Pensacola Sports, along with the Capt’n Fun Runners (Bushwacker 5K) and the Bridge to Bridge 5K, is pleased to announce the second year of the 850 Bridge Run Series.  Comprised of the three major races which utilize the area’s great bridges, the Series gives participants a goal and more of a reason to run all three events.

On Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, the Bushwacker 5K, benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters, will be the first race in the series.  Runners will begin in Gulf Breeze, run over the Bob Sikes Bridge and finish on Pensacola Beach.  Next on the race calendar is the Bridge to Bridge 5K on Oct. 15which runs on the 3-Mile Bridge over Pensacola Bay.  The final event is the Pensacola Double Bridge Run (Feb. 4, 2017) which takes runners from downtown Pensacola, over both the 3-Mile Bridge and Bob Sikes Bridge, finishing at the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk.

Runners who complete all three events will receive a commemorative poster at a separate award ceremony following the Double Bridge Run’s awards ceremony.  Additionally, awards will be given to the overall top three male and female athletes who complete each race.

For more information and to register for each event, visit www.850bridgeseries.com.

About Pensacola Sports – Pensacola Sports is one of the oldest sports associations/commissions in the United States, beginning in 1955.  Today, Pensacola Sports manages or assists in numerous events a year throughout the Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa county areas, and is the lead sports tourism agency for Escambia County.  Events include a high school all-star series, flag football, 5K-15K runs, marathons, triathlons, soccer and softball tournaments, collegiate national championships, and annual awards and scholarships banquets to name a few.   Pensacola Sports is dedicated to building a better community through sports.  Be Moved!

35 AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS AND OVER $100K AWARDED AT ANNUAL EVENT

Each year, Pensacola Sports brings together the top senior student-athletes in each sport from Escambia and Santa Rosa County schools for a dinner and scholarship recognition program. The 2017 Annual Sr. Scholar Athlete Banquet had a record of 227 senior nominees and over 700 total people in attendance last night at Olive Baptist Church for the 38^th Annual Sr. Scholar Athlete Banquet Presented by Sacred Heart Health System.

“Our community is fortunate to have so many outstanding students. These students don’t just “balance” everything from athletics, academics, social life, volunteer hours and family, but they excel in everything they are part of,” said Cindi Bonner, Pensacola Sports Foundation Chairperson.  “After 38 years, the Pensacola Sports Foundation continues to recognize the best of the best at our Senior Scholars Banquet. The accomplishments from each students during their High School careers left me dumbfounded as to when they possibly have time to manage it all, while continuing to maintain nearly perfect grades and test scores.”

Madelyn Dimitroff and Carl Gindl, both from Catholic, won the overall female and male scholarships, respectively.  The Pensacola Sports Foundation awarded these two individuals each with a $4,000 scholarship.  Other awardees were Tanner Kukes from Catholic (University of West Florida Scholarship), Autumn Albritton from Northview and Brennan Lynn from West Florida (Gary McAdams Memorial Scholarship), Heather Kling from Pace High School and Clay Leonard from Escambia (Whataburger Books Scholarship), Geneva Anderson from West Florida (Dr. Alec Kessler Memorial Scholarship), Logan Green from Gulf Breeze and Richard Fisher from Pace( Papa Jay Memorial Scholarship)  and Jerry “Hook” Henderson, Catholic High and FSU Football, won the RADM Kenneth L Shugart Jr. Award for his service and dedication to the community, sports, and youth.

Additionally, Pensacola State College awarded 24 individual sport winners with a scholarship.

The individual sport winners are:

Baseball                                               Brennan Vasquez             Milton High School

Girls Basketball                                 Maddie McCurdy             Gulf Breeze

Boys Basketball                                 John Christopher Carrel Pensacola Catholic

Cheerleading                                     Alexis Wilson                      Tate

Boys Cross Country                         Austin Epstein                   Navarre

Girls Cross Country                          Haley Kling                          Pace

Football                                                Tristan Covell                     Gulf Breeze

Girls Golf                                             Katrina Boteler                  Pace

Boys Golf                                             Brian Richards                   Gulf Breeze

Boys Lacrosse                                    William Heaney                Washington

Girls Lacrosse                                     Michaele Dunne               Gulf Breeze

Boys Soccer                                        Joe Estes                              Tate

Girls Soccer                                         Emily Madril                       Navarre

Softball                                                 Destiny Herring                 Jay

Boys Swimming                                 Jacob Chambers               Milton

Girls Swimming                                 Monet Mendez                Pensacola High

Boys Tennis                                        Reed Taylor                        Pensacola Catholic

Girls Tennis                                         Madison Mougey             Pensacola Catholic

Boys Track                                           Charles Orth                       Navarre

Girls Track                                           Jorja Agrait                         Jay

Volleyball                                            Jordan Taylor                     Gulf Breeze

Boys Weightlifting                            Antonio Gibson                                 Pace

Girls Weightlifting                            Savannah Diel                    Navarre

Wrestling                                             LeLand Knoch                    Pace

Schools in both Escambia and Santa Rosa nominate their senior athletes for each sport and submit the paperwork to Pensacola Sports.  A selection committee made of educators, community leaders, and Pensacola Sports board members reviews the anonymous applications and select the best person’s credentials for each sport.  Those are the individual sport winners.  Then they select the overall male and female winners from the individual sport winners.

For more information on the Sr. Scholar Athlete Banquet, how to get involved, or to support next year’s event, contact Pensacola Sports at 850-434-2800.

Pensacola Sports is pleased to announce it will host a “Welcome Home Party” for Pensacola native Justin Gatlin on Friday, October 6 at Seville Quarter from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.  This will be Justin’s first-time home since he was crowned “World Champion” in the 100m at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London on August 5.

The free event will be held in the Phineas Phoggs room where Gatlin will meet with the guests.  He will be available for photographs and signatures.  Additionally, the guests are encouraged to sign a special “Congratulations” banner upon entering, which will be presented to Justin.

Gatlin returns home on Wednesday, October 4 at 8:30 a.m. at the Pensacola International Airport.  We encourage all fans to greet Justin and give him a warm Pensacola welcome.

With Justin’s gold medal at the 2017 World Championships, that brings his medal count to eight at the World Championships including three gold, five Olympic medals, and two gold medals at the World Indoor Championships.

For more information and questions regarding the Welcome Home Party or the Airport Welcome contact event manager, Mike Price, at 850-434-2800 or at mprice@pensacolasports.org