The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Mike Camunas

Wrestling awards

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The 2021-2022 Western Conference Wrestling awards were announced earlier this month, with several Hillsborough County athletes nabbing honors. In the American Division, six Steinbrenner High School wrestlers received first class honors. Joey Vitale (113), Daniel Bush (120), Red Noble (132), Frank Diaz (138), Christian Santana (145) and Colin Bernstein (220) helped lead the Warriors to a second-round berth in the 3A FHSAA Dual Team Wrestling Tournament in January. In the National Division, Freedom High’s Randall Watson (132), and Wharton High’s Nathan Patrick (138) and Jarquez Knight (160) also made First Team.

Outstanding students, coaches honored

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Here are the high school students and coaches honored in the East Division of the 2021-2022 Sunshine Athletic Conference Awards, for this school year’s winter season:

Boys Soccer
Offensive Player of the Year: Mick Stauffer, Sunlake
Defensive Player of the Year: Colin Bailey, Wiregrass Ranch
Coach of the Year: John Soellner, Zephyrhills

Girls Soccer
Offensive Player of the Year: Teresa Rodriguez, Land O’ Lakes
Defensive Player of the Year: Kayla Ojeda, Wiregrass Ranch
Coach of the Year: Mark Leonard, Wesley Chapel

Wrestling
Wrestler of the Year: Cassidy Grubbs, Pasco
Coach of the Year: Eddie Marley, Land O’ Lakes

Boys Basketball
Player of the Year: Josh Martin, Wiregrass Ranch
Coach of the Year: Jeremy Calzone, Wiregrass Ranch

Girls Basketball
Player of the Year: Emari Lewis, Wesley Chapel
Coach of the Year: Phyllis Crain, Cypress Creek

Cheerleading
Cheerleader of the Year: Kylie Weiser, Pasco
Coach of the Year: Dawn Wetherby, Pasco

Girls Weightlifting
Snatch Lifter of the Year: Andje Costa, Cypress Creek
Traditional Lifter of the Year: Samantha Tapanes, Sunlake

Bargain hunters find deals, and help woman’s club’s efforts

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The rush to shop came early. The thrill of finding a hidden treasure among used items knew no alarm clock.

GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club member Barbara Booth packs up some purchased items during the group’s community flea market that was held over the weekend in front of the Lutz Branch Library. (Mike Camunas)

“I was like,” GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club chairwoman Kay Taylor exclaimed, “‘It’s not like its Black Friday!’”

While it was a Friday, Taylor and her fellow GFWC members were a little surprised to see such an initial rush at the start of their annual flea market the group held over the weekend in front of the Lutz Branch Library. However, that feeling turned to happiness with the turnout from the local communities who visited the booths set up to sell their used items.

“All of our ladies brought in their stuff (to sell), and we only had one drop-off from a church this year,” Taylor said. “It was just amazing how the community stepped up and helped us.”

Shopper Kelly Larochelle, of Lutz, does some shopping with her son, Landon, during the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club flea market the group held over the weekend in front of the Lutz Branch Library.

Like any other event or organization, COVID affected the GFWC club. Not only did membership decline to under 100 people, but Taylor said the group was unable to hold the flea market for some time. The group also had to move from its usual location — from the Old Lutz School building, where the booths could be in the classrooms — and then hold it outside with (luckily) favorable weather.

“The county only allows 10 people in a building at a time,” Taylor said, “so this allowed us to have a big open-air event and welcome all the people who were eager to get out here.”

GFWC members, donning their iconic green shirts, set up booths that were selling all kinds of items from clothes to jewelry to furniture to homewares — and slightly used items that made it look like an antique-store tent town.

Taylor estimates the GFWC, which was founded in 1960, will raise somewhere between $5,000 to $10,000.

The flea market is one of two major fundraisers the group hosts annually, the other being the arts and crafts fair around Christmas. The funds raised during those two events not only go to supporting the other philanthropic endeavors the GFWC club takes on, but also toward the scholarships they award to local high school students in Lutz and Land O’ Lakes.

“We’ll go to the homeless shelters and the nursing homes and help out Meals on Wheels,” Taylor said. “We have the laundromat program where we put books in the laundromats in needy areas. We help out with domestic violence organizations and we’re really big into recycling, as well, so as part of the largest women’s volunteer organization, we’re just trying to do our part.”

Published March 09, 2022

GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club member Beth Nevel-Rader hands over plates with a smile during the group’s community flea market that was held over the weekend in front of the Lutz Branch Library.
GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club members Marsha Gibson, left, and Renate Mast, go through some items during the group’s community flea market that was held over the weekend in front of the Lutz Branch Library.

Girls soccer competes at states

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The Land O’Lakes High School Gators girls soccer team in February advanced to the state tournament by winning the Class 6A-Region 3 tournament, and capping a season noted with balanced play and nail-biting wins.

The Land O’ Lakes High School girls soccer team celebrated winning the Class 6A-Region 3 tournament with a resounding 4-0 win over nearby Wharton on Feb. 15, which advanced the Gators (13-8-1) to the program’s eighth state tournament appearance. (Courtesy of Vicky King)

“We were off to a rocky start — close to .500 the whole season,” said longtime coach Vicky King, who just finished up her 35th season at the Gators’ helm. “But after playing Sunlake in December, we played only playoff teams after that. We play a tough schedule to prepare for districts and we peaked at the right time.”

The Gators extended its season by winning the 6A-9 district title — its third-straight — with a shootout win over nearby rival Sunlake, on Feb. 1, with Land O’ Lakes winning 5-4 on penalty kicks. Then, in the first round of the regional tournament, the Gators narrowly beat Fort Myers Riverdale, 1-0, thanks to a late goal by sophomore Eve Garrett, who was one of three players that led the team with 11 goals.

“We had a lot of confidence in each other,” King said. “We became a very balanced team and didn’t depend on one individual.”

And while Garrett would add a goal in the Gators’ second-round win over Wiregrass Ranch, both the other two leading scorers — senior Teresa Rodriguez and junior Jordyn Keene — added goals.

Keene and Rodriguez would both score again in the Gators 4-0 win over Wharton that propelled the team to its third-straight final four appearance. However, the team’s season came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Miami Lourdes Academy on Feb. 18. Still, King was proud of how her team performed in what was predicted to be a rebuilding season.

“We were a highly inexperienced team coming in after losing seven starters, but they earned everything they got this season and really wanted to win, and did almost every step of the way,” King said.

Little League season begins

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(Courtesy of Monica Woods)

Opening-day festivities for Land O’ Lakes Little League attracted more than 500 players and their families. It kicked off the 2022 season on Feb. 19, with an event featuring food trucks, barbecue, bounce houses and entertainment. Games commenced at the Little League fields at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, at 3032 Collier Parkway. The season runs through April with games on Saturdays. Aiden Royal, a senior on the Land O’ Lakes High baseball team, threw the ceremonial first pitch, which was caught by Mason Pahlck, a fourth-grader at Connerton Elementary.

Dade City golfer readies for professional tour

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Bailey Shoemaker’s first set of golf clubs was plastic.

“I’ve been playing since I could walk,” the 17-year-old amateur golfer said.

“I played in my first tournament when I was about 7, and I just wanted to keep playing ever since I was old enough to play.”

Bob Shoemaker — her dad, who also happens to be her caddie — agrees with his daughter’s recollections.

Dade City resident and amateur junior golfer Bailey Shoemaker hits a shot at Lake Jovita Golf Course during a three-day tournament hosted by the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour. (Mike Camunas)

“By the time she could talk,” he reminisced, “Bailey would be asking, ‘When are we going to the course? When are we going to the range?’”

Besides being eager to get out on the course, she was easy to teach.

“I never forced it on her and — it didn’t come naturally, because she worked hard at it, but she was always good and has always enjoyed it,” the caddie said.

Enjoyment has led to success, too.

On March 1 through March 3, Bailey competed in the Lake Jovita Women’s Championship hosted by the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour (ECWPGT).

She tied for eighth place, shooting a 4-over par on her home course.

Dade City resident and amateur junior golfer Bailey Shoemaker speaks with her dad, Bob, who caddied for her during a three-day tournament hosted by the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour at Lake Jovita Golf Course.

“I’ve been wanting to get on this tour for a while,” Bailey said. “It’s a good first one to have, too, on your home course.”

“Nice to sleep in your own bed at night, too,” Bob said, with a laugh.

Although she had hoped for a stronger finish, this event is just one of many she’ll be playing during her junior season.

After that, Bailey, who is an online student, will begin her senior year. She committed to play women’s collegiate golf for the University of Southern California.

The ECWPGT is a professional golf tour for young women who are in high school, in college or recent graduates from collegiate golf.

The tour was rebranded from the National Women’s Golf Association.

Its new owner, Mark Berman, a 25-year golf industry veteran, has worked for the PGA TOUR, the World Golf Foundation and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

He has turned the tournament into a competitive stepping stone for women golfers to make the Epson Tour — the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA — and, of course, the LPGA.

Bailey Shoemaker, an amateur golfer from Dade City, signs her scorecard after playing in a three-day tournament hosted by the East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour at Lake Jovita Golf Course. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

“(The ECWPGT) helps her even more to prepare for college golf,” her dad said.

“Out here are either college golfers or golfers who just graduated, and it’s really helpful to play this and prepare for other tournaments.

“We’re always trying to make sure she’s playing up as much as possible because out here the competition is going to be deeper and stronger and better than your average amateur tour,” he said.

“It’s great preparation,” added Bailey, who carries a 6.5 handicap.

She added that it’s a great competition, giving her the chance to go up against golfers she hadn’t seen in a while and some that she’d never played.

“It’s really just an all-around great event,” Bailey said.

The tournament is more than just playing competitive rounds, it’s set up to prepare the young women golfers with an atmosphere of professional events.

“It’s great that everyone is encouraging us (young women) to get out and play,” said Bailey, whose golf career highlight so far is an ace that came during the Stacy Lewis Invitational at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

“I know when I started golfing, just after I was born, that’s when women’s golf really started to boom and then the women (golfers) started to get longer and longer (on shots). Now, with each generation, you keep seeing everyone getting better and better.”

The ECWPGT looks to create more and better playing opportunities for aspiring LGPA players.

It’s a tour aimed at emboldening the next generation of talented women golfers.

Like Bailey.

Published on March 09, 2022

Event honors flags, vets

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A fire burned at Oakside Cemetery — its flames stoked with respect and honor.

Its tinder: an American Flag.

The Zephyrhills High JROTC retired dozens of flags by burning them, in a ceremony that included an Honor Guard and Saber Arch, and an atmosphere filled with reverence.

The Zephyrhills High JROTC color guard presents the flags during the squad’s Project Patriotism at Oakside Cemetery, 5301 First St., in Zephyrhills. (Mike Camunas)

The flag ceremony was part of Project Patriotism. The 35 cadets taking part also cleaned hundreds of headstones marking the final resting spots of veterans buried in the cemetery.

The service and learning project is held each year to teach the cadets organizational skills, to foster community outreach, and to help them understand the benefits of volunteerism.

After the ceremony, Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. James Laferriere said:

“For us all being in high school, I thought everything went really well. With JROTC, we have a whole lesson on how to properly fold and handle flags, as well as properly retire flags.

“This (project) allows us to practice those methods and allows us to actively participate in our community,” said Laferriere, who is one of the few seniors in the squad.

The JROTC started Project Patriotism six years ago and it has evolved every year.

Zephyrhills High JROTC senior, Cadet Command Sgt. Major James Laferriere, stands at attention, with fellow cadets at Project Patriotism, in Oakside Cemetery.

Last year, the squad cleaned the grave markers for the first time.

Over the years, the ceremony has grown and more flags have been retired.

There are five units in this JROTC squad — Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta and Echo — and each is assigned a different duty.

Some go out into the community to seek donations of flags to be retired.

Others meet with officials from the City of Zephyrhills seeking money to support the event.

This year, the city donated about $600 that was spent on cleaning supplies, meals and transportation.

“The city really came through for us,” said retired First Sgt. Jimmy McAuley, who leads the JROTC.

His daughter, Sgt. First Class Jasmine McAuley, is a sophomore at Zephyrhills High.

“The community knows about it, but the cadets go out and go to homes to ask for flags, and then come up with the ceremony and go to the city, so everyone has a job to do and they did a great job,” the JROTC leader said.

“It’s a humbling experience,” Laferriere added, “but we’re honored to do it.”

Zephyrhills High JROTC sophomore, Sgt. Andrew Fraley, scrubs the gravestone of a veteran who was laid to rest at Oakside Cemetery. Fraley’s efforts were part of his squad’s Project Patriotism.

The ceremony commenced with the Honor Guard walking through a Saber Arch and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.

After that, several cadets, some in dress uniforms and others in fatigues, lined up and placed a retired flag into the fire.

Following that, several young cadets removed the top of their fatigues and fanned out into the cemetery, searching for the grave markers of veterans.

When they found one, they’d salute the veteran and then get down on their hands and needs with buckets of soapy water and brushes to clean away grime from the headstones.

“The ceremony, to me,” said Capt. Aiden Macumber, who led the ceremony, “is a way to honor those who have served.

“It means a lot, to me, because I had a lot of family members who were in the military. This is an annual tradition for our battalion, and I’m very honored to be in charge of this event.”

The act of cleaning the gravestones, he said, demonstrates that the cadets still care about the veterans, no matter how long they have been buried in the cemetery.

“We’re coming in here to make sure the (headstones) still look good, and it’s a great honor, in my opinion, because it’s how we say, ‘Hey, we still remember you, we’ll still take care of you and, of course, thank you’,” he said.

Published March 02, 2022

IvyWarriors’ robotics team looks to reprogram the future

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These future robotics engineers are a ‘prime’ example of where technology is headed.

IvyWarriors — an eight-member robotics team — is on its way to the Florida FTC State Championship, set for March 4 and March 5 at the AdventHealth Fieldhouse in Winter Haven.

There, they will face 48 other teams from across Florida in a quest to win a spot to compete in April, at the FIRST World Festival in Houston, Texas.

IvyWarriors teammates, from left, Nikhil Padi, Rohil Agarwal and Sahil Vaswani , watch and control their hand-built robot, Challenger. They and other members of their team will be competing this weekend at the FIRST® Tech Challenge: Freight Frenzy. Coach Abhay Vaswani, next to the wall on the left, watches as team members practice. (Mike Camunas)

The acronym FIRST is a shortened version of, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It is the nonprofit that hosts the FTC, or First Tech Competition.

IvyWarriors advanced to the state tournament by winning first place among a field of 16 teams at the Tampa Bay ROBOT League Championship in early February in Lakeland.

The team is made up of Sahil Vaswani, Rohil Agarwal, Vineet Sharma, Nikhil Padi, Neil Babu, Ananth Kutuva, Joshua Selvan and Avaneesh Venkatesh.

Team coaches are Abhay Vaswani and Tamil Gurusamy, and there are other mentors, too.

IvyWarriors, based in Odessa, is made up of students from Berkeley Preparatory; Sunlake, Hillsborough and Strawberry Crest high schools; and the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) at Land O’ Lakes and Robinson high schools.

Rohil Argarwarl, the team’s lead programmer, described how the competition works.

“Moving on round to round is just like a soccer or football tournament,” said Argarwarl, a sophomore in the IB program at Land O’ Lakes High.

The difference, he explained, is that these teams work with other teams.

The teams are randomly paired, in a two versus two format, which encourages them to work with other teams, which FIRST calls ‘Co-opertiation.’

The teams taking part in designing, building and coding robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Teams work on developing an autonomous and driver-controllable robot to complete missions on a thematic playing field.

IvyWarriors robot, Challenger, unloads a package onto shelving. It will perform this and other tasks during the Freight Frenzy competition.

Each season has a different theme and this year it is Freight Frenzy. Simply put, it involves challenging the players to build a robot that eventually will be used to help shipping and supply chain warehouses, such as Amazon, to be more efficient in sorting and delivering packages.

“(FIRST) give(s) you the ways on how you score with your robot,” Land O’ Lakes IB junior Sahil Vaswani explained, “and then they leave you to build and code your robot and have enough driver practice in order to score.”

So, through painstaking trial and error and outside-the-box thinking, the IvyWarriors created their autonomous and remote-controlled bot, Challenger. Resembling a mix between Rector and Lego sets, Challenger is a fully functional delivery robot. It can lift scaled packages to put on shelves and can operate a conveyor belt to sort packages.

“This is the second version,” Vaswani said. “Challenger 2.0, really. We had to make modifications on frame and wheel size.”

In the competition, the robot must be completely programmed to do this for the first 30 seconds of the allotted time, meaning the IvyWarriors have to build a code to ensure Challenger does its job autonomously.

For the next two minutes, IvyWarriors can control it remotely with controllers that look like they were directly taken from a gaming system.

The IvyWarriors set about building their bot back in September through various brainstorming sessions, many involving pros-and-cons lists, until they were certain it was the right design.

“One of the biggest issues we had was going over barriers (that are in the competition area),” Agarwal said. “We had to keep things like that in mind, but also had to make sure our code is easy to read by basically anyone and you have to develop that from the roots up.”

Other obstacles that stood in the IvyWarriors’ way during the build process was making sure the motors were the right torque, especially on the crane and the wheel that would bring the box onto the crane, installing wheels that would make Challenger the most mobile — this lead to them installing mecanum wheels that allows Challenger to make 360-degree moves.

“And now,” Agarwal said, “almost all robots in warehouses will have those.”

“During our season, we try to find many solutions to make it more mobile and faster, especially with the barriers,” Sunlake sophomore Nikhil Padi added. “It was really about finding the right motors to go with the right wheels, that way it would move the way we wanted, especially in the autonomous section.”

Their teamwork and ingenuity paid off, and now it is time to be tested on a bigger stage.

“IvyWarriors are ready to fight like warriors and are extremely grateful for the opportunity and knowledge that they have gained by participating in FIRST,” coach Abhay, a software engineer, said. “It is organizations like FIRST that are driving STEM passions across the globe, and educating students on the world of engineering and robotics.”

Like their competitors, the IvyWarriors want their team’s robotic moves to take them to nationals.

But the value of being part of the team goes beyond competing, Agarwarl said.

“All of us have a passion for engineering and robotics, but we all also love driving (Challenger) around!” he said.

Published March 02, 2022