State cross country meet leaving Little Everglades

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 05:57 PM

After staging the state cross country championships at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City since 2005, the Florida High School Athletics Association announced today the venue’s foundation has been granted a release from its final year as the meet’s contracted host, FHSAA director of athletics Shanell Young confirmed Thursday.

The popular Pre-State meet will also no longer be staged at Little Everglades Ranch.

In recent years, there has been growing gulf between the owners of Little Everglades Ranch and those in the state’s cross country community, particularly the coaches. The main issue has been entre fees and the price to park and attend events there. For the Pre-State meet, the ranch charged entry fees close to $150 per school. Spectators for this meet and the state finals were charged $9 each and $10 for parking, including buses and vans that transported the teams.

Organizers of the event claim the pricing was needed to help offset the cost of keeping up the facility, which is designed primarily for horse steeplechase races. The parking policy was done, they say, to avoid confusion as to who and who was not allowed to park free in the rush of traffic trying to enter the parking area at peak times. And when passes were issued to teams in the past, organizers say some teams abused the passes or allowed them to end up in the wrong team vehicle.

Plant coach Roy Harrison said he has mixed feelings about the meet leaving Little Everglades.

“It’s nice to change it around, travel and get away from Tampa a little bit,” Harrison said. “But I think we should have a permanent site for the state meet. We have no state records because we’re always moving the state meet.

“I liked the Little Everglades course a lot meet because as a coach, I could see my runners a lot. They let you on the infield and I could see them all over the course. A lot of meets, they won’t let you do that.”

Panthers boys coach Mike Boza said he understands the financial reasons for the move.

“I’m going to miss the course but with it being a private location, it was necessary for them to require a certain amount of revenue to cover their expenses,” Boza said. “Hopefully, we can find a public venue and a sports commission elsewhere that will allow us to have a great state meet.”

The FHSAA will post proposals specifications for the meet on its web site starting April 1. Request for Proposals (RFP) packages will then be sent to interested bidders. Once the bids have been submitted, FHSAA officials will make site visits, rank the bidders and make a decision on the top venue before starting negotiations.

“The FHSAA has been contacted verbally by a number of venues interested in hosting the Cross Country Finals thus far and we eagerly await the responses from facilities that want to partner with us,” Sobers said.

The venue prior to Little Everglades was Tampa’s Ed Radice Sports Complex in northwest Tampa. The meet has also been as far away as north Jacksonville.

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Pasco QB Jacob Guy receives Colgate offer

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 12:10 PM

Days following Pasco senior quarterback Jacob Guy’s visit to Colgate University, coach Tom McHugh says his quarterback has received an offer.

Guy, who broke Pasco County single-season records for touchdown passes (42) and yards (2,672) for the 13-1 Pirates, has a few other offers on the table, but has yet to make a decision on his collegiate football career. Before throwing for 379 yards and five touchdowns in the 5A state semifinal, Guy picked up offers from UMass, Ohio and Western Michigan, but also has a preferred walk-on option to Florida, while Miami (Ohio) and Memphis have expressed interest.

Guy, The Pasco Tribune’s All-County first team quarterback, passed for more than 70 touchdowns in the past two seasons at Pasco, while leading the Pirates to their second region final in the past four seasons. Pasco lost to Crawfordville Wakulla in triple overtime 41-38.

Colgate, a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, N.Y., is a Divison I athletic program in the Patriot League. The football team was 5-6 in 2011.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Wesley Chapel WR Robert Jota to sign with Ridgewater College

Posted Feb 8, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 01:47 PM

Wesley Chapel football coach Ben Alford said Wednesday afternoon that receiver Robert Jota will sign with Ridgewater College, which competes in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) and Region 13 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Jota will join teammates OL/DL Damien Garvey and OL/DL Robert Gonzales, who signed with Ridgewater a week ago on National Signing Day. In addition, fellow teammates ATH Keegan Tanner (Stetson), LB Luke Fisher, FB/LB Angel Ramos, ATH Xavier Leatherbury (Missouri Valley College), DE Angel Locicero (Eri Community College) and RB Devin Piper (Citrus College) also signed letters of intent.

Jota, a 5-foot-8, 150 pound receiver, lead the Wildcats (5-5) with 26 catches for 438 and three touchdowns. The Warriors were 6-4 in 2011.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Pasco WR Mike Larry to sign with junior college

Posted Feb 8, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 12:20 PM

Pasco receiver Mike Larry will sign with North Dakota State College of Science during a ceremony at Irvin Education Center on Thursday morning at 8:45, coach Tom McHugh said Wednesday.

Larry, a 6-foot-1 athlete who was part of the Class 5A state semifinalist Pirates, had 11 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, while on defense, he returned a fumble against Zephyrhills, plus had 14 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Larry will be the third Pirate football player to sign in the past week, as athlete Trey Dudley-Giles signed with UMass and Jon Baxter with Wayne State.

North Dakota State College of Science is a junior college located in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Land O’ Lakes to host send off for boys soccer team Thursday

Posted Feb 8, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 12:13 PM

Before Land O’ Lakes boys soccer team makes its seven-plus hour road trip, the school said it will send off its players and coaches at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the the school, located at 20325 Gator Lane in Land O’ Lakes.

The Gators (22-3-2) will then travel to Tallahassee, where they will stay and have arranged the use a field for practice, then head over to Fortt Walton Beach on Friday for the state semifinal at Choctawhatchee High School at 8 p.m. EST.

As 15th-year coach Mark Pearson said Tuesday night in a text message, “We’ve a some road trip now. Cheers.”

Land O’ Lakes won the Class 3A, Region 2 final Tuesday night 5-0 over Gainesville Eastside, which propelled the team to its first semifinal appearance since 2000. This is Pearson’s third state semifinal appearance in his Land O’ Lakes career, including coaching the Gators to a 1999 state runner-up title.

The Gators, who had been perennially exiting the state tournament early as of recent memory, won the region quarterfinals 4-1 over Fivay and the region semifinals 5-1 over Sunlake, making their first region final appearance since 2005.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.com

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Fivay’s Johnson headed to Seminole State

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Feb 8, 2012 at 04:13 PM

HUDSON—Fivay softball player Ashlynn Johnson signed her letter-of-intent with Seminole State College in Sanford.

Johnson, who played first base, outfield and pitcher for the coach Greg Bollinger’s Falcons in their inaugural season, led the team in batting average (.348), RBI (13), hits (23) and tied for the lead in doubles (6).

On the mound, Johnson was 4-6 with a 3.56 ERA and recorded 61 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched.

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McCaffrey, Pasco coach Moore earn girls basketball awards

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by TBO.com

Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 05:07 PM

The Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) girls basketball District 10 held its annual meeting Monday.

The following were recognized for their accomplishments this season.
District 10 3A Player of the Year:  Andrea Niggebrugge, Senior, Bishop McLaughlin
District 10 5A Player of the Year: Kayla Kivinski, Sophomore, Gulf
District 10 6A Player of the Year: Vasiliki Kostogiannes, Senior, River Ridge
District 10 7A Player of the Year: Kelly McCaffrey, Senior, Wiregrass Ranch
Overall District 10 Player of the Year:  Kelly McCaffrey, Senior Wiregrass Ranch

District 10 3A Coach of the Year:  Joe Jasinski, Bishop Mclaughlin
District 10 5A Coach of the Year: Troy Moore, Pasco
District 10 6A Coach of the Year:  Jacob Tavo, Mitchell
District 10 7A Coach of the Year:  John Gant, Wiregrass Ranch
Overall District 10 Coach of the Year: Troy Moore, Pasco

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Hudson’s Cheye-Anne Savage to sign with Indian River State

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by Mike Camunas

Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 04:44 PM

Hudson volleyball player Cheye-Anne Savage has signed a full-ride scholarship to play for Indian River State College, Cobras coach Kortney Newton said Tuesday morning.

Savage, an honorable mention selection for The Pasco Tribune’s All-County volleyball team, had a team-high 210 kills for the 18-9 Cobras that were upset as the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A-District 8 district tournament by Anclote. As a middle hitter, Savage also added 40 aces, 64 blocks and 42 digs.

Newton added that Savage will sign her letter of intent Feb. 14 at 1:30 p.m. in the conference room at Hudson.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunasTrib.

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Update: FHSAA hits Strawberry Crest, Freedom boys hoops teams with suspensions and fines

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 03:19 PM

Just days before the start of their district tournaments, boys basketball teams from Freedom and Strawberry Crest have been hit with player suspensions and fines as a result of an altercation that occurred in a recent game between the two squads, Florida High School Athletics Association spokesperson Corey Sobers told the Tampa Tribune on Friday.

According to reports filed to the FHSAA by the two schools’ administrators, game referees and Hillsborough County athletics director Lanness Robinson, the game was played Jan. 27 at Strawberry Crest and the incident occurred late in the third quarter. As a Freedom and Strawberry Crest player were contesting a rebound, the ball went out of bounds, the report says, and one player tackled the other. That resulted in punches being thrown, players from both teams leaving the bench and even some fans coming out of the stands and on to the floor.

Player names were not released in the report given by the FHSAA, but a video tape review of the incident revealed a player from each squad threw a punch and three players from each school left the bench.

As a result of the review, the FHSAA handed Freedom suspensions for three athletes on its basketball team. One player received a “Level 2” suspension (six weeks) for throwing a punch, which is effectively for the remainder of the season. Three other players were given Level 1 suspensions, or two games.

Freedom itself was fined $250 for having two Level 2 or higher suspensions during the current school year (the other came in football) and $100 for its fourth suspension in boys basketball. Additionally, Freedom’s boys basketball program is placed on administrative probation for the remainder of the current school year, as well as the 2012-13 school year, Sobers said.

Two basketball players from Strawberry Crest received six-week suspensions, one of whom earned the ban because it was his second Level 1 this school year. Two Level 1 suspensions in the same year result is an automatic Level 2. Two other Chargers players received two-game bans.

Sobers said Strawberry Crest was fined $250 for having two Level 2 or higher suspensions during the current school year and $100 for its fourth suspension in boys basketball. The Chargers’ boys basketball program was also placed on administrative probation for remainder of 2011-12 school year and 2012-13 school year.

District tournaments start next week. Since the suspensions date back to the games following the incident, the three players given two-contest suspensions will have served their second game after the regular season schedule concludes with tonight’s games. The players with six-contests bans are not only done for the basketball season, but could also miss the start of the season for any spring sport they compete in.

Strawberry Crest is the No. 2 seed n the Class 6A-11 tourney at Sickles, where first-round action begins Monday. Freedom is in the 7A-9 tourney at Chamberlain, where play starts Tuesday.

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Jon Gruden: always good for a sound bite

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 03:48 PM

Even at the crack of dawn, Jon Gruden is good for a quote or sound bite.

It was no different Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning, when his son, Deuce Gruden of Carrollwood Day School, signed his National Letter of Intent to play football for Lafayette College. As Deuce posed for the cameras and the small group of family and school administrators gathered for the event, his famous dad, ex-Bucs coach coach and Monday Night Football color analyst couldn’t help but toss in a funny line.

To hear what Jon Gruden said, please follow this video link: http://www2.tbo.com/sports/prep-sports/2012/feb/02/signing-day-gruden-style-05737-vi-25891/

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