Fall high school sports practices begin Monday: Key dates, teams to watch and more

School is not in session for Volusia and Flagler counties for another two weeks, but the sports calendar officially flips to fall Monday.

The Florida High School Athletic Association lists July 29 as the first allowable practice date for bowling, cross country, football (non-contact), golf, swimming and diving and girls volleyball. When students return to campus for the first day of school on Aug. 12, preseason games and meets will get underway soon thereafter.

Jake Medlock's comeback story: From Flagler Palm Coast to arena league after 5-year hiatus

Listed below are the key dates for each sport, as well as a short summary of the main storylines to monitor entering the 2024 season.

Bowling

First practice date: Monday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 19

Last regular season playing date: Oct. 19

District tournaments: Oct. 21-24

State championships: Oct. 29-31, Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center, Orlando

Buzz: The Player of the Year race among Volusia-Flagler girls bowlers should be wide open with all six nominees from a season ago having graduated. Seabreeze will look to reload after a dominant three-year run in which it won its first state title (2021), placed runner-up ('22) and finished fourth ('23). As for the boys, the Sandcrabs should return two of the area's best in Brayden Barnes and Dalton Boice, who posted respective scoring averages of 213.9 and 237.5 pins per game.

Cross Country

First practice date: Monday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 19

Last regular season playing date: Oct. 26

District meets: Oct. 28-Nov. 2

Regional meets: Nov. 6-9

State championships: Nov. 16, Apalachee Regional Park, Tallahassee

Buzz: Spruce Creek's twin duo of Mackenzie and Arianna Roy emerged as two of Florida's premier distance runners, placing fourth and fifth in the Class 4A state meet. Following strong track times, the Roys have attracted interest from a number of top colleges including Miami, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss and South Florida, per Hawks coach Stephon Gallon. Flagler Palm Coast's Braedyn Wormeck polished off an impressive junior season with a 11th-place time at states and headlines a strong group of returning male runners with Sam McDuffie (New Smyrna Beach), Hunter Shuler (Seabreeze) and Connor York (DeLand), among others.

Football

First non-contact practice date: Monday

First contact practice date: Saturday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 23

Last regular season playing date: Nov. 1

Regional quarterfinals: Nov. 8

Regional semifinals: Nov. 15

Regional finals: Nov. 22

State semifinals: Nov. 29

State championships: TBA

Buzz: Mainland captured its second state championship in school history last December but will have a new coach (Jerrime Bell) and a revamped roster after graduating more than a half-dozen Division I signees. Spruce Creek looks well positioned to make a leap this fall, anchored by All-Area defensive lineman Derry Norris (Georgia Tech commit) , 1,000-yard receiver Tony Kinsler (Pittsburgh commit) and two-way standout Kamron Chamble (Kennesaw State commit). The Hawks are grouped in an all-local District 2-7A with state semifinalist DeLand, rejuvenated Flagler Palm Coast and 10-win University.

Golf

First practice date: Monday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 19

Last regular season playing date: Oct. 26

District tournaments: Oct. 28-Oct. 30

Regional tournaments: Nov. 4-6

State championships: Nov. 12-20, Mission Inn Resort and Club, Howey-in-the-Hills

Buzz: Spruce Creek's boys bring back three first-team All-Area performers, including Player of the Year Gabriel Hull and Jacob Watson, who recently won the Daytona Beach Junior Championship. The Hawks tied for 13th at the Class 3A state championship, making the field for the third time in four years. Alexandra Gazzoli (Matanzas) and Amelia Cobb (Seabreeze) are gone to Division I colleges after impressive four-year careers, but DeLand's girls look to continue their upswing after a fifth-place showing in Class 3A last fall.

Swimming and Diving

First practice date: Monday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 19

Last regular season playing date: Oct. 19

District meets: Oct. 21-26 (Classes 3A/4A), Oct. 28-Nov. 2 (Classes 1A/2A)

Regional meets: Oct. 28-Nov. 2 (Classes 3A/4A), Nov. 4-9 (Classes 1A/2A)

State championships: Nov. 8-9 (Classes 3A/4A), Nov. 15-16 (Classes 1A/2A), Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training, Ocala

Buzz: DeLand's boys take aim for a fourth consecutive Five Star conference championship but will have to hold off a Seabreeze squad that was runner-up a year ago and fifth overall in Class 2A. The Sandcrabs' girls accomplished the same feat in 2023 with Alexis O'Keefe turning in a spectacular freshman season. O'Keefe placed second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.66) and fifth in the 500 free (5:08.88) at the state meet.

Girls Volleyball

First practice date: Monday

Preseason dates: Aug. 12-17

First regular season playing date: Aug. 19

Last regular season playing date: Oct. 10

District tournaments: Oct. 14-Oct. 18

Regional quarterfinals: Oct. 22-23

Regional semifinals: Oct. 26

Regional finals: Oct. 29-30

State championships: Nov. 4-9, Polk State College, Winter Haven

Buzz: New Smyrna Beach edged DeLand in a memorable five-set Five Star final last year, and both squads should remain in the running for the title again this upcoming season. Spruce Creek, Seabreeze, Flagler Palm Coast are among the chasing pack, while Pine Ridge starts fresh after a 21-6 record and significant departures to graduation. Matanzas has one of the nation's top liberos, rising junior Rylan Miller, who committed to Georgia over the summer.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fall high school sports practices begin Monday: Key dates, teams to watch and more