The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Sisters headed to same college

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(Courtesy of Brittany Collison)

Wesley Chapel senior standout volleyball player Chloe Danielson is headed to Catawba College in North Carolina after signing a letter of intent on Feb. 1 to play for the Division 2 university.

Joining her there will be her sister, former Wildcat Jordan Danielson, who just finished her sophomore season with Daytona State. 

Chloe helped lead the Wildcats to their first state tournament appearance since 2003, as the team was one of four teams in the Class 5A tournament in November. 

Chloe finished her career with 1,031 kills, including a team-high 241 this season and a school-record 375 in her junior season.

Jordan, who had a career 553 kills at Wesley Chapel, finished this past season with 118 kills for the Falcons (13-7).

Lutz swimmer earns top honors

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From left: Steinbrenner principal Tiffany Ewell, Jayden Repak and Warriors athletic director Dennis Derflinger. (Courtesy of Chris Repak)

Jayden Repak, a 16-year-old junior at Steinbrenner High, was awarded the Henry Hick Memorial Award for Outstanding Male Swimmer of the Year, in January.

Repak, who has qualified for the Class 4A state swim meet in all three high school seasons, served as a team captain and was district champion in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke this season. At the state meet, he broke the school records in these events and was awarded the Male High Point winner for the Warrior’s swim team.

Repak, a Lutz native, grew up swimming and wakeboarding on nearby Lake Brant. He also was a member of the Steinbrenner 400 freestyle relay team that broke the school record his freshman year.

Additionally, the Steinbrenner boys golf and football teams were awarded the Hillsborough County Schools Highest Team Grade Point Average Award for those sports.

Fishing tournament

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Tighten the Drag, a spinal cord injury assistance nonprofit foundation in Lutz, will host its Fall Inshore Slam Charity Fishing Tournament on Sept. 16 at Safety Harbor Waterfront Park, 110 Veterans Memorial Lane, sponsored by GTE Financial. Cost is $325 per team or $85 per individual, with fishing divisions in overall, adaptive, guided, kayak, fly, ladies and juniors. The tournament is a way for the foundation to give its recipients a weekend fishing on the water and is held in September, which is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. For more information, visit TightenTheDragFoundation.org, call 813-743-2827, or email .

Local track star shines

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Former Zephyrhills Christian track star Evan Miller kicked off his final season at the University of South Carolina in dominant fashion, setting a national record for the men’s indoor 400-meter with a time of 45.91.

At the Gamecock Opening on Jan. 14, Miller also ran a 200-meter in 20.76 and earned Co-Runner of the Week for the SEC (Southeastern Conference) Honors announced on Jan. 17.

Miller is now ranked second in the country in the 400-meter and seventh in the 200-meter.

Miller, who won the Class 1A crown 100-meter dash (10.75) at the 2018 FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Track & Field Championships and was a member of the school’s medalist 4×100 relay team that won back-to-back state crowns in 2017 and 2018, opted to an additional year athletes were granted because of a season missed due to COVID.

Former hockey players join staff

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Tampa Bay Crunch, a travel hockey team based out of AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, announced former Tampa Bay Lightning players Vinny Prospal and Braydon Coburn will join its Spring Travel Training Coaching Staff.

Prospal, drafted in 1993 by the Philadelphia Flyers, played over 1,100 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and will bring international coaching experience to the 14U Spring training program.

Coburn will be instructing in the 12U Spring training program. He was drafted in 2003 by the Atlanta Thrashers, played over 900 NHL games and is an assistant coach with the U12 Crunch Girls team.

R/C Park Race Schedule

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The Lake Park R/C Track will host its spring and summer race days on Sundays, starting around 8 a.m., at the facility in the back of Lake Park, 17302 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Lutz. Race days will be Feb. 26, March 19, April 30, May 28 and June. 25, all weather pending. For more information, visit the track’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064833335503.

Fire museum shooting tourney

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The Hillsborough Fire & EMS Museum in Lutz will host its fifth annual Clay Shooting Tournament on April 15 at 3:15 p.m., at Tampa Bay Sporting Clays, 10514 Ehren Cutoff, Land O’ Lakes. Cost is $125 per shooter or $500 per team, with the tournament benefiting the museum’s preservation efforts. Clays, ammo and dinner are included, and there will be a raffle for two guns. To register, visit tinyurl.com/35njj9bp.

Sporting Clay Tournament

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Academy at the Farm in Dade City will host its Pull For Kids Sporting Clay Tournament on April 1 at 3:15 p.m., at Tampa Bay Sporting Clays, 10514 Ehren Cutoff, in Land O’ Lakes. Cost is $125 per shooter or $500 for a four-person team and includes dinner. To register, visit tinyurl.com/mr36c24y. For more information, email .

Local resident competes in Olympia Weekend

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(Courtesy of Winston Sullivan)

Winston Sullivan, a 37-year-old security guard from Lutz, competed in the Mr. Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend from Dec. 15 to Dec. 18 in Las Vegas. Sullivan, who has been doing professional bodybuilding for about eight years, qualified for the pinnacle of bodybuilding events in October and did so without the guidance of a trainer. And while Sullivan didn’t place in the Men’s Physique Division, he told The Laker/Lutz News in December that just being one of 60 competitors in this division and just one of 23 from the United States was an accomplishment he’ll never forget.

“It’s kind of fun to see how far you can push yourself and your body,” Sullivan said in December. “I look back at myself before (bodybuilding) and I’m like, wow.

“To see thousands of competitors, and they say you’re one of the top 60 guys in the world, that’s an accomplishment within itself, and I’m very excited to be a part of that.”