BOCA RATON- Trinity Christian outscored Donna Klein 17-6 in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night to defeat the Eagles 47-43. Senior forward Tristan Gee scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to power the Warriors' comeback.  He scored 24 of those points in the second half.

Trinity overcame an 0-7 start from the free throw line and 25 turnovers with a stifling defense that frustrated DKA throughout the night.  Over the last three games, the Warriors have held teams to an average of 40 ppg. They also controlled the boards with Gee and Carter Kuzmin (9 rebounds) anchoring the paint. Eddie Morel added seven points for the Warriors, including a key steal and layup to give TCA the lead late in the fourth quarter.

TCA's next game will be in Winter Haven on Friday as part of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference tournament.  They will take on Bell Haven in the opening game at 7:00 pm.

BELLE GLADE- In one of the most memorable games in program history, Trinity Christian shocked Glades Day 90-84 in an overtime, comeback thriller on Saturday. Senior Tristan Gee scored a school-record 61 points and hit a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime to cap off a 15 point comeback in the final minutes.

TCA led the majority of the first half, but a buzzer beating three by the Gators gave GDS a 35-33 lead at the break. The Warriors shooting went cold in the third quarter and they trailed by 11 headed into the final quarter.  Trinity trailed by as many as 15 points before a switch to a man to man press sparked the Warriors. With 6.2 seconds to go, Gee went the length of the floor and banked in a three at the buzzer to force overtime.  Riding his hot hand, TCA grabbed a nine point lead in OT to close out the Gators.  Gee scored 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to carry the Warriors to the improbable win.

Senior Jaiden Santiago had a career-high 11 assists to go along with seven points.  Junior Eddie Morel added seven points and seven assists.

The Warriors are now 2-0 on the season.  They will host Berean Christian on Tuesday night in the home opener at 7:00 pm.  The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network.

PORT ST. LUCIE- Trinity Christian shook off a slow start to roll past Morningside Academy 71-39 on Thursday.  Despite trailing 11-10 early, the Warriors went on a 29-10 run to close the half and cruised to the win.

Senior Tristan Gee had a career-high 31 points to lead the Warriors to the win.  He also grabbed 10 rebounds to record the 21st double-double of his career.  Fellow senior Jaiden Santiago added 13 points and seventh grader Jaden Desir continued his sharp-shooting with a 10 point game.

TCA drained 10 three pointers in the game, the most they have hit since December 2018.  Gee hit three and Santiago, Desir, and Eddie Morel had two each.  

The Warriors will be on the road again on Saturday night as they travel to Belle Glade to take on Glades Day.  That game is scheduled for 6:30 pm.

BOCA RATON- Alyssa Jean-Gilles exploded for 20 first half points on Tuesday night, pacing Trinity Christian to a 31 point halftime lead over Boca Christian.  The Warriors closed out the Blazers 39-7 for the final.

Jean-Gilles drained four three pointers to help the Warriors run out to an insurmountable lead. Playing under a running clock in the second half, TCA worked in the entire roster in the resounding opening night win.

Emily Castillo added eight points and Katie Ruh had six for the Warriors.  Trinity will take on Jupiter Christian on Friday in another road matchup. That game will be broadcast live on the NFHS Network.

LAKE WORTH- Eighth grader Logan Colella had a break out game on Tuesday as his hat trick led the Trinity Christian varsity to a 3-3 tie with rival Lake Worth Christian.

The Warriors held off a furious attack from the Defenders in the first 20 minutes of the game before Colella connected on his first goal of the game off an Andrew Henry assist. Lake Worth Christian evened the game late in the half on a TCA misplay to send it to the break at 1-1.  In the second half, Lake Worth grabbed a 2-1 lead before Colella flicked in a goal off the end line to knot the game up.  Another Trinity misplay gave the Defenders a 3-2 lead with less than 10 minutes to go, setting the stage for more heroics from Colella.  Henry sent a ball into the box that was beautifully one-touched by seventh grader Youri Desenclos.  His pass connected with Colella who drove the ball home to tie the game and to complete the hat trick.  The Warrior defense held the line for the final three minutes to preserve the draw.

Trinity was without Chris Alves (starting forward), Chris Gunterman (starting forward), and Sammy Henry (starting striker) which limited the Warriors attack.

With the tie, Trinity is now 1-1-2 on the season.  The Warriors will be off until December 4 when they take on Boca Christian on the road.

LAKE WORTH- Despite missing four starters, Trinity Christian took Berean Christian to penalties before falling in the championship game of the Warrior Classic on Saturday.  

Andrew Henry put the Warriors on the board in the first half with a beautiful direct kick goal.  The Bulldogs tied the game late in the first half and the score remained knotted at 1-1 through full time.  In the shoot out, Alejandro Moscoso and Shivan Ragoonanan converted but it was not enough and the Warriors dropped the shoot out 4-2.

Chris Alves (injury), Justin Dambruck (injury), Bryan Silva (out of town), and Dylan Chappell (out of town) all missed time for the Warriors.  

In the opening game of the tournament, TCA rolled past SLAM (Palm Beach) 9-1. Among the goals scored were first career tallies from Chris Gunterman, Youri Desenclos, and Sammy Henry.

Trinity will be back in action on Tuesday as they host cross-town rival Lake Worth Christian at 3:30 pm.

LAKE WORTH- Every small school talks about being a family, but Trinity Christian Academy is proving it in the athletic department.  Five TCA alumni are giving back to their school by serving as coaches, and it was the impact Trinity had on them that brings them back.

"I’ve benefited so much from growing up through the Trinity athletic program and having great coaches not only care about me as a player, but also care so much about who I am as a person and invest so much into who I would later become as an adult," said middle school volleyball coach Casey Armstrong, a 2018 Trinity grad.  "When I was given the opportunity to coach at TCA, I was so excited to be able to give to the next generation what I was given as a student-athlete. If I can have even half the impact on my players that my coaches had on me, I’d consider it a win for sure."

Armstrong played volleyball, basketball and softball for the Warriors during her time at Trinity.  She led the middle school volleyball team to a winning record this season.  Her commitment to Trinity is rooted in family, as her mother Missy Armstrong works in the financial office and her brother Ben is the varsity girls basketball coach. Ben led the girls basketball team to the regional playoffs last season, their first appearance in that round in almost a decade.  He is a 2012 TCA graduate and played basketball, flag football, and volleyball for the Warriors.

Recent graduates are continuing to make their impact on the athletic program, now as coaches.  Noah Bresnick (class of 2019) serves as the assistant cross country coach alongside his mother Denise Hornfeld who is the head coach.  The pair led the Warriors to their first district championship this fall. Bresnick was an accomplished runner at TCA, advancing to regionals in both cross country and track in addition to playing soccer and basketball.  When he saw a need arise at his alma mater, he wanted to help.

"After I graduated there wasn’t a coach so I decided to help and assist," stated Bresnick.  "I enjoy the sport and being able to coach lets me be still be a part of it." 

Another recent graduate making a difference is Sergio Chois (class of 2020). An all-district soccer player, he has stepped up this season to coach the middle school boys soccer team.  He wants to inspire players the way his TCA coaches inspired him.

"I hope I can inspire the younger generations to aspire to represent the school on an athletic level," explained Chois. "I also want to bring seamless transition from middle school development to varsity level."

Class of 1999 graduate Alesha (Pepin) Real has been a part of the TCA family for more than two decades. She has been a long-time teacher at Trinity and serves as an assistant coach for the volleyball program.  Her impact is seen on the volleyball court as a continuation of the difference she makes in the classroom.  This commitment to and love for the school has a big impact on the success of the athletic program, said athletic director Derek Chirch.

"Seeing our alumni come back and serve says so much about the family atmosphere of TCA," stated Chirch.  "We all view this as a ministry to our athletes and our coaches are making an impact that goes beyond sports.  It's exciting to see that impact lead to alumni coming back and making in the difference in the lives in this generation of athletes."

 

LAKE WORTH- In year of twists and turns, perhaps no surprise has been bigger than the break out season of Xavier Jackson for Trinity Christian cross country.  Coming off a 94th place finish at districts last year, Jackson stunned the field with a 10th place finish this fall in the district meet.  His performance was key in the Warriors first-ever district title.

TCA has relied on a total team effort this season en route to winning three meets and a second and third place finish in two other meets.  While the Warriors have had no individual first place finishes, they consistently have placed all five runners in the top 20.  Jackson's 10th place finish in just over 22 minutes was his most impressive race of the season and came at the ideal time for Trinity.  With just a 15 point win over Highlands Christian, Jackson's finish was the difference in winning the district championship.

Jackson and the Warriors will run in the regional race this Saturday at South Fork High School in Stuart.  

BOCA RATON- Trinity Christian's cross country team made history on Tuesday as they brought home the program's first-ever district title.  All five TCA runners finished in the top 11 as the Warriors edged runners-up Highlands Christian 40-55 in District 14.

Junior Luke D'Orazio had his best race of the season, coming in third with a personal record of 20:38.  He closed nearly 50 yards in the last quarter mile of the race to nab the third spot.  Eighth grader Chris Gunterman had another solid race, finishing in seventh place with a personal record of his own with a time of 21:19.  Freshman Logan Fyke,  junior Xavier Jackson, and senior Jaiden Santiago finished in ninth, tenth, and eleventh places respectively to close out the championship run for the Warriors.

On the girls' side, junior Eva Zelaya finished sixth and advanced to the regional round as well.  The team will run in Region 4 on November 7 at South Fork.