The golden ones: Meet the county’s individual champs

Team state championships were few and far between this year in Manatee County (Saint Stephen’s won titles in football and boys track), but the county produced as many top-flight athletes as ever with several individual championships at four area schools.

Today, we look back at those state championships and what’s still to come for these talented young athletes, whether it’s a chance to repeat or if it’s time to make their mark at the next level.

Chenhe Li

Li, who goes by Dan, put together the county’s strongest individual tennis season by reaching a pair of Class 1A championship matches for Saint Stephen’s. Paired with Max Damm in doubles, Li was able to bring home gold. The sophomore from China, who’s considered a four-star prospect by Head’s recruiting rankings, put together a 16-2 record as a singles player and one of his losses came when injury forced him to withdraw from the 1A singles championship. Later that day, Li earned the nickname “Iron Man” for powering through to win the doubles title.

Li and Damm should be back with the Falcons with a chance to repeat, but they’d rather not. Saint Stephen’s should have a chance to win a team championship.

Seth Walter

Walter took up the shot put on a whim and in less than two years he developed into a Class 4A champion. The Manatee senior wrapped up a two-year career by breezing to a gold medal at the track and field state championships in Bradenton with a throw of 56 feet, 11 inches. His closest competitor, Vero Beach’s Jeremiah Pearson, fell nearly five feet short and has never thrown longer than 54 feet.

Walter was among the most well-rounded athletes in the county this year. He is committed to Dartmouth, where he’ll play both guard for the football team and compete in the shot put, and he also reached the Class 2A championship meet in weightlifting.

John Rivera

Rivera spent most of the year as one of the fastest 800-meter runners in the country and he wrapped up his Lakewood Ranch career by winning a pair of track and field gold medals with the run. The senior, who has signed with Mississippi, won the Class 4A 800 run as an individual and anchored the Mustangs’ 3,200 relay team to a state title during state championship weekend in Bradenton with Brice Easton, Jonathan Reid and Andrew Dean. At one point this year, the Rivera-led relay team had the fastest time in the country.

The runner was also a critical component of Lakewood Ranch’s boys cross country team, which finished second as a team in Class 4A. Rivera was the Herald’s All-Area Player of the Year in boys cross country.

Sophia Falco

Falco concluded one of the most accomplished track and field careers in county history this year with two more Class 4A championships for Lakewood Ranch. Falco repeated as the state long jump champion and added another state title with a personal best in the triple jump at IMG Academy.

The senior, who has signed with Vanderbilt, finished her career with three gold medals and added two more bronze medals as a sprinter during her final season in Bradenton. She was the Herald’s All-Area Athlete of the Year in girls track and field last spring.

Saraiah Walkes

As an eighth-grader, Walkes stole the show at the Class 1A track and field state championship. The Out-of-Door Academy sprinter won gold in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes to win the first three of what should be many state championships.

The Bradenton resident is already eying the 2020 Summer Olympics — when she’ll be 17.

T.C. Smith

Smith wrapped up his storied Bayshore swimming career by winning a second state championship at the Class 2A meet. After winning the 500-yard freestyle as a junior, the senior added a gold medal in the 200 freestyle to conclude his career in Bradenton. He took silver in the 500 freestyle.

Next up, Smith will compete at Louisville, where he has been signed to since the fall. He was the Herald’s All-Area Boys Swimmer of the Year after sharing the honor with two others in 2015.

Ryley Ober

Ober is next in line for Bayshore in the pool after capping her sophomore season with two swimming state titles. The freestyler breezed to gold medals in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyle in Class 2A.

Ober’s time in the 200 freestyle was nearly two seconds faster than her closest competitor. In the 500 freestyle, Ober won by 1.49 seconds. She could be a powerhouse in Bradenton for years to come after being named the Herald’s All-Area Girls Swimmer of the Year during the fall.

Charles Small

Manatee has the most accomplished wrestling program in the county and this year the Hurricanes had perhaps their most unlikely state champion. Small sprung one of the biggest upsets of the state championships in the semifinals and finished the job to win the Class 4A title in the 160-pound weight class for the 10th gold medal under head coach Andrew Gugliemini.

Small has signed to wrestle at Notre Dame College, a Division II program in South Euclid, Ohio. He was the Herald’s All-Area Wrestler of the Year for this past season.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 7:57 PM with the headline "The golden ones: Meet the county’s individual champs."