Jesuit seeking spring jamboree game

Posted May 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated May 3, 2012 at 09:35 PM

James Harrell says he knows it’s getting kind of late to find an opponent, but if anyone wants to play his Tigers football team in a spring jamboree game later this month, he’s interested.

Harrell says the date the Tigers would need the game to be played is May 25. Unlike Hillsborough County’s public schools, Jesuit can play a four-quarter game. And within reason, Harrell says it doesn’t matter where the game is played, either home or away.

Any school interested in the game on that date should contact Harrell at Jesuit High.

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Tampa Catholic seeks softball coach

Posted Apr 30, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Apr 30, 2012 at 02:55 PM

Tampa Catholic is accepting applications for varsity softball coach.

Please forward resumes to athletic director Freddie Langiotti at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)., Deadline is May 18.

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Bloomingdale’s Bethoney signs with Montreat

Posted Apr 15, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Apr 15, 2012 at 09:22 PM

Bloomingdale forward Ryan Bethoney, who averaged 20.7 points for the Bulls this last season, has signed with NAIA school Montreat (N.C.) College, his club coach, Ben Bromley, announced Sunday.

Bromley coaches Bethoney on the AAU squad Bay Area Hurricanes, which also produced Polk State signee Jamal Evans, a center/forward for Riverview.

An honors student at Bloomingdale, Bethoney has led Bloomingdale in scoring the last two seasons and was No. 2 for the Bulls in rebounding, pulling down an average of 5.4 boards per game.

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Berkeley’s Dagostino to retire; Coup takes over

Posted Apr 13, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Apr 13, 2012 at 02:26 PM

After 28 years at Berkeley Prep varsity girls volleyball coach, Randy Dagostino is going to retire.

Dagostino will stay on as an assistant coach with the girls program and will continue to serve as the head coach of the varsity boys volleyball team. John Coup, who has served as an assistant coach at Berkeley for 14 years, will become the girls head coach and will remain an assistant with the boys program.

“Probably the most enjoyable part of coaching for me was to see the application by our team of things that we specifically worked on in practice,” said Dagostino in a statement. “I knew if my teams believed enough in what we were trying to do and applied it to game situations, then we were in a good place as a team. I also have enjoyed watching the transformation of my teams from the opening day of practice to the season’s end.  That journey is going to be hard to replace but I have the memories of so many wonderful experiences that I will cherish for a lifetime.”

Dagostino compiled an 829-161 record and currently ranks 33rd on the National Federation of High School’s all-time girls volleyball coaching wins list. He led his team to its third-straight state title this season and has 15 state championships in his career at Berkeley. He has been named the Florida High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year seven times and the Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year Award three times, most recently in 2010 and 2011.

Dagostino was hired at Berkeley in 1981 as the athletic director and baseball coach after serving the same roles at Tampa Prep for five years. He was named the head girls volleyball coach in 1983 and won his first state championship three years later.

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Berkeley Basketball Shootout field set

Posted Apr 13, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Apr 13, 2012 at 01:27 PM

Berkeley Prep boys basketball coach Bobby Reinhart announced the final schedule for the 2013 Berkeley Basketball Shootout.

Action begins on Jan. 4 with Miami Ransom Everglades vs. Plant; followed by Orlando First Academy vs. Boca Raton St. Andrew’s; Orlando Lake Highland vs. Wharton and Berkeley Prep vs. Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest.

On Jan. 5, St. Andrew’s vs. Plant at 1 p.m.; followed by Pine Crest vs. First Academy; Tampa Catholic vs. Ransom Everglades; Wharton vs. Clearwater and Berkeley Prep vs. Lake Highland.

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Transfer bill presented to Governor

Posted Apr 13, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Apr 13, 2012 at 01:16 PM

House Bill 1403, recently approved by the House and Senate, has been presented to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.

Under this bill, any high school, including a traditional public school, a charter school, a private school, a virtual school, and a home education cooperative, is eligible for membership in the Florida High School Athletic Association. Membership, however, is voluntary.

It also clarifies eligibility for transfer students, so that they can continue to play as long as their transfer is approved by the local district school board.

The FHSAA will be required to adopt bylaws for the following:

• Required background screening for investigators and reasonable conditions under which investigations can take place.

• Sanctions for coaches who have committed major violations.

• Procedures and standards for student eligibility determination.

Due process protections will be preserved for student eligibility appeals when new evidence is available.

If approved by the Governor, which was passed 21-18 by the Senate and 78-24 by the House, will take effect July 1.

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Finally: Gators offer Hillsborough’s Sherit

Posted Apr 7, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Apr 7, 2012 at 05:01 PM

Finally, after 23 other Division-I programs have made a scholarship off to Hillsborough junior defensive end Jordan Sherit, the Southeastern Conference school two hours up the road from this standout football player and honors student has made a pitch.

Sherit received the offer Friday from Gators head coach Will Muschamp after being invited up for today’s Orange and Blue spring game.

“The people and the facility here are great,” Sherit said from the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday before the game. “It’s an SEC school close to home with a great tradition. It’s definitely going to be one of my top candidates.”

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Sherit was recently rated by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 76 player overall and the No. 5 defensive end. He also has an offer to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and has attended the combine of the Under Armour All-American Game.

Last season, Sherit was the Terriers’ leading producer of tackles (110) and sacks (nine). He also saw duty at tight end and was their long snapper. Sherit is member of the school’s prestigious International Baccalaureate program and carries a GPA over 5.0.

Last week, Sherit landed an offer from Ohio State, where he has relatives living within an hour’s drive of Columbus, Ohio. He also has offers from Virginia, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Arizona, Illinois, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, Indiana, South Carolina, Auburn, Purdue, Duke, Miami, Vanderbilt and the University of South Florida.

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Wharton’s Barber wins FSU Relays 300 hurdles, Plant’s Fox posts county’s top mile time

Posted Mar 24, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Mar 25, 2012 at 12:02 AM

Wharton junior Mikayla Barber produced a lifetime best in the 300-meter hurdles of 45.16 seconds to win the event at Saturday’s FSU Relays in Tallahassee.

“It’s just been a lot of hard work over the summer and last fall that’s let me run like this,” Barber said afterward. “If I keep working hard and doing the things I need to do, I really think I can go a lot faster, maybe 43 seconds or even faster, before the season is over.”

The Wildcats’ school record is held by former state champion Amani Bryant, who ran at the state finals in 2009. Bryant now competes for the University of Florida.

Before Saturday, Barber’s best 300 hurdles time was 45.59. She reached the state finals in the event last year but didn’t escape the qualifying rounds. She has also run the 100 hurdles in 15.42 and the 400 in 58 seconds.

Later, Barber joined forces with Tyler Watson, Erin Kocher and Mariah Henderson to take second place in the 4x400 relay in a season best time of 4:00.65. Gainesville won the race in 3:58.75.

Also at the FSU Relays Saturday, Plant junior Scarlett Fox competed in her first major meet in the 1,600 and made it an impressive debut. She passed several runners in the final 200 meters to post a lifetime best and county-leading time of 5:08.87, good for seventh place.

“She has no idea has good she is in the mile,” said Panthers coach Roy Harrison. “She can go a lot faster. She passed so many girls at the end of the race, she was flying past them.”

In another heat of the 1,600, another Plant standout, senior Kara Halfaker, ran the county’s No. 2 time of 5:11.69. That gave Halfaker 11th place overall for the event.

In the girls shot put, Chamberlain’s Andrea Aaron came up with the county’s best mark in the shot put—and a lifetime best—at 39 feet, 3.25 inches. Another Chiefs standout in the throws, Neil MacInnes, was third in the discus at 161-6.

In the girls triple jump, Armwood’s Dejoun Dennard placed fourth with a season-best mark of 35 feet, 10.5 inches.

Plant’s John Drawdy won the boys consolation 1,600 run in 4:30.85.

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Holy Names edges Steinbrenner to take Karl Flammer Invite

Posted Mar 24, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Mar 24, 2012 at 05:24 PM

Paced by freshman Colleen Doherty and junior Ryann McEnany, the Academy of Holy Names edged Steinbrenner 138-129 to win Saturday’s Karl Flammer Track & Field Invitational at Calvary Christian.

Doherty posted wins in the 1,600 (5 minutes, 34.37 seconds), 800 (2:25.82, a personal best) and 3,200 (12.32.35) while McEnany produced a lifetime best in the long jump of 17 feet, 8 inches to earn second place. McEnany and also grabbed second-place points in the triple jump (33-9) and 300 hurdles (47.81) and was third in the 100 hurdles (15.34).

The Jaguars also took first place in the discus when sophomore Valley Joseph came up with a PR in the discus of 99-11 while Natalie Hahn was runner-up in the 800 and was part of second-place 4x400 and 4x800 relay squads.

Steinbrenner was competing without its star athlete, Alexis Wright, who was at the University of Miami interviewing as a semifinalist for a scholarship award. Still, the Warriors made things interesting thanks in part to an impressive performance by junior Jessica Brewer. She posted a lifetime best of 35-3 to win the triple jump and had another PR in te long jump (16-11) to earn fourth place.

Steinbrenner also scored big in the hurdles led by Josie Econom, who was third in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 100 hurdles, and the distances, paced by Lauren Garris, who was second in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200.

Two other winners from Hillsborough County in the girls meet were Tampa Catholic senior Annie Harwig, who cleared 10-0 to take the pole vault, and Carrollwood Day senior Bailey Drury, who captured the 100 in a personal best of 12.74.

In the boys meet, St. Petersburg Catholic got past host Calvary Christian 109-93 for the first-place trophy. Seffner Christian, led by Brandon Ardley (second in the long jump and 100) and Hunter Lucier (second in the 110 hurdles) was the top county team, taking sixth place with 70 points.

Berkeley Prep’s John Hill won the 1,600 (4:41.87) and third in the 800 (2:11.88).

Pasco County’s Bishop McLaughlin boasted the winners of the boys throws, with Evan Barhonovich taking the discus (136-8.5, a PR) and Shane Mendoza taking the shot put (42-3.25).

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Gattaca: this one is not a movie, it’s football

Posted Mar 23, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Mar 23, 2012 at 04:14 PM

Leto Falcons head football coach Matt Kitchie announced Friday that 6-foot, 180-pound senior wide receiver Francisco Salcedo has signed with Gattaca, a club football program in Trenton, N.J.

Salcedo join 2010 Leto graduate David McPherson, a 6-5, 250 offensive lineman, at Gattaca.

So what is Gattaca, besides a 1997 science fiction film that starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law?

To find out more about this unique football program in the hard-working, blue collar town of Trenton, N.J., please follow this link: http://www2.tbo.com/sports/sports/2012/mar/23/gattaca-its-not-movie-its-football-ar-384336/

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