Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School athletics department celebrated a banner year in 2024-25.
In team competition, the Buffalo captured 11 district championships and finished district runner-up an additional seven times, crowned a regional champion and finished as regional runner-up twice more, and featured a pair of state runner-up finishes.
VHS also added two more individual state champions into its lore, as Maleek Williams (boys weightlifting) and Johnathan Clohecy (wrestling) became the eighth and ninth athletes in school history to win a state title. The year also featured a trio of individuals finishing as state runner-up.
The Buffalo also set a single-year record for the most scholarship signings in school history, as a total of 21 student-athletes from a dozen different teams signed letters of intent to continue their playing careers at the collegiate level.
Here's a look at some of the most notable moments and achievements from each sport this past school year:
FALL SPORTS
Bowling
The VHS girls bowling team matched the highest team finish in school history with a state runner-up effort in the 2024 FHSAA State Championships at Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center in Orlando, where they stunned a loaded field to finish second only to East River (Orlando) on the sport's biggest stage. The Buffalo, who finished a perfect 14-0 in head-to-head match play during the regular season, entered the two-day state tournament having captured the program's third consecutive district title last week.
Cross Country
For the third straight year, The Villages High School boys cross country team captured a district championship. The Buffalo finished atop the standings in the Class 2A-District 3 meet at Sand Hill Boy Scout Reservation in Brooksville, posting 53 team points to pace a 14-team field. Mount Dora (57), Williston (111), Trinity Catholic (117) and Montverde (127) rounded out the top five. VHS, who averaged a squad-wide time of 18:38, placed five individual runners within the Top 20 finishers.
Football
This past fall, the VHS football team returned to the state playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Buffalo went 5-4 in the regular season to notch the program's first winning record in three years, before ultimately falling to No. 2 Bradford in the Class 2A regional quarterfinals. The 2024 season also featured a 34-13 road victory over county rival Wildwood to open the season.
Golf
After both the Buffalo boys and girls golf teams brought home district championships, it was the VHS girls squad who earned a regional trophy for the first time in a dozen years this past fall. The Villages finished as regional runner-up at Dubsdread Golf Course in Orlando, shooting a 368 as a foursome over 18 holes of play, with Katie Allen finishing as the top individual with an 83. It was the first regional trophy for the Buffalo girls golf program since 2012.
Swimming & Diving
The Villages High School swimming and diving team got its 20th anniversary season off to a strong start — and made history in the process — on Aug. 22 at the VHS Aquatics Center. The Buffalo swept its season opener with Leesburg, as the boys rolled to a 131-38 win and the girls enjoyed a 128-24 victory. But all eyes turned to Ally Kline and Sebastian Price, as the duo became the first two divers in program history to leap off the board to open the meet.
Volleyball
The Buffalo volleyball team won its first postseason match in a dozen years this past fall, as VHS swept Cocoa Beach (3-0) in the regional quarterfinals. VHS previously won a Class 1A regional semifinal — then the opening round of the postseason — back in 2012, but had since gone winless in its previous five regional appearances. The Buffalo broke that streak with a relief-filled home victory over the Minutemen on Oct. 22, 2024.
WINTER
Basketball
Despite the Buffalo boys basketball team winning its first-ever Battle at The Villages tournament and falling two points short of a state title, the nod here goes to the VHS girls basketball team and superstar senior Zion McRae. The talented point guard tallied a jaw-dropping 56 points — smashing the school's single-game record for any player, male or female — to lead The Villages to an 87-29 victory over Lake Minneola on Jan. 27 inside the VHS Gymnasium in Middleton. McRae made 23 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers, and finished 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to lead VHS to the highest single-game point total (87) in program history.
Competitive Cheer
The VHS competitive cheerleading team competed proudly at the Class 1A-Region 2 Meet on Jan. 18 at Hagerty High School in Oviedo. The Buffalo finished eighth overall in the Extra-Large Non-Tumbling classification at the regional event, tallying 51.40 team points. VHS received a rating of 7.7 (out of 10) for its stunt execution and technique, which was tied for the third-best mark in the region.
Soccer
The VHS girls soccer team got off to the best start in program history this winter, as they rattled off eight straight victories to open the 2024-25 campaign. The Buffalo outscored their opponents, 62-2, during the win streak and posted six shutouts. The strong start to the year eventually led VHS to the state playoffs, where the squad eventually battled its way to a regional quarterfinal defeat against Lake Highland Prep in Orlando.
Weightlifting
The VHS girls weightlifting team finished seventh in the Traditional lift at the Class 1A state meet in Lakeland, but that effort came with nearly crowning the year's first state champion. Buffalo senior Lexi Galewski finished second individually at 129 pounds in the Traditional lift, falling just short of an individual state title to Liberty County's Chamiya Williams. Galewski and Williams each lifted 330 pounds, respectively, but Williams was awarded first overall by way of tiebreaker criteria. Along with Galewski, the Buffalo pair of Alissa Platt (third at 139 pounds, Traditional) and Madison Hume (sixth at 101 pounds, Olympic) each medaled and finished on the podium at the state meet.
Wrestling
In what could be considered the most dominant individual season in VHS Athletics history, Johnathan Clohecy became the school's eighth individual state champion back on March 8. Clohecy relentlessly attacked South Walton's Gibson Moore in the 175-pound title match at the FHSAA Wrestling State Championships, earning a 17-1 victory by technical fall to finish the season with a perfect 56-0 record. He became the first wrestler in program history to finish a season undefeated. The dominant victory was a continuation of an entire season's worth of powerful performances from Clohecy, who stacked up wins and bonus points for the Buffalo each time he stepped on the mat. He finished the season with 38 pins, 11 technical falls, three major decisions and four wins via forfeit.
SPRING
Baseball
The Buffalo baseball team smashed nearly every offensive program record in 2025, as they ultimately advanced to the regional semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. But setting the tone for a deep playoff run was a memorable five-game, four-day trip in March to Tennessee, where the Buffalo swept through the Chattanooga Central Invitational. VHS outscored its opponents, 51-4, during the trip en route to capturing the tournament title.
Beach Volleyball
The VHS beach volleyball team achieved historic heights in just the program's second year of existence. After finishing with a 3-6 record in their inaugural season last year, the Buffalo finished 18-3 overall this spring and rose as high as No. 35 nationally by MaxPreps. The Villages captured its first district championship back on April 23, picking up a pair of match victories over Central (5-0) and Hernando (3-2). The Buffalo then went on to defeat Nature Coast Tech (5-0) in the regional quarterfinals and Charlotte (3-2) in the regional semifinals to reach their first regional final, ultimately falling to Port Charlotte to end the year as regional runner-up.
Flag Football
Another upstart program, the VHS flag football team won its first-ever postseason game this spring in just its third season of existence. The Buffalo captured their first playoff win with a 34-0 rout of Crescent City in the Class 1A-District 5 Tournament semifinals on April 15 at H.G. Morse Stadium in Middleton, with Zion McRae hauling in five touchdown passes from Amelia O'Brien. The team also posted six defensive shutouts during the historic season.
Softball
And it was another "first" for the Buffalo softball program, as VHS won its first-ever playoff game back on May 7 in Alachua. The Buffalo stunned No. 2 Santa Fe in the Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinals, pulling off the upset for a 4-1 victory to record the program's first-ever postseason victory. The Villages, which entered the regional tournament as the region's No. 7 seed and ultimately finished 14-11 overall, fell a couple nights later to Crystal River. The Buffalo had previously lost all nine playoff games prior to the win.
Tennis
Despite a season's end at the hands of a pair of Orlando powerhouse programs in Bishop Moore and Lake Highland Prep, both the Buffalo boys and girls tennis teams got off to roaring starts this spring. The VHS boys opened by winning six of its first nine matches, while the Buffalo girls boasted a 7-2 record to start the season.
Track & Field
With the VHS girls track team winning yet another district championship, it was David Probola who paced the way for the VHS boys track squad down the home stretch. The distance runner saved his best for last, finishing as state runner-up in the Class 2A boys' 800-meter run at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida. Probola clocked in with a school-record time of 1:53.02, trailing only Cardinal Newman's Joe Licata by less than a half-second (1:52.54) for first.
Weightlifting
The Villages High School and its powerhouse boys weightlifting program produced yet another state champion on April 11, as Maleek Williams placed first at 238 pounds in the Olympic discipline of the FHSAA Class 2A State Meet inside the RP Funding Center. Williams, who also finished state runner-up in the Traditional lift, became the ninth state champion in school history and the third in program history. The Warner University signee lifted a total of 595 pounds in the snatch and clean and jerk portion of the statewide event, finishing atop a field of nearly 30 athletes participating in the discipline. Williams added 335 pounds in the bench press to complete the Traditional portion.
DISTRICT CHAMPION (11)
Cross Country - Boys
Golf - Boys, Girls
Bowling - Girls
Swimming & Diving - Boys, Girls
Weightlifting - Girls (Traditional)
Basketball - Boys, Girls
Track & Field - Girls
Beach Volleyball
DISTRICT RUNNER-UP (7)
Volleyball
Weightlifting - Boys (Olympic), Girls (Olympic)
Soccer - Boys
Flag Football
Track & Field - Boys
Softball
REGIONAL CHAMPION (1)
Basketball - Boys
REGIONAL RUNNER-UP (2)
Golf - Girls
Beach Volleyball
STATE RUNNER-UP (2)
Bowling - Girls
Basketball - Boys
INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS (2)
Johnathan Clohecy - Wrestling
Maleek Williams - Boys Weightlifting (Olympic)
INDIVIDUAL STATE RUNNER-UP (2)
Maleek Williams - Boys Weightlifting (Traditional)
David Probola - Track & Field (800-meter run)
COLLEGE SIGNINGS
Bowling
Logan Edelstein - Webber International (FL)
Boys Golf
Grady Logan - Virginia Wesleyan (VA)
Football
Jonathan Harding - Memphis (TN)
Mikeen Harrison - Lane (TN)
Bradee Powell - Mount Union (OH)
Owen Yassen - Kean (NJ)
Swimming & Diving
Ava Ehinger - Georgia Southern (GA)
Caidence Reece - Davis & Elkins (WV)
Boys Basketball
Adyn Corbin - Daytona State (FL)
Nick D'Alessandro - Hartwick (NY)
Girls Soccer
Kianna Burgos - Newberry (SC)
Girls Weightlifting
Alissa Platt - Lindenwood (MO)
Madison Hume - Missouri Valley (MO)
Wrestling
Johnathan Clohecy - Indian Hills (IA)
Baseball
Torin Foley - Embry-Riddle (FL)
Marcello Cortale - Florida Tech (FL)
Hunter Anderson - CCBC Catonsville (MD)
Lincoln Gagne - Lake-Sumter (FL)
Beach Volleyball
Rilynn Farkus - Lake-Sumter (FL)
Boys Weightlifting
Maleek Williams - Warner (FL)
Water Skiing
Camryn Waters - Louisiana (LA)
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
