The Land O’ Lakes Gators Athletics Foundation inducted five new members to the school’s athletics Hall of Fame during a dinner ceremony last month.
An induction ceremony was held at the school May 22. (Courtesy of Michael Williams)
The inductees for the 2018 class were: William Gebauer, a longtime administrator and varsity coach for football, track and wrestling; Jeff Hendrix, a three-sport athlete from 1979 to 1981 who became the first Land O’ Lakes football player to receive a Division I scholarship; Don Meredith, a three-year letterman in football and wrestling from 1988 to 1990 who later became a standout offensive lineman at the University of North Carolina; Dr. Kirk Peterson, a three-sport standout in soccer, football and track in the late ’80s; and Karla Walsh Graziano, a three-sport athlete from 1979 to 1981 in volleyball, basketball and track, where she qualified for the state meet and set the school’s jump record.
The May 22 ceremony marked the school’s sixth Hall of Fame induction class, which began in 2013 after the Gators Athletics Foundation was established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Anthony Becht, a former NFL tight end and current ESPN college football analyst, was the keynote speaker for the event.
The foundation’s purpose is to “raise funds through donations and fundraising events for the direct benefit of the athletic programs at Land O’ Lakes High School.”
Funds raised through the booster club are currently being allocated to build an athletic field house at the school, perhaps within the next five years.
