Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Steinbrenner volleyball team swept Seminole 25-15, 25-16, 25-18 in the regional quarterfinals on Nov. 1, but the Warriors were not pleased with the straight-set victory.

“We were a little slow coming out to start,” said Steinbrenner coach Jennifer Graham. “They graded themselves a C-. There were just a lot of small errors here and there, and at this point we can’t be making those errors.

“Overall a win is a win and it’s great to win,” Graham continued. “We have to get better because we’re going to play better and better teams coming up, so it’s just going to get harder for us. We have to come out of the gate faster is the bottom line.”

Errors committed by the Warriors (24-4) let the Warhawks (13-11) hang in the match. Steinbrenner saw a 20-7 third-set lead shrink to 23-16 and 24-18 before sophomore rightside hitter Rachel Mathison put an end to Seminole’s season with her fifth kill of the match.

The Warriors’ serving game, which is usually their strength, was off by their standards.

“The serves weren’t always going where we wanted them to,” Graham said. “That becomes frustrating because we can do it, we just weren’t. Those are things that can be fixed. Some errors are good errors though. If we’re serving aggressive and it’s a foot out of the back wall then it’s a great serve as long as it’s not four or five.”

Freshman middle hitter Lauren Heldt brought some normalcy to Steinbrenner’s serving when she recorded seven of her team-high eight aces on one rotation.

“I’ve never had that many all together like that before,” Heldt said. “I was trying to get it to certain spots and it dropped in. … Our serving has been key for us all year. It’s our top priority. The better we serve, the better our whole game is. If you’re not serving, you can’t play this game.”

Graham said Heldt tends to get aces in bunches.

“And it usually ends with an aggressive miss,” Graham said. “She’s just got a great snap and it’s a really hard ball to read. I would hate to be serve receiving against it. We look forward to her jump serving eventually, which will be a real threat.”

It was also fun for Heldt’s teammates to watch her go on her run of aces.

“It was absolutely amazing,” said junior outside hitter Madison Seuzeneau. “I was jumping up and down after every ace.”

The Warrior frontline attack was led by Seuzeneau for the second straight match. She had a career-high 15 kills in a victory against Freedom in the district finals on Oct. 27 and broke her own mark with 18 put down on the Warhawks.

Graham said Seuzeneau has become a more consistent player the second half of this season.

“She’s peaking at the right time,” Graham said. She then added, “I’ve been working with her for three years straight now with playing smart, hitting smart shots. Defensively we’re working on getting her there. Right now she’s just playing front row and eventually we’d like to be able to play her all the way around.”

Steinbrenner senior outside hitter Miranda Powell posted six kills. Junior middle hitter Baylee Hooker added six kills of her own while adding two blocks. Sophomore setter Casey McLean recorded 37 assists in just three sets.

Seminole was without 6-foot-2 Marissa Lisenbee, who had a team-high 324 kills and 118 blocks this season. She received a red card during the district tournament and was ineligible to play.

The Warriors host Clearwater in the regional semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. The Tornadoes defeated Freedom 25-12, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18 on Nov. 1.

Steinbrenner defeated Clearwater 29-27, 30-28, 15-7 this season during a tournament in Gainesville.

‘Canes win first regional match

The Bishop McLaughlin volleyball team went out and swept Lakeland McKeel Academy on Nov. 1 despite playing in its first playoff match in program history.

The Hurricanes (16-8) swept the road match 25-14, 25-17, 25-20. Senior outside hitter Jess Johnson had a team-high 15 kills in the contest.

Bishop McLaughlin’s win sets up a rematch of the Class 3A-District 8 finals against Tampa Prep, which the Terrapins won 25-10, 25-21, 25-4.

The Hurricanes travel to Tampa Prep for the regional semifinal match on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

Wiregrass Ranch girls cross country runner Nikita Shah summarized the Class 3A-Ditrict 6 meet with one sentence.

“This is a good day for Wiregrass,” Shah said.

Nov. 3 was indeed a good day for the Bulls, as the girls and boys teams each claimed district championships for the fourth straight season. The four-peat is even bigger for the programs, as each lost four of its top-seven runners from last season.

“It pretty much proves we can bounce back even though we lost four seniors from last year,” said Wiregrass Ranch boy runner Sam Hippely. “Coach has gotten us better and everyone’s times are even better.”

Bulls boys coach Chris Loth said the ability to rebound after losing some of the squad’s top athletes is a testament to his runners’ hard work.

“We had a lot of bodies around all summer and they were ready to fill those shoes and get some of the glory themselves,” Loth said. “They were motivated to do that and they did. Four in a row.”

Wiregrass Ranch had 39 points at the meet, 14 less than the second place boys from Sarasota and 31 fewer than Land O’ Lakes. The Bulls claimed five of the top-14 spots and had an average finish of 16:37.3 at the event.

The Wiregrass Ranch girls’ 35 points was 38 less than second place Bellview. The Bulls claimed seven of the top-17 spots at the meet.

Wiregrass Ranch also set a Pasco girls record in a 5-kilometer race by having an average finish of 19:41.57. The county started having 5Ks in 2002.

“When we started the season we knew we had to do some rebuilding,” said Bulls girls coach Don Howard. “What they did shows that we’re actually a better team this year than we were last year.”

Every one of Wiregrass Ranch’s top seven set a personal record (PR) at districts.

“All I can say is coach Howard is a really good coach,” Shah said. “He’s able to — with four graduating seniors in the top seven — make our team better than we were last year.”

Shah, a junior, led the way with a 17:52, faster than any other time for a girl in Pasco this year. Her PR entering the race was 18:38.

“I actually couldn’t see the time at all,” Shah said. “My eyes get really blurry when I’m running and I didn’t have my watch like I normally do. I forgot it, so I had no idea what kind of time I was running. When I was crossing I looked up and saw it was under 18 minutes I was really surprised.”

Shah said running without her watch may have made her run a little faster.

“I was basically running blind,” Shah said. “I usually check it close to the end to see if I run this fast I’ll be done in 1 minute or something like that. I didn’t know today, so I was just sprinting my hardest coming in just to be on the safe side.”

The finish for Shah comes about a year after she started suffering through a bout of anemia that zapped her strength.

“It’s really exciting for Nikita to overcome it,” Howard said. “She’s worked really hard this year. She’s run more miles than I’ve ever had a girl run. She’s done more work than I’ve ever had a girl do and it’s paying off now.”

The performance made Shah the individual runner-up to Bellview’s Anne-Marie Blanev’s 17:39.1.

As for the Bulls boys, Hippely also set a PR by finishing in 16:02.7, 4.3 seconds off the championship pace of Land O’ Lakes’ Travis Nichols. Hippely beat Nichols the week before to claim the Sunshine State Conference championship, and the two have finished near the top of meet leader boards all year.

“There’s someone always out there who wants to beat you and someone you want to beat,” Hippely said. “It makes the races more exciting and it makes you run better times. If he runs fast then I have to run fast to stay up with him.”

The Bulls will compete in regionals at Lecanto High on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 a.m. Both Wiregrass Ranch squads won regional titles last year.

By Eugenio Torrens

Steinbrenner’s cross country teams moved up in classification this year, but the Warriors showed they can run with anyone by winning Class 3A-District 8 meets Nov. 4.

The boys used an average time of 16:50.86, which translated in all seven members finishing in the top-11 spots. Tyler Lima led the Warriors with his third-place pace of 16:23.67.

Lauren Garris crossed the finish line in third place with a 20:29.11 for the girls team. The dual-sports athlete — she also plays soccer — was disappointed with her position.

“It was like one or two minutes, big difference,” Garris said of her time behind first-place finisher Sarah Hartman, of Sickles, who ran a 19:33.52.

It is the second straight district title for the Warriors boys, while the girls finished as the runner-up last season.

Gaither’s Rachel Cazares clocked in at 20:44.51 to nab fourth place and was the lone Cowboy to advance.

“We were expecting definitely her to be in the top 10, but we were not expecting fourth,” said Cazares’s coach, Amber Traci.

In 4A-6, there was no topping Plant, which attained perfect scores of 15 in both the boys and girls races.

Freedom girls coach, Dwight Smith, knew the Panthers would not be dethroned.

“They competed the first two miles with Plant — we knew they were going to break away, but I’m happy that they fought really hard,” Smith said.

“It’s great for me, it’s great for the team, it’s great for Freedom High School,” Smith added about his team finishing as district runner-up.

Under second-year coach Greg Lewandowski, the Freedom boys squeaked into regionals with a team score of 88, five points better than Wharton. Because there were only six full teams in the 4A-6 meet, only the top three advanced.

“We got such a young team. … We’ve got so much room for improvement over the next year,” Lewandowski said. “This is our second year making it to regionals, and we’re just climbing the ladder.”

Adam Urbaniak’s finished in sixth place and was the first Patriot to finish the 5-kilometer race in 17:27.86. He said he was in 10th place when he started picking off runners ahead of him — except for the Plant runners.

“The Plant guys are hard, they’re all great runners. They know what they’re doing, so it’s tough to pass those guys,” Urbaniak said.

Urbaniak admitted he was just hoping for top 15, so finishing sixth surpassed his expectations.

Wharton girls runners Taylor Griffith and Mariah Henderson finished in 10th and Mariah Henderson finished in 13th to advance individually. No boys Wildcats qualified.

Both Freedom teams and the Wildcats who qualified will race in the regional meet at McIntosh Middle on Saturday, Nov. 12. Steinbrenner and Cazares will compete at Lecanto High on Saturday, Nov. 12, where they will face off against defending regional champs Wiregrass Ranch.

“Now we’re just focusing on Wiregrass Ranch and region, because they’re the team that beat us bad the first two meets of the year,” Lima said. “So we just have to get revenge and beat them.”

Girls soccer district of death

Four playoff teams vie for two postseason spots

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) creates new district alignments every two years, and it made quite a doozy when it created Class 4A-District 8.

The alignment includes four playoff teams from last season, including the defending 4A state champion Steinbrenner. It also has regional finalists Gaither and Wiregrass Ranch, as well as Freedom, which has won back-to-back district titles.

All four plan on returning to the postseason this season, but only the district champion and runner-up will be in the playoffs.

Wiregrass Ranch, the only Pasco County squad in the district, has yet to play any of the other playoff teams from 4A-8, but the three Hillsborough County schools have played each other at least twice since Steinbrenner opened two seasons ago.

The Warriors tied Gaither and Freedom in all four of their matchups. The Patriots have gotten the better of the Cowboys the last two years with a 3-0-1 record.

Other teams in 4A-8 include Sickles and Chamberlain. The district tournament is at Freedom on Jan. 16-20.

Steinbrenner Warriors 

The Warriors won a state title in the program’s second season last year, quicker than any other soccer team in Florida history.

“It’s definitely the best thing that has happened to me ever,” said senior forward Cici Gonzalez. “It was like a dream.”

Gonzalez said the team is prepared to take everyone’s best shot this year.

“We won, so we know everyone is going to be coming for us,” Gonzalez said. “We have to backup our title. I think we’re just as good as last year.”

Steinbrenner had little trouble in its old district the last two seasons, winning all 17 games by a combined score of 141-1.

“The most remarkable thing about Steinbrenner winning last year was looking at the games, because so often if you have an easy district the team can become unfocused,” said first-year Warriors coach Robert Woodard. “You can tell kids to stay sharp in the games, but when they know what the outcome is going to be it’s tough to work as hard.”

Gonzalez looks forward to games that don’t end by mercy rule.

“I think it’s going to help us,” Gonzalez said. “Now we won’t have those 8-0 games when people said we weren’t playing anyone. Now we’re playing good competition in our district.”

Freedom Patriots 

Freedom won back-to-back district titles the last two years and the Patriots know it won’t be easy making it three in a row.

“It’s going to be tough,” said senior defender Suzanna Crochet. “Each night we’ll get better and learn from the mistakes we make. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but we’re excited for it.”

Senior midfielder Alyssa Daniello is also eager because the district makes some of the squad’s rivalry games even more meaningful.

“We’ve tied Steinbrenner the two times we’ve played, so we know we can play with them,” Daniello said. “Gaither we’ve always had a little rivalry with. We beat them for the district title last year. Playing Wiregrass is exciting because we’ve never played them before.”

Freedom second-year coach Jenna Ball played on the Tampa Bay Tech soccer team while in high school. Having such a tough district makes her thrilled about the future of the sport.

“It shows how far girls soccer has come,” Ball said. “When I was in high school there were just a few club players on a team and just a few competitive teams. Now there are so many competitive teams. It shows girls soccer is moving up and the area is becoming one of the top in the nation for the sport.”

Wiregrass Ranch Bulls

Wiregrass Ranch is the big question mark in 4A-8 in more ways than one.

“These are all teams that we don’t know, and I don’t think we’ve played any of them before, but that also means they haven’t seen us either,” said second-year Bulls coach Erin Dodd. “That unknown is exciting.”

Wiregrass Ranch’s schedule is also very different from its district rivals to the south. The Wesley Chapel-based school will play a full slate of games within the Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC), which includes the 13 public schools in Pasco.

Dodd said there is still very good competition in Pasco, which had five playoff teams last season. She said the squad’s SAC and district schedule, along with a few tournaments, should make the Bulls ready for a postseason run.

“One of the great things is you get better playing against teams that are of a high quality,” Dodd said. “All of these teams are high-quality teams. Every district game we’re playing a defending state champ, a region finalist, a playoff team from last year. It raises the level of play we have to come into every district game with.”

Gaither Cowboys 

Gaither third-year coach Trevor Scott admits the Cowboys are usually identified with boys soccer instead of girls, what with the 4A state championship title from 2000 in the school’s trophy case.

His squad’s playoff appearance last season was the program’s first in five years, but Scott said the current group can create a legacy at Gaither.

“I’m not going to say in 30 years we’re going to be the first place people think of for girls soccer, but with these players we can be very good,” Scott said. “The girls are talented and hungry to win.”

Scott said that drive to put up ‘Ws’ in a tougher district will prepare the Cowboys for another postseason.

“I think we lacked playing really tough games every night last year,” Scott said. “We only played Steinbrenner once and Freedom once in the regular season. Those were our really tough games. We weren’t ready for that kind of competition. Get through this district and we’ll be ready.”

Senior midfielder Kaycee McGuire said there is another reason she wants to beat their closest rivals.

“A lot of the girls know players on those other teams, so that also puts a fire under us to win,” McGuire said. “You want to work harder and beat them so they can’t talk trash about you.”

 

Area Class 4A-District 8 teams

Freedom* 11-2-3, 5A region quarterfinalist

Gaither 12-6-2, 5A region finalist

Steinbrenner* 21-2-2, 4A state champs

Wiregrass Ranch* 23-3-2, 4A region finalist

*Won a district title

 

Area 4A-8 head-to-head games this year

–Steinbrenner at Freedom Nov. 17, 8 p.m.

–Steinbrenner at Wiregrass Ranch Nov. 29, 8 p.m.

–Steinbrenner at Gaither Dec. 6, 6 p.m.

–Freedom at Wiregrass Ranch Dec. 6, 8 p.m.

–Wiregrass Ranch at Gaither Dec. 13, 6 p.m.

–Freedom at Gaither Jan. 4, 6 p.m.

Freedom hosts the district tournament, which will be played Jan. 16-20.

 

Area 4A-8 teams past matchups

–Gaither ties Steinbrenner 1-1 Nov. 3, 2009

–Steinbrenner ties Freedom 0-0 Dec. 11, 2009

–Gaither loss Freedom 3-1 Jan. 8, 2010

–Freedom def. Gaither 3-0 Jan. 20, 2010

–Gaither ties Freedom 1-1 Nov. 10, 2010

–Steinbrenner ties Gaither 0-0 Dec. 9, 2010

–Steinbrenner ties Freedom 0-0 Jan. 14, 2011

–Freedom def. Gaither 1-0 Jan. 21, 2011

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

It took a last minute touchdown and overtime, but the Steinbrenner football team defeated Chamberlain 34-27 on Nov. 4 to secure the first winning season in the program’s three-year history.

Curtis Fitch completed a 42-yard pass to Jon Marc Carrier with 45 seconds left in regulation to set up the game-tying score for the Warriors (6-3). The two connected again for a 14-yard strike in overtime to claim the road victory.

“Our offensive coordinator, Andres Perez, made a couple of great calls,” said Warriors coach Floyd Graham. “The winning play we just put in this week and it worked just like it’s designed to.”

Steinbrenner drove down the field into Chamberlain (1-8) territory thanks to a handful of rushes from Cody Cazin and Kendall Pearcey. After Cazin set up a first down, Pearcey found a hole and turned on the burners for a 42-yard touchdown to get the Warriors on the scoreboard.

The Chiefs struck back with a weapon of their own — halfback Xavier Johnson. The junior, who finished with 262 yards on 32 carries and two touchdowns, slipped through a hole on the outside and tied the game with a 32-yard scamper.

Steinbrenner’s Zack Jones answered with a 99-yard kickoff return for a score, tying a 2010 return by Jake Carroll for longest in school history.

Johnson continued to show his speed, breaking through a host of defenders en route to a 27-yard gain to set up Nick McNeal for a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.

Pearcey, who finished with 212 total yards, took the ensuing kickoff back 57 yards to set the Warriors up with good field position. He scored on a 1-yard rush to give Steinbrenner a 21-14 halftime lead.

Johnson wasted no time tying the game after halftime with a 51-yard touchdown. Josh Bennett found McNeal in the back of the end zone to give Chamberlain a 27-21 fourth-quarter lead after a blocked extra point.

The Warriors took over on their own 28 for what turned out as their last possession of regulation. Penalties threatened to derail the 18-play, 72-yard drive.

“The penalties killed us all night,” Graham said. “We have to eliminate that because those things will turn a win into a loss faster than just about anything.”

Facing a fourth and 20, Fitch made a 26-yard completion to Carrier to give Steinbrenner first down. The sophomore signal caller wasn’t done there. Facing fourth and 7, he found Carrier for a 42-yard reception with less than 45 seconds to play.

Pearcey fought through the line for the game-tying score on fourth and goal with the win hinging on the extra point, which sailed wide left to send the game to overtime.

The Warriors got the ball on the Chiefs’ 10-yard line with four chances to score, but a penalty pushed them back. Steinbrenner would not be deterred, as Fitch found Carrier in end zone for a 14-yard strike on the second play.

“Coach said ‘go make a play’ and Fitch put it out there,” said Carrier, who finished with three catches for 76 yards. “It was a great pass and I just caught the ball.”

Chamberlain could not answer on its possession, giving Steinbrenner the victory.

The Warriors host Middleton on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. to end the season.

By Eugenio Torrens

During his college career, center Jeff Deremer snapped the ball to such Super Bowl-winning signal callers as Brett Favre and Brad Johnson, but he formed some of his longest-lasting memories in high school.

He said as much when he visited his old coach John Castelemare, who is in his second season at Academy at the Lakes.

“The stuff you’re going through right now, you’ll remember the rest of your life,” Deremer, who played college ball at the University of Southern Mississippi and Florida State University, told the Wildcats who gathered in the school gym’s weight room.

Castelemare coached Deremer at Ridgewood his sophomore through senior season, 1985-88. Any time the Wildcats coach beckons his former player to speak to the team, Deremer obliges.

“Sometimes when you’re a player, you kind of let what coaches say and teachers say go in one ear and out the other, but this stuff really means something, and you don’t figure that out until later in life,” Deremer said.

Deremer stressed academics and taking care of responsibilities more important than athletics, though he said sports teaches life lessons, including one that has stuck with him more than any other since high school.

“Never quit,” Deremer said.

Castelemare’s Wildcats welcomed Deremer last year, when the team went 5-5. This season he spoke in front of a 9-1 squad, and the several players said they hoped he noticed their improvement.

“I think he’ll be impressed,” said junior lineman Alex Stark.

That’s saying something for someone who played at a college football powerhouse.

“We’re not even an 11-man team, but to have somebody who played on the highest level of collegiate football to come talk to us is pretty cool,” said sophomore lineman Jack Fishman.

He remembered some of the lessons from Deremer last year, such as working hard and never giving up. He joked how Deremer made it known that Castelemare had gotten softer since the 1980s.

But even as the hard-nosed, rough-and-tumble, whistle-blowing coach, Castelemare served as a role model for his athletes, including Deremer whose father was bedridden during his playing days.

“Kids need these role models in their lives,” Deremer said.

Every year he speaks to Castelemare’s new group of players, Deremer was overcome with nostalgia.

“You come back and you see the same stuff and you see kids working that hard and all the opportunities that they’re gonna have, it’s incredible,” Deremer said. “I’ll do anything to hand back what I was taught.”

By Kyle LoJacono

The University of Tampa (UT) Equestrian Team, which practices at Far Reach Farm in Lutz, brought home seven state ribbons from the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

The event, which included 230 competitors from 14 colleges, was at Florida State University on Oct. 15. Not only was it the first contest of the season for the Spartans, it was also the first time the UT squad has participated at the IHSA.

“We are the team to do it,” said team captain Kendra New. “In the previous years, no one has been able to pull off what we have accomplished. Not only did we make it there, every single one of our riders came home with a ribbon. It was the best feeling in the world to be there and have our presence known. I am very proud of all of our riders. We did not go there with any high expectations, but came home with a great feeling of pride.”

All seven members of the UT team claimed a ribbon, given to the top-six participants in each event. Michenzi Marzano claimed a first-place ribbon, while New and Jessica Booth brought home a third.

Rounding out the ribbons, Allie Heinrichs took home a fourth, Brigitte Werleman was awarded a fifth and Rami Younes and Molly McGill each claimed a sixth.

Sherri O’Connor is the Spartan coach and said she was very pleased the squad’s hard work paid off at the event.

The classes of competition included both jumping and flat events. Other in-state colleges that participated at the IHSA included Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Florida State, the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida.

By Kyle LoJacono

Lutz resident Michael McNamara wants to someday design the world’s next great golf course, and he just received some help to make that dream come true.

McNamara, who is currently attending Penn State University, was awarded the Mendenhall and MacCurrach scholarship, given by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The honor comes with $6,000.

“Knowing the competition, I was humbled and proud to have won the Mendenhall Award,” McNamara said. “I would like to thank the selection committee and my boss John D. Scott for allowing me to finish my education while holding a full-time position. I will work hard to justify their selection.”

The GCSAA Scholars Program was developed to recognize outstanding students planning careers in golf course management. Winners were selected based on academic achievement, potential to become a leading professional, employment history, extracurricular activities and recommendations.

McNamara was named the first-place winner, but 12 others received honors from GCSAA and received a total of $25,000 this year. No other winner was from either Hillsborough or Pasco counties, according the GCSAA.