The Gauntlet

06/11/2025

Winter is coming… And so are winter sports!

In this special, multi-segment Feature, The Gauntlet brings you season previews of ALL five winter sports programs, including key player interviews, photos, and more.

Story by George Frano, Rachel Gocinski, Karlah Benzan, Afton Cox, and Julie Harris. Link in bio for the piece-- it's worth a read.

The 2025–2026 Saint Stephen’s varsity soccer team is gearing up for another big season under Head Coach Oisín Crean, after finishing last year with a strong 10–7–1 record. This year, the program will boast a long-awaited return of a JV Team, the first time since 2018-2019.

06/11/2025

"Is this really you?"

Videographers Grace Kotter and Kieran Cloutier hit the halls for some signatures of your favorite teachers. Check out the full vid here.

Link in bio for more news from today.

05/11/2025

Dr. Brandon Marcello presented to our seniors in the Pullen Center today as part of our “Project 18: Life Skills Before College” program, which was proposed by Mr. Johnson’s AP English Lang class several years ago.

Marcello spoke about performance nutrition, and fielded questions from the audience regarding fads in the supplement space, pre-performance eating, the importance of diet in athletics, and more. Link in bio for more news from today.

05/11/2025

Get on the bus!

The Upper School is hosting a blood Drive with SunCoast Blood Centers today, Wednesday Nov. 5, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The SunCoast Blood Bus will be parked in the Upper School Parking Lot throughout the day.

Students who are 16 or older are eligible to donate, and those under 18 will need a signed permission form. Faculty and staff are also invited to participate.

To sign up, scan one of the QR codes posted around the Upper School and Campus Center, or stop by the Cafeteria to choose an appointment time.

Participants that donate will receive a gift card from Amazon, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin’, McDonald’s, or Starbucks. The rewards increase with each donation.

By donating, participants help meet the ongoing demand for blood in area hospitals and medical centers.

Whether it’s your first time donating or you’ve given before, consider taking part in this year’s Blood Drive. Signing up takes only a minute, and your donation could make a real difference for someone in need.

03/11/2025

Statebound!

Five Falcon swimmers qualified for states this year, following solid performances at the 1A Region 3 meet on Saturday.

Junior Blair Wootsen qualified in both his individual events: 50 and 100-yard freestyle.
And the girls 200-freestyle relay team of Camryn Sanders, Scarlett Olson, Brianna Prendergast, and Danielle Weathers qualified for their relay event.

Congratulations and let’s bring home some hardware!

03/11/2025

We got a fast Carr!

Friday at the North Port Tri County cross country meet, senior Austin Carr set a new school record in the 5K. Carr ran a blazing 16:10, beating his previous time of 16:46.

According to teammate Kavi Riedi, Carr’s success stands out due to his “dedication to follow Coach JB Wolcott’s coaching plan.”

Carr built up his mileage over the summer to 40 miles per week, and then up to 50 as the season progressed, only to taper back down to focus on “speed and conserving energy” for the postseason races.

The 5K record at Saint Stephen’s is a coveted one, and Carr has set a new bar for future Falcons to reach.

The team is set to compete at Districts this coming Saturday in Fort Myers.

31/10/2025

Spooky Trivia!

The Gauntlet's Jackson McLeod and Brian Stone headed out to see just how much the Falcon Nation knows about Halloween.

We think you'll learn a few things in this one, too!

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween!

Today, the Student Council hosted a series of spirit events: pumpkin bowling, apple bobbing, and corn hole.

Check out some shots of costumes and events from today. Congratulations to the old lady, four horsemen, and bananas for winning the costume contest.

Link in bio for more news from today.

30/10/2025

'All they do is win, win, win'... The Academic Team does, at least.

In her story "Academic Team wins Commissioner’s Academic Challenge," Julie Harris covers one of Saint Stephen's most prolific programs-- the A-Team-- who took first place in the county on Tuesday by winning the Commissioner's Academic Challenge.

Follow the link for the story:

On Tuesday Oct. 28, the Saint Stephen’s Academic Team secured another win at the Commissioner’s Academic Challenge, at the Parrish Community High School. The A-Team competed againstParrish, Manatee, Braden River, Bayshore, Lakewood Ranch, and Palmetto high schools. The win brings the team to an ...

30/10/2025

Best of SNOAlert!

Congratulations to staffer Karlah Benzán on securing a Best of SNO distinction for her piece, “New Coach, New Era,” chronicling the growth of the boys basketball program.

A journalist or videographer earns a Best of SNO publication by meeting the publication’s high standards. SNO will also post the video to their professional news site!

Head to the link to see the story on Best of SNO! https://bestofsno.com/82168/sports/new-coach-new-era-for-boys-basketball/

28/10/2025

All things b-ball! In "Beyond the Basket: Coach Sutton and the Boys Basketball Program," Sawyer Girgis and Carter Hasbrouck profile a team that is working hard both on and off the court. Edited by Sawyer Girgis.

23/10/2025

It's almost hoop time! In "New Coach, New Era for Boys Basketball," Karlah Benzan goes in-depth on the talk of the town-- the boys varsity b-ball team-- who are making waves all over campus.

Whether it's bonding during lunch, hanging out between the bells, attending team study sessions serving the Lower School via Read Alouds, conducting Shoe Drives to help the community, the boys basketball team is growing into a program.

Benzan dives into what that program is-- and it all starts with Coach Sutton.

Head to the site for this In-Depth Feature. Link in bio.

This past summer, Saint Stephen’s appointed a new varsity boys basketball head coach, Mr. Kevin Sutton. Since his arrival in August, Sutton has stepped into the role with a mission: to transform the boys basketball program. Sutton brings over 40 years of coaching experience, starting his career im...