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Land O’ Lakes High Athletic Department had a dedication ceremony on Dec. 17 to name its gym in honor of one of longest-tenured and most-decorated coaches in Pasco County sports history.

The Gators’ gym is now the David Puhalski Gymnasium, an honor bestowed upon the basketball coach who guided the Gators for 31 years.

After taking over the Gators program in 1988, he compiled a 479-349 career mark before retiring in May 2021.

Land O’ Lakes High Principal Ric Mellin brought the idea to the Pasco County School Board in June, which unanimously approved the request.

“For just over 30 years, Coach Puhalski served as the head coach of the boys’ basketball team, winning nearly 500 games, earning six conference and six district championships, and taking 15 teams to the playoffs,” Mellin said in June. “Very few, if any, coaches ever reached that level of success.”

The Fall Recreational Hockey Season at AdventHealth Center Ice, in Wesley Chapel, came to an end during the weekend of Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, with three local teams coming out on top in their respective divisions.

In the Under 10 division, the Yetis were victorious, while Grape Crush won in the Under 12 division. The Trash Pandas rounded out the championship teams, taking home honors for the Under 14/16 crown.

The 2022 Florida Senior Games took place at various locations throughout Pasco County, from Dec. 3 to Dec. 11, with thousands of athletes participating in multiple events.

According to Florida Sports Coast, the Florida Senior Games featured 2,350 total athletes, 428 pickleball players at Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center, 84 athletes from Pasco County, athletes from 36 different states and 15 athletes over 90 years old.

Events included basketball, volleyball, table tennis, bowling, powerlifting, racquetball, track and field, tennis, archery, cycling, pickleball, swimming, bowling, shuffleboard and more.

Events were held at such places as the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills, the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel, Cypress Creek High School in Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills Shuffleboard Club.

Pasco County also will host the Senior Games in the first two weeks of December in 2023 and 2024, and previously did so in 2020, as well.

Pasco is the ninth community in Florida to host the games for more than one year, since the games began in 1991.

A pair of local hoops players are headed to the next round of a free-throw competition after winning the match held by the Zephyrhills Elks Lodge in November. Channing Garcia, of Zephyrhills, and Jaymen Keeling, of Dade City, both won their age groups in the Elks Hoop Shoot on Nov. 12 at the Zephyrhills YMCA. Garcia won the division for those ages 8 and 9, scoring nine baskets, while Keeling won the division for those ages 12 and 13, topping Joshua Oates, of Ridge Manor, in a tiebreaker. Keeling plays on the Centennial Middle Basketball Team as a power forward, while Garcia plays on the Zephyrhills RIP City travel team. The contestants with the most baskets head onto the District Champion Competition for a chance at State and Nationals. Each year, the six Hoop Shoot National Champions will have their names listed alongside their picture in a brand-new digital exhibit in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Garcia and Keeling will be heading to Kissimmee on Jan. 7 for the district champion competition.

The Martinez Middle School girls basketball team won the Hillsborough County Championship in October. The team from the school in Lutz won the district. It is coached by Aaron Mountain. The team was honored by the Hillsborough County School Board on Dec. 6.

Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources department will host a Senior Outdoor Walk and Talk about Pine Trees on Dec. 1 at 8 a.m., at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., in New Port Richey.

Cost is $3 per person and registration is required.

The talk will cover the different types of pine trees in the park, and the wildlife that makes use of them. The walk will be on a paved trail, of about 1.5 miles.

The group will meet at Parking Lot No. 8. Those attending are encouraged to wear close-toed shoes and to bring water and bug spray. No pets are allowed on the walk.

Register at Secure.rec1.com/FL/pasco-county-fl/catalog (Look for the Pasco Outdoor Adventures Tab).

The program is subject to cancellation due to weather. An email notice will be sent out in the event of a cancellation.

For questions, email Rebekah at .

Dustin Harris, a 2017 Land O’ Lakes High grad, was added to the Texas Rangers’ 40-man roster on Nov. 15, which, in turn, protected the player from the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 7.

Players who signed their first professional contract at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. The Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs.

Harris was an 11th round pick of the Oakland A’s in the 2019 draft, and was acquired by the Rangers in 2020 for a player to be named later.

Earlier this summer, Harris was featured in the 2022 MLB All-Star Futures Game. The game features the top minor league players from all the teams, in a seven-inning game to showcase their talents.

Harris, who was an outfielder for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate for the Rangers, went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base during the game played on July 17.

This season for the RoughRiders, Harris batted .257 with 17 homers and 66 RBI.

As a senior with the Gators, he batted .473 with 44 hits, 20 RBI and 29 runs scored before enrolling at nearby St. Petersburg College. He was traded to the Rangers organization in 2020.

Academy at the Lakes senior girls tennis player Avery Isaac signed a letter of intent on Nov. 9 to play tennis at Colgate University. Colgate, in Hamilton, New York, is a Division I program that competes in the Patriot League.

The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center held a grand opening ribbon cutting on Nov. 3 for The Well, which is 34,000 square feet of multi-bedroom apartments that can house more than 90 students and families. The apartments are adjacent to the tennis facility and will be available for players and their families during training and tournaments. Commissioner Mike Moore emceed the event, with speakers including Florida Sen.  Danny Burgess; Florida Rep. Randy Maggard; SVB CEO Pascal Collard; Florida Sports Coast’s Adam Thomas; Bob Simons, who sold SVB the property; and Todd Lovinger, an investor. Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson was on hand for the ceremony, too.