Puddles Be Gone; Wharton Cuts A Ribbon For New Track Facility

Wharton principal Bradley Woods (blue shirt) and track coach Wes Newton (white hat) cut the ribbon for the school’s new track facility on February 11.
Wharton principal Bradley Woods (blue shirt) and track coach Wes Newton (white hat) cut the ribbon for the school’s new track facility on February 11.

By Matt Wiley

Gone are the days of standing water and weathering asphalt under the feet of runners on the track at Paul R. Wharton High, as the school recently cut a ribbon and held the first track meet on its new and improved track & field facility.Continue reading

Freedom, Wharton Boys Basketball Teams Set Respective Milestones As Seasons Wrap

Freedom High’s Miguel Rojas puts up a jumper late in the Patriots’ narrow win over Strawberry Crest High on Feb. 18 in the Class 7A Regional Semi Finals.
Freedom High’s Miguel Rojas puts up a jumper late in the Patriots’ narrow win over Strawberry Crest High on Feb. 18 in the Class 7A Regional Semi Finals.

By Matt Wiley

It’s been quite a year for both the Wharton High Wildcats and Freedom High Patriots boys basketball teams in their respective runs at a state title, each setting impressive milestones for their schools that will live on as some of these players graduate and move on to college.Continue reading

Pasco BOCC Unanimously Approves Baseball Complex Agreement

A conceptual rendering of what the approved baseball complex in Wiregrass Ranch could look like upon completion, complete with a dormitory, MLB-sized fields, a parking garage and practice fields.
A conceptual rendering of what the approved baseball complex in Wiregrass Ranch could look like upon completion, complete with a dormitory, MLB-sized fields, a parking garage and practice fields.

By Matt Wiley

For nearly two years, negotiations have heated up and then gone cold regarding a planned sports complex in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI). However, following the January 14 Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, it now looks as if the “pipe dream” could in fact become a reality.Continue reading

SPoT's Tampa Am Contest Turns 20

Dylan Perry sticks a backside lipslide during the Best Trick contest at the 20th annual Tampa Am contest at Skatepark of Tampa on December 7.
Dylan Perry handles a gap over the pyramid to backside lipslide during the Best Trick contest at the 20th annual Tampa Am contest at Skatepark of Tampa on December 7. Photo: Matt Wiley

A warehouse lies in the industrial district of East Tampa, off Columbus Dr., not far from Ybor City. From the outside, it looks like just another building where some product is being mass-produced by machines. However, history is going down inside those walls, and young people were writing another chapter of that history on pieces of painted wood with four wheels during the 20th annual Tampa Am skateboarding contest at Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) Dec. 5-8.Continue reading

McNamee Thanks Florida Hospital Docs

By Gary Nager

In front of the medical staff that saved his life and family members during a news conference, Paul R. Wharton High football player Sean McNamee thanked those who both treated and supported him during his recent nine-day coma, from which he awoke in October.

On November 20, McNamee, 16, returned to Florida Hospital Tampa, located on E. Fletcher Ave., to thank the medical staff that treated him and helped him be able to speak from the podium that day.

“I have made great progress,” McNamee said, reading from a prepared speech. “But, I know I have a long way to go before I am back to where I was before the accident.”

McNamee reportedly hit his head on a paint machine on the Wharton High football fields while playing catch with teammates before practice on October 9. The injury was severe enough, reports state, that doctors at Florida Hospital put McNamee into a medically-induced coma after performing emergency surgery on his fractured skull.

As reported in our last issue, McNamee came out of the coma on October 18. Welcome back Sean!