Orange Observer Sports Awards: Meet the inaugural class of winners

The 2023-24 sports season was one to remember in West Orange and Southwest Orange, and to properly celebrate the accomplishments of the teams, players and coaches from the area, we’ve introduced the Orange Observer Sports Awards.

In the inaugural year of the awards, 10 total honors are being awarded to the most deserving members of the local sports community. To read more about each award criteria, visit bit.ly/3VNRE0c. 

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2024 Orange Observer Sports Awards.

Sportsperson of the Year

Madden Bourst | Olympia High baseball and wrestling

The Sportsperson of the Year award is the highest honor of the series and takes inspiration from the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award — which aims to recognize an athlete’s excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

No other athlete in the West Orange and Southwest Orange community exemplifies excellence in those three areas more than Olympia High’s Madden Bourst.

On the field, Bourst is a two-sport star for the Titans; lettering all four years of his high school career in both wrestling and baseball and being named Olympia’s 2023-24 Male Athlete of the Year. 

On the wrestling mat this season, he finished with a 29-10 record, qualified for the state meet, placed third at regionals and won the district individual title. He also is a four-year captain of the wrestling team. In the spring as a member of the Titans baseball team, Bourst was a captain in his senior season, hit for an average of .308 and had an on-base percentage of .505 in 93 plate appearances. He also was named to the Cure All-Star team. 

In the classroom, Bourst is even more impressive. The son of two teachers, he finished his high school career with a 3.97 unweighted GPA and was the valedictorian of his class. 

Beyond his grades, Bourst also was a member of the National Honor Society and National English Honor Society, and vice president of the National Technical Honor Society. He founded also and was the president of the Pickleball Club at Olympia. 

Looking past the grades and clubs, Bourst also found time to give back to his local community; registering more than 250 service hours as a volunteer for Little League baseball teams and youth wrestling clubs.

His time in high school is the epitome of what this award aims to recognize, but what he plans on doing next may be even more impressive: He will attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland to major in engineering.

Athletes of the Year

Superior athletic achievement is the first and highest criterion for the Male and Female Athletes of the Year Awards. Both the winners of this award exemplify this achievement in athletic excellence through a stack of individual accolades, impressive statistics and, most importantly, their contribution to winning. 

While the criterion for the Teammate of the Year award is less tangible. This award is about doing whatever your team needs you to do to win. The winner of this award sacrificed for the team, held teammates accountable and led them through positive encouragement, play on the field and as an inspiring example of determination and pure grit.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Jose Moyetones | Windermere High boys soccer

With a total of 26 goals and 20 assists over 19 games to his name, Moyetones contributed to nearly two-and-one-half goals a game for the Windermere Wolverines in his senior campaign. 

That sort of production not only earned him the 2024 Gatorade Florida Boys Soccer Player of the Year award, but also it helped carry Windermere High to the school’s first regional championship in the sport.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Trinity Turner | Dr. Phillips High girls basketball

Trinity Turner might be the most decorated girls basketball player in Florida history. 

The future Georgia Bulldog player is not only a three-time FHSAA Class 7A state champion, the 2024 Florida Miss Basketball, a three-time 7A Player of the Year, a four-time All-State team selection, a two-time District Player of the Year, and holds a 99-20 career record (only losing two home games ever).

Turner scored 1,998 points, grabbed 1,005 rebounds and dished out 701 assists over her four-year stint as Dr. Phillips starting point guard. 

TEAMMATE OF THE YEAR

Jonathan Bosque | Foundation Academy baseball  

In his first at-bat against Lakeland Christian on April 6, 2023, Foundation Academy baseball’s shortstop Jonathan Bosque took a swing and fell to the ground with an injury that ended up being a stress fracture to his L5 vertebrate.

The injury kept him off the diamond for nearly five months and could have paralyzed him. 

But despite the intense pain he felt at that moment, Bosque picked himself off the dirt in what he called “a big regional game” and finished the at-bat, earning a walk for his team. 

The type of toughness and sacrifice he showed in that moment is the exact determination he approached a grueling rehab process that saw him fight through an injury that didn’t allow him to sit in a chair or drive a car for months. 

But, like any good teammate who knows his presence on the field makes a difference in the team winning or losing, Bosque put the work in and was ready for his senior season.

Not only did Bosque’s efforts to get back on the diamond show the kind of effort he was willing to put in to help his team win, but when the season came around, he was the sort of leader who encouraged his teammates when they got down or lacked confidence and helped build a culture through camaraderie — and even a little karaoke on the bus after wins. 

First-year Foundation coach Dakoda Grove attributed their record-breaking season in large part due to senior leaders such as Bosque and the culture they built.  

Coaches of the Year

Coaches do more than dial-up plays, build systems and lead their teams to victory. They are molders of people who have the opportunity to impact athletes in a unique way. 

The winners of the Male Sport, Female Sport and Assistant Coaches of the Year awards are people who have made their presence known on the field and in the lives of their athletes, schools and programs.

MALE SPORT COACH OF THE YEAR

Eric Lassiter | Windermere High baseball

For Windermere High baseball’s entire seven-year existence, Eric Lassiter has been at the helm, building the program into the perennial powerhouse it is today. 

But, despite the promise each season showed, the Wolverines couldn’t breakthrough the regionals section of the bracket, coming close in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023. 

2024 would be a different story. The Wolverines baseball coach led the young program to its first regional championship win and an appearance in the Class 7A state championship game. 

There will be a handful of Lassiter’s graduating seniors headed to the next level, including Stetson signee Jack Waddingham, Clemson commit Cannon Feazell and Ty Head, who is committed to play at NC State but could be selected in the MLB Draft. 

FEMALE SPORT COACH OF THE YEAR

Anthony Jones | Dr. Phillips High girls basketball

According to Dr. Phillips High girls basketball coach Anthony Jones, the hardest thing to accomplish in sports is winning three consecutive championships. Jones should know: He completed his second three-peat this past season with the Panthers, after DP took down Colonial High in the Class 7A state championship game for his sixth title. 

Dr. Phillips finished the season with a 27-4 record — losing only one game to an in-state opponent. Jones’ philosophy of high-pressure defense and fast-paced offense was key to the Panthers’ success this season and made DP extremely uncomfortable to play because of its litany of athletes.

ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR

Isreal Simon | Ocoee High girls basketball

The value of a great assistant can be summed up pretty succinctly by Ocoee High girls basketball coach Marcus Spencer when asked about his assistant coach, Israel Simon: “If he ever walks out the doors of Ocoee High, I’m walking out behind him.” 

Simon’s value to the Ocoee girls basketball team is immeasurable, as he serves as an extension of Spencer as a lead assistant on the varsity team, which has won back-to-back district championships; the lead for the team’s conditioning and summer ball program, an assistant for the freshman and junior varsity teams and on campus during the school day — as Spencer works at Ocoee Middle School. 

Simply put, Simon is the backbone of this program and Spencer calls him the ultimate assistant coach; who goes above and beyond for his players, is a trusted voice on the bench during games, and is a vital aspect of the overall development and culture of the program from the youth level to the varsity team. 

Teams of the Year

The winners of the Male and Female Teams of the Year awards are examples of dominant programs adding to their dynastic runs and a program that used their experience to overcome adversity and make a special run. These two programs represent the essence of the Teams of the Year Awards: Winning on their terms. 

MALE TEAM OF THE YEAR

The First Academy baseball

On the surface, the 2024 baseball season for The First Academy was impressive: The Royals rattled off 12 consecutive wins, won a regional championship and reached the state final four; finishing the season with a 24-7 record. 

But, when you consider that a group of high school players had to navigate a midseason coaching change, a first-time head coach taking over as the interim and an aura of controversy surrounding the program because of all the changes, that makes what this TFA baseball team accomplished this season even more impressive. 

What makes this team stand out even more is that it was an overall team effort — not a team driven by a single star player. The Royals had nine players hit for a .300 average or better, seven players drive in more than 15 runs, seven players hit home runs, seven players score over 15 runs and three pitchers — who pitched more than 20 innings — have an ERA of 2.03 or lower. 

FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR

Foundation Academy cheerleading

The championships speak for themselves: Five consecutive regional championships, three consecutive FHSAA state championships, a national championship and a world championship. With its first national and world title, Foundation Academy’s cheerleading team has established itself as a dynasty in the sport and is clearly the type of team this award was made to recognize. 

The Lions’ 2023-24 season was incredible, inspiring, and worthy of all the accolades they have received. Foundation cheer, a tip of the cap to you all.

Ad Astra Award

Connor Tuengel | Orlando Area Rowing Society

At the Observer, one of our company sayings is, “Per ardua, ad astra” — Latin for, “By struggle, to the stars.” As such, the winner of the Ad Astra Award is a member of the area’s sports community who doesn’t let the constraints or struggles of this world limit their ambition to go beyond what most think is possible and reach the stars.

Orlando Area Rowing Society’s Connor Tuengel is that person.

Despite never participating in sports, Tuengel joined OARS and was determined to excel at the physically grueling sport. 

Before joining the team, he trained on his own for months to prepare for the season. He started as a member of the fifth varsity eight boat, and that’s when the real hard work began. 

On top of the physically demanding practices and schoolwork — both high school- and college-level courses — Tuengel logged an incredible two million meters on the erg machine, a rowing simulation exercise machine. 

Through an incredible amount of effort, training and struggle, in less than a full season, Tuengel rose through the ranks and was the stroke seat — the position closest to the stern of the boat, which sets the stroke rate and rhythm for the rest of the rowers to follow — of the varsity boat at Youth Nationals that finished top 20 in the country. 

Tuengel went from never playing any sport to being the key rower of a nationally successful boat. That sort of determination, ambition and perseverance in the face of that much struggle is exactly what this award is about.