Nickole Dane wins Kayne Finley Courage Award at Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns High School Sports Awards

Nickole Dane of Seabreeze High School won the Kayne Finley Courage Award, sponsored by Halifax Health, at the Volusia Flagler St. Johns High School Sports Awards Tuesday at the Ocean Center Arena.

If you fall, get right back up…

Those are the words Seabreeze senior Nickole Dane will remember forever.

In March of 2021, her sister, Ericka, died in an automobile accident. Dane didn't lose just a sister that day, she lost her best friend.

But she didn't let the overwhelming sadness and grief keep her down…

Because in the words of her sister, you have to get back up.

Nickole Dane not only excelled on the field her senior year in cross country, soccer and track and field, but she has turned the most tragic moment into helping others on and off the field.

In her senior year, Dane qualified for the Florida High School Athletic Association's cross country finals, scored one goal with eight assists for the Sandcrabs' regional finalist girls soccer team and was part of the school's 4x800-meter relay team that placed fifth at the FHSAA Class 3A track and field championships. Dane plans to pursue a degree in psychology, and later a career in the field, with a goal of offering mental health support to those in need.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Nickole Dane wins Kayne Finley Courage Award at Volusia Flagler St. Johns HHSAs