Amid support from hunters and warnings of a “slaughter” from animal-rights advocates, state wildlife officials Wednesday moved forward with Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade.

Bartram Trail's Brooke Gosse is the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX girls soccer player of the year.

In response to what Florida officials have referred to as the state’s “most successful conservation efforts,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has begun creating proposals for a potential bear hunt later this year.

Florida’s wildlife is becoming more active since it’s springtime. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) reminds the public to watch out for bears.

The Bartram Trail girls soccer team saved its best for the last — 20 seconds.

The Bears beat Sunlake 1-0 on Thursday in the Class 6A state semifinals at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale. The win sends Bartram (17-1-4) into its fourth state title game in the past six seasons on Saturday night.

Bartram Trail, Bishop Kenny and Ponte Vedra are heading to the girls soccer state semifinals.

Eight local teams in Florida and one in Georgia are still standing in the high school football state playoffs.

Varsity 4 has you covered every step of the way for Week 10 of the high school football season.

But when they did get on the field Friday night, the Yellow Jackets rolled and Bartram Trail still struggled to put together a complete game. The Jackets forced three first-half turnovers and turned around the game in the process with their quick-strike offense, downing the host Bears 48-21 in the Varsity 4 Game of the Week.

The Oregon football team's decision to exploit a loophole in the rules late in a win over Ohio State is hardly new.

So, the Jaguars are 1-5. Was that what you expected this season? That’s the Jaguars record following Sunday’s embarrassing 35-16 loss to the Bears in London. News4JAX sports anchor Jamal St. Cyr offers his Four Cents from the game.

Jaguars season is back and our News4JAX sports staff is back with its predictions as well. Each week, we’ll unveil our predictions for the week’s game. Jacksonville (1-4) heads to London in Week 6 to face the Bears (3-2) on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Varsity 4 has you covered every step of the way for Week 8 of the high school football season. Hurricane Milton has scrambled up the schedule, but here are the games that remain and the full schedule.

The high school football regular season is off and rolling. News4JAX Varsity 4 Super 10 is here. It will be published on Tuesday through the end of the regular season. Think we’ve got a team ranked too high or a program not ranked at all? Send us a message on Instagram (@Sports4Jax) or sports@wjxt.com.

The high school football regular season is off and rolling. News4JAX Varsity 4 Super 10 is here. It will be published on Tuesday through the end of the regular season. Think we’ve got a team ranked too high or a program not ranked at all? Send us a message on Instagram (@Sports4Jax) or sports@wjxt.com.

LaJohntay Wester caught a 43-yard Hail Mary pass from Shedeur Sanders with no time remaining in regulation and Travis Hunter forced a fumble at the 1-yard line in overtime as Colorado rallied for an improbable 38-31 win over Baylor on a drizzly night.

The high school football regular season is off and rolling. News4JAX Varsity 4 Super 10 is here. It will be published on Tuesday through the end of the regular season. Think we’ve got a team ranked too high or a program not ranked at all? Send us a message on Instagram (@Sports4Jax) or sports@wjxt.com.

FWC says bear activity increases in the fall and that means more chances for you to have a bear encounter.

Ponte Vedra used a stout defense and a fast start to beat rival Bartram Trail 28-21 in the Varsity 4 Game of the Week. It's just the third win over the Bears in program history.

The News4JAX VARSITY 4 high school football preseason top 10 rankings.

Bartram Trail's Ryann Frechette, now the two-time All-News4JAX girls lacrosse player of the year, had a career that’s unlikely to be matched any time soon … or at all.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sends an annual reminder that black bears may be in unexpected places.

The Bartram Trail girls lacrosse team has entered dynasty territory.

The Bartram Trail girls lacrosse team is headed back to the state championship game.

The FWC is sharing ways to be "BearWise" to help prevent conflicts between people and bears.

Chase Hunter had 20 points and six assists, and No. 6 seed Clemson held off third-seeded Baylor for a 72-64 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through March 3 games.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through Feb. 25 games.

L.

Only two girls soccer heavyweights remain standing in the state playoffs — Creekside and Ponte Vedra.

The rivalry showdowns in the girls soccer playoffs will determine which teams are headed to the state semifinals.

The girls soccer heavyweights are off and running.

Laython Biddle came to Florida not knowing quite what to expect. By the time Biddle put a bow on his high school athletics career at Bartram Trail, Biddle was the area’s first state rushing champion since Yulee icon Derrick Henry in 2012 and the All-News4JAX offensive player of the year.

Arthur Kaluma converted a four-point play to give Kansas State the lead with 20 seconds left in overtime, and Tylor Perry added a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds to go, helping the Wildcats beat No. 9 Baylor 68-64 on Tuesday night.

South Carolina remains the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.

Caden McGatha scored the last of his four rushing touchdowns in the third overtime as the Pierce County Bears outlasted Rockmart in a 48-45 thriller on Tuesday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Pierce County is the lone peach state survivor in the Georgia High School Association playoffs.

Camden County and Pierce County are the last two area teams that remain standing in the Georgia High School Association state playoffs. Both programs are in action this week in the state semifinals on Friday night.

Camden County and Pierce County are moving on in the Georgia High School Association state playoffs.

The News4JAX Super 10 football rankings will be published Tuesday’s during the regular season. All games at 7 p.m. unless indicated.

It’s Week 9 of the high school football season. We’ve got a look at the top four games, the next four options and the full schedule for teams in north Florida and south Georgia.

It’s one of the area’s best rivalries and you can watch it on News4JAX.com and News4JAX+ tonight when Bartram Trail visits St. Augustine in the Football Friday Game of the Week.

It’s essentially the halfway of the high school football season. We take a look at the top four games, the next four options and the full schedule for teams in north Florida and south Georgia.

Bartram Trail attack player Ryann Frechette leads the inaugural All-News4JAX girls lacrosse team.

Meghan Jackowiak has accomplished more than any other high school lacrosse coach in area history. Now, it’s time for a new challenge — focusing on parenthood and her three young children.

The storybook high school career had one very big speed bump for Grace Ivey. And, with the benefit of hindsight, was totally worth it for the Bartram Trail girls soccer star.

The Bartram Trail girls lacrosse team became the first area program, boys or girls, to win back-to-back state championships when it edged Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in a 5-4 thriller that went down to the final seconds on Saturday night in Naples.

The Bartram Trail girls lacrosse team is headed back to defend its state championship after knocking off Tampa Plant 13-6 in the Class 2A state semifinals on Friday afternoon in Naples.

Bartram Trail (17-4) will face Tampa Plant (18-3) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon in the Class 2A state semifinals in Naples. Five hours later at 7:30, Ponte Vedra (14-4) collides with Lake Highland Prep (19-3) in the Class 1A semi. That the area has teams in both classifications still alive and chasing championships is a testament to just how much the sport has grown in the area.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through April 9 games.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through April 2 games.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey is returning to Texas for another Final Four.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through March 26 games.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through March 18 games.

No lead seemed safe on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

There will be no Big 12 regular-season title for the Baylor women for the first time in 13 seasons.

The Bears won their third state championship in program history with a 3-0 victory over Boca Raton on Friday night at Spec Martin Stadium.

The News4JAX girls lacrosse Super 6 will be published Monday through the end of the regular season. Records are through Feb. 19 games.

It’s back to familiar territory for area girls soccer royalty.

Next stop, the third round of the state playoffs for five area girls high school soccer teams.

The boys high school soccer playoff field is set as 20 area programs make their way to the postseason.

They’re No. 1 in the nation but they’re not talking about it.

Gonzaga has already faced a brutal schedule this season with wins over No. 19 Kentucky and No. 20 Michigan State and losses to second-ranked Texas and fifth-ranked Purdue.

It’s the third round of the high school football state playoffs. A glance at the matchups in the Suburban and Rural divisions. All games are Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated.

Creekside held its own with vaunted rival Bartram Trail for the opening 22 minutes of Friday night’s playoff game.

It’s the second round of the high school football state playoffs. A glance at the matchups in the Suburban and Rural divisions. All games are Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated.

The high school football regular season is down to the final two weeks.

We’re closing in on the finish line of the regular season. Friday night gave quite a bit more clarity on what teams will be left standing when that regular season comes to a close.

Bartram Trail went into victory formation with two minutes left Friday night and began taking knees. That’s when it was finally done.

It’s Week 8 of the high school football season. We take a look at the top four games, the next four options and the full schedule for teams in north Florida and south Georgia.

The News4JAX high school football Super 10 will be published on Tuesdays throughout the high school football regular season.

Few high school football programs in northeast Florida have been as consistently successful as Bartram Trail.

The News4Jax Super 6 high school volleyball rankings will be published each Wednesday during the regular season.

Only three area high school baseball teams were left standing after the third round of the state playoffs.

Bartram Trail, Columbia and Fort White won their second-round baseball state playoff games and moved on in the postseason.

Same opponent. Same score. Same result. State champions.

Two area lacrosse teams remain standing in the state playoffs.

Brenna Robinson never expected anything like this. The Creekside defender and All-News4JAX girls soccer player of the year, never envisioned her final season playing out like a movie.

The Bartram Trail girls lacrosse team is complete, healthy and ready for the big stage. Finally.

There were 17.3 million brackets filled out in ESPN's Tournament Challenge this year, and the quest for a perfect one was done before the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Bartram Trail, Ponte Vedra and Ridgeview wrapped up the High School 9:12 Baseball Classic with two wins apiece after wrapping things up on Saturday at Sans Souci.

The girls high school soccer state playoffs begin Tuesday night. A glance at the first-round matchups. All games are 7 p.m. unless indicated.

Four area high school competitive cheerleading teams captured state championships, including repeat titles for three of them.

Baylor is once again the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, and fifth-ranked Southern California climbed to its highest ranking in nearly five decades.

Baylor kept its firm hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll with few changes at the top and no new teams entering the latest rankings.

Defending national champion Baylor has maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise.

James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and second-ranked Baylor defensively dominated No. 6 Villanova 57-36.

Baylor coach Scott Drew knew his sixth-ranked Bears might need time to blend a changed roster after losing four starters from a national-championship run.

A glance at Friday's high school football second-round playoff matchups.

It’s Week 9 of the high school football season. A glance at the top four games this week, the next four and the full schedule. All games Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated.

Creekside was 10 yards away from ending the six-year reign of misery imposed by neighborhood rival Bartram Trail.

It’s Week 8 of the high school football season. A glance at the top four games this week, the next four and the full schedule.

It's Week 5 of the high school football season in Florida. A glance at the top four games this week and the next four.

The Big 12 is moving quickly on an expansion plan that could have the conference at 12 schools after Texas and Oklahoma leave, with BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston as the “most intriguing” candidates.

It’s the second week of the high school football season. News4Jax highlights the top four games in the area this week and the next four.

Spring football is in full swing and the News4Jax sports team is making stops at high schools across the area in its annual Spring Swing tour. One of today's stops: Bartram Trail.

With Grace Ivey, Bartram’s sensational sophomore midfielder and All-News4Jax girls soccer player of the year, returning to lead the charge it’s a safe bet to take the over on history being made next year.

A bear sighting in Lake Asbury has residents on alert.

Gonzaga’s undefeated season hangs in the balance in overtime against UCLA.