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Land O' Lakes High School

School projects address district needs

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A global pandemic has cast uncertainty regarding what will happen in the coming school year, but the work goes on to build, expand and renovate schools in the Pasco County school district.

Rapid growth in recent years has caused school crowding. And, anticipated residential construction has created a need for schools in previously undeveloped areas.

Cypress Creek Middle School in Wesley Chapel will have its inaugural first day of school when the 2020-2021 school year begins. (B.C. Manion)

Across the district, enrollment is expected to increase by slightly more than 1,900 students for this coming school year, and that includes charter schools, according to Chris Williams, director of planning for the school district.

It remains unclear if that projection will come to fruition, in light of impacts from COVID-19 on residential construction.

The district’s enrollment will grow — but, it’s not clear how much, Williams said during a school board workshop on the district’s capital improvement plan.

Numerous projects are planned in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area, according to Williams’ presentation.

The planning director also provided an overview of schools expected to face another crowded year in 2020-2021.

Construction is underway at the Starkey Ranch K-8 School, near the intersection of Long Spur and Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa. The project, which includes private and public partners, will feature a school, a library and a cultural center, next to a district park. The public will be able to take advantage of the library, cultural center and park. (B.C. Manion)

Williams said he expects Odessa Elementary to be “just slammed full,” for the upcoming school year. “I don’t know (if) we could put any more students there,” he said.

“Fortunately, the relief for Odessa Elementary is the Starkey K-8, which will open, of course, next year. So, Odessa, we’re just working with them to get them through this coming year.

“Oakstead Elementary continues to be a little bit over capacity.

“I don’t know how much opening Starkey K-8, as mostly a magnet, will impact Oakstead (Elementary), but certainly it could have some impact on Oakstead Elementary, as well.

“Connerton (Elementary) continues to be over capacity,” he said.

But, he said, Connerton is experiencing “slow growth,” so the district will monitor the situation.

Wesley Chapel Elementary is expected to be slightly over capacity, but two new charter schools opening this year in Wesley Chapel — Pinecrest and Innovation Preparatory (inPrep) — are expected to have an impact, Williams said.

An additional classroom wing has been added to Bexley Elementary in Land O’ Lakes, to increase its capacity to meet growing enrollment needs. (File)

At the middle school level, the construction of Starkey Ranch K-8 will provide relief to River Ridge and Seven Springs middle schools, and also will likely have some impact on Rushe Middle School, too, Williams said.

A magnet 6-12 school will be opening in 2023, in the upcoming Angeline development in Land O’ Lakes, Williams said. He expects that to have an impact on Pine View and Rushe middle schools, and perhaps on River Ridge Middle, too.

“By then, Ridge Road will be complete,” the planning expert said, creating access to the new 6-12 school from all of those areas.

“Finally, after many years, we finally provide some relief to John Long Middle, with the opening of Cypress Creek Middle,” Williams added.

“Weightman Middle certainly is in a growth area,” he said, but charter schools in the area are expected to have an impact.

Williams added: “Also, we are planning in 2024 to open a magnet school, K-8, over in Wesley Chapel that also will provide relief to some of those schools.”

Sunlake High School in Land O’ Lakes also has a new classroom wing this year, to accommodate enrollment growth. (File)

At the high school level, Williams said additional capacity was added to Land O’ Lakes High School during its renovation. A new classroom wing added to Sunlake High School will be ready for occupancy this year.

A new wing added to Bexley Elementary also is ready for the 2020-2021 school year.

The future 6-12 school in Angeline also will increase enrollment capacity in the Land O’ Lakes area, Williams said.

The opening of Cypress Creek Middle School this fall, will have a ripple effect on enrollments.

First, it allows Cypress Creek High School to house additional students in grades nine through 12, while Cypress Creek Middle School serves students in grades six through eight.

The additional capacity at the high school allows the school district to relieve crowding at Wiregrass Ranch High. The new middle school allows the district to relieve crowding at John Long Middle.

Wiregrass Ranch won’t feel the full impact for a couple years, Williams said, because the district grandfathered this year’s juniors and seniors at Wiregrass Ranch.

Construction continues on a remodeling project at Zephyrhills High School. (B.C. Manion)

And, of course, the planning director said, the Wiregrass area is still experiencing growth.

He also noted that Pasco High is over capacity. The area, however, isn’t experiencing much growth.

The district is evaluating projects that could add capacity at Pasco High in the future, he said.

Zephyrhills High’s capacity is being increased through a project now in progress at the school, he added.

When The Innovation Academy at Kirkland Ranch opens, expected in 2023, it likely will have a significant impact on enrollments in schools on the district’s east side, he said.

Besides work that has been wrapped up recently, is underway, or on the drawing board — the district also has been securing sites for future schools.

Previously, the district has found itself in the position of being unable to find affordable land for schools, Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd told school board members.

It has resolved that issue, he said.

“As a district, we are in tremendous shape when it comes to land to build schools,” Gadd said.

Published August 05, 2020

Hoops coach leaves a lasting mark

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The Pasco County’s boys basketball coaching landscape will undoubtedly take on a differently look this coming season, and beyond.

First, it was venerable Land O’ Lakes High head coach Dave Puhalski who announced his retirement after collecting 479 wins in 31 years at the school.

Now, it’s longtime Wesley Chapel High head coach Doug Greseth who’s hanging up the whistle and walking away from the sidelines for good.

Greseth, 63, quietly retired at the end of the 2019-2020 season, which saw the Wildcats post a 16-10 mark and earn a playoff berth.

Longtime Wesley Chapel High varsity boys basketball coach Doug Greseth recently announced his retirement. He exits with 300 wins at the school and 533 career wins overall, adding up his years at Okeechobee and Tampa Jefferson high schools. Combined, he spent more than 34 years coaching the high school ranks. (Courtesy of Taina Greseth)

Winning was commonplace wherever Greseth went.

He won 300 games in 17 years at Wesley Chapel. Over his 34-year prep coaching career, he registered 533 wins — collecting another 163 wins in 13 seasons at Okeechobee High School and 70 wins in four seasons at Jefferson (Tampa) High School, respectively.

The coach also racked up multiple state playoff appearances and coach of the year awards, all while developing countless All-Conference players and college-level athletes.

After so many years, Greseth is ready to step aside.

“I’ve been teaching for over 36 years, coaching for over 34 years, and I just thought this was a good time to end my career,” Greseth said, in a recent interview with The Laker/Lutz News. “You just get a gut feeling when it’s time to move on and do other things, so that’s basically it.”

A signal of how long Greseth’s been in the game — he recently coached the son of a former player from his early days at Okeechobee High in the mid 1980s.

The circumstance happened when Greseth coached Chaz Neal during the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Wesley Chapel. He also coached Neal’s father, Roger, more than 30 years before that at the southeast Florida-based school. “You know you’ve been doing it for a long time when the sons start coming through,” Greseth joked.

As he’s just settling into retirement, there’s plenty Greseth will miss about coaching high school hoops.

The competition. The preparation. All the players and fellow coaches.

“I’ve really been fortunate,” Greseth said. “I’ve had a lot of really good assistant coaches. I’ve had a lot of good support. It’s been one of those things, there’s a lot of hardship with coaching, but there’s a lot of satisfaction, as well.”

Some of his favorite teams were those that didn’t have a cast of superstars, but rather a group of team players forced to come together and work hard to discover success. It happened in his second season at Wesley Chapel in 2005, when the team spent the first half of the season under .500, but wound up winning a district title and finishing 17-10.

“It’s easy to coach an all-star team, it’s easy to coach when you’ve got a lot of great players, but when you’ve really got to work to build a team and to get a team to be successful when you maybe have less talent than you have other years, that’s probably the most satisfying thing for me,” he said.

Throughout the local hoops community, Greseth is regarded for an intense, passionate style centered around hard and unselfish play, with an emphasis on sturdy man-to-man defense.

The coach pointed out, “I’ve been called ‘old-school’ by more than one person.

“I wasn’t afraid to be demanding of players. Maybe that’s why we had the success that we had.”

Respected by peers, players
Greseth’s long-lasting career is much appreciated by Wiregrass Ranch High boys basketball coach Jeremy Calzone, whose teams have rivaled Wesley Chapel’s the past 14 years.

Calzone described Greseth as “by far one of the best ever to be on the sidelines, just what he teaches those kids over there and their defense.”

Doug Greseth came to Wesley Chapel in 2003, developing the varsity boys basketball program into one of the area’s best. (Courtesy of Wesley Chapel High School athletics department)

Calzone added: “He’s lasted this long because he gets kids to really buy into his defensive philosophy, and they play hard for him.

“It’s the hardest game of the year for us, not just because it’s a rivalry, but because I know they’re going to give it to us defensively, and get in our face and be physical.”

Off the court, Calzone considers Greseth a mentor and close friend.

The younger coach was just 26 years old when he landed the Wiregrass Ranch job, when the school opened 2006.

That first semester his team was forced to practice at Wesley Chapel’s gymnasium, as the new school’s gym wouldn’t be ready until January 2007.

Calzone will always remember how generous Greseth was in sharing his space and resources. There were times when Calzone’s hoops team was practicing on one end of the floor, while Greseth’s physical education class was on the other side.

Calzone recalled Greseth’s hospitality: “He welcomed me in with open arms even though he knew we were going to be rivals. He made sure that I got whatever I needed, like as far as basketballs if I needed them or extra gym space, he just was very accommodating from the very beginning, and he couldn’t have helped me any more than he did.

“He’d just give me advice, and he’d make sure if I needed anything, like there’s just so much that he did that he didn’t have to do. He could’ve been mad and said, ‘Oh, these guys are using our gym,’ and he did not do that, which I’ll never forget that.”

In game action, Greseth’s aggressive on-court demeanor may have been a turnoff for some watching from the stands.

Calzone acknowledged if someone were to catch a Wesley Chapel game, they might come away thinking Greseth “was a pretty bad guy.” But, that’s far from the case, Calzone insists.

“Even though he’s intense and he yells a lot, the love he has for the game and for people in the game and his players, I don’t think people really appreciate that, and I’m going to miss that, and I know the players that he leaves behind are certainly going to miss that, as well,” Calzone said.

Greseth’s consideration and having others’ best interests at heart isn’t lost on former players, including Greg Jenkins, who graduated from Wesley Chapel in 2008.

Jenkins is best known for his work on the gridiron, where he became was a star quarterback at Alabama State University, and spent three seasons in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.

He also played varsity hoops for three years for Greseth, developing into an All-Conference player, leading scorer and hard-nosed defensive player.

“He’s definitely going to push you, not only as a basketball player, but as a young man,” Jenkins recalled of Greseth. “If you weren’t a team player, you wouldn’t really like his coaching style. “Like, he was a team-oriented style coach, and he loved to win,” Jenkins said.

The former pro athlete’s connection with Greseth transcends sports.

When Jenkins was a middle-schooler, Greseth would pick him up from his Dade City home and drive him to and from summer league basketball games in Wesley Chapel. The experience isn’t lost on Jenkins. He acknowledged he had a rough upbringing and was raised in a single-parent household and didn’t always have a ride to athletics events.

“He’s like a father-figure,” Jenkins said of Greseth. So much so, Jenkins makes a point to text Greseth a positive message every Father’s Day.

The coach was there for important moments in Jenkins’ life, too. Greseth attended his mother’s funeral in 2016 and his wedding in 2017.

“Anything I have going on, he’s definitely there,” said Jenkins, now an Atlanta-based fitness and athletic trainer. “We have a real friendship. It’s bigger than sports.”

Jenkins also underscored Greseth’s humble nature.

When Jenkins recently made a trip to his old stomping grounds to catch up with Greseth, he said his former coach never mentioned he had eclipsed the 500-career win mark.

Jenkins didn’t know about the achievement until he noticed a celebratory plaque hanging on the school’s gymnasium wall.

“He just loves the work, the work behind the scenes. He’s doesn’t like accolades, he just works,” Jenkins said.

Greseth coached Erik Thomas at Wesley Chapel, one of Pasco County’s most decorated players who’s now playing professionally in Mexico. Thomas said Greseth made a substantial impact on his successful basketball career. (File)

Erik Thomas is the most decorated hoops player Greseth coached at Wesley Chapel.

He is the program’s all-time scorer and rebounder who won the Florida Class 4A Player of the Year in 2013. He’s gone on to have a notable college career at NCAA Division I University of New Orleans and will be playing in the Mexican professional basketball league this year, after spending the past three seasons playing in Argentina.

Thomas detailed how Greseth improved his game throughout his four years of high school, helping him fine-tune fundamentals and better understand the sport’s nuances.

“He brings you back to what basketball is about, and knowing the game and becoming  a student of the game,” Thomas said. “He helped me get to where I wanted to go.”

Thomas said Greseth’s coaching style resembled a “Bob Knight type,” referring to the legendary Indiana University men’s basketball coach who won three national championships and was known for instilling a disciplined approach and for his fiery on-court presence.

“I had to work my butt off,” Thomas said of playing for Greseth. “He tried to enforce working hard and having a hard work ethic, and I think his character and his demeanor and energy rubbed off on all the players, allowing them to get better on the court.”

Like others have found, beyond Greseth’s sometimes gruff exterior is a coach who really cared.

One of Thomas’ favorite memories was when his prep coach showed up to his senior night game in New Orleans in 2017. Greseth made the nine-hour drive to New Orleans to support Thomas, then drove back home later that night.

“Him being there meant a lot, and it just shows we have a relationship after I had graduated and after I had went into college,” Thomas said. “He always was hoping that I would go out and do big things, and I was able to achieve them. I was just glad I was able to come to Wesley Chapel and play under him, and do what I did there in those four years I was there.”

Road to 533 career victories
• 163 wins in 13 seasons at Okeechobee High School (1983-1986)
• 70 wins in four seasons at Jefferson (Tampa) High School (1999-2002)
• 300 wins in 17 seasons at Wesley Chapel High School (2003-2020)

Wesley Chapel boys basketball under coach Doug Greseth
2003-2004: 22-6 (state playoffs; region semifinals)
2004-2005: 17-10 (district champions; state playoffs)
2005-2006: 23-6 (conference champions; district champions; state playoffs)
2006-2007: 15-12 (district runner-up; state playoffs)
2007-2008: 19-7
2008-2009: 12-14
2009-2010: 13-12 (conference runner-up)
2010-2011: 13-16 (district runner-up; state playoffs)
2011-2012: 24-5 (conference champions; state playoffs)
2012-2013: 24-5 (conference champions; district champions; state playoffs)
2013-2014: 21-6 (conference runner-up)
2014-2015: 17-10 (conference runner-up)
2015-2016: 21-8 (conference runner-up; district runner-up; state playoffs)
2016-2017: 9-17
2017-2018: 16-11
2018-2019: 18-9
2019-2020: 16-10 (state playoffs)

Published July 15, 2020

Finding new ways to celebrate, amid COVID-19

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It may not have been the graduation ceremony he envisioned, but 17-year-old Carl Scavino seems to be enjoying himself, as he took advantage of the sunroof to wave to the crowd. His mother, Judy Scavino, appeared to be having a good time, too. (Randy Underhill)

COVID-19 may have delayed graduations for the Class 2020, but it couldn’t curb the enthusiasm of graduates, and their loved ones, to celebrate their achievements.

Drive-by celebrations were held at The Grove in Wesley Chapel for members of the Class of 2020 from Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Cypress Creek high schools. Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore read the list of graduates’ names. Family and friends applauded and cheered, as vehicles drove by with the graduates.

There also was a celebration at Idlewild Baptist Church, in Lutz, for graduates from the church, as well as for graduates of various Pasco and Hillsborough County schools.

Kristen Engasser, 17, of Lutz, waits patiently for the 2020 Land O’ Lakes High School senior graduation parade to begin at The Grove shopping complex, Wesley Grove Boulevard in Wesley Chapel. The parade is a celebration of Land O’ Lakes seniors unable to have a formal graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 school closures.
Minister Kelly Knouse, of Idlewild Baptist Church, greets Travis Shelby, a member of the Sunlake High Class of 2020.
Katheryn Munger, a member of Wesley Chapel High’s Class of 2020, gets ready to take part in the June 1 drive-by celebration for graduating seniors held at The Grove in Wesley Chapel. She plans to attend the University of South Florida.
Graduate Ashley Bischof is in the driver’s seat, as she takes part in the celebratory parade. She plans to attend Pasco-Hernando State College.
This group helped graduating seniors from Cypress Creek Middle High, during festivities at The Grove. From left, Jennifer Yingling, Mark Gold, DJ Night Mixer Makayla Gulash, Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore, Troy Stevenson, Cypress Creek Middle/High School Principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles, Jennifer Welling, and Tami Baker, along with the school’s Coyote mascot. (Courtesy of Andy Taylor/Pasco County)

Locals among top MLB draft prospects

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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball (MLB)’s 2020 first-year player draft has been shortened to five rounds, from the usual 40 rounds in previous years.

The draft, scheduled for June 10 and June 11, assigns amateur baseball players to MLB teams.

Even with the new consolidated format, however, several locals from The Laker/Lutz News coverage area have a solid chance at being among the 160 athletes drafted. And, they have the possibility of living out their boyhood dreams and landing signing bonuses of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.

Steinbrenner High product CJ Van Eyk, now at Florida State University (Courtesy of Florida State University athletics department)

Four athletes with area ties are listed among MLB.com’s top 200 nationwide draft prospect rankings, including two within the top 100.

The highest-rated local is Steinbrenner High alum CJ Van Eyk, a junior right-handed pitcher at Florida State University (FSU) — listed as the No. 39 overall draft prospect, by the website.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Van Eyk registered an 18-5 win-loss record, 3.21 ERA, 1.274 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 176.2 innings pitched across three college seasons.

The Lutz native has been a known commodity going back to his prep days, earning first-team All-American honors and a gold medal with the 18U USA National Team. He also led Steinbrenner to its first state championship as a junior in 2016 and was crowned Florida Dairy Farmers’ Class 8A Player of the Year.

Van Eyk was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets in the 19th round of the 2017 draft, but didn’t sign, opting for college instead.

A snippet of MLB.com’s analysis on Van Eyk reads: “The Florida State ace is capable of being a complete pitcher because of his willingness to pitch in with his fastball, his ability to throw his breaking ball at any point in the count and his feel for mixing his pitches to keep hitters off-balance, though issues with his command persisted over his first four starts in 2020. His potential as a starter still should have him in consideration in the top two rounds of the Draft.”

Sunlake High product Tommy Mace, now at the University of Florida (Courtesy of University of Florida athletics department)

The next highest-ranked local is Sunlake High product Tommy Mace, a junior-right handed pitcher at the University of Florida — rated the No. 70 overall prospect for the 2020 draft.

In three seasons at Florida, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound Mace compiled a 16-5 win-loss record, 4.37 ERA, 1.299 WHIP and 145 strikeouts in 179.1 innings pitched. He was off to his best college campaign this year, tallying a 1.67 ERA in a team-high 27 innings, until the remainder of the season was canceled thanks to COVID-19.

Mace was a three-year varsity player at Sunlake. His senior year he guided the program to a 17-12 mark and the Class 7A regional final. He then was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 2017 draft, but like Van Eyk, didn’t sign to pursue the college route.

MLB.com’s profile on Mace reports states the following: “Mace generally does a nice job of throwing strikes, keeping the ball down in the zone and getting ground ball outs. He gets high marks for his mound presence and makeup, putting him among a solid crop of top two round college pitchers in Florida.”

Though slightly outside our coverage area, an athlete in west Pasco County also cracked MLB’s top 200 prospect list.

Wesley Chapel native/Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High product Carson Ragsdale, now at the University of South Florida (Courtesy of University of South Florida athletics department)

Trinity native Jackson Miller, a senior catcher at Mitchell High, is rated as the 2020 draft’s No. 105 prospect. The Wake Forest University commit posted a .414/.498/.591 slash line in 88 games across four varsity seasons.

Meanwhile, Wesley Chapel native/Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High product Carson Ragsdale, a redshirt junior right-handed pitcher at the University of South Florida (USF), is ranked as the draft’s No. 170 prospect.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Ragsdale transitioned to a starter’s role this year at USF, after pitching out of the bullpen his freshman and sophomore seasons. (He missed the 2019 season following Tommy John surgery). He posted a 3.75 ERA, 1.391 WHIP and 77 strikeouts in 50.1 innings across three college seasons. Off the field, he was selected to the 2018-2019 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.

Ragsdale was a four-year letter winner at Bishop McLaughlin. He compiled a 1.58 ERA and .352 batting average in his high school career. Those Hurricanes teams that Ragsdale played on went a combined 77-21 from 2013 to 2016.

MLB.com’s report on Ragsdale observes: “Ragsdale threw a lot of strikes this spring, but is still more control than command at this point. Given that scouts only saw four outings from Ragsdale as USF’s Sunday starter, there’s very limited track record for teams to look at, but his size and arm strength, even if it ends up in the bullpen, could be enough for teams to take a chance on him in this year’s Draft.”

Robust draft history
It’s not uncommon for at least a couple locals from area high schools and colleges to be drafted each year.

Last year, Land O’ Lakes High/St. Petersburg College second baseman Dustin Harris was selected in the 11th round by the Oakland Athletics, while Pasco-Hernando State College/University of Tampa pitcher Tyler Beck was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 30th round.

The 2018 draft yielded four local products:

  • Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High/University of North Florida pitcher Frank German (fourth round, New York Yankees)
  • Saint Leo University pitcher/first baseman Jake Sims (31st round, San Diego Padres)
  • Saint Leo University second baseman Zach Scott (32nd round, Seattle Mariners)
  • Wiregrass Ranch High/University of North Florida pitcher Austin Drury (34th round, Los Angeles Dodgers)

The 2017 draft also was particularly kind to local talent. In addition to Van Eyk and Mace getting drafted out of the prep ranks, six other athletes with local ties were chosen:

  • Odessa native/Bishop McLaughlin/College of Central Florida pitcher Nate Pearson (first round, Toronto Blue Jays)
  • Steinbrenner High/USF shortstop Kevin Merrell (first round compensatory, Oakland Athletics)
  • Steinbrenner High first baseman Patrick Morris (14th round, Toronto Blue Jays)
  • Steinbrenner High/Bishop McLaughlin/University of Pittsburgh pitcher Josh Falk (17th round, Oakland Athletics)
  • Odessa native/Alonso High pitcher Jordan Butler (34th round, New York Yankees)
  • Bishop McLaughlin outfielder Paul Coumoulos (40th round, Philadelphia Phillies)

Locals on MLB.com’s top 200 prospect rankings

  • Steinbrenner High/Florida State University pitcher CJ Van Eyk (No. 39 overall draft prospect)
  • Sunlake High/University of Florida pitcher Tommy Mace (No. 70)
  • Trinity/Mitchell High catcher Jackson Miller (No. 105)
  • Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High/University of South Florida pitcher Carson Ragsdale (No. 170)

Published May 27, 2020

Senior guards leave a lasting impression

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The 2019-2020 season for the Land O’ Lakes High School varsity basketball program is sure to be remembered for some time.

Not only was it the final of 31 seasons for longtime head coach Dave Puhalski, but it also marked the senior campaigns of Mekhi Perry and Chase Farmer — two of the most decorated players in Land O’ Lakes and Pasco County history.

Perry exits as the Gators all-time leading scorer, with 1,616 career points.

Second on the list? Farmer, who finished his Gators career with 1,403 points.

Land O’ Lakes senior guard Mekhi Perry exits as the school’s all-time leading scorer. He’s signed with Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. (Courtesy of James Trapani)

Those figures surpassed former Land O’ Lakes star Jeff Baisley’s 1,394 career points — a record held strong since 2005.

The dynamic guard duo and team captains sparkle school record books in many other categories, too.

Perry, a four-year starter, exits as the program’s all-time leader in games played (101), made 3 pointers (178), second in assists (394) and 10th in rebounds (440), steals (138) and blocks (59).

Meantime, Farmer is the school’s all-time leader in dunks (90), seventh in assists (191) and 10th in blocks (72). He compiled those stats in just three seasons, transferring in from Leto High School following his freshman campaign.

Also, both players have been named Sunshine Athletic Conference Eastside Player of the Year during their career — Farmer his junior year; Perry as a sophomore and senior.

The combo, naturally, won their share of games when on the court side-by-side for three years — going a combined 63-17 and twice reaching the Class 7A regional semifinals.

Their skillsets played off each other well and kept opposing teams off balance.

Land O’ Lakes senior guard Chase Farmer is the school’s all-time dunks leader and second leading scorer. He’s signed with Cape Fear Community College, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

At point guard, the 6-foot-1 Perry played the role of ball handler and outside shooter.

Farmer, at 6-foot-3, offered more as a slasher and rim finisher from the off-guard spot.

Those complementing styles formed “a match made in heaven on the court,” Puhalski said.

“It was tough for teams to match up with us,” he said, “just because if you isolated on one, the other would kill ya.”

Of the hundreds of players coached at Land O’ Lakes, Puhalski considers Perry and Farmer “together, the best one-two guard combination that we’ve had.”

“We’ve had some really good point guards, good two-guards, but these two were the best together at each position,” said Puhalski, who won 479 career games at Land O’ Lakes.

“They were probably two of the better basketball players in Land O’ Lakes, maybe Pasco County. They’re really special kids.”

Their talents shine
While the two generally had separate friend and peer groups at school, Puhalski noted “once they hit the court they were on the same page.”

The pair was a coach’s and teacher’s dream off the hardwood.

“They were just really two good kids,” Puhalski said. “They were never in trouble. They never had a minute of problems at school, never were suspended, never been to ISS (in-school suspension), never any problems off the court, either. Just great kids. I never had any problems with either one of them.”

Puhalski knew he had something special when he first saw Farmer join offseason team workouts and practices in spring 2017. The Land O’ Lakes coach had only heard of the Leto transfer’s talent secondhand from his AAU coach, Mario Lovett.

Puhalski recalled, “You could tell he was already head and shoulders above the kids, him and Mekhi.”

Land O’ Lakes reached the Class 7A regional semifinals the past two seasons, winning more than 20 games in each.

Perry also salivated about the team’s possibilities in initial workouts with Farmer. “As soon as I saw him play and I saw his athletic ability,” Perry said, “I automatically thought we could be a good duo if we both kept developing.”

That, they did.

The pair made it a point to add strength in the weight room “and that just elevated their game,” Puhalski said.

Farmer went from benching 145 pounds as a sophomore to 260 by his senior year. Perry added some size on his own throughout high school, with the help of his father, a bodybuilding enthusiast.

“They had the skillset, and all they needed was some strength,” Puhalski said. “I think that was the key for these guys, to have that next level body when the college coaches came in and looked at them and said, ‘Well, geez, these guys have a next level body already on them, they’re not that skinny high school kid.’”

Both strived to make each other better every day, too.

“We always wanted to push each other, and wanted to push everybody,” Farmer said. “We knew that me and him could get to a different level, so we just wanted to make sure we helped each other every day in practice.”

The accomplished seniors soon will be going their separate ways — embarking on what they hope are illustrious college careers.

Perry is headed to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Farmer is off to Cape Fear Community College, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Both look back fondly on their prep careers and made memories at Land O’ Lakes.

Farmer said he’ll mostly miss the school’s gameday atmosphere, road trips and being coached by Puhalski. (Land O’ Lakes fans will certainly miss his signature breakaway windmill dunks.)

“It’s a really good community. I like the people,” Farmer said. “Coach P just led me in with open arms; we just went on from there.”

Perry, too, appreciates what was a positive basketball experience overall.

“The different teams I got to mesh with, hanging out with all those guys, it was just fun,” Perry said. “Every year we got closer and closer, but the freshman year varsity team (in 2016-2017) being around all those seniors, that kind of like exposed me to what Land O’ Lakes was about and that was probably one of my favorite years.”

Now retired from coaching, Puhalski will make it a point to catch as many of the duo’s college games as possible. He’s already planning dates to St. Petersburg and North Carolina, as well as a tournament in Orlando that’ll feature Farmer’s new team.

Said Puhalski, “It’s really gratifying that these last few years, with these two guys on the team and the success they had, and we had, just makes me feel real good. Now, I can watch these guys play at the next level, and that’s really the best feeling right there.”

The coach added: “I don’t know how well they’ll be at the next level, but they’ll be great citizens, and that’s the important part.”

Published May 06, 2020

Cancellation of spring sports leaves many dejected

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There was at least a glimmer of hope the 2020 Florida high school spring sports season would resume, even amid concerns about coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

But, optimism vanished when the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on April 20 announced it would cancel all FHSAA-affiliated events.

The cancellations include the state series and championships events, for spring sports.

Due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on April 20 announced it would cancel all FHSAA-affiliated events, including the state series and championships events, for spring sports. (File)

The statewide sports organization also announced no additional eligibility will be granted for spring sport athletes, including seniors, “under the guidance of the Florida Department of Education regarding grade level retention, and upon review of Florida Statutes and FHSAA Bylaws.”

And, just like that, high school senior athletic careers have come to an end.

It happened months sooner than expected, with no clue for athletes that a game, match or meet around mid-March would officially be their last.

The reality has left many local senior athletes feeling dejected, including Sunlake High’s Gianna Levy.

“It was really hard on me,” said Levy. “I cried. To be honest, I cried a lot.”

The prep track and field season offered Levy a final chance to boost her stats and times, to get on the radar of NCAA Division I college programs, as a heptathlete. She’s still holding out hope of being able to compete on the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) circuit this summer to get those college looks, but even that’s no guarantee.

“It definitely is really taking a really big toll on me,” Levy said. “This was a lot of people’s out ticket (to college) and now we don’t have that out ticket.”

Levy was only able participate in a couple track events before the varsity season came to a screeching halt. She was nursing a hip injury, which arose in February after she won a state title in girls weightlifting.

Though she’d already been a three-time state track and field qualifier and holds the school’s 400-meter dash record, Levy was dogged to put forth a banner senior campaign. “I just had so many goals in mind,” she said.

Other seniors had similar ambitions for their high school swan song.

Land O’ Lakes High senior Courtney Piltaver is a two-time Sunshine Athletic Conference East Girls Tennis Player of the Year. She was poised again to shine in her final high school tennis season, coming off a district title and state finalist.

From left: Wiregrass Ranch High softball seniors Kailey Riddlesworth, Cassidy Eason, Lexi Gaiefsky and Loryn Finn. These athletes only played nine games of a 27-game regular season schedule, due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Tyler Finn)

“I was pretty upset because it was my senior year, and it really sucks that I didn’t get to enjoy the full season with my team and my coaches, and kind of just close out,” said Piltaver, who’s signed with NCAA Division II University of Montevallo in Alabama.

The tennis standout added that not having the typical ceremonial senior night celebration, “was kind of heartbreaking, because that was something I was really looking forward to since my freshman year.”

Senior infielder Loryn Finn was in the midst of her best hitting season on the Wiregrass Ranch High softball team, sporting a .360/.467/.440 slash line through nine games.

The team captain also was chasing the 100 career hit milestone — a possibility with 18 regular season games remaining on the schedule, until athletics activities were scrapped.

Finn won’t be playing college ball. She hasn’t quite come to grips that a March 11 loss to Wesley Chapel High is perhaps the final time she’ll pick up a bat, ball and glove competitively.

“It’s definitely hard. I’m kind of in shock,” Finn said, bluntly.

Aside from game action, Finn still longs for those last few “bus rides to games, and just jamming to music with players and teammates.”

With a tinge of despair in her voice, Finn labeled her four-year softball experience as “just always been fun.”

Wiregrass Ranch assistant softball coach Tyler Finn feels for his senior daughter and the many other players on the team: “It’s really just not the seniors, it’s freshmen, it’s everybody. It’s tough on them, too. It affects every player, all of them; their season was cut short.”

He also observed his daughter’s high school athletics career coming to an abrupt halt.

Besides softball, Finn was a three-time All-Conference golfer: “She’s gotten to the point where she just wants to get into college and get the education going. She had a really good high school softball career and golf career. …She’s going to miss those kids that she played with since she was little — that’s the hard part.”

Though the traditional season is done, the assistant coach is looking for some way to hold a final showcase in the summer that would bring together various senior high school softball players countywide, assuming restrictions on parks and gatherings are lifted.

“The kids deserve it,” he said.

‘I knew it was coming’
Back on March 31, the FHSAA issued a statement that left open the possibility of a spring sports season, saying they could run from as soon as May 3 through June 30.

The FHSAA also had indicated if a spring sports season is canceled altogether, it was working on a solution to create additional athletics eligibility for students who were unable to participate.

FHSAA-sanctioned spring sports include baseball, flag football, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track & field, boys volleyball, water polo and boys weightlifting.

However, as days and weeks pressed on, many saw the writing on the wall that spring sports would not return this year, due to the pandemic.

Sunlake High senior track and field standout Gianna Levy was looking to get on the radar of Division I college athletics programs before the spring season was cut short. (Courtesy of Gianna Levy)

“I knew it was coming. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I didn’t want to accept it, but I knew it was coming,” said Academy at the Lakes (AATL) varsity baseball coach Ken Akins.

“Once the FHSAA said, ‘OK, we’re thinking about extending it into summer and deep into June,’ there was a little bit of hope there, but once you get into June you start messing with all the travel sports — baseball and softball are huge in the summertime.”

Academy at the Lakes athletic director Tom Haslam offered a similar take on the FHSAA’s decision: “We kind of knew this was coming, but we hated to hear the actual directive.”

He added: “It’s understandable, they have to do it, so we don’t disagree with it, we expected it.”

The directive came at a time when multiple AATL programs were hitting their stride.

The AATL baseball team was on its best start in program history, already matching its win total from 2019  —  thanks to contributions from four seniors.

The school’s boys tennis team, meanwhile, was expected to contend for a state championship, like the prior season.

Of course, the FHSAA’s salvo wiped out the Land O’ Lakes-based private school’s softball, track and field, and boys weightlifting teams.

All told, there were 17 seniors among those five teams.

“It affects everybody’s season,” Haslam said, “but the seniors, you really feel for it.”

He added, “It’s not just athletic seniors, but seniors in anything. You’re talking about proms and special events that just aren’t going to happen. It’s just sad. Sad’s the best word I have for it.”

Though much attention has been brought to how this year’s seniors are affected, and rightly so, the longtime athletic director also believes the canceled spring season could have major ripple effects for juniors looking to get recruited by various college programs.

Haslam put it like this: “It hurts a lot of the juniors, because not only are they putting stats on paper, but they’re also missing workout time, and it’s going to be hard to develop their skills as normal, because they can’t get in the cages and gyms, and there’s no spring ball, and there may not even be travel ball in the summer.

“It’s pretty far-reaching, so it doesn’t just affect seniors on that level. You can’t even go out in a park and shoot hoops,” he said.

Published April 29, 2020

New Land O’ Lakes coach enjoys the gridiron

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When Ronald “Trac” Baughn moved to Florida a couple years ago, his sights were set on enjoying retirement.

He pictured himself fishing every day and visiting nearby family members on a regular basis.

But, it wasn’t long before he fantasized about stepping back on the gridiron again.

And that’s after three long decades of coaching high school and college football — mostly throughout Mississippi.

New Land O’ Lakes head football coach Ronald ‘Trac’ Baughn served as the program’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons.(Courtesy of Brandon Franke)

The coaching bug bit again in summer 2018 — when he accepted a position to become assistant coach/defensive coordinator for the Land O’ Lakes High School varsity football program.

“I thought I was just going to fish for a little while, and then it got to being late June and I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ I about had enough fishing,” Baughn said of his foray back into coaching.

Fast-forward to 2020: Baughn is now the Gators new head football coach.

He replaces the man he spent the past two seasons working for — Chad Walker, who in January accepted a head football coach position at Cambridge Christian School, in Tampa.

Baughn was selected from among 40 applicants for the position.

About 15 of the applicants were interviewed, according to Land O’ Lakes athletic director Michael Frump.

Baughn’s decorated coaching background, plus recent time with the Gators, served him well.

During 32 years of coaching football, Baughn has molded NFL veterans. He’s rubbed shoulders with legendary SEC coaches in the Mississippi junior college ranks. And, he found notable success as head coach and defensive coordinator throughout the Mississippi preps scene.

His college coaching stops have included the following: tight ends coach at Division I FCS Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee), running backs coach at Division II Delta State University, defensive assistant East Mississippi Community College, and defensive coordinator Holmes Community College (Goodman, Mississippi).

His high school experience, which all came in the Magnolia State, is varied, too. He coached at Cleveland Central High School, Meridian High School, Kosciusko High School, New Hope High School and Wayne County High School, respectively.

Baughn said his experience equates to “an awful lot of time dealing with kids and working with (football) schemes.”

He added, modestly: “I don’t know, 32 years of coaching experience, it’s all been valuable to me.”

His two seasons as Kosciusko’s head football coach may serve most relevant to the Gators program.

He guided that team to 10-3 marks in both 2015 and 2016, reaching the third round of Mississippi 4A playoffs both years. He was twice named “Area Coach of the Year” as those teams finished ranked in the Mississippi Associated Press 4A top 5.

Baughn feels his time as head coach at the Central Mississippi-based school can translate to his new undertaking at Land O’ Lakes.

He put it like this: “I thought that I had been successful as a head coach before, and I kind of know what it entails, and I felt like I might be able to help right the ship over time.

“We’ve got really good kids (at Land O’ Lakes), and just felt like they deserved somebody that that was willing to give their best shot,” the coach said.

Success starts with large senior classes, rosters
The past two seasons at Land O’ Lakes offer a glimpse of the highs and lows of the Land O’ Lakes football program.

The Gators went 7-3 in 2018, narrowly missing the playoffs. That was the school’s first winning campaign since 2013 — restoring some confidence in the historic program.

Perhaps just as important that year, the Gators finally supplanted crosstown foe Sunlake High in the annual “Butter Bowl” rivalry game — the first such victory in eight years.

The 2019 team, however, was another story. It finished the season with a 2-8 mark.

The only wins came against Freedom High and Zephyrhills Christian schools. And, most of the team’s losses were blowouts, with a 31-point loss, three 40-plus point losses and two 50-plus point losses, among others.

All told, the Gators were outscored 137-363.

As a member of the coaching staff both years, Baughn knows what went wrong in 2019.

The coach blamed a “much more difficult” schedule and an “extremely young” roster with few seniors. “It kind of created a situation where we had a bunch of young kids that were going to struggle a little bit. That’s just the way it went,” Baughn said.

While a tough schedule will remain in 2020, Baughn is on a mission to “get the numbers up” and recruit more athletes from inside the school’s hallways to join the football program.

He has a list of more than 65 athletes interested in playing football, and he’s still actively looking for more.

“We need kids to come out,” Baughn said. “You can’t have four or five or six seniors every year. You need to have some classes with 15 to 20 (seniors) in it.”

So, what’s in store for next season?

Baughn’s philosophy, in a nutshell, is predicated on running the football and being fundamentally sound on defense.

“We’re gonna be a lot more physical, a lot less finesse than we have been,” the coach said.

He plans to teach those principles through a mantra centered on “tough love.”

“When they’re out there, I’m going to demand they do their best, and I won’t put up with anything less than that,” Baughn said.

“We are going to hold their feet to the fire and make them do the right thing, and try to develop and instill some work ethic in them, not that they don’t have that already, but we’re going to demand a lot of them.”

‘Last Chance U’ ties
Interestingly, Baughn has several ties to the hit Netflix original documentary series, “Last Chance U,” which profiles junior college football programs and recruits.

Fans of the widely popular show are familiar with East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), profiled in seasons 1 and 2 of the show.

Long before EMCC became a household name and drew a cult following, Baughn was a defensive assistant there.

“I watched some of (Last Chance U), and I was like, ‘Hey, there’s our old house right there…,’” Baughn quipped.

Baughn has coached against EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens, a prominent figure in the series, throughout the Mississippi JUCO ranks.

Baughn pointed out he notched a win against Stephens when he was then-defensive coordinator at Holmes Community College and Stephens was then-offensive coordinator at Pearl River Community College.

Stephens, notorious for his firebrand demeanor, has gone on to win five NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) national championships at EMCC.

“He’s done a phenomenal job there,” Baughn said.

The new Land O’ Lakes coach also claims to have once hired and worked with Marcus Wood — another prominent Last Chance U regular as EMCC’s offensive coordinator.

Baughn said the show is “kind of neat, because you know all those people.”

At the same time, he feels some of the moments are sensationalized for entertainment’s sake.

“TV kind of makes things one-sided a little bit,” he said. “Some people say, ‘Is it really like that?’ and I say, ‘Well, sometimes it’s really like that, but not all the time.’”

Key losses

  • Ethan Forrester, quarterback
  • Brett Gwinn, tight end
  • Michael Lansford, running back/linebacker

Key returnees

  • Isaac Tavo, offensive lineman
  • Zavian Mckinnon, defensive lineman
  • Nick Kleoppel, wide receiver

Worth noting about Ronald ‘Trac’ Baughn

  • He has much of the assistant coaching staff in place, which includes offensive coordinator Spencer Van Meter (previous coach at Chamberlain and Jefferson high schools, respectively).
  • Is seeking two more assistant coaches, including a defensive coordinator, though he didn’t rule out the possibility of handling those duties himself. “If we can find somebody that I feel good with running our defense, that I have confidence in, then I’ll go that route. If I can’t (find someone), I’ll do it myself,” he said.
  • While coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has halted offseason football workouts, Baughn has spent the downtime evaluating game film, scouting 2020 opponents, putting playbooks together and assigning at-home workouts to players, among other activities. Baughn acknowledged all the mandated coronavirus precautions “kind of set us back in the plan that we had moving forward, for sure” and “puts us a little further behind the eight-ball than we already were in regards to trying to get things going.”
  • He’s coached at least “15 or 20” players who’ve gone on to play in the NFL, a list that includes two-time Super Bowl Champion running back Antwowain Smith.
  • Has worked with prominent coaches including longtime (SEC) coaches Tom Goode, S.E. Sullins and Robert Henry.

Published April 08, 2020

Land O’ Lakes hoops coach retires after 31 years

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Land O’ Lakes High School varsity boys basketball coach Dave Puhalski is ready for a timeout.

After 31 years roaming the Gators sidelines, barking orders, drawing up plays, and molding boys into young men, the longtime coach announced his retirement following the 2019-2020 season.

Puhalski’s swan song was a memorable one — sending off eight seniors to the tune of a 21-6 record, a 5A-7 district title and an appearance in the 5A regional semifinals.

Dozens of members of the Land O’ Lakes High School community celebrate Dave Puhalski’s retirement as head coach of the Gators varsity boys basketball team. (Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes High Athletics)

Puhalski, 57, exits as one of the longest-tenured and among the most-decorated coaches in Pasco County sports history. He compiled a 479-349 career mark since taking over the Gators program in 1988.

In total, he spent more than 35 years coaching hoops.

Before taking over at Land O’ Lakes, Puhalski was an assistant at state champion Ocala Vanguard for three seasons and an assistant at University of Tampa for a year.

Any basketball coach knows what all that entails: Countless hours tied up into practices and games. Long nights busing around the state. Sitting on steel bleachers for junior varsity games. Too many family gatherings and vacations missed.

He said the timing’s right to take a break from the hardwood.

He put it like this: “After 35 years, I’ve never had a Christmas vacation, (or) a Thanksgiving vacation; the month of June is all summer league, kids playing, so really, it’s just time.”

‘All about the kids’
So, what made all of these years coaching worth it?

“The kids,” Puhalski said without hesitation.

“They’re the ones that keep me young and keep me in the game for so long. You know, every year you almost get a different set. You get to see kids grow and develop,” he said.

Having an understanding wife, too, helped him to stay in the game for the better part of three decades.

“You’ve gotta have a coach’s wife, and that’s what I have,” Puhalski said of longtime wife Erika. “So, I give her a lot of credit, because she did a lot of the raising of the kids.”

Puhalski’s longevity allowed him to coach “kids of kids” and attend many a former players’ weddings. Seeing Gators hoops alums grow up, start families and lead successful lives is “one of my favorite things,” he said.

The care for hundreds of teenage hoopers has been seen firsthand by Land O’ Lakes boys basketball assistant/booster club president Steve Thomopalos.

His son, Justin, was coached by Puhalski from 2008 to 2012, and the coach helped the player develop into a two-time team MVP.

Thomopalos observed: “If a kid needs a pat on the back, he’ll give it, but also if he needs to be disciplined, he’ll give that, too.”

The assistant added the head coach’s go-to expression goes like this: “All about the kids.”

Puhalski’s tough love is something Gators players grew to revere and appreciate.

“You can tell he cares,” senior guard and team captain Mekhi Perry said. “Getting yelled at is frustrating — but him doing that, you know his heart’s in the right place.”

The 2019-2020 Gators went 21-6 and won a 5A-7 district championship in Puhalski’s final season as head coach. (File)

Senior guard and fellow captain Chase Farmer added Puhalski “was like a father figure to me.”

“As a player, he was there for me,” said Farmer, the school’s all-time dunks leader. “He did a lot of things that some coaches don’t do. He gave me a shoulder to lean on, I could cry in his arms — anything I needed, he was there.”

Revered for defense, old-school nature
Of course, Puhalski knows a thing or two about hoops.

The coach frequently emphasized “rebounding the ball, taking care of the ball and defending the ball.”

He’s particularly regarded for his defense-first mentality — a philosophy that centered heavily on the man-to-man variety, with little regard for zone defenses.

“We play man to man,” Puhalski said pointedly. “In 31 years, we’ve probably played a minute worth of zone.”

And, if players weren’t giving at least equal effort defensively as on offense, Puhalski wasn’t afraid to make an example. “You know, we’ve had really good players that have been pulled at night because they never play defense,” Puhalski said bluntly.

Farmer amicably described Puhalski’s coaching style as “old school, but sometimes he might flare it up.”

Farmer added: “He loves defense, (but) he loves steals, highlights and dunks, all that.”

Perry, the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,616 points, added Puhalski “made a huge impact” on the more nuanced aspects of his game.

“I already came into school like knowing what I was doing, but just the tidbits and details expanded my game even more, and every year I learned more,” the Gators standout said.

It wasn’t just players who’ve learned from Puhalski.

Assistant coaches, too, picked up what it takes to run a quality, winning program.

“Everybody learns from coach,” Thomopalos said. “I’ve never seen, up close and personal, a game managed better…especially at the end, when it’s coming down to the wire and it’s close.”

The assistant added: “He is a real basketball man, through and through.”

Fellow assistant Connor Jordan has worked with Puhalski around a dozen seasons.

From Puhalski, Jordan learned Xs and Os are just a small part of leading a successful high school program.

“It’s really about discipline and making sure everything’s organized, expectations and keeping kids held accountable and things like that,” Jordan said. “All that stuff that coaches talk about, (Puhalski) actually follows through on.”

Whoever takes over the Gators program indeed has a tall task in replacing Puhalski.

That very well could be Jordan, who many in the program — including Puhalski —  hope lands the head post. “Gigantic shoes to fill,” Jordan of the possibility.

Meantime, Puhalski is considering teaching physical education for another year at Land O’ Lakes. He also said he wants to continue helping with the program and acclimate whoever next becomes head coach.

“I want to try to keep this going at the level we have it at now,” Puhalski said. “I’m not going to have a whole hand in it, but I’ll be there in whatever (the new coach) needs me to do.”

Published April 1, 2020

All-Pasco County winter awards announced

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High school coaches from the Pasco County School District recently announced the Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) All-Conference Teams, Athletes of the Year and Coaches of the Year, for the 2019-2020 winter sports season, which included basketball, competitive cheerleading, soccer, weightlifting and wrestling.

Selections were made for both the East and West division.

The following high schools from The Laker/Lutz News coverage area were represented in the East: Cypress Creek, Land O’ Lakes, Pasco, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills.

The Sunlake High varsity boys basketball team finished 17-8 this season and reached the district finals. (Courtesy of Sunlake High School athletics)

Winter Sports (Boys)
SAC East All-Conference Boys Basketball
Team Champion: Sunlake
Coach of the Year: David Puhlaski, Land O’ Lakes
Player of the Year: Mekhi Perry, Land O’ Lakes

First-Team
Chase Farmer, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Jordan Golden, Sunlake, senior
Dontae Marchman, Zephyrhills, senior
Brian Parker, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Mekhi Perry, Land O’ Lakes, senior

Second-Team
Jelani Vassell, Wesley Chapel, senior
Matt Webster, Pasco, sophomore
Ethan Jones, Wesley Chapel, senior
Jacob McCaslin, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Josh Bent, Sunlake, senior

Honorable Mention(s)
Joe Vreeland, Cypress Creek, senior

SAC East All-Conference Boys Soccer
Team Champion: Wiregrass Ranch
Coach of the Year: Justin Pelliccia, Cypress Creek
Offensive Player of the Year: Malcolm Lewis, Wiregrass Ranch
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben McQuay, Wiregrass Ranch

First-Team
Logan Grace, Wiregrass Ranch, sophomore
Ethan Sternberg, Sunlake, junior
Justin Amis, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
Joey Maulorico, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Carter Corrao, Cypress Creek, senior
Alec Santiago, Wiregrass Ranch, sophomore
Sebastian Victoria, Sunlake, junior
Malcolm Lewis, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Ben McQuay, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Jake Bierhorst, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Derek Isajar, Sunlake, junior

Second-Team
Jaxon Landry, Sunlake, senior
Spencer Rawlings, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Jared Jimenez, Pasco, senior
Jori Ndrita, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Carlos Morales, Zephyrhills, senior
Landon Craven, Pasco, senior
Mario Garcia, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Sam Salas, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
Brock Montei, Sunlake, junior
Alex Bronnan, Cypress Creek, junior
Julian Padilla, Pasco, senior

Honorable Mention(s)
Destin Rogers, Wesley Chapel, senior

The Pasco High varsity boys wrestling team won an SAC conference championship. (Courtesy of Pasco High School athletics)

SAC East All-Conference Boys Wrestling
Team Champion: Pasco
Coach of the Year: Tim Maples, Pasco
Wrestler of the Year: Zach Spicer, Sunlake

First-Team
106-pound: Donavan Eury, Wiregrass Ranch, sophomore
113-pound: Deshawn Creary, Wiregrass Ranch, freshman
120-pound: Orion Magoon, Sunlake, sophomore
126-pound: Dante Reese, Land O’ Lakes, senior
132-pound: Travis Knowlton, Pasco, senior
138-pound: Jacob Thornton, Pasco, senior
145-pound: Jake Koener, Sunlake, junior
152-pound: Kevin Johnston, Pasco, senior
160-pound: Devin Jernigan, Pasco, junior
170-pound: Savion Spaights, Pasco, junior
182-pound: Zach Spicer, Sunlake, senior
195-pound: Amir Burgess, Pasco, junior
220-pound: Theotis Smith, Zephyrhills, sophomore
285-pound: Cayman Wiseman, Sunlake, senior

Second-Team
106-pound: Jason DeSantis, Cypress Creek, sophomore
113-pound: James Day, Zephyrhills, freshman
120-pound: Exavier Beckwith, Wesley Chapel, junior
126-pound: Kyle Dickerson, Pasco, senior
132-pound: Morgan Ray, Land O’ Lakes, junior
138-pound: Jackson Hudson, Cypress Creek, sophomore
145-pound: Jack Evans, Pasco, junior
152-pound: Idaael Reyes, Zephyrhills, sophomore
160-pound: Collins Bogie, Land O’ Lakes, sophomore
170-pound: Renso Fernandez, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
182-pound: Chance Kuber, Pasco, senior
195-pound: Zavion McKinnon, Land O’ Lakes, junior
220-pound: Cassidy Grubs, Pasco, freshman
285-pound: Dujuan McCullough, Zephyrhills, junior

Honorable Mention(s)
Briac Riles, Wesley Chapel, sophomore

The Wesley Chapel High School varsity girls basketball team went 26-4 and reached the Class 4A regional final. (Courtesy of Wesley Chapel High School athletics)

Winter Sports (Girls)
SAC East All-Conference Girls Basketball
Team Champion: Wesley Chapel
Coach of the Year: Peter Livingston, Wesley Chapel
Player of the Year: Kayla Grant, Wesley Chapel

First-Team
Kayla Grant, Wesley Chapel, senior
Zoi Evans, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
Arianna Rivera-Heppenstall, Wesley Chapel, senior
Taija McCullough, Zephyrhills, junior
Daisy McQuain, Sunlake, senior

Second-Team
Mia Nicholson, Wesley Chapel, junior
Natalie Rodriguez, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Allison Fleming, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
April Davis, Land O’ Lakes, junior
Emari Lewis, Wesley Chapel, sophomore

Honorable Mention(s)
Evelyn Randall, Pasco, sophomore
Adrianna Villanueva, Cypress Creek, freshman

SAC East All-Conference Competitive Cheerleading
Team Champion: Land O’ Lakes
Coach of the Year: Danielle Hammer, Wiregrass Ranch
Cheerleader of the Year: Sarah Spitzig, Land O’ Lakes

First-Team
Sarah Spitzig, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Laura Madison, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Lauren Jones, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Gabriela Miller, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Emma Flannery, Pasco, senior
Kristal Prado Zapata, Wesley Chapel, senior
Layla Gilyard, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Taryn Clower, Cypress Creek, junior
Brooke Sokolowski, Cypress Creek, junior
Brianna Cunningham, Zephyrhills, junior

Second-Team
Christina Agovino, Land O’ Lakes, junior
Mayah Ocasio, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Camryn Steele, Land O’ Lakes, junior
Emma Runkel, Land O’ Lakes, junior
Juliette Pacheco, Sunlake, senior
Julia Thomas, Sunlake, senior
Sydeny Taylor, Wesley Chapel, junior
Laynye Longley, Wesley Chapel, sophomore
Brooke Pudoka, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
Alyssa Pollicita, Cypress Creek, sophomore

SAC East All-Conference Girls Soccer
Team Champion: Wiregrass Ranch
Coach of the Year: Jen Craven, Land O’ Lakes
Offensive Player of the Year: Avery Damjanovic, Wiregrass Ranch
Defensive Player of the Year: Sydney Bauer, Wesley Chapel

First-Team
Ashley Doers, Land O’ Lakes, senior
Nisa Cahoon, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Sydney Bauer, Wesley Chapel, junior
Jada Silvest, Land O’ Lakes, freshman
Gaby Cardenas, Wesley Chapel, senior
Kylee Ehmann, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Avery Damjanovic, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
Jordan Green, Land O’ Lakes, freshman
Madison Holcombe, Wesley Chapel, junior
Maddy Golka, Wesley Chapel, sophomore
Avery Wild, Land O’ Lakes, senior

Second-Team
Katelyn Hicks, Sunlake, sophomore
Kelsey Kadlub, Pasco, junior
Jaydean Ireland, Zephyrhills, senior
Ashley Roth, Sunlake, senior
Abby Murphy, Cypress Creek, senior
Kaylei Koschman, Wesley Chapel, junior
Amaris Hamilton-Grein, Wesley Chapel, freshman
Raegan Bourne, Cypress Creek, senior
Kobi Page, Land O’ Lakes, sophomore
Rylee Humphries, Wiregrass Ranch, sophomore
Delaney Sanders, Cypress Creek, senior

SAC East Girls Weightlifting
Team Champion: Sunlake
Coach of the Year: Denise Garcia, Sunlake
Athlete of the Year: Juliette Pacheco, Sunlake

First-Team
101-pound: Andje Costa, Cypress Creek, sophomore
110-pound: Gabriella Schwarz, Sunlake, sophomore
119-pound: Madison Guincho, Sunlake, junior
129-pound: Delaney Pratt, Sunlake, senior
139-pound: Gianna Levy, Sunlake, senior
154-pound: Sarah Davis, Zephyrhills, senior
169-pound: Juliette Pacheco, Sunlake, senior
183-pound: Brianna Caban, Sunlake, senior
199-pound: Antoinette Farmer, Sunlake, senior
Unlimited: Sarita Alzate, Land O’ Lakes, senior

Second-Team
101-pound: Alexandria Black, Wiregrass Ranch, junior
110-pound: Savannah Lee, Wesley Chapel, senior
119-pound: Gianna Long, Sunlake, freshman
129-pound: Asia Wilmer, Zephyrhills, junior
139-pound: Gianina Rios, Wiregrass Ranch, senior
154-pound: Madison Aguilera, Zephyrhills, junior
169-pound: Alyssa Kremer, Land O’ Lakes, senior
183-pound: Lakisia Thomas, Zephyrhills, senior
199-pound: Kyleigh Smith, Zephyrhills, senior
Unlimited: Juliana Garcia, Sunlake, junior

Honorable Mention(s)
Moriah Tucker, Pasco, freshman

Land O’ Lakes seeks new football coach

By

Land O’ Lakes High School athletics department underwent a search for a new head football coach in 2018.

The school again is heading back to the drawing board to find the next leader of its varsity football program, a mere two years later.

Chad Walker, who coached the Gators in 2018 and 2019, resigned from his post to become the head football coach at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa; the private school made the announcement official earlier this month.

Chad Walker resigned from Land O’ Lakes High School to become the head football coach at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa. The Gators program went a combined 9-11 in his two seasons. (Courtesy of Cambridge Christian School Athletics)

Walker’s exit from Land O’ Lakes marks the only varsity head football coaching vacancy in Pasco County this offseason.

Walker undoubtedly has big shoes to fill at his latest stop. He replaces Bob Dare, who in 11 seasons steered Cambridge Christian to five straight playoff appearances, including a trip to the 2A state title game in 2015. Dare also is Cambridge’s all-time winningest football coach, with 72 victories. Walker takes over a team that went 8-3 last season and reached the 2A regional semifinals, losing to Admiral Farragut.

Walker’s tenure at Land O’ Lakes was somewhat of a mixed bag, after he replaced former coach Brian Wachtel, who held the post for seven seasons from 2011 to 2017.

In Walker’s first season in 2018, the Gators went 7-3, narrowly missing the playoffs, but achieving its first winning campaign since 2013, restoring some confidence in the historic program.

Perhaps just as important that year, the Gators finally supplanted crosstown foe Sunlake High in the annual “Butter Bowl” rivalry game — the first such victory in eight years. (Land O’ Lakes did win the Butter Bowl game in 2011, but it was later forfeited due to recruiting violations.)

The 2018 team also saw wins over Citrus, Cypress Creek, Lakeland Christian, Pasco, Anclote and Fivay high schools, respectively.

Walker’s second season was a reversal of fortune, though.

The 2019 team slumped to a 2-8 mark, its only wins coming against Freedom and Zephyrhills Christian schools. And, most of the team’s losses were blowouts, with a 31-point loss, three 40-plus point losses and two 50-plus point losses, among others. All told, the Gators were outscored 137-363.

The Land O’ Lakes Gators varsity football team went 2-8 in 2019. (File)

The letdown season was a bit surprising, as the team returned All-Conference quarterback Ethan Forrester and added a couple of prominent assistant coaches, including former NFL players Aveion Cason and Kelvin Kinney. The team, however, graduated about two dozen seniors from the prior season, including eight All-Conference selections.

Walker joined Land O’ Lakes as a 33-year-old with a background as a veteran college football assistant, with stops at Division I FCS, Division II and Division III levels. He was an All-Conference tight end at Division I FCS Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, then parlayed that into a professional stint in NFL Italy and the European Federation of American Football. While at Land O’ Lakes, he worked for Tampa-based Applied Science and Performance Institute (ASPI), which provides advanced training and development to college and pro football players and other athletes.

The next leader of the Gators’ program will become the sixth football coach in school history. Besides Walker and Wachtel, previous head coaches were Matt Kitchie, John Benedetto and Dan Sikes.

For many years, Land O’ Lakes had one of the top football programs in Pasco County, earning a string of 14 straight playoff appearances from 1997 to 2009 under coaches Benedetto and Kitchie.

But, the team hasn’t made the playoffs since, as recent success of other programs in the county — as well as an ever-challenging district — have made winning consistently a tall task.

The team will have to groom a new starting quarterback with the graduation of Forrester, but the bulk of the roster is expected to return in 2020.

Published January 22, 2020