The girls’ varsity volleyball team is a state champion when it comes to academics. The Florida High School Athetic Association recently awarded the team the Academic Gold medalist distinction, after it finished first in Class 4A with a collective grade-point average of 3.821. Another Brevard County team — Edgewood — finished second with a 3.814 GPA.

“For West Shore, athletics is considered just one piece of the pie,” Coach Bonnie Priester wrote to her players. “The girls here are diverse in their accomplishments. We have class officers, valedictorians, science-fair winners and students that mess up the test curves for their classmates. It’s not uncommon to [for players] to have three to six Advanced Placement classes, [with players] staying up til 3 a.m. to do homework [which] happens on the regular, and they will be at school on time the next day.”

In addition, West Shore’s fall sports teams combined to finish fourth in Class 4A with 35 points, trailing only Bishop Moore, Berkeley Prep and Ransom Everglades, all private college preparatory schools.

According to FHSAA, points were awarded for where a school places in each of categories. The top 10 schools in each category receive points. Ten points are awarded for a first-place finish, nine points for second, etc. The school in each class with the highest cumulative point total for the school year will get a plaque.

In addition to volleyball, West Shore fall sports include bowling, cross-country, golf and swimming.

Roar staff