New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Sports

Dave Andreychuk, the NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals who captained the Tampa Bay Lightning to its only Stanley Cup in 2004, gives his Hall of Fame induction speech on Nov. 13 at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto.

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Andreychuk Hall of Fame Induction Caps Memorable Year

It has been a while, maybe ever, that the areas served by our publications have had such a banner year for sports.

In most years, a big event like the Federation Cup being held in Wesley Chapel might be the year’s top highlight. Or the opening of a state-of-the-art ice facility able to lure Olympic teams to town. Or perhaps, the promise of a large indoor sports complex.

Big stories, all.

But for New Tampa, none can top Hunter’s Green resident and former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk finally making the NHL Hall of Fame.

If he had a dime for every time someone in New Tampa bumped into him and told him how unfair it was that he wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame, Andreychuk could buy Hunter’s Green.

The NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals finally got the call on June 26, and was officially inducted on November 13.

Friend Andy Ritter, along with a handful of other Hunter’s Green residents, attended the ceremonies in Toronto, just a short drive from where Andreychuk grew up in Hamilton.

Ritter said that no matter where they went in Toronto, Andreychuk was always the unassuming star.

“He was just the local kid that made good,” Ritter said.

Which sums up the way many in New Tampa feel about him.

But, he wasn’t the only New Tampa sports standout who celebrated a huge success in 2017:

New Tampa’s Ellie Pleune was the Gasparilla Distance Classic’s first-ever two-race winner.

* Ellie Pleune, then an 8th-grader at Benito Middle School, didn’t win just one race at Gasparilla in 2017.

She won two.

Pleune, 13, became the youngest-ever female winner in the 40-year history of the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K on Feb. 25, and then turned around the next day to also win the 8K race, the first time in the event’s history the same person captured both titles.

 

* Wharton High shortstop Drew Ehrhard won the prestigious Saladino Award, which honors the top senior baseball player in Hillsborough County.

Saladino Award winner Drew Ehrhard (with trophy), is joined by (l.-r.) his mom Shannon, his dad Rodney, Tony Saladino and Drew’s brother Zack.

Ehrhard joined past winners like Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, José Fernandez and Lance McCullers after hitting .422 with four homers and 24 RBI in 2017 to lead the Wildcats to an 18-9 record and the Regional championship.

*  New Tampa resident and left-handed pitcher Brian Lee went 11-3 with a 1.00 ERA, and won four straight playoff games, including the State semifinal, for the Lions. King lost the next day, but Lee’s performance was one for the ages.

“It’s as a good a performance I’ve seen in my 42 years,” King High veteran coach Jim Macaluso said, “and I’m not saying just in King High School … I’ve never seen anyone in the county, around the state, that threw the pressure games he threw, and won.”

* On Sept. 28, Freedom finally beat Wharton in football, after seven straight seasons of lopsided losses. Dominick Vazquez capped a 99-yard drive in the final moments to give the Patriots the 12-7 win in front of the largest Freedom crowd in years.

Coach Floyd Graham said it was one of the best feelings of his coaching career. But, it wasn’t enough to keep him on the sideline, as just two months later, Graham resigned.

* The U.S. Federation Cup played its tennis semifinals at Saddlebrook, exciting the strong tennis communities at Arbor Green, Hunter’s Green, Tampa Palms and others.  Hundreds of New Tampa residents were in attendance for the 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. (The U.S., by the way, went on to beat Belarus 3-2 for their first Fed Cup title in 17 years)

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened near I-75 in Wesley Chapel and hosted the Taste of New Tampa and the U.S. Women’s national hockey team in its preparations for the Winter Olympics.

5 Teams To Keep An Eye On In Local High School Sports This Winter

The Wiregrass Ranch High boys soccer team, a state semifinalist in 2015, is poised to have its best season yet. (Photo: Andy Warrener)

Below are five teams we’re watching closely this winter high school sports season:

1: Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) Boys Soccer — Head coach David Wilson says that the 2017-18 team could potentially be the best he’s ever had. That’s saying a lot from a coach who brought his team to the state semifinals in 2015 and hasn’t lost a game against a Pasco County team in four years.

“When you have a strong and talented group of seniors that have played together for three years on varsity, there’s potential for great things,” Wilson said.

A trio of senior veterans coming off All-State seasons form the down-the-middle strength for the Bulls. Center back Jackson Trudel controls the game from the back line. Center-mid Royce Luedde is 6-foot-4 and controls the air, the middle of the field and is great on set pieces. Midfielder Ian Flores is one of the most highly-recruited players Wilson’s ever had, with 60 colleges having contacted him, including Rutgers Univ. in New Brunswick, NJ, which has offered him a scholarship.

The youngsters aren’t bad either – freshman Justin Amis and junior Rafael Silva scored three goals apiece in a 13-0 preseason win over Hernando, with sophomores Noah Leonard and Jake Bierhorst pitching in two goals each.

2: WRH Boys Basketball — The Bulls have had the unenviable situation to be mired in Class 8A, District 8, which is brutally tough, with the likes of perennial New Tampa powerhouses Freedom and Wharton, as well as defending state champion Sickles. If the Bulls continue to build on their 2016-17 arc, they might be ready to pull even with that triumvirate of top-tier teams.

“Eight seniors return for this year’s team,” says Bulls head coach Jeremy Calzone. “So, if there’s a year to do it, it’s this one. It’s the most experience we’ve ever had to start a season.”

Senior forwards Jayden Wilson (6’-9”) and Justin Rush (6’-6”) give the Bulls great size. Junior guard Elijah Howell is the team’s best shooter and leader on the floor. Senior guards Val Garcia and Jordan Miner also are veterans who have been on varsity since their freshman years.

3: Cypress Creek Middle High (CCH) Girls Weightlifting — New program starts from scratch, right? Not so much. Four-year Wesley Chapel High (WCH) girls weightlifting coach Tico Hernandez has 24 girls on the team to start the season.

Like their coach, sophomores Addison Metcalf and Megan Faysash, who is already emerging as the team leader, come over from WCH. Junior Neely Peterson didn’t lift in 2016-17, but is a fierce competitor, according to Hernandez. Freshman Emily Speck is the team’s spark plug and is working to perfect her skills and technique.

4: Wesley Chapel High (WCH) Girls Basketball — The team’s toughest opponent this year likely will be adversity.

Coming off their best record (15-9) since the 2009-10 season with everyone poised to return, the Wildcats lost their top returner to an ACL injury, and CCH’s opening just four miles away took some of WCH’s other key players.

“We lost 80 percent of our scoring from last year,” Livingston said. “We only return three kids total from last year’s varsity team.”

But the toughest adversity will come in the form of getting over the death of a family member. The Monday prior to tryouts, assistant coach Marcellus “Coach Shack” Shackelford was killed in a car accident.

Shackelford was the only assistant four-year head coach Peter Livingston ever had.

“There’s a lot of adversity we’re trying to overcome this year,” Livingston said. “We also want to celebrate him (Coach Shackelford) and try to get ready for the season.”

5: WCH Boys Basketball — Last season was a down year for the typically steady Wildcats boys basketball team. After a 21-8 season two years ago, WCH managed just a 9-17 record in 2016-17.

They should bounce back this season, as they get a shot in the arm from the school’s football team. Division I-A senior football recruits Chaz Neal (who is 6’-9”) and Isaiah Bolden will take to the hardwood for the ‘Cats in 2017-18.

Neal played in seven games for Armwood a year ago, averaging three rebounds.