The Sarasota High boys basketball team is on the precipice of history. It was 57 years ago that the Sailors last made the state semifinal game. On Friday, March 7, Sarasota High will face off with Windermere High in the semifinal game of the Florida State High School Athletic Association’s Class 7A state tournament in Lakeland. A win against Windermere, the 4th-ranked team in Florida, would advance Sarasota to its first state championship in the program’s history on March 8.

“Windermere has a great basketball team. They have a big man, they have great shooters, they have athletes and they’re incredibly well coached,” says Sarasota High head coach and athletic director BJ Ivey. “There’s a reason that they’re the fourth-ranked team in the state. They’re a really good basketball team—but the one thing that I remind myself of is that we’re a really good basketball team too.”

In three years under Ivey’s leadership, Sarasota High has established itself as one of the preeminent boys basketball programs on the Suncoast. In the regular season, the Sailors went 25-2 en route to capturing the 7A District 12 title for the second year in a row. Sarasota’s biggest test of the year came in its 64-61 win over Osceola High on February 20 in the region finals of the 7A state tournament, when it survived a 21 point outburst from Osceola in the 4th quarter to secure the victory.

The Sailors have been led offensively by sophomore guard Johnny Lackaff, senior forward Oliver Boyle and junior center David Young. Lackaff, who led the team in scoring for the second consecutive year, exploded for 35 points in Sarasota’s 81-66 victory over Plant City in the region semifinals. In the region final against Osceola, Boyle scored 16 points with three rebounds and four assists, while Young scored 15 of his own and ripped down a team-high 13 rebounds.

While Ivey is undeniably proud of his team’s success on the court, he values most highly the way his players carry themselves outside of the gym. “I’m most proud of how these guys handle themselves every day,” says Ivey. “The fact that our unweighted team GPA is 3.78—they’re doing the right thing on and off the court at an incredibly high level.”

Sarasota High will face off against Windermere High at 3:00 p.m., March 7 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. 

The Sarasota High boys basketball team with their Region 3 trophy. Provided photo.

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Registration is open for the 2025 spring semester at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College, which offers noncredit educational opportunities for adults to pursue new interests, expand intellectual horizons, and enrich their lives. The semester, which runs March 17-May 8, 2025, features more than 40 courses, lectures, workshops, and special presentations covering a wide variety of topics, including arts and entertainment, history, music appreciation, health, literature, philosophy, religion, and science. Semester highlights include Florida Seminoles — Tale of Tears; What Law and Order (And Other Media) Get Wrong; Minorities in Shark Sciences; What’s It Worth? with Andrew Ford; A History of Baseball Cards (1886-1943); Health Impacts of Air Pollution; and the premiere screening of Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America the Beautiful.

Classes are offered at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; and online via Zoom. To register, or for information about becoming an OLLI member, visit www.OLLIatRinglingCollege.org or call 941-309-5111. 

 The Office of Angelina “Angel” Colonneso, Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller for Manatee County, is opening its doors on Saturday, April 5, from 8:30 a.m. to noon for Passport Saturday – an annual event for passport applications. Passport Saturday offers residents with busy weekday schedules an opportunity to apply for a passport outside of regular business hours. Whether you’re a first-time applicant, renewing a child’s passport, or need to renew an adult passport issued more than 15 years ago, the Clerk & Comptroller’s passport division is here to help. To save time at the passport counter, the Clerk & Comptroller’s office recommends that you fill out your passport applications in advance. The application is available for download on the U.S. Department of State’s website - travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/forms.html. 

Selby Gardens is happy to collaborate with Anastasia Sokolow of Sulékó for an interactive fragrance masterclass that invites guests to vibrantly experience wild Florida in springtime. The event, scheduled for Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 6-8 p.m., will take participants on a journey to uncover the richness and variety of Florida’s habitats and their unique scents. Registration $165 for non- members and $145 for members. Register at selby.org 

ensembleNEWSRQ (enSRQ), the innovative chamber music ensemble, continues its ninth season with "Critical Moments," a program highlighting George Perle’s vibrant "Critical Moments" sextet alongside refined string and wind compositions of Carolyn Chen and Kenji Bunch. The evening also features the world premiere of "Rota Fortunae," a newly commissioned work by Paul Mortilla for enSRQ. Closing the program, Samantha Bennett takes center stage in Marcos Balter’s beguiling "Violin Concerto." The concert is Monday, March 17, 7:30 p.m., at First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota. Single tickets are $30. For more information on ticket packages and single tickets, including student ticket pricing, visit EnSRQ.org. 

Sarasota County Schools is pleased to announce that Ms. Keatrun Stroughter – the current Assistant Principal of Emma E. Booker Elementary School – has been appointed as the new Principal of Gocio Elementary School. She will assume her new role effective Tuesday, July 1. Before assuming her current role as the Assistant Principal of Emma E. Booker Elementary School in July 2022, Ms. Stroughter served as an Assistant Principal at Sarasota High School from July 2017 to July 2022, where she supervised the ELA/ILA departments. She has also served as an Assistant Principal at Ocoee High School (Ocoee, FL) and an Assistant Principal at East River High School (Orlando, FL), among other roles.  

Fortune Magazine has ranked New College of Florida’s Master’s in Applied Data Science program eighth in its 2025 rankings—its highest placement since the program’s inception. This marks the third time in four years that New College has appeared on the prestigious list and the first time it has landed in the top 10. Students in the Applied Data Science master’s program complete three semesters on campus in small, close-knit cohorts, learning from faculty with both industry and academic expertise. The program culminates in a full-time internship during the final semester, with industry partners spanning banking, insurance, consulting, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal agencies.  

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Sarasota County Schools is proud to announce that Mrs. Pamela Schmidt has been selected as the district’s overall 2025 School-Related Employee of the Year. Mrs. Schmidt serves as the Records & Evidence Specialist for the Sarasota County Schools Police Department (SCSPD). As the award recipient for Sarasota County, Mrs. Schmidt is now eligible for the overall state-level recognition. Please join us in congratulating Mrs. Pamela Schmidt and all of our 2025 School-Related Employees of the Year. 

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