The Laker/Lutz News

Cornell University

New Tampa teen’s javelin throw among nation’s best

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As a kicker on the Wharton High School varsity football team and a defender on the varsity boys soccer team, Zach Godbold relies on his legs quite a bit.

But, it’s his right arm and throwing ability, that could take him furthest in his athletic endeavors.

The 17-year-old New Tampa resident happens to be one of the nation’s top high school javelin throwers, as a junior on the Wharton varsity track and field team.

New Tampa teen Zach Godbold is ranked among the nation’s top high school javelin throwers. The 17-year-old Wharton High School junior’s best mark so far this season is 191 feet. (Courtesy of Kyle LoJacono)

At an AAU meet last month in Fort Lauderdale, Godbold recorded a javelin throw of 191 feet, which, for a short period, ranked No. 1 nationally for junior athletes 18 years old and under.

While the mark has since been surpassed, it still ranks among the top 10 throws nationally —and tops in Florida.

“He’s by far the No. 1 in the state,” Wharton track and field coach Kyle LoJacono said.

The feat earned Godbold a coveted spot at the annual New Balance National Outdoor meet, regarded as the most prestigious postseason track and field championships for high school athletes. The meet, set for June in Greensboro, North Carolina, showcases more than 2,900 of America’s elite and emerging high school talent.

Not one to regularly look up his national ranking, Godbold couldn’t help himself following his recent performance in South Florida.

“I actually hadn’t been looking at the national rankings at all,” he said, “but then, after I threw that one and it felt really good, I went and looked it up, and I was very happy, obviously.”

Godbold isn’t settling with his current mark, though. He said he wants to surpass 210 feet in the javelin by the end of the year.

“I was very excited with my throw this year because it’s so early in the season, that later on I’m hoping to improve on that, obviously,” Godbold said.

Javelin comes naturally
Success in javelin is not foreign to Godbold, since taking up the discipline about six years ago.

When he was 12 years old, he finished second overall in javelin for his age division at the 2014 AAU Junior Olympics Track and Field meet in Des Moines, Iowa.

Over the years, he’s gone on to finish among the top performers multiple times for his age bracket in the Junior Olympics championships, including earning a gold medal as a 14-year-old when the meet was in Houston, Texas.

Godbold also competes in the shotput and discus.

Like javelin, he took up the throwing events after growing tired of always running in track and field, which he did mainly to stay in shape for football season.

“I really didn’t want to run anymore,” Godbold said, “so I just tried all three of the throwing events.”

Javelin has come most natural to Godbold, as a multi-sport athlete with a background in baseball and football.

He explained: “I’ve always been playing sports where I have to like throw a ball. I always played baseball, football — I was the backup quarterback for like Hail Marys — so I’ve always just been like throwing something and it just translates, like having a strong arm.”

“It was something that just translated to me really well,” he said.

Javelin, however, takes more than throwing ability to master, said Godbold, who stands at 6 feet and 190 pounds.

As “probably the most technical” of all throwing events in track and field, Godbold noted javelin requires power and strength from the lower body.

Godbold practices his throws about two or three times per week. The rest of the time is dedicated to quick sprints and medicine ball work, as opposed to lifting heavy weights.

“It’s more like throwing with your legs than your arms, despite what people think. It’s about more running and working with your legs and stuff,” he said.

Lofty goals ahead
Godbold’s javelin performances of late have drawn the attention of major college track and field programs.

He’s received interest from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Cornell and Stanford universities, among others.

“I’m definitely trying to make the Division I level,” Godbold said.

The 2024 Olympics is also on his long-term radar. “That would definitely be a goal of mine, to compete for the U.S.,” he said.

More immediately, Godbold is looking to make history at the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) track and field meet over the next two years.

The FHSAA, for the first time ever, will crown an individual champion in the javelin as a provisional event, after it’s been an exhibition event each of the last two years.

However, the javelin throw won’t accumulate points toward team scores until the 2020 season when it officially becomes the FHSAA’s 18th sanctioned track and field event.

“My goal is to win states,” Godbold said, “and then hopefully next year, when it’s an official event, do the same and score points.”

Meantime, the prospect of finally being able to benefit from the elite javelin thrower has Wharton coaches excited.

“It’ll be huge,” LoJacono said, noting the track team would’ve won a recent divisional meet had Godbold’s javelin throws counted toward scoring.

It also has the team gearing up for the event sooner than other area schools, said longtime Wharton throws coach Wes Newton.

Said Newton, “Because we have Zach, and because they’re (the FHSAA) going to put the javelin in, we started the javelin much earlier than most everybody else, and so, no school in this county does what we do, because we have him.”

Newton also said Godbold’s presence in the javelin has led to several other Wharton athletes taking up the throwing event.

“We have four guys that throw the javelin and about five girls that throw the javelin,” Newton said. “No other school has that.”

Published April 03, 2019

Sports museum coming to Florida Hospital Center Ice

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Digit Murphy knows a thing or two about achieving success in the sports industry, as one of the most decorated female hockey coaches of all time.

She was the featured guest speaker during the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Wesley Chapel event on Dec. 7 at Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care, at Wiregrass Ranch. Her presentation centered on female empowerment and fostering gender equity in sports.

Digit Murphy, left, is shown with Florida Hospital Center Ice Managing Partner Gordie Zimmermann. Murphy’s nonprofit, Play It Forward Sport Foundation, has partnered with Florida Hospital Center Ice to bring a first-of-its kind women’s sports museum to the Wesley Chapel-based ice complex. The interactive museum is expected to open early next year. (Courtesy of North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce)

She was in town for another announcement, also.

Murphy’s Play It Forward Sport Foundation has partnered with Florida Hospital Center Ice to bring a first-of-its-kind women’s sports museum to the Wesley Chapel-based ice complex. Expected to open early next year, the interactive museum will be situated in one of the facility’s viewing rooms, where visitors will scan a QR code to view content. The room will also feature various historic memorabilia in women’s hockey.

Murphy’s personal history includes starring as a collegiate player at Cornell University and then embarking on a 22-year coaching career at Brown University, where she compiled more than 300 career wins.

At one point, she was the winningest coach in Division I women’s hockey. (She now ranks 13th all-time in career wins in college women’s ice hockey).

In the professional ranks, Murphy spent three years with the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, becoming the first American-born coach to win two Clarkson Cup titles. She was the first coach to lead a U.S.-based team to two Cup wins.

In addition to coaching, Murphy in 2016 co-founded the United Women’s Lacrosse League, the world’s first-ever pro league for women’s lacrosse.

Murphy, 57, now serves as an advocate for gender equity in sports through United Women’s Sports and nonprofit partner Play It Forward Sport Foundation.

The Laker/Lutz News caught up with Murphy for an exclusive Q-and-A, where she opined on a number of different topics related to women, sports, and of course, hockey.

On why women need to place value on sports for their children:
“We don’t prioritize what sports can do for our kids. We should even see sports as more important than school at some level, because it develops their whole body, and, in a really great way, their mind. It’s about discipline. It’s about being on time. It’s about respect. And, I’m not saying that you don’t learn that in school, but you certainly learn that with the right coach on the field, and that’s where I really believe when (women) can make a difference, if they make sports a part of their life. It teaches you how to deal with adverse situations, and we don’t look at it (sports) like something that’s necessary, we look at it like an activity, and I really, truly believe that it can change people’s lives; sport is a great way to help empower people.”

On the need for more female coaches, especially at the youth levels:
“I think that a voice of having a woman coach, coaching boys is very important, as well as coaching girls. I believe that women can coach differently. They can become comfortable with coaching, with the right mentoring. Unfortunately, coaching is looked at as a nontraditional female (occupation). You can learn the Xs and Os, but you can’t learn the management of kids, and moms do it best. Moms have eyes in the back of their head. We see a lot, so I think we are actually perfect coaches, especially at the young ages. And, keeping it fun. Again, men make it about the Xs and Os. Women have the potential to be better at the younger ages, because they make it fun.”

On building a successful model for women’s professional sports leagues:
“Women (athletes) right now, in my opinion, can’t get off the dime professionally because they operate in silos and there’s not enough critical mass around the model to have sponsors. Like, I see women’s sports as a huge opportunity in the world, because we’re not where men’s sports is, so any visionary and business is going to see it as an option, especially if we do the model differently. Let’s make it sustainable. It doesn’t have to be as big. Make it smaller. Make it community-based. Make it regional. Take the all-stars from that and make it into a pro league. Change the rules. It’s that simple. There’s just so many different models that people aren’t thinking about, because they’re just not thinking about them, because they just accept the status quo. Why do we have to play in these huge stadiums? Maybe we can play in smaller stadiums. Maybe it can be a mother-daughter event as opposed to a daughter-father event like it always turns into.”

On why women’s professional sports leagues have struggled to become viable in the United States:
“I’ve said for years: The reason women’s professional sports doesn’t succeed is because they’re in the wrong cities. I think you need to be in cities that want you. Not just because it’s Boston, New York, Detroit — that’s where all the men (pro sports organizations) are. Go to outliers; they’ve got nothing to do. I remember when I was at Brown, one of our biggest, biggest, biggest venues to go to was Hanover, New Hampshire (to face Ivy League rival Dartmouth University), because there’s nothing else to do in New Hampshire. Same thing with Ithaca, New York (Cornell University). I think sometimes, because we’re so entrenched in the tradition, we can’t think outside the box. You’ve got to find an environment that will embrace it, that has a progressive mindset, that has a community that’s ready to pop. You need energy, you need passion, and you need that positive growth mindset. If you have that, you really can do anything.”

On the advancement of gender equity in college sports in the Title IX era:
“It’s kind of sad that there’s a long way to go. Unfortunately, Title IX’s an entitlement program because you have to have it, and whenever you have to have something, you’re not motivated to do better. And, sometimes, women’s sports are perceived as a suck on the (college) athletic department, because they have to have it, so they just throw it over there and they just do it because they have to have it. But, if women took control of it and gave back to it and nurtured it like they do other things, I think you would see a major shift in athletics. So, I think the people in charge need to change their mindset. They need to change the people that are implementing the practices, and when you start to see that, that’s when you’re going to see Title IX really take control — when you see people embrace it, instead of seeing it as a detriment. And so, I think Title IX has come a long way, but you still see it go on. The problem is we don’t have enough women in the industry. Because, the second you introduce wealth into it, you don’t see a lot of women coaches. You need to have more women leaders, role models and examples. This is what I always say: Title IX works when you see women coaches crossing over to men’s sports.”

On what she’s most proud of from her hockey playing and coaching career:
“I think the moment that I was most proud of probably was in 2015, winning the Clarkson Cup (with the Boston Blades). The way we won it was very important to me. It was a third-line player that scored the goal to win it, and it was in overtime. You know, it was empowering for me to be able to manage a bench that had a whole team playing and contributing; I think that was important. But, I also think that there’s just so many things for me, because I really was a woman that had done a lot of firsts, because there was no one else. Whatever it was, like those firsts really culminated in my life to give me what I can do, which is to give more opportunities.”

On touring the Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, the largest ice complex in the Southeast United States:
“Unbelievable. I thought I was actually walking into a Canadian rink. It’s very impressive. They thought of all the details. The whole energy that’s around sports in Tampa and Pasco County is very exciting.”

Published December 19, 2018

Awards keep coming for Land O’ Lakes student

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When it comes to accomplishments, Maxwell William Keenan, or Max, for short, has racked up quite a few.

The Land O’ Lakes High senior’s academic credentials are impressive.

He ranks 14th out of 4,632 seniors in Pasco County.

He’s a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.

Max Keenan has garnered numerous accolades during his academic career, including, most recently ‘Pasco County Schools Most Outstanding Senior.’
(B.C. Manion)

And, he achieved high marks on two leading college admissions tests, scoring a 34 out of a possible 36 on the ACT and a 1,490 out of 1,600 on the SAT.

Beyond all that, he’s had success on the tennis court. He’s involved in community service projects, and he helped launch his school’s Investment Club.

Recently, he added to that list of distinctions by being named Pasco County Schools Outstanding Senior.

The award was bestowed during the Pasco County School Board’s meeting on Dec. 20.

In announcing the award, the presenter quoted comments from Land O’ Lakes High Principal Ric Mellin.

“Like his peers nominated for this award, Maxwell came highly recommended,” according to the principal’s account.

“His accomplishments in academics, athletics, service …are well-documented. However, Maxwell’s natural leadership ability and kindheartedness, sets him apart from other students,” Mellin added.

Keenan has a 4.0, unweighted grade point average, in the rigorous International Baccalaureate Program, and a 4.75 weighted GPA, Mellin said.

Initially, students at Land O’ Lakes High voted on who should represent the school. They narrowed the list to the top 10, and then the teachers voted, Keenan said.

Next, he was interviewed at the school district’s office.

It “is truly an honor” to be chosen for the award, Keenan said.

After graduation, he hopes to attend either Cornell University or the University of Chicago.

Keenan plans to study economics. He’s particularly interested in how economics affects government policies.

He said he hopes to gain a greater understanding of the impact that laws have on the average person.

He’d also like to pursue a law degree and is interested in politics.

Keenan said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from the teachers and administration at Land O’ Lakes High.

His appreciation for school administrators may have been developed at an early age.

His mom, Kimberly Keenan, is a former principal of Tampa Palms Elementary in Hillsborough County, and he used to tutor some of the younger students at the school.

It was a rewarding experience, he said, because he saw the children making progress.

His volunteer work didn’t end there.

Over the years, he’s connected with veterans at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home, he’s been involved in campus cleanups at Land O’ Lakes High, he’s helped raise money for Red Cross and he’s taken a leadership role in Relay for Life activities.

“Relay for Life is my main community service club. I absolutely love it because I deal with so many people who are directly impacted by cancer, and I get to help them, not only with their struggle with cancer, but hopefully preventing future struggles with cancer.

“A lot of the money raised by Relay for Life is invested in new cancer research,” he explained.

Published January 25, 2017

He offers a ‘hypnotic’ form of entertainment

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Hypnotist Michael C. Anthony shares the stage with 30 or so people who don’t mind a bit of suggestive fun.

They might fall asleep. Or forget their names. Or break into dance. Or, they might even be convinced that a belt is a wriggling snake.

They might even find true love, of a most unusual kind.

Hypnotist Michael C. Anthony will perform at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. (Courtesy of Michael C. Anthony)
Hypnotist Michael C. Anthony will perform at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
(Courtesy of Michael C. Anthony)

“I made a guy fall in love with a broom,” said Anthony, who will bring his Hypnotized Live! Show to Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on May 20 and May 21.

He invites audience members to leave their seats and become part of his show. But, they have a choice.

They can “SEE the show or BE the show.”

“I don’t pressure anybody to come on the stage,” Anthony said.

There is never a problem of getting people to join in the act.

Anthony, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, starts his performances with a few minutes of stand up comedy so the audience knows “this is going to be fun. At the end of the show, you’ll be glad you did this.”

The full-time hypnotist has been performing for about 20 years displaying his skills in theaters, at corporate events and at colleges. He’s been to every state except Alaska and to several foreign countries, as well.

More than a year ago, Anthony joined The Illusionists as an entertainer with the group’s theatrical touring company. He works with six magicians when he does those shows.

“That’s a lot of fun,” he said. “We do huge theaters.”

Anthony has entertainment roots.

His great uncle, Joe LaMonico, performed as a hypnotist on cruise ships and at resorts in the Catskills Mountains in upstate New York. LaMonico lived in Buffalo most of his life, but Anthony said his uncle lived in Hudson for many years.

Though born in New York, Anthony moved with his mother to Canada when he was about 2. He’s been living in Land O’ Lakes for about 15 years.

“Most of my work is in the United States,” Anthony said. “I can live anywhere but thought ‘Let’s go somewhere warm.”’

As a youngster, Anthony performed magic tricks for friends. But magic soon morphed into a passion for hypnotism.

“I got fascinated with it all on my own,” Anthony said, though he did get encouragement from his uncle.

He is a board-certified hypnotherapist but Anthony said helping people quit smoking wasn’t nearly the fun of being a stage artist.

He began working as a hypnotist full time during his early 20s. Besides staging shows at colleges, universities and corporate events, he’s also played nightclubs and comedy shows.

More often, now he performs in theaters and at colleges around the country including New York University and Cornell University.

Anthony knows some people come to the theater as skeptics about hypnotism. But he said, “They leave as believers because I entertain the pants off them.”

Hypnotism has taught Anthony a few things about body language after years of observing his audience members who, in a hypnotic trance, can fall asleep and go limp with the snap of his finger.

Nearly two years ago he wrote “Body Language Secrets: How to Read minds by Reading bodies.”

He recently appeared on WFLA television station’s “Daytime” show to discuss body language of presidential candidates including Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Both have been guilty of jabbing their index finger into the air to emphasize a point, Anthony said.

“People don’t want that,” he said. “They feel they are being scolded.”

But Trump and Clinton appear to have followed advice from media experts. Now, Anthony said they do what he described as “modified” finger pointing, with the hand held up while the index finger touches the thumb.

At the Straz Center, Anthony will concentrate his thoughts, not on body language and politics, but on entertaining the crowd.

“I’m the director of a play with a cast of 30, who have never seen the script,” he said.

The audience can expect the unexpected, and at times, Anthony is just as surprised.

He watched one night as a young woman, in a trance, suddenly walked around a row of chairs heading toward the man amorously hugging the broom he loved so much.

“She got to the broom and just slapped it across the face,” Anthony said.

Turned out, she was the man’s girlfriend.

WHAT: Hypnotized Live!
WHERE: Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, in downtown Tampa
WHEN: May 20 and May 21 at 7:30 p.m.
COST: Tickets are $39.99 and $49.99
INFORMATION: Contact the ticket office at (813) 229-7827 or 1-800-955-1045

Published May 11, 2016

Local students shine at nationals

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Five students from Land O’ Lakes Christian School claimed national awards at the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition held at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The contest, held from April 12 to April 14, drew approximately 1,800 competitors from 29 states. Participants earned the right to compete by capturing the top awards in their state contests.

The students represented nearly 200 Christian high schools. They competed in 76 categories in the areas of Bible, music, speech, art and academics.

Three students from Land O’ Lakes Christian School won first place awards in the competition and two others finished among the top five.

These five students from Land O’ Lakes Christian School were among the top five finishers at the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition. In descending order, they are: Tommy Campbell, Logan Juday, Paul Wei, Ruth Zhang and Emily Mengel. Campbell, Zhang and Mengel all brought home first place honors. (Courtesy of Land O' Lakes Christian School)
These five students from Land O’ Lakes Christian School were among the top five finishers at the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition. In descending order, they are: Tommy Campbell, Logan Juday, Paul Wei, Ruth Zhang and Emily Mengel.
Campbell, Zhang and Mengel all brought home first place honors.
(Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes Christian School)

Tommy Campbell took first place in Topical Preaching and first place in Original Persuasive Oratory.

Ruth Zhang took first place in Calligraphy, third place in Algebra/Geometry and third place in Advanced Math.

Emily Mengel took first place in Printmaking.

Paul Wei took second place in Extemporaneous Speaking and Logan Juday took third place in Accounting.

The Bible competition included Bible quiz teams, preaching and teaching. The academic competition included academic testing and a science fair. The music students challenged each other in solo and group competitions, in both vocal and instrumental music.

Speech contestants competed in such categories as debate, dramatic interpretation, original oratory, acting and other categories.

Art students displayed their works for judging.

The Land O’ Lakes Christian School students were thrilled and surprised by their impressive showing.

“I was not expecting to win. The other people were extremely good. I thought I would be blessed just to place. Even at state I wasn’t expecting to win,” said Campbell, a senior.

In the Topical Preaching category, he preached about faith, with his remarks aimed at encouraging people to “have faith and trust God” in their decision-making.

Ruth Zhang demonstrated her considerable calligraphy and artistic skills in the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition, and she brought home a first place award to Land O’ Lakes Christian School. (B.C. Manion/Staff photos)
Ruth Zhang demonstrated her considerable calligraphy and artistic skills in the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition, and she brought home a first place award to Land O’ Lakes Christian School.
(B.C. Manion/Staff photos)

For Original Persuasive Oratory, he focused on generational values.

“It was about how the generation that our grandparents grew up (in), during their time, they were taught to have manners and people didn’t put so much value on material possessions and people valued the family unit, things like that — and how our generation lacks a lot of that today,” he said.

Campbell plans to attend Pensacola Christian College and to major in Bible Pastoral Ministries. He said he’ll go wherever God leads him, but he hopes that will be to be a pastor of a church.

Even though he claimed the top prize for in the preaching category, Campbell said he discovered something surprising.

“I’ve been working really hard at this for a few years now and I always thought that the ultimate joy and happiness would come from when I finally won. But now that I’ve actually won best in the nation … I realized that I’ve had the same happiness all along and that actually came from just being able to be used of God. I already had the ultimate happiness,” Campbell said.

Zhang, a junior, did an elaborate work to win the top prize in Calligraphy.

She’s interested in pursuing a degree in architecture and has identified Cornell University as her ideal school. A native of China, she has been living in the United States for two years.

She also placed in the top five in two mathematics categories. She noted that the mathematics exams at the national level were more difficult than those at the state competition.

Emily Mengel impressed the judges with her printmaking skills, capturing top honors at the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition.
Emily Mengel impressed the judges with her printmaking skills, capturing top honors at the 39th annual American Association of Christian Schools National Competition.

Mengel depicted a skyline in her Printmaking entry. “I love being up high because you see everything,” she said, explaining her fascination for skylines.

Like her school mates, the sophomore was delighted by her first-place finish.  “I didn’t think I was even going to place, so it was a big shock,” she said.

Juday, a senior, said he previously competed in photography but decided to give accounting a try this year, after being encouraged by a teacher.

“I didn’t know I placed first until I got to the state competition and they called my name. I had no idea,” said Juday, who took third at nationals.

Paul Wei, a junior, won second in Extemporaneous Speaking. “I was very excited,” Wei said. It was his first competition and he plans to compete again, he said.

It was a great bonding experience for students, Wei said.

Published May 4, 2016