By Kyle LoJacono
Seven Wiregrass Ranch student-athletes sat at the same table, waiting to make their college plans official Feb. 6, National Signing Day.
Three soccer, one tennis, one softball and one football player, along with a distance runner, participated in the event, ensuring they will continue competing for the next few years while setting a new record for signees at one ceremony in the school’s seven-year history.
“In our senior class we definitely have a lot of athletic talent,” said distance runner Nikita Shah. “We’ve had a lot of really strong athletes, and I’m glad that our school is very dedicated to our athletic programs. All our coaches are really great … and help us be a really good school.”
The Bulls’ No. 1 boys tennis player Courage Okungbowa signed with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a Division I program.
“I played a tournament in Tallahassee, and one of the guys I was playing knew the FAMU coach; he told him to come watch me play, and he really liked what he saw,” said Okungbowa, who will study computer engineering. “I went on an official visit, and when I did it was the week of their homecoming. That was a really good experience to see everything and hang with the guys on the team. I really liked everything and the offer that the coach gave me.”
Okungbowa earned his second straight The Laker/Lutz News Boys Tennis Player of the Year honor following his junior season when he went 21-1 in singles play to help the Bulls win a district team title. He also finished as the Class 4A state singles runner-up.
Wiregrass Ranch athletic director and boys tennis coach Dave Wilson has high hopes for Okungbowa this season.
“I expect him to lead us to a state championship as a team,” Wilson said.
Okungbowa said not having to worry about where he’ll play in college will let him focus on the court.
“I can just go out there swinging,” Okungbowa said. “To win states would be the perfect way to kick off my next career in college.”
Softball player Rachael Heath had similar sentiments about inking with Saint Leo University, a Division II program, where she’ll play catcher.
“It’s not as nerve-racking not having to worry about where I’m going and talk with college coaches,” said Heath, who will study sports business. “It really takes the pressure off, so I can just play.”
The soccer trio of Dayton Wetherby, A.J. Blount and Berlin Waters helped raise Wiregrass Ranch girls soccer from doormat to dominating program.
Waters transferred from Academy at the Lakes as a sophomore, a season that saw the Bulls make their first playoff berth. They would win two district championships and three playoff games while averaging 20 victories per season.
“We had such great chemistry together from the start,” said Waters, who will study veterinary medicine while playing at Saint Leo. “To play together the last three years has been great, and signing together is a great way to end that.”
Blount scored a program record 94 goals in her career despite missing her entire junior season with a torn ACL in her right knee. She signed with The University of South Florida to study criminology or communications.
Blount played forward in high school, but may move to outside midfielder or defender in college.
“I’ll play wherever my coaches think I’ll help the team the most,” Blount said.
Wetherby also signed with a Division I program — Navy. She is the first Wiregrass Ranch athlete to play for one of the service academies on scholarship.
“I didn’t know that before today,” Wetherby said. “Going to Navy means I’ll have more to do after I graduate, but for me, I knew it was right.”
Wetherby, who will study political science or physics, signed eight days before traveling to Panama to train with the Women’s National team to prepare for the Central American Games.
Waters played on the academy’s boys team while an eighth-grader and a freshman because the private school didn’t have a girls squad. She scored 73 goals while at Wiregrass Ranch, the second most in program history.
She also signed a cross country scholarship to run with the Lions to go along with her one for soccer, becoming the first dual athlete from Wiregrass Ranch to compete in college.
“They first talked with me about it during regionals for cross country, but didn’t really know if I could do both,” said Waters, who finished 24th in the Class 3A state meet in November. “I talked to the cross country coach, and she said they have had dual athletes run cross country; we talked again a few days ago, and I said yes.”
Waters said staying close to home was a big draw with picking Saint Leo.
“I wanted to stay in state and not go too far,” Waters said. “Saint Leo is like 20 minutes from my house.”
Proximity was also key in offensive tackle Ben Botteron signing with Webber International, a Division I program.
“It was close enough, but still far enough away,” said Botteron, who will major in criminal justice. “Good distance.”
Shah will have to travel the furthest for college after picking to run cross country and track at Harvard University, a Division I program in Massachusetts.
“The school is arguably the best in the world, the campus is great, they have a really low injury rate and I just really liked the team,” said Shah, who will major in premed.
Shah, a three-time defending The Laker/Lutz News Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, turned down offers to run at the University of Florida, Florida State University, Colombia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among others.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
