Merritt Island Athletics
Pride Family Tradition
13 Team State Champions
40 Individual State Champions
21 Team State Runner-Ups
22 Team Final Four Appearances
Please click the summer information button to get information on summer conditioning, area summer camps, weight room schedules, and open gyms during the summer.
Class of 2024 College Signing Day!!! (16 Future College Student-athletes)
Congratulations to: Gabe Arnold - Western Kentucky University (Football), Alana Bagwell – Erskine College (Girls Soccer), Hudson Blank - Volunteer State Community College (Baseball), Camryn Childers - Indian River State College (Indoor Volleyball), Kaleb Ivie - The Apprentice School (Wresting), Madison Johnson - St Johns River State College (Indoor Volleyball), Hannah Kenney – Warner University (Girls Soccer), Noah Knight - Daytona State College (Baseball), Christian Liquori – Savannah College of Art & Design (Bowling), Jacob Loeffler - Alabama State University (Baseball), Maddison Lusk – Eastern Florida State College (Cross Country), Julianna Trujillo – Daytona State College (Girls Soccer), Ryder Varis – Presbyterian College (Football), Nick Wimberly - Florida Atlantic University (Baseball), Brooke Yates – University of North Florida (Cross Country & Track), not pictured: Trey Delworth – Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Boys Soccer).
Merritt Island Athletics Fanzone link
Scheldule
HIghlights/information for the week of 4/8 - 4/20
Weekly Sport Highlights for 4/15 to 4/20
Tuesday, the beach volleyball team comfortably won both their matches to earn the district championship.
Tuesday, the baseball team won their third in a row.
Tuesday, the softball team is finishing the season strong with an impressive win.
Wednesday, the baseball team finishes the regular season with a win.
Thursday, the softball team finishes the regular season with a win.
Weekly Sport Highlights for 4/15 to 4/20
Monday, beach volleyball closed out the regular season with a win.
Wednesday, boys and girls tennis compete in the district championships.
Wednesday, the baseball team had another solid outing.
Thursday, the softball team produced a win on senior night.
Thursday, the boys tennis finished 2nd in districts to qualify for the regional tournament.
Thursday, the girls tennis finished 2nd in districts to qualify for the regional tournament.
Friday, the baseball team pulls out a big win.
Friday, the softball team bats came alive for the win.
Friday night, Persia Williams won the Cape Coast Conference for the pole vault.
Monday, 4/22
No events scheduled
Tuesday, 4/23
Baseball-Melbourne (Home), 6 pm
Boys Tennis- Regional (Lake Highland), 1 pm
Girls Tennis-Regional (Lake Highland), 3 pm
Beach Volleyball-District Tournament (Orlando), 1 pm
Softball- Viera (Home), 6 pm
Wednesday, 4/24
Baseball-Eau Gallie (Away), 6 pm
Thursday, 4/25
Softball-Titusville (Home), 6 pm
Friday, 4/26
No events scheduled
Saturday, 4/27
No events scheduled
Student Athletic Paperwork--Athletic Clearance
Brevard Public Schools requires all student athletes to complete an athletic paperwork packet before they can participate in any school athletic activities (tryouts, practices, or contests). Merritt Island High School uses Athletic Clearance as our athletic eligibility paperwork platform. All student athletes must be registered in AthleticClearance.com and all paperwork must be completed and uploaded electronically, before they will be "cleared" to participate.
All student athletes need an Athletic Clearance account. Once you create your account, you keep it for the student’s high school career. You will need to update the account yearly, so be sure to save your login and password information. Directly below, there are directions listed for completing the athletic paperwork process. There are also links to the EL2 / Physical Form and the ECG / Heart Form that you will need to complete the paperwork process. There is also a link listed below that will take you directly to the ATHLETIC CLEARANCE Website.
Meet the Admistrative team of Merritt Island
Mrs. Lubbers-Head Mustang
Mrs. Lubbers is so excited to move into her new role as Principal of Merritt Island High School. She has been in administration for 11 years. Six of those years have been at MIHS serving as Assistant Principal of Facilities and then Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University and her Masters of Educational Leadership from Nova University. Mrs. Lubbers has been employed with Brevard Public Schools since 2002, where she began her career with BPS as a substitute teacher and then became a full-time teacher at Space Coast Middle School. She taught 6th grade math, 7th grade math, and beginning Spanish. She then became the Academy Director for Space Coast Jr./Sr. High and moved on to become the Dean at Space Coast for five and a half years.
Mrs. Lubbers is married to Karl Lubbers and just celebrated their 38th Anniversary. They have three adult children who are all BPS graduates. She is looking forward to serving the MIHS students, staff, and community.
Coach Finney-Athletic Director
The 2023-2024 school year will be my second year as Athletic Director at Merritt Island High School, and my 27th year overall as an employee of MIHS and the Brevard Public School system. While at Merritt Island, I have worked as an English teacher, coach, and athletic administrator, but my Merritt Island roots go back much farther than that.
Personal History and Local Ties
I was born and raised in Merritt Island and have long ties to the local community. My family has lived in Merritt Island since the early 1950’s. My father and uncle played on the very first Mustang baseball team in 1965-66. I am a product of the Merritt Island school system, having attended Tropical, Jefferson, and MIHS (Class of 1987). After high school, I attended college and played baseball at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, earning All-American athletic honors my senior year. After college, I played baseball professionally for the New York Mets organization, before retiring from competitive play due to injuries in 1993. I spent several years coaching baseball at the high school and college level, before getting my teaching degree from Georgia Southern University in 1996.
MIHS Teaching and Coaching History
In 1997, I returned home and accepted a job teaching English at Merritt Island High School. During my time at MIHS, I have coached tennis, golf, and baseball. In 2005, I took over the assistant athletic director and athletic business manager positions, under longtime MIHS Coach and Athletic Director Jeff McLean. For the next 17 school years, I taught English and worked as assistant AD and business manager, until Coach McLean retired in 2022. Upon his retirement, I took over as Head Athletic Director for MIHS.
As I enter my second full year as Athletic Director, I look forward to the excitement and challenge of leading our Athletic Department, our sports teams, and our coaches. My goal as AD is to help support our teams, our school, and our school community. I will also continue to promote the Mustang pride, family, and traditions that have been established by our students and our community over the past 58 years.
Currently, I reside in Rockledge with my wife DeeDee. In my spare time, I enjoy watching baseball, auto racing, and Florida Gator athletics. My wife and I also enjoy traveling, tending to our dogs, and spending time with family and friends.
Mrs. Owen- Assistant Principal of Instruction
Mrs. Owens, Assistant Principal of Curriculum, is excited to return as a Merritt Island Mustang! She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Delta State University and her Masters of Education degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. She has been employed with Brevard Public Schools since 2006, where she began her career as a middle school physical education teacher. Since then, she has taught K-6 PE, 4th and 5th grade as well as served as the Assistant Principal at Fairglen Elementary. Before coming back to MIHS, she was the Assistant Principal of Curriculum at Palm Bay Magnet High School. Mrs. Owens is married to a BPS teacher. They have two sons, Luke, a graduate of Viera High School and Ryder, a first grade BPS student! Mrs. Owens can’t wait for the upcoming school year and to serve the community of Merritt Island! Go Mustangs!
Mr. Hoppenbrouwer- Assistant Principal of School Operations
Mr. Hoppenbrouwer is excited to return to Merritt Island High School as the Assistant Principal of School Operations. He served in the role of Dean of Students at MIHS from 2019-2021. Before returning to the island this school year, he has held assistant principal positions at Madison Middle School and Pineapple Cove Classical Academy. Prior to moving into school administration, He was a social studies teacher at his alma mater, Satellite High School. In his free time, Mr. Hoppenbrouwer enjoys spending his time with his wife, Jessica, and his two sons, Henry and Teddy.
Ms. Finerson-Assistant Principal of Discipline
VeVea Finerson is returning for her 5th year as Assistant Principal of
Discipline. She is a native of Brevard Co and graduated from Eau Gallie HS. She attended FAMU and received her Masters in Education and earned her Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from NOVA. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. She began her teaching career at Riviera and taught 2nd and 6th grade for 10 years. She went on to teach 10th grade at Heritage High and joined the Mustang Family in 2019. She loves the student spirit and faculty camaraderie at MIHS. She enjoys spending time with her son and family and loves to travel.
Mr. Dixon- Assistant Principal of Discipline
Keith Dixon is the new Assistant Principal of Discipline at Merritt Island High School. This is his 8th year as an educator. He spent his first five years teaching a number of different science classes and made the switch to a non-classroom instructional position after the Spring of 2020. During that time he attended Florida State University to earn his Masters in Educational Leadership. He enjoys spending time with his wife who works at the Brevard Health Alliance in Port St. John and their two dogs, Cotton and Jasper. He is looking forward to working with the amazing staff here at MIHS and helping lead our students to graduation and post-secondary success!