Check This Out

Dani Kanas, of Lutz, is one of eight student-athletes from the University of Alabama’s Adapted Athletics program who are hoping to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

Kanas, who was a standout at Steinbrenner High School, hopes to compete in the Para Track and Field events. She is expected to find out in June whether she has been selected, according to a University of Alabama news release.

This wouldn’t be Kanas’ first international competition.

The one-arm javelin thrower has demonstrated her skill both locally and abroad, and besides enjoying the challenge, she welcomes the chance to be a role model for other athletes.

In a previous interview with The Laker/Lutz News, she said: “My goal is to show others — who may have a similar story to mine, who may be in a similar situation as me — that they shouldn’t let their disability stop them … I want them to know that this community (of adaptive athletes) exists and they shouldn’t just assume they can’t do it because they’re not able-bodied.”

Cheerleading squads from the Lutz Chiefs, which are based out of the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex on Lutz Lake Fern Road, competed in the 2023 National Cheer & Dance Championships from Dec. 2 to Dec. 9 in Orlando, with some of the squads carrying home hardware.

The Pee Wee Onyx, pictured, finished in second place, bringing home the highest prize for the cheer organization, which cheers on its football teams during the season.

Additionally, Tiny Mite Force and Varsity Pearl squads both finished in third place, while Tiny Mite Store and Pee Wee Chrome competed, but did not place.

This is the largest number of teams Lutz Chiefs has sent to nationals in recent years. In 2021, it sent two teams to nationals, but neither placed. In 2022, it sent two teams to nationals, with one winning second place.

The Sunlake High Girls Cross Country Team nearly completed a perfect postseason, being crowned District and Regional Champs, while finishing as the Class 4A state runner-up at the championship run on Nov. 17 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

In a 5,000-meter run (3.1 miles) featuring 230 runners, Sunlake was led by the team’s top finisher, senior Abigail Williams, who ran a 19:11 for a 14th-place finish. Freshman Katelin Wilcox finished 21st (19:19), freshman Leah Foster finished 32nd (19:47), sophomore Kailyn Ford finished 59th (20:16), freshman Kaitlyn Zabrocki finished 80th (20:41), freshman Isabella Lundberg finished 129th (21:31) and sophomore Meghan Ballard finished 202nd (23:48).

The Wiregrass Ranch girls team also competed at the Class 4A Championships, finishing 15th, led by freshman Natalia Gaona-Zelaya, who finished 10th (19:00) and junior Ava Schmitt, who finished 13th (19:10).

Steinbrenner’s girls team came in 22nd, led by Blake Peifer, who finished 82nd (20:43).

On the boys side of Class 4A, Steinbrenner finished seventh, Sunlake finished 14th and Land O’ Lakes finished 19th.

The Warriors were led by senior Nicholas Pugh, who finished 23rd (16:06), the Seahawks were led by junior Cade Culpepper, who finished 31st (16:10) and the Gators were led by senior Caden Sessions, who finished 65th (16:40).

In Class 3A, Zephyrhills freshman Lydia Vincent finished 14th (19:11), while teammate, senior William Poe, finished 10th.

Additionally, both Cypress Creek’s boys and girls teams competed in the 3A championship. On the girls side, the team finished 32nd, while the boys finished ninth, led by freshman Skylar Manatt, who finished 15th (16:04) and senior Dylan Powell, who finished 21st (16:20).

Jayden Repak, a senior swimmer at Steinbrenner High, did something remarkable.

While he might have brought home two medals from the Class 4A state championship at Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training complex in Ocala on Nov. 10, he did so after breaking his finger and tearing some ligaments in an earlier race.

“It takes a lot of mental and physical toughness to be able to compete at that level, let alone win a championship with a newly broken finger,” his coach, Kristyn Fada, said.

Firstly, Repak was able to secure second place in the 50 freestyle, grabbing himself a silver medal thanks to a 20.81 finish. However, he would then compete in the 100 breaststroke with that new injury.

But Repak swam through it and the pain, finishing that race with a 55.66 and a gold medal to secure himself as a state champion.

A pair of high school golfers both recently finished out their 2023 seasons near the top. They brought home medals from the two-day Class 3A state tournament, which began on Nov. 10 and was held at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills.

Sunlake senior Alyssa Mixon and Steinbrenner freshman Dannika Hines both finished tied for fourth place, after the duo individually shot 145 totals.

Mixon, who has signed to play golf for Bradley University in Illinois, scored rounds of 72 and 73, while Hines had rounds of 68 and 77.

Though the Carrollwood Day School (CDS) Volleyball Team lost the first set during their Class 3A title match on Nov. 9, the Patriots (31-2) stormed back.

Thanks to three straight winning sets — 25-23, 25-19, 29-27 — CDS secured its second volleyball state championship, defeating Miami Westminster Christian 3-1 at the Winter Haven Health Center at Polk State College.

The Patriots won its first title since 2017. They were led by freshman Lydia Chinchar, who is the coach’s daughter and who had a match-high 37 kills. She finished the season with a team-high 573 kills.

CDS, ranked No. 3 overall in the state and 21st nationally by MaxPreps, had a long road to the championship, beating defending state champion Clearwater Central Catholic, defending region finalist Sarasota Cardinal Mooney and topping Berkeley Prep — one of the team’s regular season losses. In the state semifinal, the Patriots beat highly ranked Orlando Lake Highland Prep.

Coach Doug Chinchar, prior to becoming head coach this offseason, spent 11 seasons as head coach at Bishop McLaughlin, where he led the Hurricanes to state semifinal appearances in three straight seasons (2018-2020), including a state final appearance in 2018.

Students from the Wesley Chapel Martial Arts Academy, 2237 Ashley Oaks Circle, competed at the Florida Taekwondo Open Championship on Nov. 4 at the Bradenton Convention Center, with several bringing home medals.

With more than 300 participants in attendance, these local athletes brought home prizes: Jovan Borojevic, gold medal in Sparring; Lorenzo Lora, gold in Sparring and Weapons; Gabriel Davila, silver in Sparring; Jayden Cortez, gold in Sparring; Colin Lopez, gold in Sparring and Weapons; Isaac San Martin, gold in Breaking and silver in Forms; and Jasai Montelongo, gold in Sparring and gold in Form.