By FRANCIS FEDOR
The South Shore 5 (SS5) are featured week to week here in the pages of the Observer. But another school in our backyard had a notable 2024-2025 school year. Ruskin Christian School (RCS), a ministry of First Baptist Church of Ruskin, had a very successful year on the field and in the arts.
The Ruskin Christian Baseball team poses for a team photo.
Warrior baseball won the school’s first district title under the leadership of Anthony DeSanto. Ruskin Christian capped a 12-4-1 season with their 18-10 district title win over RCLA before falling to GCHS, 12-1, in the first round of the state playoffs. Z. Pepper tossed 3.1 innings to earn the win in the title game, only allowing 3 earned runs. E. Ayala had a 3-3 game at the plate driving in 2 runs. B. Pepper had a hit and 3 RBIs and J. Milian added 2 RBIs for the winners. The Warriors combined for 14 stolen bases, 9 hits and 9 walks to create offensive opportunities resulting in the 18-run outburst.
Teams had to think twice about running on senior catcher Aadi Cayasso. Cayasso threw runners out at a .324 clip, good for fifth best in Florida. His best two games for cutting down opponent runners were against Ramas, where he stopped 4 opponent stolen base attempts, and GCHS where he threw out 3 runners. The Warriors offense was paced by sophomore first baseman Reese Fagan, whose #11 ranking for FLA in On Base Percentage (.682) and batting average (.552) set the standard for his teammates. Fagan was efficient at the plate, working 14 walks and only striking out 4 times in 44 official plate appearances.
“The Knight” by Ryan Tindel State Champion for 5th Grade Sculpture and “Fisher of Men” by Leah Rodriguez State Champion for 7th Grade Digital Media
Other key contributors were Braden Pepper saw action in eight games this past season and only two of those games resulted in a loss. He K’d 47 batters and maintained a 3.38 ERA. He made a difference on the offensive side, driving in 16 runs and finishing with a .400 batting average. Pepper is a two-sport athlete, also contributing on the basketball court. DJ Vega finished the season going .471 from the plate and leading all Warrior hitters with 24 hits and scoring 22 runs.
Soccer saw the Varsity girls claim their second State Championship while the Middle School co-ed soccer won a fourth state title for RCS. Coach Mavin Barillas lauded Ava Johnson as the soul of the team. Freshman Lily Kick won the Best Offense award and Ashlyn Honeycutt took Best Defender. Maddy Todd won the Coach’s award. On the Varsity boys side, Nate Barillas has been MVP for the Coed Middle School teams and is a 3-time back-to-back champion with the RCS coed Middle School team. He carried over his offensive prowess to the Varsity squad and has been selected to travel to England for a summer tournament for American Premier Soccer. Tomas Landino was named Best Defender, Nate Barillas was Best Offense, Goalie Grant Shreve was named MVP and seniors, David Portillo and Brodi Meeks won the Coach’s award and have been called the soul of the team.
“Crochet Sea Creatures” by Ainsley Burkeybile 2nd Place for 4th Grade Crafts and “The Empty Tomb” by Nicholas Jones 3rd Place for 3rd Grade Sculpture
RCS was not only successful on the field, but also in the Arts. The school holds an accreditation with the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) and engages in competitions through the association. In addition to accreditation, FACCS sponsors competitions for its member schools throughout the school year, including Spelling Bee, Creative Writing, and Fine Arts competitions. This past year, RCS had 30 students submit artwork for the Regional FACCS Fine Arts Competition. Of those 30, 8 qualified for the State Fine Arts Competition. Of those 8, the following were state competition winners:
3rd Place – Nicholas Jones for 3rd Grade Sculpture
2nd Place – Ainsley Burkeybile for 4th Grade Crafts
State Champion – Ryan Tindel for 5th Grade Sculpture
State Champion – Leah Rodriguez for 7th Grade Digital Media
This year, RCS had 34 student musicians, either as soloists or in groups, participate in the FACCS Regional Fine Arts Competition. Of those 34, 11 soloists and groups qualified for the State Fine Arts Competition. Of those 11, the following were state competition winners:
From left: Adeline Weaver, Lydia Jackson, Violet Irish , State Champions for 3rd Grade Vocal Trio
3rd Place – Sawyer Keaton and Grace Craig for 6th Grade Vocal Duet
3rd Place – Micah Rollin for 8th Grade Piano Solo (homeschooler from First Baptist Church)
2nd Place – Elena Stefan for 5th Grade Piano Solo
2nd Place – Mariano Rollin for 6th Grade Piano Solo (homeschooler from First Baptist Church)
State Champion – Ross Neighbors for 7th Grade Piano Solo
State Champion – Violet Irish, Lydia Jackson and Adeline Weaver for 3rd Grade Vocal Trio
There were other successes, including JV Boys basketball FCC State Champions and Varsity girls cross country as state champion runner up. Middle school soccer also continued to dominate, winning a fourth state championship. RCC will take summer break and look to another successful school year in 2025-26.