Check This Out

More than two dozen local high school athletes ceremoniously signed their letters of intent to play college athletics on Nov. 14 — the beginning of the fall national signing period for every sport with the exception of football.

Here is a roundup of known high school athlete signings in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area:

Academy at the Lakes
Softball
Lexi Kilfoyl —University of Alabama

Land O’ Lakes
Baseball
Ethan Frasca—University of South Carolina-Union

Nicholas Jennings—Saint Leo University

Cross-Country
Natalie Abernathy—Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina)

Soccer
Lexi Fotopoulos—University of Florida

Softball
Trinity Duran—Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, Florida)

Callie Turner—University of Tennessee

Shelby Westbrook—Ball State (Muncie, Indiana)

Swimming
Taylor Ward—Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)

Volleyball
Shayna Heymann—Gulf Coast State College (Panama City, Florida)

Steinbrenner
Baseball
Bryce Leonhardt—Flagler College (St. Augustine, Florida)

Soccer
Landry Singleton—University of South Florida

Robert Soronellas—University of North Florida

Volleyball
Alexis Eaves—Lynn University (Boca Raton, Florida)

Saddlebrook Prep
Golf
William Duquette—University of Kansas

Simon Haas — Texas A&M Commerce

Khavish Varadan—University of Alabama-Birmingham

Sunlake
Baseball
Dawson Place—High Point University (High Point, North Carolina)

Golf
Jordan Sarhaddi—University of Central Florida

Softball
Paige Maseda—Flagler College

Swimming
Elise Ballash—University of North Florida

Hanna Barton—University of South Carolina

Volleyball
Jordyn Schramm—Gulf Coast State College

Wiregrass Ranch
Softball
Miranda Perez—University of Tampa

Kimberly Cheung—St. Johns River State College (Palatka, Florida)

Zephyrhills
Softball
April Lorton—College of Central Florida

Published November 21, 2018

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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)

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).