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Pasco all-star football, cheerleading rosters announced

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Football and cheerleading rosters have been announced for the 2018 Pasco County East-West Classic.

The fourth annual all-star showcase, organized by the Pasco Area Fellowship of Christian Athletes, features some of the top high school seniors in Pasco County.

Players and cheerleaders on the East team will represent Bishop McLaughlin, Cypress Creek, Land O’ Lakes, Pasco, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch, Zephyrhills Christian and Zephyrhills high schools.

Players and cheerleaders on the West team will represent Fivay, Gulf, Hudson, Mitchell, River Ridge and Sunlake high schools.

The East team leads the series 2-1.

The football game is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., at Sunlake Field, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.

Tickets are $10; parking is $5.

Sponsorships are available.

For information, visit PascoAllStarGame.com, or contact Bob Durham at (813) 784-4410 or .

2018 Pasco County All-Star Football Game

East team:
Bishop McLaughlin: Brandon Beinhauer, Bryant Beinhauer, James Frick, Frank Vera

Cypress Creek: Logan Bercaw, Spencer Lozano, Devin Santana

Land O’ Lakes: Myron Bloom, Collin Corrao, Corbin Doers, Kyle Leivas, Jacob Neary, Jimmy Sandifer, Nate Howard

Pasco: Andrew Douglas, Tim Johnson, Jacquez Mobley

Wesley Chapel: Kiaus Collins, Noah Houser, Seth Petty, Kye Santiago, Tyler Wittish

Wiregrass Ranch: Dorien Green, Cameron Lee, Kasean Ridgel, Grant Sessums

Zephyrhills Christian: Eugene Davis, Javion Hanner, Kavion Marbra, Nyjohn Moody, Jalen Spencer

Zephyrhills: Samuel Bergeron, Doug Crawford, Caleb Keeling, Tre’ Pavis Mobley, Ja’Quan Sheppard, Cartrell Strong, Ethan Vest, Tyreese Wigfall, Alex Winbigler

West team:
Anclote: Tariq Osgood, Kevin Bolling, Samuel Rahm, Ricky Vargas, Jyhren Francis,

Fivay: Deviante Armstead, Jayvon Wilson, Isaiah Gardner, Caleb Williams, David Degan-White, Josh Daniel

Gulf: Matthias Smith, Emmanuel Brown, Ezekiel Parisi

Hudson: Dominick Rutligliano, Dylan Dilandro, Darius Smith, Pat Coleman, William Alix,

Mitchell: Ethan Hunt, Cameron Heid, Nick Ferrini, Stuart Sherrell, Kym-mani King, Stelios Aivatoglou, Dominic Marino, Luis Rivera

River Ridge: Eddie Witkowski, DJ Mann, Cameron Green, Devin Fontana, Marshall Stewart, Brady Rife, Tyler Piorer

Sunlake: Clark Cooley, Tyler Verscharen, Grant Henderson, Woodjy Colas, D’narijo Troupe, Taivon Jackson

East coaches
Tony Egan (Wesley Chapel)
Rey Urquiola (Wiregrass Ranch)
Chad Walker (Land O’ Lakes)
Nick Carroll (Zephyrhills)
Mark Barnes (Pasco)
Tico Hernandez (Bishop McLaughlin)
Spence Jones (Zephyrhills Christian)
Mike Johnson (Cypress Creek)

West coaches
Andy Schmitz (Mitchell)
Matt Kingsley (Anclote)
Nate Rice (River Ridge)
Tyrone Hendrix (Gulf)
Chris Taylor (Fivay)
Brett Hodros (Sunlake)
Glen Hobbs (Hudson)

All-Star cheerleaders
East team:
Bishop McLaughlin: Sarah Grace Kelly, Jennifer Lopez

Cypress Creek: Bailee McClure, Jessica Howard

Land O’ Lakes: Kimberly Benson, Natalie McFadden, Abbie Petrillo, Reagan Steele

Pasco: Megan Partain, Gabrielle Flannery

Wesley Chapel: Alexis McKinney, Isabel Harper

Wiregrass Ranch: Sophie Davidson, Currine Talaga

Zephyrhills: Madison Shipley, Desi Eubanks

East coaches
Karlee Roach (Land O’ Lakes)
Ashley Linden (Land O’ Lakes)

West team:
Anclote: Marie Benites, Angel Cote

Fivay: Gloria Henthorne, Savana Cassidy

Hudson: Kaitlyn Wilke, Miraya Perri, Yofer Hernandez

Mitchell: Sydney Moore, Hannah Small, Lindsey Hoskins

River Ridge: Kailey Lazariciu, Kara Spears

Sunlake: Alexandra Cristafaro, Lacey Saling

West coaches
Chelsea Hatcher (Hudson)

Published November 21, 2018

LOLHS soccer product earns collegiate honor

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Sydny Nasello (Courtesy of South Florida athletics)

Former Land O’ Lakes High School girls soccer standout Sydny Nasello, now a freshman forward at the University of South Florida, was recently named to the American Athletic Conference’s All-Rookie team.

Nasello tallied 15 points (four goals, seven assists) in 1,141 minutes of action across 15 regular season contests. Her best game of the season came against Florida College on Sept. 21, when she registered eight points on three goals and two assists.

While at Land O’ Lakes, Nasello racked up 120 goals across a four-year varsity soccer career. Her senior year she was named the 2018 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A Player of the Year after posting 45 goals and 13 assists, guiding the Gators to the regional finals, a 23-3 record and undefeated (7-0) district mark.

Local commitment

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(Courtesy of Sunlake High softball)

Sunlake High junior outfielder/first baseman Paige Maseda has verbally committed to play collegiate softball at Division II Flagler College in Saint Augustine. Last season, Maseda earned All-Sunshine Athletic Conference first team honors after posting a .506 batting average, three home runs, 11 extra base hits, 26 runs and 25 RBIs.

Local commitments & offers

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Natalie Abernathy
(Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes High School athletics)

Land O’ Lakes High School senior cross country/track standout Natalie Abernathy has verbally committed to Division I Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina). The distance runner heads into the Florida High School Athletic Association’s cross-country state series looking to build off a strong 2017 campaign, where she finished seventh in the Class 3A state meet (18:39.30) and won regional, district and conference meets. As of 2017, her personal record time of 17:51.59 ranks fourth overall among girls in the state, regardless of classification.

Wiregrass Ranch High School senior offensive/defensive lineman Kasean Ridgel has picked up his first collegiate football scholarship offer from NAIA Bluefield College (Bluefield, Virginia). Ridgel, a team captain and three-year varsity player, has registered 38 tackles and three sacks through seven games this season.

Regional champ

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Zachary Myers (File)

Lutz gymnast Zachary Myers posted a high score of 82.6 to win first place at the  2018 Region 8 Future Stars and Technical Sequence Evaluation (11-year-old boys division), held Oct. 13 at Evo’s Gymnastics in Sarasota.

Myers, also a multiple-time state champion, now advances to the Future Stars National Championships at the USA Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Nov. 8 through Nov. 11.

Myers, who trains at LaFleur’s Gymnastic Club in Tampa,  is one of just five Region 8 athletes from the 11-year-old boys division to qualify for nationals. He is a fifth-grader at McKitrick Elementary School in Lutz.

Wiregrass girls win conference tourney

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From left: assistant coach Tyler Finn, Norah Catlin, Morgan Sustachek, Mya Simard, Amelia Galiber, Loryn Finn, Karlye Finn and head coach Jeremy Calzone. (Courtesy of Rod Merritt)

For the third straight year, the Wiregrass Ranch High School varsity girls golf team won the Pasco County Girls’ High School Golf Conference tournament, held Oct. 8 at The Groves Golf and Country Club in Land O’ Lakes.

Wiregrass Ranch bested 11 other Pasco schools, which included Cypress Creek, Fivay, Gulf, Hudson School, Land O’ Lakes, Mitchell, Pasco, River Ridge, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills.

Bulls sophomore Norah Catlin fired an even-par 65 to earn individual medalist honors among a field of 64 golfers.

Former Gaither football coach sets all-time county wins mark

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Former Gaither High/Boca Ciega High and current Hillsborough High head coach Earl Garcia recently won his 255th game to become the all-time winningest coach in Tampa Bay history.

Earl Garcia (File)

The previous record of 254 career victories was held by former Chamberlain High coach Billy Turner, who retired in 2009 after 39 years as a head coach.

Garcia’s milestone was achieved Oct. 5, in a 7-6 home victory over Jefferson High.

The 66-year-old Garcia, who coached at Gaither from 1987 to 1991, now has a career record of 255-104, which includes nine 10-win seasons. He’s been at Hillsborough since 1993.

Garcia was recently inducted into Gaither’s inaugural football Hall of Fame, joining Greg Callahan, Denny Haywood, Kenny Huebner, Terry Jordan, Chad Muilenberg, Cesar Paz, James Puckett and Lydell Ross.

Garcia at Gaither

1987 — Gaither (7-4)

1988 — Gaither (6-4)

1989 — Gaither (4-6)

1990 — Gaither (3-7)

1991 — Gaither (5-5)

County champ

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(Courtesy of Kyle LoJacono)

Wharton High senior Tre Rivers posted a 5K time of 16:07 to win the Hillsborough County Cross-Country Championship meet on Oct. 5 at Al Lopez Park in Tampa, becoming the first boy in school history to win an individual county championship in cross-country. Rivers placed second at last year’s meet (16:10). The accomplished distance runner also holds the school’s 5K record (15:53) and 2-mile track record (9:25).

Softball trio announces college choices

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A trio of Wiregrass Ranch High softball standouts recently announced their college commitments:

  • Miranda Perez, senior, shortstop (University of Tampa) — Perez last season posted a .333 batting average and was second on the team in runs scored (13).
  • Kimberly Cheung, senior, outfielder/second baseman (St. John’s River State College) — Utility player known for her speed and defensive prowess registered a .379 on-base percentage last season.
  • Hailey Vazquez, sophomore, pitcher (Ave Maria University) — Coming off a freshman campaign where she recorded a 3.30 earned run average and 61 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched.

The Bulls, coming off a 9-16 season, are expected to return all but two players from its 2017 varsity squad.

Saint Leo baseball home schedule unveiled

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Saint Leo baseball head coach Rick O’ Dette has announced the team’s 50-game schedule for 2019, which includes 26 home contests at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

Saint Leo baseball has released their 2019 schedule. They finished 38-11 last season. (Courtesy of Saint Leo athletics)

First pitch for the 2019 season is scheduled for 1 p.m., Feb. 2, as the Lions host Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) for a three-game opening weekend series. Saint Leo will play a total of eight home series and two standalone nonconference contests. Following UAH, Lee (Feb. 8-9), Valdosta State (Feb. 19), Lynn (Feb. 22-23), Tiffin (March 8-10), Purdue Northwest (March 12), Tampa (March 15-16), Palm Beach Atlantic (March 29-30), Florida Tech (April 18-19) and Florida Southern (May 2-3) will all visit Saint Leo.

The Lions’ first road test will come Feb. 16-17, as Saint Leo travels to 2018 NCAA National Championship Runner-up Columbus State for a three-game set. Lynn marks the team’s first Sunshine State Conference (SSC) opponent on Feb. 22-23 at home, while Barry is the first road SSC opponent the following weekend, March 1-2.

The Lions posted a 38-11 record in O’ Dette’s first season at the helm and now look to break into the NCAA postseason in year two with a schedule that features four opponents ranked in the final National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association Top-25 poll.

Saint Leo baseball 2019 home schedule

Feb. 2: Alabama-Huntsville (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

Feb. 3: Alabama-Huntsville (1 p.m.)

Feb. 8: Lee (6 p.m.)

Feb. 9: Lee (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

Feb. 19: Valdosta State (5 p.m.)

Feb. 22: Lynn (6 p.m.)

Feb. 23: Lynn (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

March 8: Tiffin (6 p.m.)

March 9: Tiffin (3 p.m.)

March 10: Tiffin (1 p.m.)

March 12: Purdue Northwest (6 p.m.)

March 15: Tampa (6 p.m.)

March 16: Tampa (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

March 29: Palm Beach Atlantic (6 p.m.)

March 30: Palm Beach Atlantic (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

April 18: Florida Tech (6 p.m.)

April 19: Florida Tech (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

May 2: Florida Southern (6 p.m.)

May 3: Florida Southern (doubleheader, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.)