The Land O’ Lakes Gators Athletics Foundation inducted baseball, football and volleyball standouts; a legendary soccer coach; and the Voice of the Gators into the Land O’ Lakes High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Here are some highlights of the Land O’ Lakes legends getting inducted:
Alison Campbell
Class of 1988
Alison Campbell lettered in basketball, softball track and volleyball but it was volleyball where she left the biggest mark. She earned a 3A First Team All-State Team selection and the Gulf Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Year award. She also led the 1986-87 team to the state final and the 1987-88 team to the state semi-final. She continued playing volleyball at the University of Tampa, where she earned a 2nd Team Sunshine State All-Conference Team selection in 1992-93.
Mike Connor
Lifetime Service Award
Mike Connor was known as the “Voice of the Gators,” having called football games from 1996 to 2013 as well as girls soccer from 1998 to 2001. But his actions spoke louder than words as he helped build booster clubs for the athletics and football programs at Land O’ Lakes High School. He helped expand the stadium concession area as well as the press box, which would later bear his name. He is also credited with the success of events like the Flapjack Festival and Land O’ Lakes Swamp Fest.
Tony Mattos
Class of 1989
Baseball player Tony Mattos left Land O’ Lakes High School to become a star at Elon College. He posted 5-2 and 8-1 seasons from the mound, attracting pro scouts. The San Francisco Giants took him in the 28th round in the 1994 MLB Amateur Draft.
Mark Pearson
Coach/administrator
Mark Pearson posted a career coaching record of 305-81-40 as coach of the Land O’ Lakes boys soccer team, earning 10 district championships, three regional championships and eigh Sunshine Athletic Conference titles. The former University of Tampa standout was frequently recognized for his leadership, earning multiple coach of the year awards, including five from the conference. He went on to found the Academy Program at HC United in 2007..
Caz Piurowski
Class of 2006
Caz Piurowski was a standout athlete in baseball, basketball and football but he followed in his father Paul’s footsteps into playing college football with the Florida State Seminoles. Despite tearing his ACL and MCL at Florida State, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.
- 2013 Class: Colleen Bentz, Tim Harvey, Kenneth McCurry (Lifetime Achievement), Robert Shirmohammad, Henry Walls (Coach/Admin).
- 2014 Class: John Benedetto (Coach/Admin), Dennis Blankenship, RJ McKenna, Tina McWithey and Will Weatherford (Lifetime Achievement).
- 2015 Class: Kevin Dowling, Kenny Gorman, Charlie McBride (Coach/Admin), Shamaine McCreary and David Singleton (Lifetime Achievement).
- 2016 Class: 2002-2003 Girls Soccer Team, Jerry English (Coach/Admin), Lt. Col. Rhett Hierlmeier (Lifetime Achievement), Dianne McClendon and Phil Teston.
- 2017 Class: Allen Claggett (Coach/Admin), Desiree Croteau, Doug Hutchinson, Michael Keough and Stephen Querns (Lifetime Achievement).
- 2018 Class: William Gebauer (Coach/Admin), Jeff Hendrix, Don Meredith, Kirk Peterson (Lifetime Achievement) and Karla Walsh Graziano.
- 2019 Class: Stacy Bishop, Jerry Brewster (Lifetime Achievement), John Childers III (Lifetime Achievement), Vicky King (coach/admin) and Mike McBride.
- 2022 Class: Calvin Baisley (Coach/Admin), Danielle Jones, Logan Payne, Godfrey Pestana, Charlene Rogers (Lifetime Achievement).
- 2023 Class: Shannon Aitken, Brad Baisley, Darrin Wayne Horne (Lifetime Service Award), Dave Puhalski (Coach/Admin) and Drew Weatherford.
