Wharton athletes sign NLI’s

Posted May 21, 2013 by Nick Williams

Updated May 21, 2013 at 04:26 PM

Inside the school’s conference room on Tuesday, eight student-athletes from Wharton High were recognized for signing national letters of intent to play sports in college.

The athletes were:

Tyler Watson, track and field, Jackson State
Britany Smith, track and field, Alabama
Areion Caldwell, fooball, Methodist College
Keith Hopkins, football, Wittenberg
Rocky Enos, football, Webber International
Fritznel Jean-Francois, football, Hutchison Community College
Shannon Clark, golf, Hartford
Alex Kranick, baseball, Pasco Hernando Community College

Touchdown Club of Atlanta names Hargreaves top defensive back in the country

Posted May 21, 2013 by Nick Williams

Updated May 21, 2013 at 04:21 PM

The awards keep rolling in for Wharton High defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III.

The Touchdown Club of Atlanta has selected the University of Florida signee as the top defensive back in the nation, according to Wharton coach David Mitchell, and will present Hargreaves with a special award during a ceremony at Wharton on May 28th at 1:30 p.m.

Each year, the club bestows upon two athletes the Bobby Dodd National High School Back and Lineman of the Year Awards, given to the players regarded as the top athletes moving on to the college ranks. The awards are named in honor of the late Bobby Dodd, the former Georgia Tech head football coach and athletic director.

Hargreaves accounted for 110 tackles and five interceptions during his senior year and received the Guy Toph Award, which goes to Hillsborough County’s top player. He was also named a Parade Magazine All-American and was named MVP of the Under Armour All-American game in January.

Hargreaves was ranked as one of the country’s top five prep players by many scouting services, including ESPN, which had him rated as the nation’s top cornerback and the No. 3 overall prospect.

FACA Baseball Classic Rosters announced

Posted May 21, 2013 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated May 21, 2013 at 02:01 PM

The 35th Annual Florida Athletic Coaches Association Baseball Classic has announced its rosters for a four-game series held in Sebring May 24-26 as representatives from four sections of Florida will compete in the annual tournament.

The tournament hosted by FACA, the Sebring Firemen, Inc. and Diamond Sports will feature the games as well as a Pro/College Scout workout.

The West All-Stars roster features six Hillsborough County seniors: Plant’s Pete Alonso, Bloomingdale’s Cody Crouse, Durant’s Tyler Danish, Cambridge’s Nick Eicholtz, Gaither’s Oscar Mercado and King’s Brett Morales.

Bloomingdale coach Kris Wilken will serve as one of the team’s assistant coaches. 

WEST ALL STARS
NAME CITY-SCHOOL
Kellen Brown, Dunedin
Kameron Gellinger, Island Coast
Danny Lee, Jr., Manatee
Richie Lacell, Cypress Lake
Tyler Danish, Durant
Sean Brady , Ida Baker
Cooper Hammond, Venice
David Palenzuela, Monsignor Pace
Sean Labsan, Sarasota-Riverview
Christian Arroyo, Brooksville-Hernando
Oscar Mercado, Tampa-Gaither
Chris Okey, Eustis
Nick Longhi , Venice
Brett Morales, Tampa-King
Cord Sandberg, Manatee
Grant Hodges, East Lake
Cody Crouse, Bloomingdale
Pete Alonso, Tampa-Plant
Nick Eicholtz, Cambridge Christian
Brandon Brosher, Springstead
Michael Mann, Seminole
Nick Nolan, Seminole
Head Coach:  Bobby Pringle, Ft. Myers-Riverdale
Assistants:    Kris Wilken, Bloomingdale
                Frank Turco, Estero High
                Justin Budmayr, Ft. Myers-Riverdale

Green seeking funds for trip

Posted May 19, 2013 by Scott Purks

Updated May 19, 2013 at 03:54 PM

Hillsborough superstar triple jumper Jeremiah Green has an invitation to defend his national title at the New Balance Outdoor National Meet in North Carolina June 14-16, but at the moment he doesn’t have the funds to get there.

If you’d like to help fund the trip for Green, who leads the nation this year with a triple jump of 52 feet, 1.75 inches, please contact Hillsborough High track coach Joe Sipp at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

“We thought we were going to have some funding but it fell through,” Sipp said. “If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.”

Area Athletes Shine at Golden South Classic

Posted May 19, 2013 by Scott Purks

Updated May 19, 2013 at 03:47 PM

Two Hillsborough County track athletes had particularly big nights at Saturday’s Golden South Classic meet in Orlando: Plant’s Julia Rodriguez won the 3200 in a blazing 10 minutes, 53.23 seconds and Hillsborough’s Jorian Ordway won the 400 in a personal-best 54.19 seconds.

St. Petersburg Gibbs superstar sprinter Trayvon Bromell also shined brightly, setting a meet record in the 100 meters at 10.27 seconds, breaking the mark of 10.29 seconds set by Palmetto’s Curtis Johnson in 1991. Bromell also teamed with three sprinters from Lakewood—Tim Holmes and Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin—to set a national-best tine for this year in the 4X100 relay at 40.29 seconds.