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Coaching connection brings Florida high school basketball team to Elder

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Coaching connection brings Florida high school basketball team to Elder


Playing unfamiliar teams over the holidays is not unusual. Many high school basketball teams play out-of-town schools over the holidays to prepare for the second half of the season and the postseason.

Now that the page has turned to the new year, one Cincinnati team has an unusual opponent this weekend.

Elder’s basketball team is hosting Bishop Verot from Fort Myers, Florida Friday night at 6 p.m. Verot flew to the area on New Year’s Day and played at Conner in Hebron, Kentucky Thursday afternoon.

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Elder is hosting Verot because the game pairs two longtime head coaches and their wives. Elder head coach Joe Schoenfeld has 504 career wins after reaching the 500 milestone Dec. 8. Verot’s Matt Herting, in his 29th season, enters the game with 497 career victories and should reach the 500 mark soon back home in Florida.

Herting’s wife, Jill Jansen, is a Cincinnati native who graduated from Seton High School in 1996. She played volleyball for Seton while Schoenfeld’s wife, Coleen, was the junior varsity coach.

Jansen has nieces in the Cincinnati area who play middle-school volleyball in the Catholic school system, and they were able to cheer on Seton as the Saints won the Division I state volleyball championship last fall.

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“I miss it so much,” Jansen said. “I loved every minute of playing volleyball for a school that has so much tradition.”

Verot is 9-4 overall this year after losing at Conner, 73-53. On Monday, the Vikings lost by seven, 60-53, to Cardinal Gibbons from Fort Lauderdale, a team that’s ranked 13th in the state in its division.

Herting is one of the most successful head basketball coaches in southwest Florida history with several deep postseason runs. He started the Southwest Florida Association of Basketball Coaches.

In a 2020 interview in the Fort Myers News-Press, he said: “To me, the sport of basketball, I like it, but I can probably take it or leave it. But the strategy, the competition, the camaraderie, the friendships, the mentoring, that’s the stuff I love. I love the bus trips. I love the locker room after the game. I love the games. It’s not the sport as it is the relationships.”

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His wife said he has had that attitude his entire career.

“I’m proud of my husband for his long career at the school,” she said. “It’s not about basketball as it is about the guys. It’s one of my husband’s favorite things to do. I can’t wait to see the competition.”

After playing Conner, the Verot Vikings will spend Thursday night and during the day Friday touring downtown Cincinnati and other local landmarks.

Jansen expects a lot of friends from Seton and Elder, who are sibling schools and neighbors to each other, to attend the game and enjoy each other’s company.

“It’s so much fun for me, seeing the boys get to bond,” Jansen said. “I get to see them have fun and I’m able to show off my hometown. I want them to see that Cincinnati has a lot to offer. We’ll take them downtown and explore the city. The culture at Elder is similar to Bishop Verot with the tradition they both have. I hope everyone has a lot of fun.”

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Elder is 5-2, picking up a win against Greater Miami Conference co-leader Fairfield Saturday in the Holiday Hardwood Classic at Xavier’s Cintas Center, 61-54.

Senior guard Cam Williams had 22 points and seven assists in the game and is averaging 14.7 points and 3.8 assists. Alex Dugan posts 14 points per game.

The game should be a good test for the Panthers, who play at Huber Heights Wayne on Sunday, then start Greater Catholic League-South action with defending league champion Moeller at home Jan. 10.



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SpaceX targeting Thursday for Cape Canaveral’s second rocket launch of 2026

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SpaceX targeting Thursday for Cape Canaveral’s second rocket launch of 2026


Bolstered by more than 300 Falcon 9 rocket launches — primarily from Florida’s Space Coast — SpaceX’s 9,000-plus Starlink high-speed internet satellites now serve more than 9 million customers in more than 155 countries and markets, the company reported last week.

Now, the burgeoning Starlink constellation is slated to expand again. SpaceX is targeting Thursday, Jan. 8, for an afternoon Falcon 9 liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch window: 1:29 p.m. to 5:29 p.m.

The rocket will deploy 29 Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit. Similarly, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster should wrap up its 29th mission by landing aboard the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles southeast of the Cape.

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FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of Thursday’s Starlink 6-96 mission will kick off roughly 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

The first launch of 2026 from Florida’s Space Coast took flight at 1:48 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 4. That’s when a Falcon 9 lifted off from the Space Force installation, then deployed a batch of 29 Starlink satellites.

What’s more, SpaceX has another Starlink mission in store this upcoming weekend. More details:

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  • Launch window: 1:34 p.m. to 5:34 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.
  • Trajectory: Southeast.
  • Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Sonic booms: No.

In a 2025 progress report, Starlink officials reported crews equipped more than 1,400 commercial aircraft with Starlink antennae last year. That represents nearly four times the number of aircraft outfitted during 2024.

More than 21 million passengers experienced Starlink’s “at-home-like internet” last year aboard United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JSX, WestJet, Qatar Airways, Air France, Emirates, Air New Zealand and airBaltic flights, per the report.

For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

Space is important to us and that’s why we’re working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

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IOL Harrison Moore expected to transfer to Florida

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IOL Harrison Moore expected to transfer to Florida


Former Georgia Tech interior offensive lineman Harrison Moore is expected to transfer to Florida, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.

The direct connection between Moore and Florida is offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. Moore, a former three-star recruit, played in 10 games as a true freshman under Faulkner, playing 184 total snaps at left guard, center and tight end. Pro Football Focus gave him a 68.8 offensive grade — No. 12 among freshman interior linemen with 100 or more snaps — 67.8 run-blocking grade and 72.0 pass-blocking grade.

He became a starter in 2025 — five games at left guard and four at center — playing 11 games. His PFF grades took a dip to 63.6, 65.5 and 68.4, respectively, but still ranked inside the top 30 among underclassmen with 500 or more snaps.

247Sports ranks Moore No. 229 overall among all players in the 2026 transfer portal cycle and No. 11 among interior offensive linemen.

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Florida’s interior offensive line room

Florida’s interior offensive line returns starting left guard Knijeah Harris and backup guards Roderick Kearney and Tavaris Dice Jr. Moore slots in nicely at center with All-American Jake Slaughter out of eligibility and Marcus Mascoll moving on. Noel Portnjagin and Marcus Mascoll are in the portal, and Damieon George Jr. and Kamryn Waites have exhausted their eligibility.

Moore would compete with redshirt freshman Jason Zandamela for the starting center role, or Kearney could move to center and Moore could play guard.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.





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More than 625 manatees died in 2025 in Florida but year also offered hope

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More than 625 manatees died in 2025 in Florida but year also offered hope


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  • Manatee deaths in Florida increased in 2025, with young sea cows being particularly vulnerable.
  • A federal judge mandated a temporary halt on new septic tanks near the Indian River Lagoon and required feeding plans for starving manatees.
  • Despite record deaths, there were signs of hope, including some seagrass recovery and the opening of a new manatee rehab center.
  • New research revealed that a common herbicide may weaken manatee immune systems and that the animals are more recent migrants to Florida than previously believed.

This past year brought mixed milestones for manatees: near-record deaths for young sea cows but also a bit more seagrass for grazing, some new scientific insights and other hints of hope for 2026.

While they kept dying in droves, sea cows on the Space Coast — among their most important feeding spots — found more seagrass in the northern Indian River Lagoon. And a landmark legal ruling mandated that Florida’s most popular threatened species will soon swim in cleaner waters and must be fed lettuce to prevent winter starvation.

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Here’s how the year in manatee news played out:

More manatees died but more also live

Good news arrived in recent years regarding the overall sea cow population. Florida estimated in 2021-2022 that its manatee population was between 8,350 to 11,730, up from estimates of less than half of that only a few decades ago.

But in 2025, Brevard County topped Florida’s manatee deaths, with young sea cows continuing to be the hardest hit, despite the local seagrass gains. State biologists suspect the young are still perishing as a result of a long-term famine.

Brevard typically leads Florida sea-cow deaths, because most seagrass (manatees’ main food) grows here in the 72-mile-long county’s portion of the 156-mile-long Indian River Lagoon.

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According to the most recent stats from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, through Dec. 26:

  • Brevard had the most deaths: 118 manatees died in Brevard, compared to 100 in 2024. Lee County was second highest in 2025, with 113 manatee deaths.
  • Brevard’s deaths included: 9 by watercraft; 3 other human causes; 50 perinatal; 13 cold stress; 13 natural; 9 undetermined; and 21 not necropsied.
  • Statewide: 628 manatees died, topping the previous two years of 556 in 2024 and 546 in 2023. That still was less than the five-year average of 719 manatee deaths. Those deaths included: 97 by watercraft; 9 from a flood gate/canal lock; 9 other human causes; 135 perinatal; 33 cold stress; 63 natural; 50 undetermined; and 232 not necropsied.
  • One in five Florida manatees died within a year of birth: The 135 so-called “perinatal” manatee deaths — those that die within a year of birth — were 21% of the overall 628 manatee deaths last year. That was less than the record 149 perinatal deaths through Dec. 26, 2024, which increased to 154 total perinatal deaths for that year. But 2025 topped the five-year average of 104 perinatal deaths.

More landmark legal protection

In May, a federal judge ruled that Florida has to temporarily stop approving new septic tanks near the northern Indian River Lagoon and plan to start feeding manatees again when they are faced with winter starvation.

Brevard is offering homeowners financial help to meet that and other state septic-tank mandates.

The new manatee rules will remain in effect until the state gets a federal permit that allows so-called “incidental takes” of threatened manatees, the judge ruled. Incidental take refers to the unintentional (but not unexpected) death, injury, or harassment of a protected species during otherwise lawful activity.

In a separate legal battle, conservation groups have for several years been suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify manatees from “threatened” back to “endangered.” Last year, the service declined to return Florida manatees to “endangered” status, a ruling environmental groups continue to challenge.

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New manatee rehab opens at Brevard Zoo

Last year, Brevard Zoo took in the first two manatee patients — Churro and Randa — at the zoo’s new $2.1 million sea cow rehab center. As with the zoo’s sea turtle rehab, the facility is not open to the general public. But on April 4, the zoo gave Gov. Ron DeSantis a behind-the-scenes tour as the zoo celebrated the center’s opening with a ribbon cutting.

Florida Tech makes strides with robotic manatee

In 2025, Florida Tech students made leaps forward with a robotic manatee, called “Mechanatee.” They hope in years ahead to use the robot to study real manatees in the wild without disturbing them. The robot will mimic the movements and communication of manatees to gather data on their behavior and habitat. The project is still in its early stages, but the team hopes to eventually test Mechanatee in Belize.

Other sea-cow scientific breakthroughs:

Several other groundbreaking studies in 2025 showed, among other things, that a popular herbicide is suppressing manatee immunity, that sea cows aren’t nearly as longstanding Florida natives as once thought and are sophisticated navigators.

  • In January, University of Florida researchers found that the popular herbicide glyphosate can reduce manatee immune cell activity by more than 27%. That suggests sea cows living near high agricultural or residential runoff are more vulnerable to diseases and infections, even if they aren’t directly starving.
  • Manatees are relative newcomers to Florida: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says on its website: “As its name suggests, the Florida manatee is native to Florida and is found primarily in coastal areas throughout the state.” But a landmark study in the journal PLOS One released in January 2025 by University of South Florida found almost no manatee bones in more than 70 Native American settlements older than a few hundred years. That suggests manatees only likely began migrating from the West Indies when the climate started heating up, beginning at the end of the 19th century with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the USF researchers concluded. Cooler temperatures lasting until the late 1800s probably kept cold-sensitive sea cows from migrating much north of the West Indies, USF concluded.
  • In April, a study lead by New College in Sarasota used post mortem MRIs to find that manatees are more sophisticated navigators than previously thought. “Despite this apparently ‘simple’ brain, manatees in the wild show some cognitively sophisticated behaviors, particularly in the realm of navigation,” the authors wrote. “Future work in manatees should examine local and global brain connectivity related to spatial navigation and other complex cognitive capabilities.”

Contact Waymer at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Follow him on X at @JWayEnviro.



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