The Gators had their banner photo made last week and several members of the team reflected on the special season that came up just short of the elusive state championship.

“It was just a really cool experience to get to be a part of this team and to get to work with each of these girls,” senior defensive specialist Whitney Walker said. “They were all just so encouraging, and they helped lift you up whenever you did make any kind of small mistake. They were always there to just encourage you and keep pushing on.”

Senior Leighton Mitchell transferred from Laurel Hill before her junior season and spent the 2021 season on the junior varsity. This season she was an important part of the team’s championship run.

“There were a lot of seniors on their team last year and it (playing JV) was to gain more experience and bond with the girls,” she said. “I really appreciated it because I got to know the JV girls that came with me to varsity. What’s even better is I got to know a lot of them more personally.

“This was my very first time ever going first state championship, let alone like making it that far in volleyball. So, it was a big privilege. Honestly, there’s no other feeling like it.”

Junior Lily Adams has been playing volleyball at Baker since her elementary school days. She will always remember the push for the state finals.

“Honestly, it was great I had these steps to go through and as we got there it just felt like it was amazing,” she said. “When we were on our way down, we were like, ‘We could be the first state champions in women’s volleyball’ and you’re thinking about that.

“One of my best volleyball memories was probably just us in practice the day before we left, we all just sat there and talked.”

Chloe Ates is another player who will return for her senior season in 2023. She has plenty of memories that will carry her through until the team starts working on another run for a title.

“Going to state that was one of our best memories because we got there as a team,” she said. “It was just that effort that we all bonded together and made it that far.”

The Gators took on all comers playing up in competition against schools with four or five times as many students. Ates appreciates those challenges as well.

“Getting to play Choctaw or Crestview and all the bigger schools are favorite memories because that really gave us competition to push ourselves,” she said. “We were learning each other’s weaknesses and then helping each other develop. It helped push us to get to where we are now.”

Kailyn Ellis will be graduating in the spring and the disappointment of losing the championship is far outweighed by the time she has spent with her teammates.

“We were in elementary school together and just being at Baker your friendships are lifelong friendships,” she said. “We wanted it so bad, but I was happy to be there because a lot of teams want to be there and that was special too.”

Coach Chelsea Medley took the Gators to the state finals in just her second year. She admits that she has replayed the championship match over and over in her head thinking about things she might have changed if given the opportunity.

“I thought of things I could have done differently,” she said, “especially when you when you lose a game as close as we did and had the opportunities to win it like we did. I think as I develop and become more confident in my role and have more years under me, I’ll follow my gut better than I did in this in that match. I think I could have been a little more emotionally level.”

Medley said it didn’t take her long to realize she had a special team on her hands.

“From the first day all started practicing in the summer as I look back like I the potential that we had to make it to where we did,” Medley said. “I don’t think they truly believed it, but I did. I saw the way that we played in and meshed together as a team and just the skill set that we had. Me and my assistants talked about it all the time like we knew from camp.”

Belhaven is an NCAA Division III school. Division III schools aren’t allowed to offer athletic scholarships, but for the true student-athlete that has taken care of their class work, scholarship money is available.

“Belhaven kind of fits my family’s religious affiliation,” Sheikho said. “And they have a great program (for) my future. I would like to one day be a doctor and they offer a pre-med program. Their volleyball coach (Kody Bivins) had talked to me and was offering me an academic scholarship to get me to play there.”

Sheikho’s senior season at Crestview didn’t exactly go as she had planned. A high-ankle sprain kept her off the court for much of the season, but she made the most of her opportunities.  

“They just saw that I had good athletic ability and they like that I could jump,” she said. “They like that I can play defense and that I’m pretty good offensively.

 “They thought it was good that I had a setting background,” Sheikho continued. “So I was really just well-rounded for them. I’m willing to play wherever they want me.”

James Kerrell was glad to have Sheikho in his first year as the Bulldog volleyball coach. He said she is the complete package that any school would be glad to have.

“She’s contributed a lot as a leader,” Kerrell said. “She’s been one of those that has been a vocal leader at times and then just led by example at other times. She’s been willing to get out there and get her hands dirty.

“She’s a phenomenal athlete that jumps out of the gym,” Kerrell continued. “She brings a lot to the table. I think she’s a good, a good addition to their program.”

Perhaps the think that impressed Kerrell the most about Sheikho is the way she handled the ankle injury.

“She’s got a little bit of grit about her,” he said. “When she went down with that high ankle sprain, with most athletes, especially as a hitter, that’s going to take them out of their season. She wasn’t going to let that happen. She rehabbed fast and and got back to where she needed to be very quickly. To me that showed some resilience and that showed that she wasn’t going to just quit.”

Sheikho admitted she thought her volleyball career was over after her injury. She now embraces the opportunity to play at Belhaven.

“After the injury last season, I really didn’t think I had a future in volleyball,” she said. “I was pretty much done, but I’ve recovered a lot and I’ve had no pain. I think after this year of rest I’m going to be able to really fully recover and come back at my full ability.”

There were no tears of sadness as the Baker duo left the court marking an end to their high school volleyball careers as they walked off the court winners with the East beating the West 4-1.

“It always feels better to go out with a win,” Ellis said. “I played travel (volleyball) with some of the girls before, but I was a little nervous to see how I would do with this pace (of play).

“It feels amazing playing with Leighton one last time. But it’s bittersweet. Yesterday it seems like I was a freshman starting my first varsity game and now four years has gone by.”

Sharing the final stage with Ellis made the night even more special for Mitchell.

“It felt really good to finish it with someone I really care so much about,” she said. “Losing at state wasn’t as bad as having to lose my teammates. It was just a great experience getting to go and appreciate what we’ve done.”

Ellis has not finished her high school athletic career while Mitchell has softball season coming up in the spring. But on Tuesday, they shared a final Gator memory.

There hasn’t been many big matches for the Hoboes, but Laurel Hill senior Rylee Boddy had the opportunity to test herself against the best players in the Panhandle this week in the Pensacola Sports Association All-Star Volleyball Classic.

Boddy was a member of the East team, which was made up of players from Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties. And while no other current Hoboes were on the floor with Boddy, former Laurel Hill player turned Baker Gator, Leighton Mitchell was adding to the special night for Boddy.

“It was a little scary at first, but it was the funnest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Boddy said. “The girls were super nice. The coaches were great.

“My best friend (Mitchell) plays for Baker and I know this girl, so that’s really good.”

Boddy is a typical small-school athlete and she’s already started basketball season. It was still nice to  have one last moment on the volleyball court.

“I never thought I’d be playing in a game like this,” she said. “There are so many memories, but I’ll always remember the cheers on the sidelines.”

Crestview’s Gabby Sheffield is the exception to that norm. Sheffield will play for the University of Mobile next season. That doesn’t mean she didn’t savor her last time on the court as a high school player.

“It’s been an amazing season and I can’t believe it’s over,” she said. “I’ve played with a few of these girls on my club team, but this was the first time playing with all these new girls that I’ve played against.

“It was neat the way we were able to all become one team and pull it together in the end.”

Sheffield was one of the key components in helping turn the Bulldogs from a 2-20 team in 2021 to a 12-11 team this season.

She has been a go-to player for coach James Kerrell in his first season as the Bulldog coach and she left her mark on the Crestview program.

A warrior on the court, Sheffield is equally focused in the classroom and was one of the players recognized for her academic excellence at the All-Star Classic.

“It’s an amazing honor,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard to keep up my grades. It’s a personal thing, and my parents, obviously.

“I’m very honored.”

Sheffield now sets her sights on the college playing career with the Rams.

“I’ll be keeping up, working on my training, and that will start very soon,” she said.

At Baker School, it’s rare to find an athlete that specializes in one sport.

Lady Gators, who in the fall play volleyball, find their way to basketball, weightlifting or soccer in the winter and in the spring softball or track.

Baker boys go from football to basketball or soccer and then baseball, track and weightlifting.
With only about 125 students in each class, the versatile athlete is important for all of the teams to do well.

But not every Gator or Lady Gator follows that path of a multi-sport athlete. Some simply find the sport they love and make it their own.

Senior Lady Gator volleyball player, Kailyn Ellis is dedicated to her singular sport, and she’s very good at it.

Ellis has played travel volleyball throughout her middle school and high school years. She estimates that she has played between 500 and 600 matches.

“It’s a lot of volleyball,” Ellis admitted. “I played travel and then here at Baker and that’s what made the player I am today, along with my parents and the coaches on my team.

“Between travel and school volleyball, I have probably played 500 plus matches through the last seven, eight years. It has allowed me to play different styles and different techniques in competition.”

Ellis went straight from the Baker middle school team to the varsity as a freshman skipping the junior varsity.

“She came up as a freshman and skipped right over JV,” Gators coach Chelsea Medley said. “We brought her right onto the varsity. She played the right side (at the net) and that’s all she did.”

“We wanted her there for her blocking. We wanted her there just doing the little things, and every year she has gotten better.”

Between constantly playing travel ball and Medley’s not rushing Ellis into a position that would put her in a difficult position, Ellis has developed an all-around game that makes her dangerous from any of the six spots on the volleyball floor.

“I’m an all-around player because I play so much,” she said. “But I would say hitting is my strength. I just like the kills.”

Medley said one of the things that stands out about Ellis is how well she moves her feet to get into the position to make a play on the ball, whether she’s going for a dig or a kill. A lot of that comes from her competitive nature as well.

When volleyball season ends later this fall, Ellis will walk away from the sport that has given her so much pleasure to concentrate on academics in college.

Before that happens, she still has some unfinished business. One thing on her list is to help the Gators win their 20thconsecutive district championship.

“It definitely feels good going for the 20th district championship,” she said. “My freshman year it was 17. So it’s been 17, 18 and 19 and now 20. I definitely want it.”