Members of the Baker School Class of 2023 joined together at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church on May 17 to celebrate their accomplishments, give thanks to God and to challenge each other to let the Lord direct their paths in life.

Michelle Howard won’t be returning as the Crestview High School softball coach next year. Howard said she was informed of the decision that she wouldn’t be retained earlier this month.

Shortly before Friday’s 7 p.m. start time of Crestview’s spring football game against Pensacola High, the skies above Jack Foster Stadium opened up with a steady, and at times hard, rain that continued throughout the evening.

The community gathered in the Laurel Hill School gym last Thursday to celebrate the Class of 2023 on graduation night. By the numbers there were 28 graduates, five honor graduates and a countless number of memories.

It has been 34 years since Vickie Hayden walked the halls of Crestview High School as a student. A 1989 graduate of Crestview, by her own admission, the once-shy clarinet player is returning to her alma mater as the principal. She replaces Jay Sanders, who announced his retirement last month.

If Okaloosa County offered an All-Sports Champion award to the best middle school program in the district, there’s a good chance it would go to the Davidson Panthers. Davidson claimed its second county championship of the 2022-23 school year on May 3 when the Panther baseball team traveled to Ruckel and beat the Rams 14-0.

Less than 24 hours after the Crestview baseball season ended on May 1, Jaden Appleby was on the football practice field the following afternoon as he began preparation for his senior season. Appleby, who was the second-leading tackler for the Bulldogs in 2022 with 68 totals hits, is looking forward to his senior season on the gridiron.

Katiya Casey won’t be traveling far to play her college basketball. The graduating Lady Bulldog point guard recently announced she will be making the trip west on Interstate 10 to play for Pensacola State College.

celebrate their accomplishments, give thanks to God and to challenge each other to let the Lord direct their paths in life. Tyler Eanes, the student pastor at Pilgrim Rest, who delivered the sermon at the service, credited the community and students for the event.

There are very few blackhole times of year when covering high school sports when things disappear into a vacuum of sorts. The months of June and July are the closest thing we have to a blackhole. The two months between the end of the school year and the start of fall practices are when things slow to a crawl. It’s a time to catch up on other sports news in the community.