Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The third annual Ulrich Family Classic at Wiregrass Ranch High was kind to the boys basketball teams from Wesley Chapel-based schools.

Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel won their matchups, topping Clearwater Central Catholic 82-48 and Freedom 57-38, respectively.

Wildcats (18-4) coach Doug Greseth said it was good to see his squad get back on track after dropping a 67-65 contest the night before against Anclote.

“That’s probably our best defensive effort of the year,” Greseth said. “We were very aggressive tonight. We got contributions from all five players. Freedom came in here 13-2. They beat Armwood, who beat us. It was just a really good, solid performance.”

Wesley Chapel, which played the third of four games at the event, was led by Erik Thomas, who had 35 points and 11 rebounds.

The senior forward, who said his top college choice is currently Tennessee State University, entered the contest averaging 33.5 points and 17.3 rebounds, but the Patriots offered a formidable challenge with eight players at least 6-foot-2.

“We do a lot of help defense and ball pressure,” Thomas said. “We all helped on screens. We were just all on it tonight. They have some big guys, but we do too. We had to keep pressure on them and make them turn the ball over.”

The Wildcats were given a boost from the play of 6-foot-7 junior center Marcus Hayne, who had nine points and pulled down five rebounds.

“If Marcus Hayne will play like that every game we’re going to be very hard to beat,” Greseth said.

The Bulls (15-4) forced a running clock in the third quarter of the night cap against the Marauders (6-13). Wiregrass Ranch scored nearly at will, but didn’t click as well on the other end of the court.

“Sometimes when we start hitting a lot of shots we forget we have to play defense, and that hurts us,” said Bulls coach Jeremy Calzone. “We’re trying to teach them that we have to play defense all the time. … There’s no secret we try to run and shoot, but if we can just get the defense fixed we’ll be all right.”

Senior forward Rico Kerney led Wiregrass Ranch on offense and defense, scoring 22 points and recording seven rebounds despite sitting out most of the second half with the Bulls comfortably in the lead.

Senior guards Chris Parra and Dimarco Burgess added 16 and nine points, respectively.

Land O’ Lakes lost 65-49 to East Lake in the first game of the day.

The Gators (7-9) were tied 28-28 with the Eagles (5-8) at halftime, but East Lake’s trap defense made it hard for Land O’ Lakes to get the ball up the floor after the break.

The Gators were also without senior center Victor Obi, who has missed the last three games with a concussion. His brother, Mike Obi, led the attack for Land O’ Lakes with 17 points and five rebounds. Brandon Dorsey scored 12, guard Taddeus Dixon had nine points and Seth Galbraith added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The event was created by Calzone to remember the Ulriches, who died in a plane crash in 2010. Lexi Ulrich was a student at Wiregrass Ranch and would have been a member of the class of 2012.

Part of the money brought in goes to a scholarship fund in the Ulrich family name. Stan Glantz, Lexi’s grandfather, attended the event and received a signed T-shirt from the Bulls squad before their game.

“It’s awesome the way the school has helped us put this on,” Calzone said. “I really wish more people would come out because I think this is something we can really make special in Pasco County and make this the hotbed for basketball. As we do it every year and get different teams in from all over the state and make it bigger, hopefully we’ll get even more fan support.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Jeff Odom

The Sunlake boys soccer team clinched the first Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) championship in the program’s six-year history with a 4-0 win at home against Wiregrass Ranch Jan. 16.

The Seahawks (25-0) dominated most of the first half with eight shots, but couldn’t manage to get past Bulls (13-8) goalkeeper Aaron Shimer.

After stopping a pair of point-blank shots just three minutes into the game, Shimer turned away a laser by Gilboy (two goals) in the 15th minute and a free kick with less than two minutes to go to keep the game scoreless.

“At the half we were like, we have everything on the line here,” Gilboy said. “A perfect season, conference championship, pride, all that stuff, and we knew it was time to go and just had to step it up.”

And that’s what Sunlake did.

Shimer left in the 41st minute with a left knee injury after falling hard trying to make a save. That opened the door for the Seahawks to breakthrough in the 46th minute as Ryan Norberg sent a pass to Andrew Eastley, who found the back of the net.

Louis Andrusyszyn scored in the 58th minute to extend Sunlake’s lead to 2-0.

“We started slow, but eventually we start wearing teams down, and that really showed tonight,” said Seahawks coach Sam Koleduk. “It’s hard to stop us for a whole game, and after starting slow we got the first goal and started rolling.”

The referees issued six of nine yellow cards in the second half. The chippy play seemed to light a fire under Gilboy.

He took a free kick deep in Wiregrass Ranch’s side of the field and converted the chance by firing a shot past goalkeeper Ryan Duran into the top right corner.

Gilboy, who scored again in the 79th minute, said the team knew it couldn’t relax against the Bulls.

“The biggest thing was never giving up,” Gilboy said. “Even though we’re two up, we just had to keep our foot on the gas and it worked out.”

The night was especially memorable for Gilboy, who was informed after the game that he was Pasco County’s new single-season record holder for goals in a season with 58. He surpassed former Land O’ Lakes and University of South Florida standout Justin Geisler’s total of 55 set in 2000.

“That’s absolutely incredible, man, absolutely incredible,” Gilboy said. “Four longest years of my life, I’m not even going to lie. Finally got it this year, and it feels good. I just want to thank God and all these people around me helping me out every single way. I’ve played with guys like Geisler and it’s kind of bittersweet knowing that you beat his record, but it’s the greatest thing.”

Gilboy set the county mark the night before by scoring four goals against Fivay. He has 109 tallies in his career, eight away from supplanting Jordan Landry as the Seahawks all-time leader.

The Seahawks are the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A-District 7 tournament at Pasco, which runs Jan. 21 to 25, where they could face No. 2 and cross-town rival Land O’ Lakes for the third time this season in the final.

“We’re not overlooking Wesley Chapel, who gave us a big scare earlier this year,” Koleduk said. “Land O’ Lakes will still have to battle Pasco, but hopefully we can stay focused and take it one game at a time, because being unbeaten, there’s a lot of pressure.”

By Kyle LoJacono

It usually takes an entire career for a high school basketball player to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Academy at the Lakes boys basketball player Ethan Haslam hit the milestone midway through his sophomore season.

“Now I don’t have to wait until my senior year and have it wait until my final game,” Haslam said. “It’s crazy because I’m following in my older brother’s (Jake) footsteps. He hit 1,000 points (with Tampa Prep). It’s been motivation for me to do the same thing as him.”

The 6-foot-3 guard reached 1,000 by sinking one of his three 3-pointers in a 55-50 win at Seffner Christian Jan. 12. He sank the milestone points in the fourth quarter after receiving a pass from Abaz Igwe down the right wing with about three minutes left in the contest.

Haslam, who currently has 1,026 points in his career, said he had no idea he was so close to 1,000.

“Coming into the game I thought I was about 50 points away,” said Haslam, who picked up basketball at age 6. “I didn’t find out I’d hit it until after the game. I was just playing it like it was any other game. … It was a moment of shock because coaches just kind of said it as we were all going over the game in the locker room. It all kind of sank in, and I was proud of myself.”

It is appropriate that the milestone came on a 3-pointer as the shot has been a big weapon for Haslam.

He has hit 46 of 97 3-point attempts this year, 47 percent from behind the arc. Haslam said Jake was the one who taught him his shot.

“In my family, 3-pointers is what we love to do,” Haslam said.

Haslam is averaging a team-high 17.7 points while adding 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals for the 12-7 Wildcats. He said having the milestone out of the way is a relief.

“Now we just have to play academy basketball and continue to do what we do,” Haslam said.

The academy plays at River Ridge Jan. 23 and at Brooks-DeBartolo Jan. 24. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wharton girls basketball team is at .500 this season, but its record is nothing that worries the squad.

In fact, the Wildcats (9-9) are in a better position than last season when they entered the Class 8A-District 7 tournament 10-14 only to win the district championship for the second time in three years.

“That game we just clicked,” said senior guard Courteney Cox (5.2 points). “We scored 66 points when we beat Newsome for the district championship, and that was the most points we scored all year. We knew we could do that, and it gives us confidence now.”

Senior center Kelly Brown (5.8 points) added, “We loved being able to change what people thought about us and their expectations of what we could do. We worked hard all season, and it paid off.”

Fifth-year Wharton coach Chad Reed said injuries prevented them from having the record they were capable of last year. This year has also had obstacles, namely the loss of four starters.

The Wildcats graduated their top two scorers in forward Abbigale Kaczmarek (11 points, 3.2 rebounds*) and guard Monica Cazes (10.3 points*). They also lost senior forward/guard Shannon Clark (8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds*) because of a head injury, and had to find a new point guard.

“Our point guard to start the season made some bad decisions, and we had to take her off the team,” Reed said. “Shannon gets hurt and had to quit the game, so we’ve got a lot of new starters and players playing out of position. They’ve just stepped up and have a great attitude and play hard.”

Wharton has used a balanced attack to replace those starters. None of its players are averaging double-digit points, but five are scoring at least 5.2.

“We don’t have anyone who’s going to put 14 or 15 points a night up,” Reed said. “They understand that. We’ve talked a lot about player’s roles and what we need out of them as an entire team. We’ve focused on working together to win. Telling them to get the ball, they have to give the ball. Trust your teammates, keep the ball moving and whoever scores, scores. Bottom line is we want to have the most points at the end of the game.”

The Wildcats have been led offensively by senior guard Allison Mitchell (8.5 points).

“We think of it like we’re just average girls playing basketball, but we play well together and make it work,” Mitchell said. She added, “After last year we saw how well it worked to spread things around. We don’t want to have that one player we have to rely on. … You can have a superhero all you want, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a team.”

Sliding into the point guard spot is Carlena Eugene (6.3 points), who moved from forward. She is getting used to the position, but said she is becoming more comfortable running the offense.

“It’s getting there,” Eugene said. “My dad has been working with me to get better court vision to see the spaces in defenses.”

Many of the departures were in the post, forcing both Brown and freshman forward Lauren Wall (5.4 points) to step up their games.

“We have a smaller team this year, so we can get back on defense a bit quicker,” Eugene said. “We can run the court better and play a faster game. Me and Lauren just have to do our thing getting rebounds and put backs.”

Reed said he likes his squad’s progression, but added there is still plenty of work to do.

“We have not reached our stride yet,” Reed said. “We’ve gone through so many changes early in the season that we are still developing as a team, which can be good, but also puts us in games that we have to work very hard to be successful. Through adversity comes strength, and these girls have responded to that.”

The 8A-7 tournament is at Alonso Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, with the final Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.

Wharton plays at Alonso Jan. 22 before closing the regular season at home against Freedom Jan. 23. Both games start at 6:30 p.m.

*Last year’s stats

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Jeff Odom

The Freedom girls basketball team locked up the top seed in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament with a 52-48 victory at Steinbrenner Jan. 18.

The Patriots (19-2, 8-0) needed overtime to hand the Warriors (18-5, 6-2) their first regular season home loss in more than two years.

“I love the resiliency of our team,” said Freedom coach Laurie Pacholke. “We were down by seven and came back, and we fought back to take the lead and never gave up.”

Steinbrenner forward Lauren Shedd (nine points, six rebounds) hit a layup at the buzzer to tie the game at 46-46 to send the game to an extra period. The bucket ended an 8-0 run by the Patriots in the final two minutes led by the hot hand of Whitney Ivey (eight points).

Freedom’s Taylor Emery (10 points) opened overtime with a layup, but Steinbrenner answered right back and the two teams remained gridlocked until the final minute.

Emery, who returned to the lineup after missing more than two weeks with a concussion, hit a pair of free throws with 57.9 seconds left to give the Patriots a lead they would not surrender.

Freedom senior forward and Georgetown University signee Faith Woodard, who scored 18 points and surpassed the 1,000-rebound mark in the game, said it was a little frustrating early because the team was plagued with foul trouble and shots that wouldn’t go in.

“In the first, they were really well-prepared,” Woodard said. “We had new players, and (Steinbrenner) hadn’t played against us a lot, but they were definitely prepared a lot more (this) time.”

Steinbrenner led 13-12 after the first quarter and continued rolling on offense in the second as Taylor Thigpen (10 points) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to extend her squad’s lead to seven.

The Patriots answered with a 10-2 run to knot the game at 26 going into the half capped by guard Neena Pacholke making a pair of free throws after being fouled going for a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Freedom continued its first half momentum in the third with a couple early buckets, but the Warriors echoed the pace with three late shots from Justice Thigpen (three points), Bailey Hooker (15 points, four rebounds and three blocks) and Shedd to bring the score within two.

Then, it all broke loose.

Hooker opened the fourth with two 3-pointers and Steinbrenner’s man-to-man defense kept the Patriots off the board for more than four minutes.

“Steinbrenner’s a great team, and we just have to learn to play our game every time we come out,” Laurie said. “I don’t think we did that there; I think we tried to play more to Steinbrenner instead of Freedom basketball.”

Steinbrenner had one final chance for the win in overtime, but a 3-point attempt by Hooker with five seconds left spun around the rim and bounced out.

Warriors coach JR Allen said his team played the way it wanted to, but inaccuracy at the free throw line (10-of-19) hurt its chances.

“For us, it’s going to be can we mentally deal with what has happened twice now,” Allen said. “In the first game, we didn’t show up offensively … but tonight, that was a lot better. We still had our moments here and there, but for the most part, it was a lot better.”

Allen said it was good to see his team improve against Freedom and expects a third meeting in the district tournament, which runs Jan. 28 to Feb. 2 at Freedom. Steinbrenner is the No. 2 seed.

“I believe we’ll take care of business,” Allen said. “Hopefully we’ll meet each other again for that (district) championship, and if the basketball gods are pleased with both of us we’ll get to play a fourth time.”

The Warriors play at Brandon Jan. 23, the same night the Patriots travel to Wharton. Both games start at 6:30 p.m.

By Jeff Odom

Steinbrenner cheerleading coach Allison Ennis wants to create something greater than a winning tradition — stability at the top.

Ennis, a Saint Leo University graduate, is the Warriors’ third coach in as many seasons. She joined the school as a sports marketing instructor this year after working with the New York Yankees. She said the team has been great to her, making the transition into her new role easier.

“It’s been a little stressful as I’m a first-year coach and teacher all at the same time,” Ennis said. “I’m totally new to the entire teaching profession, and it’s been a little difficult on that end getting acclimated to everything. But we have some great girls with a lot of talent to spare.”

Steinbrenner, which finished as the Class 2A state runner-up in the medium division last season, has plenty of expectations this year.

“We have a lot of seniors, and this is their shot at states after getting so close last year,” Ennis said. “I can see they have a lot of that drive and determination and … we’ve got a lot of seniors, and we have a lot of girls where this is their last shot, and we’re definitely going to give a little more.”

Despite losing key seniors Megan Lynn and Mallory Booth, who now cheers at the University of South Florida, the squad does return plenty of leadership this season, including seniors Jessica Brewer, Lizz Brechner, Kara Wabbersen, Chelsea Melvin and Kori Fick.

Fick, who has been with the team since the school opened in 2009, said it’s going to take a lot more work to repeat last season’s success and possibly take one step higher for the state title.

“We have to practice harder,” Fick said. “I just want to win. It’s going to take a lot of practice, and we’re closer (as a squad) because we’ve all known each other a really long time. It helps a lot with our success, and a lot of people are going to have to work hard to get back (to that level).”

Ennis echoed Fick and said her athletes know when to get down to business.

“You have to have that same work ethic wherever you go, and you’re going to have little hiccups here and there with any coach,” Ennis said. “I don’t want to jinx them, but they’re a pretty decent competition squad. When they get on the mat, they know they have a job to do, and they focus and get it done.”

Ennis said the seniors have each adopted a new role to get the younger girls ready for regionals and states.

“All of the seniors have all taken an active role getting the other girls up and motivated and everything,” Ennis said. She added, “It’s difficult, because we really don’t have a chance to get a look at the other teams, so we kind of have to find out once we get there. As long as we hit everything and we continue to work as hard as we have been, I think we’ll definitely be in that hunt.”

The Warriors travel to Freedom for Region 3 competition Jan. 26, where they will perform in the large division at 10:45 a.m. The state meet is Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 at the Kissimmee Convention Center.

—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker