These are the Plant City Observer's Top 5 Plant City Area teams from 2021.
1. Strawberry Crest Cheer
A year removed from winning their first UCA National Championship, Strawberry Crest’s Cheer team won their seventh consecutive state title this past February, continuing to establish themselves as one of the most dominant teams from any sport in the state of Florida.
Despite having to change divisions midway through the season, just two seniors on the roster and several players regularly forced to miss time due to quarantine, their strong run of success continued.
2. PCHS Special Olympics Unified Basketball
Several teams from Plant City High School have earned the title of State Champions over their 106-year history, but their Special Olympics Unified basketball team became the first team in school history to reach that mountaintop twice, doing so in back-to-back seasons.
The team is comprised of both Plant City High School’s Special Olympics athletes and general education Unified partners, led by coaches Lisa Goad, Jacob Goad and Maverick Lawrence.
Success has become regular for the basketball team, with both of their state championships coming on the heels of a third-place finish at the Special Olympics USA Games in 2018.
3. Durant Baseball
Led by pitcher Sean Hermann, later selected by the Yankees in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Durant’s baseball team rattled off a 22-6 record en route to an appearance in the FHSAA 7A State Final Four.
For Durant, it was the school’s third trip to the state Final Four and their first appearance since 2015.
4. Durant Softball
Narrowly following behind Durant’s baseball team in 2021 was their softball team, putting together a run of dominance on the diamond across both sports this past year.
The Cougars’ softball team put together an 18-3 record, rattling off 10 consecutive wins to end their regular season and cap their run to the regional finals, falling one game shy of a state Final Four appearance. Despite a young roster that lost just five seniors to graduation, Durant batted .402 as a team in 2021.
5. Strawberry Crest Girls Soccer
After starting the season on a 10-game win streak, Strawberry Crest’s girls soccer team finished their 2020-2021 season 13-3, adding a district championship to their trophy case in a 2-0 victory over Bloomingdale in the District Finals along the way.
The Chargers were led by forward Ezra Carpenter, totaling a district-leading 23 goals, a whole nine goals ahead of senior teammate Kali Vician who finished the season as the district’s second-best goal scorer with 14 of her own.
