Premier Heart & Vascular Doctors Keep Hearts Pumping & Blood Flowing

The Premier Heart and Vascular team: (Back row, l.-r.) Dr. Konstantinos Marmagkiolis, MD; Dr. Chetan Khamare, MD; Dr. Rajesh Lall, MD; and Dr. Vikas Soma, MD.
(Middle row) Dr. Jaime Caballero, MD; Dr. Sunil Gupta, MD; Dr. Ketul Chauhan, MD; Tracee Eger, PA-C.(Front row) Marilyn Joseph, ARNP; Andrea Harkins, PA-C; Sabrina Tedesco, PA-C; Kristina Long, PA-C; Michele Gordon, PA-C.

Over the course of a lifetime, a healthy human heart proves itself to be a reliable muscular pump, beating thousands of times a day and sending blood throughout the body via a network of veins, vessels and capillaries. When working right, most people don’t even notice this life-supporting cardiovascular system functioning.

But, when something goes wrong, such as clogged arteries, heart disease or other damage, the physicians and staff of Premier Heart & Vascular Center in the Summergate Professional Park off S.R. 56. Dr. Sunil Gupta, MD, FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiology), founded the practice with an objective that has remained constant throughout its 15-year existence.

“Our goal is to provide care to patients and do it promptly and do it right,’’ says Dr. Gupta, whose FACC fellowship was conferred by virtue of his cardiology training at the Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, NJ. “That’s what drives us.”

According to Dr. Ketul Chauhan, MD, FACC, another one of the physicians at Premier Heart & Vascular, patients benefit from the ability to devote the substantial resources and knowledge available within the practice to provide needed treatment.

“We’re able to take care of them from seeing them and diagnosing them to consulting with them and fixing them with interventional procedures if needed,” Dr. Chauhan says. That’s as comprehensive as it gets.” Dr. Chauhan earned his M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, and earned his FACC through Tampa General Hospital.

Premier’s physicians specialize in interventional cardiology and among the non-invasive services provided to patients are diagnostic procedures like tilt-table, treadmill and pharmacological tests; as well as Coumadin, pacemaker/defibrillator, and congestive heart failure (CHF) clinics. They also perform laser vein ablation, which treats varicose veins by sealing them.

Invasive procedures performed on an inpatient basis include angioplasty, which uses small balloons to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels, and implanting stents (small, mesh-like devices made of metal, which are placed inside of a coronary artery to support and keep it open to ensure adequate blood flow).

Pacemaker implantation as well as heart valve repairs and replacements also are performed.

There are seven physicians who are part of the Premier Heart & Vascular team, treating patients at five clinics in the Tampa Bay area, from Carrollwood to Lakeland. An additional clinic in Dade City is closed because it is in the process of being relocated.

Dr. Gupta says Premier has grown by performing work that promotes a good reputation in the local cardiology community, which brings in more patients and qualified professionals to treat them.

“Because of our reputation, we are able to attract good people to work for us —physicians, physician assistants and other staff members,” he says.

All of the doctors are Board-certified cardiologists, with advanced training in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease.

A Variety Of Sub-Specialties

Each physician also brings unique knowledge and skills that emphasize particular aspects of the field, such as Dr. Chetan Khamare, MD, FACC, who has a focus on congestive heart failure. Dr. Khamare received his M.D. degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, and earned his FACC through his work at West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown.

When there are structural problems with a patient’s heart, such as a defective valve, Dr. Konstantinos Marmagkiolis, MD, FACC, contributes his expertise of the emerging field of structural heart disease. Dr. Marmagkiolis graduated with his M.D. degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine in Thessaloniki, Greece, and achieved his FACC through the Montreal Heart Institute of the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Supporting the body’s natural cardiovascular system with technology such as stents and pacemakers requires a deft hand and the training required to implant devices. Dr. Chauhan performs device implants, as does Dr. Vikas Soma, MD, FACC, whose M.D. degree was awarded by Santiago University of Technology School of Medicine in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Soma’s FACC was achieved through his fellowship training at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York, NY.

One of the ways that cardiac health is evaluated is through stress tests conducted using nuclear isotopes. Besides earning his medical degree from the University of Debrecen Medical & Health Science Institute in Debrecen, Hungary, and his FACC fellowship training at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Dr. Rajesh Lall, MD, FACC, also is Board-certified in nuclear cardiology.

Also supporting Premier Heart & Vascular’s nuclear cardiology program is Dr. Jaime Caballero, MD, FACC, who also has received training in the proper handling of radioactive materials used in the practice’s accredited nuclear stress test lab. Dr. Caballero earned his M.D. degree from the University of Tolima School of Medicine in Ibagué, Colombia, and received his cardiac fellowship training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

It can be stressful when people find themselves needing the services of a cardiologist and Premier’s Wesley Chapel office manager, Lisa Sylvester, has the prescription for easing patients’ concerns.

“From the time they walk in the door, the greeting is important. Smiles on the faces are big,” she says. “It could be their first time at a cardiologist, so it’s important to let them know that we are here to help them.”

Dr. Gupta also recognizes that patient care begins with caring professionals.

“It’s the people,” he says. “Our defining principle is doing the right thing and that allows us to always put the patient first.”

Outstanding Reviews & More

Louis Capasso expresses his patient satisfaction by awarding Premier a five-star Google review with the comment, “Fantastic. Everything was explained to me so that I understood things,” he wrote.

Premier accepts a long list of insurance plans and is willing to add to it, according to Robbie Balbontin, RN, who as Premier’s clinical manager, coordinates the practice’s administrative operations.

“We take everything,” she says. “If we don’t take it, we’ll apply for it.” Premier also accepts Medicare and even Medicaid, which Balbontin says is not typical. “We’re one of the few cardiology practices that accepts Medicaid.”

Since starting the practice 15 years ago, Dr. Gupta has seen it grow to its current level of five locations employing 45 healthcare professionals.

“We are surprised at how fast we are able to grow,” he says. “More patients are coming to us and more doctors are joining us.”

Much of that growth is taking place at the Wesley Chapel office, which opened seven years ago. In order to accommodate the increase in patients, Premier is moving to a new 8,000-sq.-ft. building to be located across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel this summer.

Premier Heart & Vascular Center’s Wesley Chapel  is currently located in the Summergate Professional Park at 27424 Cashford Cir. You can learn more about Premier by visiting online at PremierHeartandVascular.com or by calling 788-1400.

Primrose Schools Provide Early Education & Character Development

(Left) Shi and Sandy Deng with their son; (Right) Penny and Matt McCallister with their three children. The Dengs own and operate the Primrose Schools of Tampa Palms and Carrollwood and the McCallisters own and operate the Primrose School of Cross Creek. (Photo: Primrose Schools)

Two Wesley Chapel families’ shared belief in the value of early childhood education has led them to dedicate their professional lives to operating their own schools in New Tampa and Carrollwood.

Penny and Matt McCallister operate the Primrose School on Cross Creek Blvd., about two miles east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., while Sandy and Shi Deng operate both the Primrose School of Tampa Palms, located across from Liberty Middle School, as well as the Primrose School about 20 minutes from New Tampa on Bearss Ave. in Carrollwood.

Their schools are franchises of the Marietta, GA-based Primrose Schools chain of educational child care centers. There are age-specific options ranging from full-time care and instruction for infants (from six weeks old) and toddlers, to after-school programs for elementary students ages 5 to 12, as well as pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) and kindergarten classes.

Primrose uses a uniform, research- based proprietary curriculum across all of its schools that the company has trademarked as Balanced Learning®. According to Primrose’s marketing materials, this curriculum, “balances purposeful play with nurturing guidance to encourage curiosity, creativity, confidence and compassion.”

Penny McCallister, who is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), with a Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) degree in (specializing in pediatrics) from the University of Florida in Gainesville, says the goal is to prepare Primrose students to deal with life outside of the classroom as well as within it.

“We don’t focus only on academics here,’’ McCallister says. “We focus on character development.”

That includes teaching children basic manners, such as saying “please” and “thank you,” as well as involving them in the schools’ community projects, such as food drives for Metropolitan Ministries and the food pantry at Bay Chapel Church in New Tampa.

To Sandy Deng, there’s an important lesson about generosity to be learned through the projects.

“We want to teach the children about giving back without expecting anything in return,” she says.

Primrose School of Cross Creek teacher Nadine Box works with a preschool student.

In addition to providing an orientation for their students’ moral compasses, Primrose Schools equip them with life skills, such as resolving conflicts in a positive way, says Dominique Rock, who is the school director for the Carrollwood campus, but who also speaks as the mother of three Primrose students.

“I see a huge difference when I see my children with other children,” she says. “I want them to be academically competent, but I also want them to be good people.”

To which Matt McCallister adds, “Who children become is just as important as what they learn.”

Preparing students for academic success is based on age-appropriate instruction that combines applying educational research with a teacher’s ability to harness a child’s natural curiosity. It’s an approach that Matt expresses confidence in for its ability to educate pre-school minds.

“I think we have the best academic program there is,” says Matt, who has a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando.

Primrose teachers and staff are trained and certified in accordance with the positions they hold, such as that all of the preschool teachers have a Child Development Associate (CDA) certification (which can be awarded as an associate’s degree or as a stand-alone certificate) and maintaining qualifications required by the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF).

All staff members are certified to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Primrose provides additional professional instruction that it develops to promote quality and maintain consistency throughout its campuses.

Academic instruction is woven into all aspects of the school routine, including playful breaks from classroom learning.

“We don’t just let them go out on the playground,” says Penny. “They do a teacher-guided activity as well as have free time.”

Hannah Moody is the early preschool lead teacher at the Cross Creek campus. She says she ensures the joy of learning is ever-present. “You have to make sure the kids have fun,” says Moody. “If we’re teaching colors and numbers and the kids aren’t interested, you have to take that extra step to make it awesome.”

She says that adding awesomeness to a lesson might mean interjecting mermaids and dinosaurs into a math lesson, or employing the ultimate teaching tool: “Boxes are the greatest thing ever,” says Moody, who’s known to transform cardboard into just about anything, from castles to horses.

Providing peace of mind to parents whose children attend Primrose schools is another way the Dengs and McCallisters fulfill their obligations as caretakers and educators of other people’s children. The campuses are secure, with building access limited and staff members keeping a watchful eye on the premises, promptly asking visitors about their purpose for being there.

“Safety is first,” says Shi Deng, who also has an MBA from UCF.

Parents are informed about their kids’ activities with daily progress reports, including photographs and video clips depicting what happened that day.

According to Sandy Deng, operating Primrose schools creates substantial bonds between the students and the staff.

“It’s like a family and we love watching them grow,” says Sandy, who has an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from UCF. She adds that one of the most rewarding aspects of running Primrose  Schools awaits her at the beginning of each day. “Every morning I get to see the children’s big, beautiful smiles,” Sandy says.

One principle that Shi Deng says is crucial to the successful operation of his schools is to fulfill his responsibilities to the employees who care for the children.

“It has to be a virtuous cycle,” says Shi. “If I treat my employees well, the employees will take care of the children.”

Shi, who is a licensed real estate Broker with Ambassador Realty Group, adds that one way he is able to create stability for his staff is to help them purchase a home by acting as their buyer’s agent and contributing his commission to the closing costs.

Buying In All The Way

As Primrose School franchisees, the Dengs and McCallisters both own their own businesses, but their commitment to the kind of education they offer also is personal, with both families’ children enrolled in Primrose schools.

Soon after the Dengs enrolled their son as an infant at a Primrose school in Orlando when they were living there, they became enthusiastic about what the franchise had to  offer.

“When our son started school there, we thought, ‘Wow, how amazing would it be if we could get into this business and help shape the younger generation and help them build a strong foundation for the future?,’’’ says Sandy.

The Dengs’ son now participates in the Explorer after-school program, while the McCallisters’ youngest child attends their preschool program and their two older, elementary school-age children attended the summer camp and occasionally attend the after-school Explorers program, as well.

The enthusiasm that the McCallisters and Dengs have for Primrose Schools is shared by parents like Dana Terrigino of Easton Park in New Tampa, who has one child in the infant program and two children participating in the after-school program at Primrose School of Cross Creek.

“Everybody who’s there has such a caring and open and friendly personality,” says Terrigino. “You can see the different aspects of their curriculum and I was just so impressed with the way that they handle the education of the children. You really feel like it’s a school.”

For more info about Primrose School of Cross Creek (10301 Cross Creek Blvd.), visit PrimroseCrossCreek.com or call 994-6800. For the Primrose School of Tampa Palms (5307 Primrose Lake Cir.), visit PrimroseTampaPalms.com or call 975-4000. To reach the Primrose School of Carrollwood (1770 W. Bearss Ave.), call 398-8607 or visit PrimroseCarrollwood.com. Also, see the ad on pg. 27.

Thanking Our 2016 Advertiser Of The Year — Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel!

EDITORIAL

Considering that my birthday is in January, I always find the New Year to be a time of reflection, even more so for me than it is about resolutions for the year to come.

We have an awful lot to be thankful for here at the Neighborhood News. We continue to thrive in a market saturated with other publications, we helped launch WCNT-tv and we have provided our 100,000+ readers in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel with more news and information about their communities than any other single media source. I’m not making that up — virtually every day, someone seeks me out to tell me that and thank me for what we do.

It’s been a while since I gave one business our “Advertiser of the Year” award, but there’s no doubt in my mind that one local business has not only spent the most money with us in 2016, it also is at the epicenter of life in our area — Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC). FHWC’s marketing director Tracy Clouser has not only purchased ads in both editions of the Neighborhood News for the hospital, she also stepped up to be the Studio Sponsor for at least the first 16 episodes of WCNT-tv. That sponsorship has allowed my partner — Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia — and I to create 14 episodes of that show to date and not have to worry about losing our shirts while trying to reach a new audience with something so fresh and innovative.

Tracy Clouser

But, FHWC is about so much more than just advertising. The hospital’s presence and visibility on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., a little more than a mile north of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line, has been a major reason why the Porter family has been so successful in developing the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI).

Yes, we’re also happy that the Shops at Wiregrass mall (which opened a couple of years before the hospital), Pasco Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, North Tampa Behavioral Health, Raymond James Financial and The Beach Assisted Living — and some of the most beautiful, new neighborhoods in Wesley Chapel (Estancia and The Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch, etc.) — have all found their way to the Porter Family Trust’s 5,000+ acres, but I honestly believe that FHWC is literally the heartbeat of our area.

The hospital’s CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb also has been visible and approachable and FHWC itself is as technologically advanced as any hospital in the country. Perhaps best of all, the upwards expansion of FHWC already has getting ready to open and will be completed soon, probably before the end of January. I will admit that I did not know much about the Seventh Day Adventists before this jewel of a hospital opened on BBD, but I appreciate and even admire the kind of investment they have made in both of our distribution areas.

Don’t forget that in addition to FHWC, the Adventist Health System also took over what used to be called University Community Hospital on BBD and Fletcher Ave. The renamed Florida Hospital Tampa (FHT) also has been a prominent advertiser in these pages (predominantly in our New Tampa issues), so it’s hard for me to not sing the praises of both local hospitals, especially knowing how many improvements also have been made at FHT — and are still to come in the future.

And, A WCNT-tv Feature Report!

Craig and I have been waiting for the go-ahead from Tracy (who also just completed her year as the Board Chair of our exclusive WCNT-tv webcast partner, the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce) to produce a complete segment about the hospital’s expansion, but it is currently available for viewing now in WCNT-tv’s Episode 14, debuting on YouTube on Jan. 6.

We’re excited to take you on an exclusive video tour of everything FHWC is adding (including some amazing drone video footage from Brad Hall Studios) to make life in our area even better.

Children From Newborns To Age 21 Get Quality Care At Tendercare Pediatrics

Your child will always see either Dr. Durga Chintakayala (left) or his wife, Dr. Lalitha Raguthu, at Tendercare Pediatrics in the Summergate Professional Park.

Dr. Lalitha Raguthu is the new owner of Tendercare Pediatrics in the Summergate Professional Park, located behind Sam’s Club off S.R. 56.

Dr. Raguthu bought the practice with her husband, Dr. Durga Chintakayala, or “Dr. Chinta” for short. The pair already own Blossom Pediatric Care on E. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Tampa, where Dr. Chinta has been in solo practice for the last three years, with Dr. Raguthu occasionally covering for him. Now, she is the primary doctor at Tendercare, and he covers for her as needed.

“One of us is always here,” Dr. Chinta says. “When Dr. Raguthu is away at conferences, I see the patients.”

Dr. Chinta and Dr. Raguthu have been married for 22 years and have two children. Their son, Sahas, is 15, and their daughter Sveta, is 12. The New Tampa residents are happy to have a practice closer to home. Tendercare Pediatrics previously was owned by Dr. Radhika Ranganathan.

“The opportunity arose for us to buy this practice, and it was a quick transition,” says Dr. Chinta.

The couple bought their home in Cory Lake Isles in 2013, when Dr. Chinta accepted a position in the spinal cord unit at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. At the same time, they opened Blossom Pediatric Care, and Dr. Raguthu began working at Night Owl Pediatrics on Cross Creek Blvd.

Prior to that, the couple lived in New York City, where Dr. Raguthu spent three years working in the emergency room at the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn and one year in Urgent Care at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

She had previously earned her MBBS degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery; equivalent to the M.D. degree in the U.S.) from the Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College in Gulbarga, India. She did her residency at Brookdale University Hospital & Medical Center in Brooklyn and served a one-year fellowship in Neurology at New York University in Manhattan, NY.

During their time in New York, Dr. Chinta worked at the VA New York Harbor Health Care System and also worked as an emergency physician and urgent care doctor at Montefiore Medical Center.

Dr. Chinta earned his MBBS degree from Guntur Medical College in Guntur, India. He then did a one-year post-doctoral fellowship in nuclear medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He completed his residency in family medicine at St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in New York, NY.

Check Out The Changes

Dr. Raguthu is proud to show off the new play area she created in the waiting room, so little ones don’t get antsy if they have to wait a few minutes to see the doctor. Even more than that, she says she gets a great response from patients when they visit her new room for nursing mothers.

“A lot of mothers are breastfeeding, and that’s very important,” says Dr. Raguthu. “We want to give them privacy and encourage breastfeeding, so we created a nursing room just for them.”

She says parents can feel comfortable bringing their kids to her, especially when they are sick or injured.

“I have a lot of experience in urgent and acute care,” says Dr. Raguthu, explaining that she is well trained in handling emergency issues if they arise, such as acute asthma or lacerations.

“We are accepting new patients, and we especially want to welcome back any patients who were with the practice before we came here,” says Dr. Raguthu, explaining that insurance companies have told former Tendercare patients that they needed to find a new doctor because Dr. Ranganathan no longer took their insurance.

Dr. Raguthu wants those patients to know that while Dr. Ranganathan is no longer at the practice, Tendercare Pediatrics can accept their insurance. They can continue coming to the practice where they are already established, and she is there waiting to see them.

Dr. Raguthu says that the new office offers an improved experience for anyone who has been to Tendercare Pediatrics in the past.

Sowmya Ayyala, a mom who lives in Arbor Greene and has taken her two daughters, ages 4 and 1, to Tendercare Pediatrics since they were born, says that the claim is true.

“It was a very smooth transition,” says Sowmya. “Dr. Raguthu spends good, quality time for each visit, and the wait is usually only 10-15 minutes from the front desk until the time I see the doctor. On all my visits, she spends a lot of time explaining everything, and medically, what she recommends works for my daughters.”

Sowmya also admits that she was, “concerned about having a new pediatrician because I was used to the other one, but I had met Dr. Raguthu at an urgent care and I liked her then. I thought I would try a couple of visits, and I’ve had a fantastic experience.”

Dr. Raguthu believes that her own personal journey has helped her to be a more empathetic practitioner.

“I love kids,” she says. “My husband and I were in medical school when we lost our infant baby, who was three months old. That’s where my interest in pediatrics really started.”

She adds that she also has experienced recovering from a stroke that she suffered right after medical school. “I look at life differently because of my experiences,” she says. “I appreciate things that are often taken for granted, like walking, talking, even picking up the phone with my right hand,” all things she could not do at one point.

“I can feel the pain of every mother who calls with a concern,” she says. “I never brush them off.”

Always Available For Patients

As a primarily solo practitioner, Dr. Raguthu makes herself available in a way you might not find in a larger practice.

“I am accessible via phone 24/7,” she says. “After hours, the business phones roll over directly to my cell phone.”

She says she generally adds her patients to her contacts so she can text them to follow up. “I want them to have a personal touch,” she says. “My patients appreciate the fact that I can help them on weekends by providing triage care and calling in prescriptions. I do as much as I can to help them after hours.”

Tendercare Pediatrics is accepting new patients from birth to age 21, and accepts self-pay patients, as well as those with Medicaid or private insurance.

“We welcome walk-ins, so feel free to just come by,” she says. “When patients call, we are happy to give them a same-day appointment if we can, and most of the time we’re able to.”

Tendercare Pediatrics is located at 27432 Cashford Cir., Suite 102. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information about the practice, call 973-9900.

WCH Soccer Girls’ Ferocious Forwards Also Are Pernicous Passers

After fighting through injuries her first season, Victoria Mitchell has emerged as one of Pasco County’s top strikers, leading Wesley Chapel with 32 goals heading into the District 3A-7 playoffs. (Photo courtesy of TheCSSN.com)

As the sun sets on the 2016-17 winter girls soccer regular season, the Wesley Chapel High (WCH) Wildcats are looking like a team poised to make a deep playoff run and possibly take home the first girls soccer district title in school history.

It’s thanks in large part to the team’s two high-scoring forwards, senior Bailey Hern and junior Tori Mitchell.

“It’s great to watch,” WCH head coach Michelle Clark says. “They know where the other one is going to be and even when I move them to different positions, they still play off of each other.”

Coming out of Christmas break as the team heads into the Class 3A, District 7 tournament this week as the No. 2 seed, Mitchell now has a team-best 32 goals in 14 games played, and Hern is right behind her with 30 (in 17 games) for the Wildcats, who are 13-3-2, including 10-1-2 in Class 3A, District 7 play.

Mitchell has notched seven hat tricks this season, including four in an 11-day span last month. Hern has four.

Their season totals rank both of them in the top 13 of all goal scorers in Florida’s Class 3A.

While 2016-17 has been the first full year that they’ve played together in high school, their connection dates back to their one season on the same team at Weightman Middle School, when Hern was an eighth-grader and Mitchell was in seventh. They only overlapped one season at Weightman, as Hern attended Stewart MS for her sixth and seventh-grade seasons, but the chemistry was in the air even then.

“It made the game easier for me, having someone like that playing forward with me,” Hern says. “That’s definitely where the chemistry started.”

Yet, it would take a few years before the pairing really started to come to fruition.

Hern played on a struggling 4-13-1 team her freshman year at WCH while Mitchell was still at Weightman.

Senior forward Bailey Hern has 30 goals, and has scored 82 in three years on varsity, with 45 assists. (Photo courtesy of TheCSSN.com)

The duo was reunited for Hern’s sophomore season, but an injury sidelined Mitchell and the two didn’t share the field much. Hern, however, burst onto the prep scene with 30 goals and 18 assists during the 2014-15 season.

“It was hard at first with Tori’s injury,” Clark says. “But, we knew what the future held with these two, one day.”

The knee injury that sidelined Mitchell for much of her freshman season also cut into her sophomore campaign last season as well. She managed to play in 11 of the team’s 14 games in 2015-16, and the pair combined for 41 goals, with Hern scoring 22 and Mitchell tallying 19.

WCH finished as the District 3A-7 runners up, dropping a 2-1 overtime loss to Pasco in the title game.

This season, the tenacious tandem is back together full time and devouring opposing defenses.

What’s more, they are both tallying up assists at a fairly impressive rate, too. Currently, Hern leads the team with 14, and Mitchell has eight.

“We know where the other one likes the ball, and we know where they’re going to run to get the ball,” Hern says.

Even when Hern has to drop back to the midfield, she still knows where Mitchell will be and where she is going.

“Bailey is so versatile, she can drop back and play midfield to help out if we have an injury,” Mitchell said. “I know she’s always looking for me and she really knows how to get me the ball.”

Both readily admit that most of their assists are to each other, but teammates like freshmen Sophia Mitchell (11 goals, six assists) and Sydney Martin (five goals, six assists) and seniors Kelly Vester (nine goals, 11 assists) and Lauren Campoe (three goals, nine assists) have helped make the offense one of the best in the Tampa Bay area.

Last season, the Wildcats scored 83 goals in 21 matches and made the 3A Regional semifinals. This season, they have found the back of the net 103 times in 18 matches, or more than 5.7 goals per game.

“Even if we make mistakes, we are able to come back from them,” Clark says. “Any time (we’ve fallen behind) 1-0 this season, it’s like we’ve come back even stronger.”

With the Mitchell-Hern combo up top, it can be tough for opponents to stay in the game. The Wildcats have won 11 of their 13 wins by at least five goals.

“This year, we have depth that we haven’t had in years past,” Clark says. “The girls that come off the bench this year, play at a higher level than the subs we’ve had in years past.”

Clark and her team hope that this pushes them over the top, namely against District 3A-7 rival Pasco. The Wildcats tied the Pirates earlier in the season and fell 5-3 two weeks later with an injury-plagued squad.

The Pirates, who went 12-0-1 in the district, will be the top seed in the 3A-7 tournament, which begins next week at Weeki Wachee High in Hernando County.

Bulls Prepping For Tough District Tourney

The Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) girls soccer team is 11-7-5 heading into the Class 5A, District 7 tournament this week at Steinbrenner High in Tampa.

The Bulls will play the Warriors (9-2-1) in the first round of the tournament.

They went into the Christmas break on a three-game winning streak, outscoring opponents Fivay, Hudson and Ridgewood by a combined 13-0.  Freshman keeper Hanna Taugner post all three shutouts in net. The Bulls enter the 5A-7 tournament winners of seven of their past eight matches.

Junior Rylind Robinson leads the team with 13 goals and five assists, senior Sydney Chase has nine goals, and Kat Llanos has eight goals and nine assists.