle. We recognized athletes who participated in winter sports, including basketball, soccer, competition cheerleading, girls weightlifting, and wrestling. ITG Next also handed out several special awards, including those for top youth, acholar, and adaptive athletes; the Excellence in Character Award; and Coach of the Year. Our Spring Sports Banquet was our final banquet of the year. We were able to highlight athletes in softball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, boys weightlifting, and flag football. The guest speaker was Dr. Hudson Berrey from the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute. Again, we recognized our special award winners, this time including the 2019 Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards presented by the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute. We had so much fun hosting all these top student-athletes and their families! As always, if you know of an athlete who you feel deserves to be recognized, please reach out to us via our social media platforms @itgnext and at itgnext.com.
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