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Top moments in sports during 2018

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Teams captured state titles and local athletes turned in outstanding performances, during a year that brought shining moments and lasting memories.

Here are some of the highlights, from across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area:

USA Women’s Hockey, fans celebrate gold in Wesley Chapel
Just days after celebrating a gold medal win in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, the USA women’s ice hockey team returned to where their remarkable journey started — Wesley Chapel.

The U.S. women’s national ice hockey team posed for pictures on Feb. 28 at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. The team spent more than five months training at the facility and lodging at Saddlebrook Resort. (File)

That’s where the team spent more than five months preparing for the Winter Olympics, training at Florida Hospital Center Ice and lodging at Saddlebrook Resort. It’s also where daily practices, off-ice testing and intra-squad scrimmages were used to determine the 23 players selected in May for the Team USA roster.

The team spent the better part of an hour on the afternoon of Feb. 28 greeting fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs at the Center Ice facility.

The event drew excitement from hockey enthusiasts, such as Wesley Chapel’s Rob Simonelli, who was prideful of the fact the Olympic team trained in his hometown.

“I just was excited that this was their home base. Just following them when they made this their home was kind of cool,” Simonelli said, at the time.

“They’re really friendly, and it’s nice that they decided to come and just kind of say ‘Hey’ to the people,” he added.

The surprise visit was part of a nationwide media blitz that also took them to Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and New York City.

The week prior, the team defeated Canada in a 3-2 shootout to win gold, ending a 20-year drought for the women’s hockey program.

Florida Hospital Center Ice was picked as Team USA’s training ground over such hockey facilities in Boston, Chicago and other cities — placing a feather in Pasco County’s cap in its quest to become a top-notch sports tourism destination.

The time spent by the Olympic gold medalists in Wesley Chapel led them to later be dubbed by some residents as ‘Pasco’s team.’

The stay in Wesley Chapel likewise proved special for the elite athletes, from top-flight training digs and hospitality, to the warm, sunny weather.

Said defenseman Cayla Barnes, then the youngest member of Team USA at 19 years old: “These facilities were awesome, the staff here was amazing, and they really helped us with everything we needed. It was great to be down here, such nice weather, and really nice to train out here in preparation for the games.”

Added two-time Olympian and forward Kendall Coyne: “Hockey in Florida was new to a lot of us, but I don’t think it took long for us to realize that hockey is serious in Florida.”

Local small-school sprinter wins state title
It’s not often a small-school athlete gets to celebrate on a big stage.

But, that’s what happened to Zephyrhills Christian Academy senior Evan Miller.

He captured the Class 1A boys 100-meter dash title in a blistering 10.75 seconds at the Florida High School Athletic Association Track & Field 2018 Championships, at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Zephyrhills Christian Academy senior Evan Miller won first place in the 1A boys 100-meter dash in 10.75 seconds at the Florida High School Athletic Association Track & Field 2018 Championships.

The senior was also the final leg of the school’s gold-medal winning 4×100-meter relay team that scorched the competition with a 42.10 second mark — joining junior NyJohn Moody, sophomore Tyler Davis and senior Calvin Samuel.

Those marked the only first-place finishes at the state track & field meet among athletes from The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

It’s also noteworthy, considering Zephyrhills Christian has about 250 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade and was in just its second year offering a boys and girls track & field program.

For Miller, the memorable showing had been a year in the making.

The previous summer, the multi-sport athlete suffered a broken ankle during a 7-on-7 football tournament.

The injury forced Miller, a standout defensive back, to miss several games in the fall as a member of the Zephyrhills Christian varsity football team.

Unable to hit the gridiron, Miller hit the starting blocks instead, as part of his rehabilitation process.

The newfound sport proved to be his true calling.

Miller linked up with well-regarded AAU track coach and personal trainer BB Roberts, who runs the Wesley Chapel-based Speed Starz Track Club, and lists NFL and MLB athletes as training clientele.

Roberts, a former track star in his own right at Wesley Chapel High School and Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College, worked to correct Miller’s running form and technique, among other tips.

The fixtures shaved Miller’s 100-meter personal record from a still-impressive 11.2 to a 10.69 — which he set at the Steinbrenner High Invitational in early April.

Miller is now a freshman sprinter at Division I University of South Carolina, where he’s training under the Olympic pedigree of legendary head coach Curtis Frye.

Academy at the Lakes wins first state softball title
Buoyed by a longtime Division I coach in Diane Stephenson, one of the state’s top arms in Lexi Kilfoyl, and a potent offense averaging nearly seven runs per game, the 2018 Academy at the Lakes varsity softball team lived up to the preseason hype — finishing with a remarkable 26-4 record and winning its first-ever Class 2A state championship.

The state crown was a follow-up to an impressive 20-win season and regional final appearance in 2017.

Academy at the Lakes varsity softball won the FHSAA Class 2A state title on May 22 after defeating Monticello Aucilla Christian 1-0 in 11 innings. The Wildcats finished the season 26-4.

For the Wildcats, the most dramatic moment of the 2018 campaign came in its most important game.

Academy at the Lakes outlasted Monticello Aucilla Christian 1-0 in 11 innings on May 22 at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, in a game that featured a pitcher’s duel through wet, muddy conditions.

Kilfoyl, then a junior, outlasted Aucilla Christian senior and Florida signee Elizabeth Hightower by unleashing a 13-strikeout, fourth-hit shutout.

The softball sensation and Alabama signee also did some work with the bat.

Kilfoyl was responsible for the game-winning single that allowed freshman shortstop Brooke Blankenship to score on a two-out single in the 11th inning — unseating an Aucilla Christian program that had won state crowns two of the last three years.

Forecasting ahead, a state title repeat for the Wildcats  in 2019 certainly seems within reach.

Kilfoyl and Stephenson return, as do much of the key contributors from its state-winning squad.

Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex breaks ground
The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex’s June 7 groundbreaking represented a major step for Pasco County, as it looks to become a premier sports tourism destination in the years ahead.

Expected to open in late 2019, the $44 million, 98,000-square-foot complex is slated to feature eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a cheer and dance studio, a fitness center, and sports medicine and athletic training offerings.

The $44 million Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex is expected to open in late 2019. The 98,000-square-foot complex will have eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a cheer and dance studio, a fitness center, and sports medicine and athletic training offerings. Also, besides the indoor gym, the complex will have seven outdoor sports fields, an amphitheater with an event lawn, walking trails, pavilions and a playground.

In addition to its indoor offerings, the complex will have seven outdoor sports fields, an amphitheater with an event lawn, walking trails, pavilions and a playground.

The complex — being built off State Road 54, near The Shops at Wiregrass— will operate on Monday through Thursday as a community-based sports center for youth, adults and seniors, while weekends will be set aside to host tournaments, competitions and other events that will generate hotel stays and tax revenues for the county.

The county will own the facility and share in anticipated profits with RADD Sports, a private company that will operate and manage the sports complex.

Officials say annual economic impact would be about $6.5 million for the new facility. Over 10 years, about $8 million or more in sales and use taxes would be generated, not including tourism taxes from hotel stays, officials say.

The  complex adds to a growing list of premier, state-of-the art sports facilities in east Pasco — and further markets the area as a sports tourism destination primarily for youth and amateur sports.

Other nearby offerings include Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, which opened in early 2017 as the largest hockey complex in the southeastern United States; Saddlebrook Resort & Spa, an upscale resort renowned for world-class golf and tennis training; and, Wesley Chapel District Park, which sits on 144 acres and contains 10 full-size athletic fields, and lighted outdoor tennis courts and basketball courts. Efforts also recently began in a quest to build a premier aquatics facility in Land O’ Lakes, as well as a multimillion dollar tennis complex in Zephyrhills.

Land O’ Lakes High honors ‘Voice of the Gators’
For Land O’ Lakes High School, the 2018 ‘Butter Bowl’ will go down as one of the most historic, as the Gators football team finally cracked an eight-game losing streak to crosstown rival Sunlake High School, with a 35-24 home victory.

Matt Connor, top, and Meaghan Connor of Land O’ Lakes positioned Mike Connor on the sideline area for a dedication of the press box in his name.

The most enduring moment of that Sept. 14 evening, however, happened right before kickoff.

That’s when a special dedication ceremony was held to honor longtime athletics booster Mike Connor. The press box space at John Benedetto Stadium named the Mike Connor Family Press Box.

The dedication drew dozens of friends and family, as well as current and former Gators coaches, who showed their support and appreciation for Connor, who passed away a month later at age 69.

Connor, a volunteer at the school since 1989, was instrumental in building a sustainable athletic and football booster club. His efforts also helped established a yearly scholarship fund for a male and female at the high school.

Connor, too, served as the ‘Voice of the Gators,’ calling the action of every Friday night home game for nearly two decades, and creating catchphrases, such as ‘a gaggle of Gators.’

An area business owner and Land O’ Lakes resident since 1982, Connor operated Taco John’s on the corner of State Road 54 and U.S. 41, as well as Beef O’ Brady’s in Wilderness Lakes. He was also noted for being a key part of the early successes of the Flapjack Festival and, later, in helping to create the Land O’ Lakes Swamp Fest.

Academy at the Lakes wins its second straight football title
Following last year’s historic eight-man state title run, questions swirled about how the Academy at the Lakes football program would handle a newfound target on its back and the loss of several impactful players.

The team responded with aplomb— finishing with a perfect 10-0 record and winning its second straight eight-man state title, downing Miami Citi Christian Academy Fire 36-18 in the Florida Christian Association of Private and Parochial Schools (FCAPPS) championship game on Dec. 8, at Southeastern University in Lakeland.

In contrast to last year’s Wildcats team that relied heavily on do-it-all running back/linebacker Daniel Gonzalez — the  2017 Florida Christian Association of Private and Parochial Schools (FCAPPS) Heisman Trophy winner — the 2018 squad was forced to play together in all phases of the game.

Filled with new faces and inexperience at some positions, the Wildcats proved to be greater than the sum of its parts, winning games by way of stout defense and timely offense.

The Wildcats, too, showed their share of resiliency throughout the season.

For instance, they withstood a nagging early season injury to senior tailback Jamaal Johnson, who was expected to be one of the most dynamic players on offense; instead, he was only able to play bits and pieces of games from mid-October through the end of the season.

Meanwhile, in the playoffs, the Wildcats overcame a 16-0 halftime deficit in the state semifinals game against Duval Charter, ripping off 27 unanswered points to send them to the state championship game. The state title game also proved to be a test of mettle, as the Wildcats held onto a 22-18 lead late into the fourth quarter before pulling away for good.

Here’s a rundown of some other notable highlights throughout 2018:

  • Zephyrhills shuffleboard great Earl Ball surpasses 1,000 career points
  • Steinbrenner High School baseball coach John Crumbley enters the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame
  • Gaither High School alum/Florida International University quarterback Alex McGough is drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft
  • Land O’ Lakes High School’s Sydny Nasello wins Class 3A Player of the Year, and is named a 2018 Miss Soccer finalist
  • Saint Leo men’s lacrosse becomes the state’s first lacrosse program to make a national championship appearance
  • Carrollwood Day School varsity baseball reaches program’s first state final four
  • Academy at the Lakes varsity baseball celebrates its first winning season
  • Land O’ Lakes High School is one of three Pasco Schools named a Special Olympics National Banner Unified Champion School
  • Land O’ Lakes youth resident Brett Swanbom wins a world championship as a member of the 2018 U.S. Junior Barefoot Water Ski Team
  • Sunlake High School girls swimming & diving team unseats Land O’ Lakes High School to win the 2018 Sunshine Athletic Conference Championships
  • Former Gaither High School/current Hillsborough High School football coach Earl Garcia becomes all-time winningest coach in Tampa Bay
  • Wiregrass Ranch junior linebacker Dylan Ridolph sets the Pasco County record for career sacks, with 37
  • Longtime Sunlake High School football coach Bill Browning retires following a 29-year head coaching career throughout the North Suncoast
  • Zephyrhills High School football records an undefeated 10-0 regular season
  • Wesley Chapel High School basketball coach Doug Greseth wins 500th career game

Published December 26, 2018

Local sprinter wins state title, has promising future

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It took an injury playing football for Evan Miller to unleash his potential at the track.

Miller, from Zephyrhills Christian Academy, recently captured the Class 1A boys 100-meter dash title in a blistering 10.75 seconds at the Florida High School Athletic Association Track & Field 2018 Championships at the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville.

Zephyrhills Christian Academy senior Evan Miller won first place in the 1A boys 100-meter dash in 10.75 seconds at this month’s Florida High School Athletic Association Track & Field 2018 Championships. Courtesy of Erica Miller)

Moreover, the senior was the final leg of the school’s gold-medal winning 4×100-meter relay team that scorched the competition with a 42.10 second mark — joining junior NyJohn Moody, sophomore Tyler Davis and senior Calvin Samuel.

Those marked the only first-place finishes at the state meet among athletes from The Laker/Lutz News Coverage area.

The event was held May 4 and May 5.

For Miller, the memorable showing has been a year in the making.

Last summer, the multisport athlete suffered a broken ankle during a 7-on-7 football tournament.

The injury forced Miller, a standout defensive back, to miss several games in the fall as a member of the Zephyrhills Christian Academy varsity football team.

Unable to hit the gridiron, Miller hit the starting blocks instead, as part of his rehabilitation process.

“It was like an epiphany, ‘Well, we could do track,’ to help work him back into shape,” said his mother and track coach Erica Miller. “He still always had his eye on football, but we just didn’t really realize he was that good at track, so it kind of fell into place.

“For him now, a year later (after the injury) to be state champ, that’s awesome; miraculous, really,” she said.

Though Miller ran track his freshman year (then for Wiregrass Ranch High School) and for Zephyrhills Christian Academy as a junior, the speedster admitted this was the first time he really began to seriously train for the sport. His focus on it intensified after his football-related setback.

Around December, Miller linked up with AAU track coach and personal trainer BB Roberts, who runs the Wesley Chapel-based Speed Starz Track Club, and lists NFL and MLB athletes as training clientele.

Roberts, a former track star in his own right at Wesley Chapel High School and Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College, worked to correct Miller’s running form and technique, among other tips.

Miller explained: “He helped me with my start. My start was something I really needed to work on — coming off the blocks. And then sprinting, finishing the race. He taught me transitions through the race. It’s not just getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B,’ there’s a transition, a drive phase, all that stuff…”

The fixtures shaved Miller’s 100-meter personal record from a still-impressive 11.2 to a 10.69 — which he set at the Steinbrenner High Invitational in early April.

Meanwhile, Miller’s time of 10.75 second in the state finals bested a 10.77-second effort from the second-place finisher, Community School of Naples senior Alex Murphey. The next fastest time in the 1A finals was a 10.98.

Miller no doubt believed in himself at the event.

“I was very confident,” Miller said, “because it wasn’t that I was much faster, but every meet I was placing either first or second, so I was very confident going into states and regionals, knowing I’ll be able to win.”

He added: “I was ready to run that day. I went into the finals with the mindset of, ‘I’m going to get a gold medal. I’m going to get first place. I’m not accepting under that.’ So, it felt good to cross the finish line, at first. And, it had me in a good mood for the 4×100 (relay) as well, because that was the next race.”

Miller is also proud to represent his small school — which has about 250 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade — in just its second year offering a boys and girls track & field program.

A budding program, Zephyrhills Christian Academy also reached states last year and came home with gold in the boys 4×100 relay (43.3 seconds). That relay squad featured Miller, Samuel, Jevan Smith and Dominic Moses.

“It’s kinda cool. Since last year was actually our first year ever running track and actually made it to states, it feels good to bring attention to the school for track,” Miller said.

Aside from natural ability and learning to master sprinting fundamentals, Roberts credits Miller’s motivation, determination and never-give-up attitude as reasons for the prep sprinter’s all-but immediate success.

“He had will. He had the potential,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t magic or anything like that. He was willing to listen, willing to learn, willing to take criticism. He came out the very first track meet, and I saw him and I said, ‘Hey, let’s work on this.’ Every other track meet we’d work on something else, until we perfected it.”

Miller just turned 17 and plans to compete in football and track at Warner University, in Lake Wales.

A state title in hand, perhaps Miller’s next goal is supplanting Roberts’ own 100-meter best of 10.64 seconds.

“I’m going to get him past that. I want him to be better than me,” said Roberts, noting he could see Miller reach the 10.4s by July.

The track star has other bold aspirations in sight, too.

Miller explained: “I’m looking to chop down my time as much as I can, maybe even try out for the Olympics. My parents were talking to me about the 2020 Olympics, maybe getting in that if I get my time down, in time. But, I’m just going to keep running track in college, see where I can get from that.”

Roberts acknowledged such a goal is attainable for Miller, with athletic bloodlines to further tap into. Along with his mother who ran track in high school, his father, Selvesta Miller, played football at the University of South Carolina and also had a stint with the Miami Dolphins, as a linebacker/defensive end.

“He can go far,” Roberts said. “He’s definitely an amazing kid, and I’m excited for what the future holds for him.”

2018 FHSAA Track & Field Championships

Results of top finishers in T he Laker/Lutz News Coverage area, for Classes 1A-4A:
1A
Boys
Team(s)
Zephyrhills Christian Academy (tied for 7th out of 57 schools)
Carrollwood Day School (48th)

100-meter dash
1st place: Evan Miller, Zephyrhills Christian Academy (10.75 seconds)

110-meter hurdles
6th place: Seth Cribben, Carrollwood Day School (15.44 seconds)

4×100-meter relay
1st place: Zephyrhills Christian Academy—NyJohn Moody, Tyler Davis, Calvin Samuel, Evan Miller (42.10 seconds)

Triple Jump
9th place: Kavion Mabra, Zephyrhills Christian Academy (12.93 meters)
23rd: Christopher Sheppard III, Carrollwood Day School (11.45 meters)

Girls
Team(s)
Carrollwood Day School (31st out of 48 schools)

Pole Vault
4th place-tied: Hailey Crow, Carrollwood Day School (3.00 meters)

2A
Boys
Team(s)
Zephyrhills High School (tied for 30th out of 55 schools)

Long Jump
8th place: Cartrell Strong, Zephyrhills (6.66 meters)

Triple Jump
5th place: Cartrell Strong, Zephyrhills (13.49 meters)

3A
Boys
Land O’ Lakes High School (tied for 23rd out of 54 schools)
Wesley Chapel High School (tied for 23rd)
Pasco High School (tied for 36th)

100-meter dash
3rd place: Isaiah Bolden, Wesley Chapel (10.75 seconds)

200-meter dash
7th place: Isaiah Bolden, Wesley Chapel (23.07 seconds)

400-meter dash
4th place: Mario Watson, Pasco (48.52 seconds)

3200-meter run
19th place: Alejandro Michel, Freedom (10:11.77 minutes)

4×800-meter relay
16th place: Land O’ Lakes—Adam Hahn, Josiah Pineda, Joseph Pineda, Alex Normandia (8:21.95 minutes)

Pole Vault
2nd place: Tucker Brace, Land O’ Lakes (4.65 meters)

Shot Put
11th place: Gregory Zellers, Sunlake (15.21 meters)
23rd: Thomas Calta, Land O’ Lakes (13.40 meters)

Girls
Gaither High School (tied for 17th place out of 46 schools)
Sunlake High School (tied for 32nd)
Land O’ Lakes High School (46th)

100-meter dash
4th place: LaSarah Hargove, Gaither (11.95 seconds)

200-meter dash
4th place: LaSarah Hargrove, Gaither (24.00 seconds)

1600-meter run
20th place: Natalie Abernathy, Land O’ Lakes (5:27.76 minutes)

3200-meter run
8th place: Natalie Abernathy, Land O’ Lakes (11:15.71 minutes)
24th: Shannon Gordy, Sunlake (12:47.54 minutes)

Long Jump
6th place: Arielle Boone, Sunlake (5.43 meters)
20th: Gianna Levy, Sunlake (4.89 meters)

Triple Jump
13th place: Arielle Boone, Sunlake (11.05 meters)

Shot Put
7th place: Lauryn Beacham, Sunlake (11.20 meters)

Discus
19th: Keyvyn Stinyard, Pasco, (29.54 meters)

4A
Boys
Steinbrenner High School (44th place out of 52 schools)

4×800-meter relay
18th place: Steinbrenner—Marcus Quinones, McCrea Weller, Zachary Harrigan, Zachary Whitmer (8:18.78 minutes)

Girls
Steinbrenner High School (tied for 18th place out of 53 schools)

400-meter dash
6th place: Ken’naria Gadson (56.77 seconds)

1600-meter run
15th place: Sophia Piniella, Steinbrenner (5:17.97 minutes)
18th: Alexandra Staumann, Steinbrenner (5:22.61 minutes)

3200-meter run
8th place: Sophia Piniella, Steinbrenner (11.07. 57 minutes)

4×400-meter relay
9th place: Steinbrenner—Natalie Brown, Serena Gadson, Ken’naria Gadson, Dana Elkalazani (3:58.15 minutes)

Long Jump
10th place: Ashley Allen, Steinbrenner (5.23 meters)

Pole Vault
10th place: Ashlyn Ludovici, Steinbrenner (3.15 meters)

Triple Jump
9th place: Sara Grofter, Steinbrenner (11.07 meters)
16th: Harmony Shellman, Steinbrenner (10.45 meters)

Published May 16, 2018

Youth track club reaches nationals

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One local youth track club has reached the national stage — gearing up to compete against some of the sport’s best.

Speed Starz Track Club recently qualified for the 21st Annual AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Club Championships, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

The Wesley Chapel-based club is sending five athletes, ranging in age from 13 to 17, for its first appearance in the national showcase, held July 11 through July 15.

The Speed Starz Track Club recently qualified for the 21st Annual AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Club Championships, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. From left: Landon Williams, Gianna Levy, Melissa Mowery, Arielle Boone and Guadalupe Guerra.
(Kevin Weiss)

The club championships offer the last chance for athletes to qualify for the 2017 AAU Junior Olympic Games in Detroit, Michigan, July 26 to Aug. 5. The top eight finishers in each track and field event qualify for the Junior Olympics.

Representing Speed Starz at the national meet are a trio of athletes from Sunlake High School — rising seniors Arielle Boone and Melissa Mowery, and rising sophomore Gianna Levy.

Joining them are Guadalupe Guerra, a rising freshman at Wiregrass Ranch High School, and Landon Williams, a rising seventh-grader at John Long Middle School.

Since May, the five athletes — along with several others — have been training extensively with BB Roberts, the club’s head coach.

Roberts organized the Speed Starz in 2013 and simultaneously created a sports training company — Fast, Sprint, Quick Athletic Performance LLC.

The AAU circuit is regarded as more challenging than the high school and middle school levels. That’s because it has an increased number of elite-caliber athletes from every region of the country.

“It’s much more competitive,” said Guerra, a long-distance runner who last season was named 2017 Pasco County Middle School Girls Track Athlete of the Year.

“At the school level, there’s not as many people that have as much fast times, so (AAU) pushes you harder,” she said.

The athletes’ emotions have been swirling, leading up to the weeklong festivities.

“I’m happy, and I’m nervous,” said Boone, “because I’ve never been to a national event.”

“I’m kind of just anxious to see what happens,” added Levy. “I feel like this type of competition will give me motivation to really try hard.”

Williams, the youngest competitor at 13 years old, echoed similar sentiments.

BB Roberts is the club’s head coach. He organized the Speed Starz in 2013 and simultaneously created a sports training company — Fast, Sprint, Quick Athletic Performance LLC. (File)

“I’m a little nervous, but it will be exciting,” she said. “I just want to do my best, and beat my previous times.”

The national showcase, meanwhile, provides an opportunity for track athletes — particularly upcoming seniors — to catch the eye of college recruiters, who seldom attend regular high school meets.

“I tell kids all the time, ‘If you really want to get recruited, get involved with this stuff.’ I wish I had done it,” said Roberts. “(Recruiters) go to the state meets sometimes, but they always go to AAU meets every summer.”

Roberts also does his part to ensure the club’s athletes get noticed.

“He makes sure that we have our own portfolio…and he really pays attention when it comes to getting recruited,” said Mowery, who’s competing in the heptathlon.

Roberts, now 31, was a record-breaking sprinter at Wesley Chapel High School, and later at Coffeyville Community College, a junior college in southeast Kansas.

Today, he maintains his passion for track and teaching youth, of all ages and abilities.

“Track can help you do anything,” Roberts said, noting it translates well to other sports, including football and soccer.

His pupils come from all over Pasco, including Dade City, Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass and Land O’ Lakes, over the last few years.

Roberts emphasizes proper running form.

He’s also an advocate of resistance training, utilizing Kbands and speed parachutes, among other products.

Those methods helped Boone set a personal record in the 200-meter dash (25.97).

“My first two weeks working with him, I PR’d by over half a second; it’s been a really big help,” said Boone, the 2017 Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) East Field Athlete of the Year and one of the county’s top jumpers.

It likewise helped Levy, a 2017 SAC East Second-Team All-Conference sprinter and hurdler.

A former gymnast, Levy acknowledged her running stride used to be “really bad.”

Intense, one-on-one work with Roberts quickly changed that.

“He’s really helped my arms, so now I don’t even think about the way I run,” Levy explained.

“He takes more time to develop you.”

No matter the group’s outcome in Orlando, each is laying the groundwork for next track season.

“If you compare their times back when they ran in March or February, there’s a big difference,” Roberts said.

“If you ask any professional track athlete, during the summertime is when you peak the highest. It’s why the Olympics are in the summer, and why they have tryouts in the summer.”

And, that summer grind has made the athletes eager for the possibilities ahead.

That’s especially true for Boone and her fellow Sunlake High comrades.

“It’s exciting,” Boone said, “because I know when we come back to the high school season, we’re going to do really good.

“We’ve been training all offseason — and that’s when you get better,” she said.

Speed Starz Track Club national qualifiers
Arielle Boone, senior, Sunlake High School
Events: Long Jump, Triple Jump, 200-meter dash, 100-meter dash

Gianna Levy, sophomore, Sunlake High School
Events: 400-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 100-meter dash

Melissa Mowery, senior, Sunlake High School
Events: Heptathlon (100m hurdle, 800m, 200m, high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin)

Guadalupe Guerra, freshman, Wiregrass Ranch High School
Events: 3,000-meter run, 1,500-meter run, 2,000-meter steeplechase

Landon Williams. seventh-grade, John Long Middle School
Events: 3,000-meter run, 1500-meter run, 800-meter dash, shot put

Published July 12, 2017

Former Wesley Chapel track star encourages kids to run

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A Pasco County track legend is sharing his passion of the sport he still loves.

His name is Bernard “BB” Roberts.

And, he’s encouraging more kids to run — fast.

He knows a little something about that.

Bernard ‘BB’ Roberts started the Speed Starz Track Club in 2013. The USA Track and Field member club is open to all youths, ages 4 to 18.
(Courtesy of Bernard ‘BB’ Roberts)

Roberts, now 31, still claims five sprinting records at Wesley Chapel High School — 100-meter dash, 200-meter, 400-meter, 4×400-meter relay and the sprint medley.

As a high school senior in 2004, Roberts ran the fastest 100 (10.64) and 200 (22.65) in Pasco County. A four-time Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state qualifier, Roberts finished fifth in the 400 meters (50.40) at the 2002 Class 2A state finals. In 2003, he finished 12th, but recorded a faster 400 meter time (50.33).

Also a standout football player, Roberts was a jack-of-all-trades. He was a running back, defensive back and kick returner for the 2003 Wildcats (10-1), arguably one of the program’s best teams ever.

Roberts’ prep athletic career was enough to earn him a track scholarship at Coffeyville Community College, an intimate junior college in southeast Kansas.

Since then, he’s been busy— teaching the sport he excelled in.

Roberts organized the Speed Starz Track Club in 2013, and simultaneously created a sports training company — Fast, Sprint, Quick Athletic Performance LLC.

Speed Starz is now a USA Track and Field (USATF) member club.

It had humble beginnings, starting with only about four youths.

From there, it’s grown markedly.

Roberts now regularly trains more than a dozen kids, ranging from ages 4 to 18.

His pupils come from all over Pasco, including Dade City, Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass and Land O’ Lakes.

Each year, they compete in about six or seven USATF meets from February through June, concluding with a national championship.

The club will soon begin practice twice a week at Wiregrass Ranch High, in advance of the upcoming season.

Speed Starz is open to all youth, of all abilities.

“Anybody can join,” said Roberts, also a former track coach at Pasco High. “I’m just trying to encourage kids to run track.”

And, hopefully, help them reach their athletic potential.

Track and field, Roberts said, complements other sports that require sprinting.

“It’s a sport that helps you get fast,” said Roberts.

It also potentially opens the door for more scholarship opportunities, he said, because many colleges recruit athletes — particularly football players — to compete in both disciplines.

“If you’re fast, you’re fast,” Roberts said.

And, the younger that kids start running track, the greater chance of becoming elite. Roberts noted the largest developmental strides are usually made between the ages of 10 to 15.

“If you start at an early age now, you’ll be better at it at a later age,” Roberts explained. “Then you’re able to (master) some of the events.”

With 16 total events, middle school and high school track teams often have a need for sizable rosters.

That means plenty of opportunities for involvement are available, serving as a contrast to other team sports — like baseball.

“Not everybody can make a baseball team nowadays,” Roberts said. “Baseball has a limited roster; sometimes kids can’t play baseball.”

But, that’s not the case with track and field.                                                                                  “I can train anybody to run,” he said, unequivocally.

Another benefit of track and field — especially from a parent’s point of view — is the relatively low risk of serious injury.

Because of that, Roberts said more families have recently inquired about Speed Starz, in an effort to steer their children away from contact sports, like football.

“People are running from the sport of football,” he said, “because of concussions nowadays. A lot of times parents don’t want their kid playing football because they don’t want ‘little Johnny’ to get hurt.”

By the same token, track still builds character, Roberts pointed out.

“It teaches you how to compete — at a high level,” he said. “It teaches you to have heart — on and off the field.”

The vigorous exercise is an added bonus, too.

“The sport…will definitely keep the kids active,” Roberts said, “and get them out of that video game room.”

As for his coaching philosophy, Roberts is “a big fan” of resistance training, utilizing Kbands and speed parachutes, among other products.

“You’re guaranteed to get faster like that — if you do it the right way,” he said.

Other drills, meanwhile, emphasize proper sprinting form.

One such technique is called “hip to lip.” The moniker reminds sprinters to lower their shoulders and apply a more pronounced arm swing, during competition.

“Had I known what I know now, I’d be a 10 times better athlete,” Roberts said of the modern training aids.

New this season, Roberts is enlisting the help of a name familiar to followers of the East Pasco prep sports scene: Bryan Thomas, a former Zephyrhills High football and track star who played safety at the University of Florida.

In 2006, Thomas was crowned 2A state champion in the long jump (23-03.5 feet). The prior year, he finished second in the high hump (23-06 feet) and fourth in the 400-meter (49.08 seconds).

“We raced each other all the time,” Roberts said, referring to their high school track days.

Meantime, Roberts is holding a series of training camps at Wesley Chapel District Park through Jan. 16.  Along with track athletes, the sessions are open for youth who play other sports, such as baseball, football and tennis.

The focus is on enhancing speed, agility and quickness to mold youth into more explosive athletes.

To Roberts, it’s all just a matter of paying it forward.

“I trained so much (in my career) and did so much research with speed,” he said, “that I wanted to give this knowledge back to someone else.”

For more information, call Roberts at (352) 807-0397, or email .

Published January 4, 2017