The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Kevin Weiss

Cypress Creek football meet-and-greet

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Cypress Creek Middle High has organized a meet-and-greet for new football coach Mike Johnson, on March 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Wesley Chapel High School cafeteria, 30651 Wells Road. The meeting is intended for future Cypress Creek Middle High School students and families to meet Johnson and his coaching staff. For information, call (813) 346-4400.

Zephyrhills Christian standouts sign with Minnesota State

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A pair of Zephyrhills Christian Academy senior football standouts will continue their playing careers together at the collegiate level.

Running back Mykh’ael Chavis and defensive back John Emmanuel have both signed letters of intent to play football at Minnesota State Community College.

Chavis, a 5-foot-11, 207-pound back, rushed for 671 yards (11 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns in 2016.

Emmanuel, a 6-foot, 185-pound rover, tallied 43 tackles and three interceptions last season.

The Warriors finished 7-2 in 2016.

Saddlebrook hosts international tennis tournament

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A premier international tennis team tournament is making a stop in Tampa Bay, for the first time.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently announced Saddlebrook Resort as the site for the 2017 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Semifinal between the United States and the Czech Republic, from April 22 and April 23.

The best-of-five match series begins on April 22, with two singles matches.
It’s followed by two reverse singles matches and doubles match, on April 23. Matches will be played on a temporary outdoor green clay court.

The winner of the matchup will advance to the Fed Cup Final on Nov. 11-12.

The U.S. reached the semifinals by defeating Germany in the first round 5-0 in Maui, Hawaii, earlier this year.
The Tennis Channel will broadcast live daily coverage of the World Group Semifinals.

Ticket information will be announced soon.

Local science club reaches state finals

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The Land O’ Lakes High School Science Olympiad Club has reached the state finals for the third year in a row.

Moreover, it’s the first year that two of the club’s teams — consisting of 15 students each — have advanced to the Florida Science Olympiad State Tournament.

This year the event is set for March 25, at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

The club’s achievements are notable, particularly considering that it is just four years old.

Team Exdee and Team Natural Selection, made up primarily of International Baccalaureate (IB) students, will compete against 40 teams from across Florida.

The Land O’ Lakes High School Science Olympiad Club has advanced to the Florida Science Olympiad State Tournament, on March 25 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The club is sending two teams (of 15 students each) to the competition. During Science Olympiad, the teams will engage in hands-on, interactive, inquiry-based activities that are lab-based, research-based, or pre-built. There are 23 different events, with subjects ranging from physics, chemistry, earth space science, biology and engineering.
(Courtesy of Amanda Faint)

Both Land O’ Lakes squads qualified after finishing in the top six in a field of 47 regional teams at the Western Regional Science Olympiad, held Feb. 4 at Hillsborough Community College-Brandon.

A third team — Andromeda — finished 11th at the regional event.

Land O’ Lakes High School is the only public high school in Pasco County to reach the state competition this year.

Now, with multiple teams in the fold, the club is eyeing the possibility of a better showing than its 11th place finish last year.

“I think it’s about improvement,” said Amanda Faint, the club’s sponsor, who teaches chemistry at Land O’ Lakes High.

“We know how we did at regionals. We know states is tougher, so if we can…stick at the same general numerical place (during regionals), that’s still an improvement,” Fain said.

Club president Albert Xing, a senior, hopes his fellow teammates are more comfortable this time around.

“I think we’re…just trying to get a grasp of states,” Xing said. “We’re probably going to try to get more (medal) placings. Historically, we’ve gotten about two, three medals at states per year, and they’re usually third place or second place.”

The club also has a more ambitious challenge on its mind: unseat Boca Raton Community High School — the winner of the state tournament every year since 2011.

“Our goal is to knock them down,” Faint said.

“They’re like a powerhouse,” Xing added.

During Science Olympiad, students engage in hands-on, interactive, inquiry-based activities that are lab-based, research-based, or pre-built.
There are 23 different events, with subjects ranging from physics, chemistry, earth space science, biology and engineering. Various events are rotated out and substituted every few years.

The activities are all team-based, and at least two students work together on each event.

Throughout the competition, students are required to complete a designated activity within a 50-minute window.

Teams are then evaluated by judges, who determine how well students complete the task based on the rules described for each event.

“It’s kind of like golf, where the lower score is better,” Xing explained.

Typically, any particular student will compete in three to four events during the day.

Xing, for example, will mainly focus on the Wind Power, Ecology and Dynamic Planet categories.

Unlike other science competitions, Science Olympiad requires students to go beyond reporting about a science project, they must actually apply science.

Xing said the competition calls for applying the knowledge that students gain in the classroom.

“We may cover things like kinematics and trajectory, but realistically we never do anything like that inside of school,” Xing explained. “And then, doing these build events, we are basically applying what we learned at school to something that we can compete with.”

For others, like sophomore Armen Brotgandel, Science Olympiads provides an opportunity to learn about additional disciplines, such as astronomy.

“I think it’s just wanting to be able to do subjects that are usually not taught in school,” Brotgandel said. “There aren’t really any courses here on astronomy, but we get to go and study it with friends, and then you get to test your knowledge.”

Science Olympiad was created in 1983 by Dr. Gerard J. Putz and Jack Cairn, as an alternative to traditional science fairs and single-discipline tournaments.

After successful trial Science Olympiads in Michigan and Delaware, the competition began to grow.

Now, Science Olympiad has members in all 50 states, totaling more than 12,000 actively participating schools, with participants ranging from seniors to kindergarten students.

Besides testing science knowledge, the competition also provides an outlet for students to connect, outside of the classroom.

“Between events, we’ll have fun,” Brotgandel said. “We’ll play some sports, and just get to be with a bunch of friends.”

Land O’ Lakes High School Science Olympiad Club
Team Exdee
Albert Xing
Alyssa Nguyen
Hang Nguyen
Sidhvi Nekkanti
Navya Jampani
Kenta Xu
Rohil Tuli
Josie Hidalgo
Shania Tjhiang
Brianna Vo
Trip Gray
Cindy Long
Josiah Pineda
Sena Eskalen

Team Natural Selection
Adelin Pop
Akshaya Venkata
Alexander Lilov
Armen Brotgandel
Ashley Rocks
Edward Brotgandel
Ethan Teo
Felix Sanjay
Funda Eskalen
Joseph Pineda
Joshua Brett
Lisa Johnson
Nathan Brett
Tony El‐Rady
Tzuriel Garcia

Published March 15, 2017

Burglars can’t steal softball league’s spirit

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Lutz Softball Inc., formerly known as the Lutz Leaguerettes, isn’t going to let a recent burglary ruin its season.

While still picking up the pieces from a March 8 break-in, the league is moving forward with practices and games, as usual.

“We are not going to have the girls suffer,” said Mike Cook, president of Lutz Softball.
“We’re still going to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, and try to spin it in a positive direction, someway, somehow.”

Two suspects burglarized the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex in the early morning hours of March 8, causing losses in excess of $5,000.

While Hillsborough County owns the park, Lutz Softball has a field-usage agreement, working closely with the county’s parks and recreation department.

The hooded suspects stole approximately $1,000 in cash, $1,000 worth of sporting equipment, $1,500 in food, and caused $2,000 in property damage, according to information from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Lutz Softball Inc., is having several fundraisers after a burglary at the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex caused about $5,000 in losses for the organization. The recreational fast pitch league caters to girls, ages 5 to 18.
(Courtesy of Lutz Softball Inc.)

Released video surveillance footage shows the suspects used pry bars to break into the concession stand, office and equipment storage areas.
“They took whatever they could get their hands on,” the league president said.
The footage also shows the suspects loading the items into an unknown vehicle parked on the west side of Crooked Lane, just south of West Lutz Lake Fern Road.
Pilfered items included an 80-pound safe, safe shields, shin guards and softballs.

“It’s unfortunate they got into the equipment room,” Cook said. “I’m guessing it’s probably just stuff they can sell quick, and get a couple of bucks for.”
Bulk quantities of various concession items also were swiped by the burglars, the league president said.
“They took everything in the freezer,” Cook said. “They took the hot dogs, the buns, the cheese, the chicken tenders, the mozzarella sticks, the onion rings, the bacon —everything.”

The recreational fast pitch organization has created a GoFundMe page to recoup the thousands of dollars in losses.

So far, more than $1,000 has been raised, including numerous donations from players’ families.
“We’re a strong unit, a strong network,” Cook said, “and everybody’s come together on this.”

There will also be another major fundraising opportunity on April 1, when the league hosts its annual Super Saturday event.
Described as a “fun-filled day,” the event will feature a parent softball tournament, along with various games, a bounce house and dunk tank. There’s also a silent auction and basket raffles.
“It’s a huge day for us,” Cook said. “It’ll certainly help in recovering and recouping from (the burglary).”

To Cook, the hardest part to grasp from the incident is the impact on the league’s young players, who range from 5 to 18 years old.
“You’re not stealing from the parents there. You’re not stealing from the executive board. You’re stealing from these girls, who just want to go to a place where they’re not playing video games or hanging out on the street corner,” Cook said.

Besides raising money to replace lost items, the league is working with Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation to repair the broken locks and doors, and one of the damaged fields.
Cook noted the sports complex was last burglarized about three years ago.
Additional security measures to prevent a similar instance are being discussed with the league’s executive board, he said.
“We’re trying to figure out what the best route is, but we certainly want to upgrade our current surveillance system, with some other precautionary measures,” he said.

Besides the burglary, it’s been an eventful year-plus for the softball organization.
In January 2016, Lutz Softball announced it would offer a recreational fast-pitch league for the first time in its 37-year history.
Just six months later, the league discontinued its slow-pitch leagues altogether, citing dwindling registration figures and an overwhelming preference for fast-pitch.
Cook said the league now has about 200 girls (ages 5 to 18), the highest number since he joined the organization four years ago.
“The transition to fast pitch is going really, really well,” he said.
The Leaguerettes are a PONY (Protect Our Nation’s Youth) Softball affiliate.

To donate, visit GoFundMe.com/eyqzb-lutz-softball.
Anyone with any information on the burglary is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.

Published March 15, 2017

 

Former Wesley Chapel hoops star in NCAA Tournament

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One of the greatest prep basketball players in Pasco County history now gets to showcase his skills before millions of viewer’s in the NCAA Tournament this week.

Wesley Chapel High product Erik Thomas, a 6-foot-5 senior forward at the University of New Orleans, helped the Privateers punch a ticket to the Big Dance after downing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in overtime, 68-65, on March 11 in the Southland Conference Championship game.

In 2013, Thomas was named Class 5A Player of the Year after averaging a state-best 32.7 points per game and 16.3 rebounds per game.
(File)

The Privateers now face Mount St. Mary’s (19-15) on March 14 at 5:30 p.m., in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be broadcast on truTV.

The automatic bid marks the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

“It’s a blessing,” Thomas said, in a postgame media conference. “We played so tough and wanted it so bad. It’s a big story for us to tell 10, 20 years from now that we can tell our family that we went dancing. We went to the NCAA Tournament. Not many people can say that.”

Thomas, the Southland Conference Player of the Year, was also named SLC Tournament MVP after posting a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with a team-best three assists.

In the conference tourney, Thomas averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

New Orleans, meanwhile, finished the regular season 18-11, thanks to Thomas’ breakout season.

Thomas played in all 29 games, leading the Privateers in scoring (19.7 points per game), rebounding (7.9 per game) and shooting (60.3 field goal percentage).

He also led the team with 208 field goals, 152 free throws, and 44 steals and a 60.3 field goal percentage.

Among all Division I men’s basketball players, Thomas sits 19th in field goal percentage, 44th in scoring average, 53rd in offensive rebounds per game, 121st in total rebounds per game, 143rd in steals per game and 213th in defensive rebounds per game.

In a statement, New Orleans head coach Mark Slessinger complimented Thomas’ effort and impact to the program.

Former Wesley Chapel product Erik Thomas will be participating in the NCAA Tournament this week. He plays for the University of New Orleans.
(Courtesy of University of New Orleans)

“Erik has worked so hard since he’s gotten here,” Slessinger said. “He’s had very defined individual goals that have always been within the team framework and our team concept. I’m so proud of how much work he’s put into it. Between him, the staff and how hard our staff worked with him and his development, he’s a self-made player. But, the credit really goes to him and how hard he’s worked.”

A four-year letterman at Wesley Chapel under coach Doug Greseth, Thomas remains the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 2,138 points and 1,203 rebounds, respectively.

In his senior prep season, Thomas was named Class 5A Player of the Year after averaging a state-best 32.7 points per game and 16.3 rebounds per game.

Moreover, he helped lead the Wildcats to a combined 74-38 overall record, a 37-17 mark in district play and berths in the playoffs each year, including identical 24-5 marks with District 8-5A titles his last two years.

Despite the production and showy statistics, Thomas was relatively overlooked as a Division I prospect out of high school.

He opted to play two seasons in junior college—East Georgia State College and Baton Rouge Community College—before transferring to New Orleans his junior season.

Thomas is the younger brother of Sthefany Thomas, who scored a Pasco County girls record 2,563 points while playing at Wesley Chapel. He is also the son of James Thomas, who was a forward for two seasons for the Atlanta Hawks.

Published March 15, 2017

Sunlake girls weightlifting well-represented on SAC awards

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The dominance of the Sunlake girls weightlifting program remained apparent at the annual Sunshine Athletic Conference (East) Awards.

The Sunlake girls weightlifting team was well-represented in the SAC East Awards. Denise Garcia won SAC East Coach of the Year honors, and 10 lifters were selected to the SAC East All-Conference teams.
(Courtesy of Denise Garcia)

Seahawks coach Denise Garcia won her second consecutive SAC East Girls’ Weightlifting Coach of the Year Award, and 10 of her lifters were named to the 2016-2017 SAC East All-Conference team, announced on March 6.

A mix of youth and experience, Sunlake won all of their Eastside Conference meets, placed second at the Class 2A Regionals and had three top-10 finishers at the state finals.

The season also saw a few milestones for the girls’ program, including its first 400-pound lifter.

Senior Micaiah Long set that mark at the 2017 Class 2A state meet, with a 215-pound bench press and a 185-pound clean-and-jerk, placing third in the unlimited division.

The previous school record was a 385-pound total, set in the 2015-2016 season by Brianna Anderson, who won a state title in the 183-pound division.

Senior Micaiah Long became Sunlake’s first 400-pound lifter during the Class 2A state meet. The mark was good enough to place third in the unlimited division.

Long, a first-year lifter in the Sunlake program, added a combined 65 pounds to her lifts since the first meet of the season.

Her strategy? More lifting.

“I just worked hard,” Long said. “I went in and worked out more, got extra reps in.”

“She started at 335 (pounds), and she improved with her work ethic,” Garcia said. “She put so much into it. She had the passion to do it, she had a goal she set for herself, and she was going to do it.”

Garcia, too, credits Long for being coachable throughout the season.

“She listens and takes everything I tell her,” the coach said. “She’s like a sponge.”

In the meantime, Long won’t soon forget the weightlifting experience.

“It was exciting. I accomplished my goals,” said Long, who’s also on the Sunlake track and field team.

“I was shy, and I think it brought my personality out.”

The 400-pound feat wasn’t the only Sunlake record shattered during the season, however.

Denise Garcia, right, won her second consecutive SAC East Girls’ Weightlifting Coach of the Year award. Senior Micaiah Long was selected First-Team All-Conference.
(Kevin Weiss)

In the 101-pound class, senior Shelby Lewis set a school and conference record with a 130-pound clean-and-jerk; she later finished ninth in the state meet.

Without Lewis and Long, Garcia’s 10th season could prove more challenging, as the Seahawks also lose two other state qualifiers in seniors Hailey Parks (sixth place in 183-pound division) and Caroline Winstead (19th in 139-pound division.)

For Garcia, it’s no matter.

With five non-seniors representing Sunlake on the All-Conference list, the Seahawks coach isn’t concerned about a possible rebuilding-type year for the 2017-2018 season.

Instead, she relishes the task.

“I coach who’s in front of me,” Garcia said. “My job is to give them the confidence, to show them the skills, and then we go from there.”

“I have confidence in my girls,” she added.

One lifter to watch out for next season, Garcia said, is freshman Antoinette Farmer.

Competing in the 183-pound division, Farmer increased her lifting totals from 195 pounds to 285 pounds over the course of the season.

Garcia heaped high praise on Farmer, noting she could one day surpass Brianna Anderson’s totals.

“She’s hungry,” Garcia said. “To have somebody like that—the whole package—it’s rare to find that.”

2016-2017 SAC East All-Conference Girls’ Weightlifting
Coach of the Year: Denise Garcia, Sunlake High
Athlete of the Year: Jessica Guadarrama, Zephyrhills High, junior

First-Team All-Conference
101-pound: Shelby Lewis, Sunlake High, senior
110-pound: Savannah Sutton, Zephyrhills High, sophomore
119-pound: Lizbeth Estrada, Zephyrhills High, senior
129-pound: Loah Castro, Sunlake High, sophomore
139-pound: Caroline Winstead, Sunlake High, sophomore
154-pound: Tricia Clifton, Wiregrass Ranch High, senior
169-pound: Alysa Kremer, Land O’ Lakes High, freshman
183-pound: Jessica Guadarrama, Zephyrhills High, junior
199-pound: Yarixa Casasnovas, Sunlake High, junior
Unlimited: Micaiah Long, Sunlake High, senior

Second-Team All-Conference
101-pound: Sara First, Zephyrhills High, senior
110-pound: Maria Espinal, Sunlake High, sophomore
119-pound: Caitlyn Elling, Pasco High, sophomore
129-pound: Mariah Melendez, Sunlake High, sophomore
139-pound: Isabella Garcia, Sunlake High, freshman
154-pound: Katelyn Ortiz, Sunlake High, senior
169-pound: Veronica Salazar, Land O’ Lakes High, sophomore
183-pound: Hailey Parks, Sunlake High, senior
199-pound: Tatyana Cole, Zephyrhills High, junior
Unlimited: Abby Shaffer, Zephyrhills High School, sophomore
Honorable Mention: Abigail Monticco, Wesley Chapel, junior

Published March 15, 2017

 

Academy at the Lakes ace fires no-hitter

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(File)

Darin Kilfoyl, a 6-foot-8 senior right-handed pitcher for Academy at the Lakes, threw a 15-strikeout, seven-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 win against Keswick Christian on March 6.
It’s his second no-hitter in two seasons.
Last April, Kilfoyl also threw a 10-strikeout, five-inning no-hitter against Lakeside Christian.
The St. Johns River State College signee currently has a 0.54 ERA and 20 strikeouts through 13 innings. At the plate, Kilfoyl is batting .643 with one home run and seven RBIs.
The Wildcats stand at 5-2, their best start in school history.

New FHSAA executive director named

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The Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Board of Directors has approved George Tomyn as its next executive director.

(Courtesy of FHSAA)

A contract is expected to be presented to the Board on May 1.

From 2012-2016, Tomyn served as the Superintendent of Marion County Schools. The Ocala resident previously spent seven years as the executive director of School Development and Evaluation for the Marion County School District.

In all, Tomyn has 36 years of administrative experience in the Marion County Public School system; he holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Florida.
“Mr. Tomyn’s energy and passion shined through, and we are elated about this selection,” FHSAA President Mark Marsala said, in a statement. “It was a tight decision, but the right decision was made.”
Tomyn was selected over Louisiana High School Athletic Association Executive Director Eddie Bonine and Indian River Public Schools Educational Consultant Dr. Peggy Jones, who also interviewed for the position.

After an agreement is reached, Tomyn will replace current FHSAA Executive Director Dr. Roger Dearing, who is retiring after nearly nine years.
“As a former student-athlete, coach and principal within the FHSAA, I am thrilled to take on this new challenge,” Tomyn said. “I am humbled to be part of the FHSAA’s rich history, and look forward to working with the FHSAA’s Board and staff to ensure a smooth transition into this exciting new role.”

For more information, visit FHSAA.org.

Saint Leo swimmer earns All-America honors

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Saint Leo junior Natalia Garriock earned All-America honors for her final event during the 2017 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship, on March 11 at the Birmingham Crossplex Natatorium.

Garriock finished sixth overall in the 100 Freestyle in the championship final, touching the wall in 50.33 seconds.

The British Columbia native also competed in the women’s 400 Free Relay, alongside Annie Lindstrom, Maftuna Tuhtasinova and Nicole Weber.

Saint Leo finished 20th in the women’s championship standings with 58 points, while the men’s team was 30th overall with two points.