Congratulations To Wesley Chapel’s Top Of The Class Of 2024! 

It’s that time of year when parents and students count the days remaining until graduations, from pre-kindergarten to college. At our local public high schools, hundreds of graduates are moving on to a new phase of their lives, whether it’s starting a career, joining the military, going to a distant university, attending a local college, or taking some time to find themselves. The students below are the top-10 graduating seniors of the Class of 2024 at each of Wesley Chapel’s three public high schools by grade point average (GPA). Congratulations to everyone listed on these pages for their extraordinary achievements — and to all of their peers and classmates moving on to the next phase, too. Note — One school did not disclose student GPAs or other info to protect the students’ privacy and another didn’t include pictures other than for the Valedictorian & Salutatorian. We apologize but we can only show here what we’ve been provided. — Celeste McLaughlin 

Cypress Creek High

1. Brandon Adams (Valedictorian) 

GPA: 4.7391 

Clubs/Activities: Published research in Journal of Student Research, co-founded standardized testing support program, President of National Honor Society (NHS), Author of “On Questions of Transformations,” cross country, volunteer at PetSmart, Spanish NHS, VP of English NHS. 

College planning to attend: Undecided 

Planned Major or Future Career: Pre-Med 

Best thing about high school: Extra-curricular activities 

2. Jordan Fulop, Salutatorian 

GPA: 4.6154 

Clubs/Activities: NHS parliamentarian, Spirit Club Secretary, FBLA Historian, First Priority co-founder and leader, Best Buddies, Soccer, Tennis, Cross Country 

College planning to attend: Florida State University 

Planned Major or Future Career: Business Management 

Best thing about High School: Football games 

3. Jerry Phan

GPA: 4.6053 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, Science NHS, Robotics club, volunteer at PetSmart 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Pre-Med 

Best thing about high school: Peers that I met along the way 

4. Jayna Katanani 

GPA: 4.6 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, Science NHS, Fiction Addiction book club 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Pre-Med 

Best thing about high school: It’s a trial for real life. 

5. Jack Niemann 

GPA: 4.5778 

Clubs/Activities: Football captain/quarterback, track, volunteer at Tampa General Hospital 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned Major: Health Sciences 

Best thing about high school: Football games 

6. Abby Outtrim

GPA: 4.566 

Clubs/Activities: President of HOSA (Future Health Professionals), VP of NHS, public relations officer of English NHS, member of American Sign Language HS, member of Interact Club, intern at USF College of Nursing. I did most of my volunteering at my local church, PetSmart, Feeding Tampa Bay & Metropolitan Ministries 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Nursing 

Best thing about high school: You meet so many new friends, teachers and mentors. You will make lifelong connections and can form a network! I’ve learned about so many opportunities available to me through my teachers (especially Ms. Adley!) 

7. Roman Sercu 

GPA: 4.5625 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, founding president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Student Government (SGA) Senator, Creekin Crazies spirit club, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Interact Club, S4TL (Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders), Chik-Fil-A Leadership Academy, Best Buddies, Special Olympics basketball buddy 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Business Management & Finance 

Best thing about high school: Times spent with friends and watching people who I have known since Elementary School change over the years and achieve their goals. 

8. Miguel Rosario 

GPA: 4.5538 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, SGA Treasurer, Creekin Crazies Ambassador 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Computer Eng. 

Best thing about high school: Football games 

9. Addison Hellwig 

GPA: 4.5463 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity lacrosse Captain, NHS 

College planning to attend: Mars Hill University 

Planned major or future career: Biomed. Sci. 

Best thing about high school: Leading the team to Pasco County’s first women’s Lacrosse team regional appearance and completing full time dual enrollment and receiving my AA 

10. Ramiro Salazar 

GPA: 4.5426 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, volunteer at Pasco County Animal Shelte 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Computer Science 

Best thing about high school: Students, friends. 

Wesley Chapel High 

 

1.Taylor Himmelberger, 

Valedictorian

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

2. Nayana (Ninny) Chennupati, Co-Salutatorian 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

2. Syed Yasir, Co-Salutatorian 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

In alphabetical order, here are the rest of the top-10 graduates by GPA at WCH: 

Jendayah Cajuste 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Dylan Dorr 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Sophia Herrera 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Courtney Marks 

College planning to attend: Western Carolina University 

Sayuri Ranatunga 

College planning to attend: Florida State University 

Joshua Vasquez 

College planning to attend: University of Florida

Erick Zayas Ramos 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Wiregrass Ranch High

1. Aniah Florise Mathurin, Valedictorian 

Clubs/Activities: National Merit Commended Scholar, FSU Young Scholars Program, Pasco County All-Star, All-American, Varsity Cheerleader, Class of 2024 Student Government Senator, Student Council, VP of NHS, VP of Haraya, Director of Fundraising of Junior Statesmen of America, Outreach Officer of MEDLIFE, FBLA, HOSA, Relay for Life, NEHS, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Rho Kappa History Honor Society, Science NHS, FCA, Key Club, SADD 

College planning to attend: Duke University 

Planned major or future career: Biology (Pre-Med) 

Best thing about high school: Memories I’ve made with my friends during Friday Night Lights 

2. Meghna Manjith, Salutatorian 

3. Sydnie Maher Alagal 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity cross country, varsity track, SADD club & leadership, NHS, NEHS, Key Club, NSHSS 

College planning to attend: Florida State University 

Planned Major/Future Career: Psychology/ Criminology 

Best thing about high school: The people I met 

4. Kylie Ryan Bennington 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity soccer, club soccer, NHA, Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club 

College planning to attend: North Carolina State Univerrsity 

Major/career: Environmental Engineering 

Best thing about High School: The people you meet. 

5. Haley Brooke Strawser 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity volleyball, club volleyball, Phi Theta Kappa, Sigma Kappa Delta, Psi Beta 

College planning to attend: University of Alabama (Huntsville) 

Planned major or future career: Mechanical Engineering or Math 

Best thing about high school: I loved my teachers and loved being a student at Wiregrass, (which) gave me the opportunity to challenge myself both academically and personally. 

6. Abdullah (No last name provided) 

Clubs/Activities: FBLA, Science NHS 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Electrical & Computer Engineering 

Best thing about High School: Some really good and caring teachers and made a really good friend. 

7. Meghan E. Childers 

Clubs/Activities: Odyssey of the Mind, Tri-M, NHS, PTA, Swim & dive team 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Animal Science, Veterinary Doctorate 

Best thing about high school: Getting to hang out with friends while participating in different clubs. 

8. Taylor Monique Blythe 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, English NHS, Black History Committee 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Major: Political Science & History; Pre-law track 

Best thing about high school: Spending time with my close friends at school spirit events and growing into my interests in the past four years. 

9. Isabell Barrios 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity softball, National Honor Society, Key Club, Student Council 

College planning to attend: Florida Southern College 

Planned major or future career: Physician Assistant 

Best thing about high school: Discovering my true passion for the medical field 

10. Omari Redmond (No info provided)

Wharton Valedictorian Manages To Make It Look Easy

Siya Patel, foreground, worked hard to graduate with the highest GPA for a female in Wharton history, utilizing advice from brother Yash (background), last year’s salutatorian. (Photo: Charmaine George).

Siya Patel knew when she entered Wharton High that she could become her class valedictorian, but she didn’t really give it much thought.

Instead, Siya decided to focus on her grade-point-average. While the two things — a high GPA and becoming a valedictorian — go hand in hand, she decided she wanted to post the highest GPA ever, so instead of chasing another student for valedictorian, she decided to chase a number: 9.0.

When Siya officially graduates, it will be with a 9.09 weighted GPA, the highest ever for a Wharton High female. Tori Bell had a 9.01 in 2019.

“I wanted my GPA to be well over 9, because that’s the highest in Wharton’s history,” Siya says. “Due to Covid, I thought I wouldn’t make it because some of the classes I wanted to take were only being taught in school. But, I was able to work around it and accomplish my goal.”

Siya achieved her goal with a busy schedule of classes, taking as many as she was allowed. In her time at Wharton, she took 15 dual enrollment course online — three classes each semester her last two years — through Hillsborough Community College, as well as 13 AP classes for Wharton. 

While that may sound like a grind, for Siya, it wasn’t. She managed to fit in time playing the violin in the school orchestra, she was in a number of Honors clubs and volunteered 200 hours.

Like almost every valedictorian at every school, she was masterful in not taking too much and using enhanced time management skills to get it all done.

“I didn’t ever think it was too hard,” she says. “I always just did what I could do.”

The key was not letting the schedule get the best of her. She was attending school during normal hours, and would do her homework before starting on her HCC assignments. She says she split up everything evenly during the week so her weekends wouldn’t be filled with stressful deadlines.

She did not try for an AA degree, saying that it would have involved too many unnecessary classes that she wouldn’t normally be taking. So instead, she took extra math classes. Her favorite was AP Statistics. 

She’ll attend USF in the fall and major in finance. Sometimes, she sits with her father, Dr. Prakashkumar Patel, a neurologist, and her mother, Aarti Patel, and helps do the billing for her father’s practice.

Siya will join brother Yash, a biomedical science major, at USF. Last year, Yash was the salutatorian at Wharton, and used his experience to help guide his sister to the top of the academic standings this year.

“He always helped me whenever I needed help, and was one of the biggest reasons I was able to become valedictorian at Wharton,” she says.

Yash says he is proud of his sister. He advised her about what classes to take, and which ones to avoid, and was happy to see her finish No. 1.

Yash says the best piece of advice he gave his sister was to not rest on her laurels. No one ever asks if he was salutatorian in high school, and next year, no one will probably ask Siya if she was valedictorian. It is one of those nice but fleeting distinctions, and something he says she will discover quickly fades into the past.

“This is just one step in the journey,” he says. “When you go to college you still have to show that same rigor and effort and still be motivated, even if you’re not first every time.”

That won’t be a problem for Siya. When she reunited with the senior class of 2021, which has been scattered due to Covid— some learning in school, others learning at home — due to Covid, she shared that same advice with her classmates at graduation.

“Take everything they’ve learned the last 13 years,” she says, “and put it to good use.”

Wiregrass Ranch Valedictorian: Timothy Kovacs

WRH’s Kovacs Takes A Well-Rounded Approach To School

Timothy Kovacs’ love of reading and writing — and hard work — led him to become the Wiregrass Ranch High Class of 2021 valedictorian. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Timothy Kovacs says he hasn’t begun preparing the speech he will give to the Class of 2021 at graduation, but the Wiregrass Ranch High valedictorian isn’t too worried. After all, he took a public speaking class as a requirement for his Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC) and passed his toughest test — singing the “Baby Shark” song while dancing in front of a class of 30 students.

He says it was terrible, and he lost coordination midway through the dance, but he is no longer leery of public speaking.

And he got an A, for effort.

“So, if I can do that,” he says, “I hope I can present a speech in front of my classmates.”

Getting As is no problem for Kovacs, so it would be a surprise if he didn’t nail his speech. The Bulls’ senior finished his high school career with a 4.71 weighted grade point average, and picked the University of Central Florida in Orlando over the University of Florida in Gainesville and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill for college.

It wasn’t easy, he says. He moved to Wesley Chapel from Orlando, where he attended Hagerty High as a freshman. There, he was No. 14 in a school of 4,000 students, and when he got to the smaller Wiregrass Ranch, he started his sophomore year in the top 3. While he says it hadn’t crossed his mind before, it was at that point Kovacs decided to try to become his class valedictorian.

“I’ve always found competition among my classmates ever since I was in the third grade,” Kovacs says. “I always wanted to get the highest grade, and when I didn’t, I just studied harder.”

At Wiregrass Ranch, that entailed giving up every class (other than those that were graduation requirements) that wasn’t an honors or AP course. 

Last semester, he took nine classes, most of those at PHSC, sprinting across the academic finish line. His toughest challenge was the havoc caused by Covid.

“It really mucked up my AP exams,” he says, especially in classes like AP Chemistry that aren’t best suited for online study. Reviewing for exams was more difficult, and chemistry was not one of his better subjects. 

“When chemistry went virtual…that put me in a more precarious spot than I’ve been in,” he added.

However, Kovacs, also a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, says it was just a matter of finding a way through the new challenges, and finding the positive in Covid’s disruptions by “turning lead into gold.”

Kovacs, who says his favorite class was AP computer science and whose hardest were chemistry and biology, is happy to be valedictorian, although he says it doesn’t make him any smarter than anyone else. In fact, he says there are plenty of students who easily could have become valedictorian, but they chose to pursue music, sports or technology and didn’t have as much time to put into school as he did.

Not that Kovacs is a one-dimensional bookworm. In fact, he’s something of a Renaissance man, who has dabbled in fencing, loves playing the guitar, is a devoted writer and published author who works for two magazines and has a deep interest in politics.

When he wants to relax, he plays his favorite songs from his childhood on his guitar — although he really wishes he had learned the piano as well — and had a story about the pandemic published in the literary magazine Unlimited Literature last summer.

Politics, though, is his passion. 

“I love to read about how countries interact with each other, and why the world is the way that is,” he says. “It’s always such an interesting field to see how the decisions of government officials affect us in daily life. And, the results of diplomacy are fascinating. It’s incredibly cool and I always have a blast learning about it.”

Now that the “Baby Shark” song has prepped Kovacs for his speech, he will tell his fellow classmates at graduation that after years of traveling the same road together, a million different paths now await them. It’s a brave new world, and it doesn’t matter where you are going as long as you are doing what you want to be doing.

Kovacs will be doing just that in college, where he will double major in computer science and political science at UCF. Where that leads him he doesn’t know. He has multiple dreams — becoming a politician, an author or a software engineer are all among them — and is eager to see where his road takes him.

“My goal right now is to go with the flow,” he says, “and make the most of whatever opportunities come my way.”

The Wiregrass Ranch High graduation ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June 3, 7 p.m., at the school’s football stadium.

Wesley Chapel Valedictorian: Olivia March

Olivia March

Olivia March has always been able to successfully balance work, friends, sports and academics, so the fact that she is the Wesley Chapel High Class of 2021 valedictorian isn’t a big surprise.

But Olivia’s greatest skill, other than managing her time, might be surrounding herself with the right friends, according to her mom Trish.

While she may not have been thinking about her daughter being her school’s valedictorian, it was in middle school that Trish says that she realized Olivia would definitely be near the top of her class.

“The kids she hung around with were always taking the toughest classes,” Trish says. “We knew that they were the kids who were going to succeed in high school.”

She was right. Olivia took the toughest classes, but still compiled a 4.71 weighted grade point average while at Wesley Chapel, tops in her class, and also earned an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from Pasco Hernando State College.

Next year, she will follow in her father Ron’s footsteps when she attends the University of Florida in Gainesville, choosing to be a Gator over schools like the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Clemson University in Clemson, SC, and Florida State University in Tallahassee. “I always knew I kind of wanted to go there,” she says of U-F.

Olivia edged out her friend Michelle Joo, the salutatorian who will attend Yale University in New Haven, CT. To Trish’s point, Olivia and Michelle were friends and study partners at Wesley Chapel. They were sitting together at lunch when it was announced that Olivia was the valedictorian.

“They came out with cake and flowers,” Olivia says. “It was exciting. We weren’t really thinking about it, so it was a surprise. We’ve had classes together since freshman year and have been friends throughout high school, and it was a healthy competition. I think we were both happy for each other.”

It was during a field trip in the seventh grade at Weightman Middle School that Trish says she was struck by her daughter’s ability to surround herself with the right friends. She now holds that ability, an under-appreciated quality, in the highest regard.

“Olivia was a Montessori kid, and we were a little nervous about bringing her into the traditional school setting,” Trish says. “It was funny, on that field trip, I just thought ‘she is good at choosing friends.’ I saw all the kids she had to pick from, and who she chose, and I thought, ‘O.K., those are good choices.’ I had never thought about that before that day.”

Olivia found out she was in the mix for valedictorian prior to her junior year, which would end up being disrupted by Covid.

When she knew she had a chance to be No. 1 in her class, it was the first time she started thinking about it. But, since she had already registered for four dual enrollment classes — which helped boost her GPA — before finding out she was in the top 4, there wasn’t much she could change when it came to her course load.

“So, I just kept doing what I was doing,” she says. “I just followed the steps I was already planning to follow.”

However, Covid threw a wrench in those steps. Taking classes online, especially math, required a lot more time and were more difficult to schedule. Because she also works as a lifeguard at the Epperson Ranch lagoon, her time management skills were put to the test.

She had honed those skills her first three years at Wesley Chapel while competing in athletics, which only seemed normal in a family where mom (a court reporter) trains at Crossfit and dad (a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputy) is one of the better local tennis players in the area.

While she was challenging herself academically, Olivia competed for the Wildcats in volleyball, track, cross country, weightlifting and tennis. She was named as one of Wesley Chapel’s Athletes of the Year her freshman and sophomore years.

Olivia is looking forward to her speech to her classmates at graduation. So is Trish, who expects to burst with pride, and Ron, who Trish is predicting will shed a few tears.

While Olivia hasn’t written it yet, she say the speech will focus on what the future holds for the 2021 graduates.

For Olivia, that is enrolling at Florida and finding her way to a career. She isn’t sure what she wants to do just yet — nothing science or medical related, however — but will minor in business, because she thinks it’s good to have.

“Other than that,” she says, “I’m wide open, and looking forward to it.”

The Wesley Chapel High graduation is scheduled for Friday, June 4, 7 p.m. at the school’s football stadium.

Cypress Creek Valedictorian: Ashleigh Lacey

Ashleigh Lacey had a lofty goal when she entered Cypress Creek High as part of its first freshman class — she didn’t want to get anything lower than an “A’’ in any class she took. Ever. 

It wasn’t that far-fetched of an idea. The only “B’’ she had ever received was in third grade at Denham Oaks Elementary. The subject was reading, which is actually something she loves to do. Like any good student, she analyzed why she didn’t get an A and made sure she never made that mistake again.

“Back then, I thought you could only get As if you were a nice person,’’ Ashleigh says. “I just thought I needed to be nicer. But, that isn’t how it works.’’

It helps to be nice, and Ashleigh certainly is. But, the hard work is the most important thing. 

After four years of budgeting her time between classes, extracurricular activities and a part-time job, Ashleigh has accomplished her goal.

She will finish her high school career with a weighted grade point average of 4.6. She earned only As in every class she took, which included her favorite classes (history and psychology) and her not so favorite classes (anything to do with math).

On June 2, Ashleigh will graduate as Cypress Creek’s valedictorian. She will be the first valedictorian to attend all four years at the school, which opened in 2017.

 “I guess I’m in the school history books,’’ Ashleigh (photo) says.

She already has taken enough college-level classes to earn her Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree, which means she will enter college needing only two years to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. She will attend the University of South Florida in Tampa on an academic scholarship.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist, so when I entered high school I told myself that I want to get all As,’’ Ashleigh says. “I didn’t even know what a valedictorian was.’’

Ashleigh Lacey (in front) competed in track for Cypress Creek, winning a district championship in the long jump this season. She plans to try to walk onto the track team at USF. 

It was certainly not an easy path to graduation for any student over the past year and a half. Covid-19 restrictions reduced half of the 2020 school year to on-line learning only. Students were given a choice of on-line or in-person learning this school year. Ashleigh did both.

What’s also impressive is that Ashleigh didn’t just spend her high school days in classrooms and libraries or behind a computer screen. She has been part of the school’s art club for three years. And, she is an important member of the Coyotes’ track team. She won the District long jump championship last month and advanced to the Regional meet. She also competes in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles and is part of the school’s 4x100m relay team. 

In short, she is one of those student athletes who excels at whatever she decides to try.

“I would say that’s right,’’ her father Robert says. “You could see signs of it as a child, just in the way she organized and lined up certain toys in a perfect row. She always did very well in school. She’s just always done well in everything she’s done. She’s competed in speech contests and done well. She played the flute for a while and became an All-County flute player. She’s a very talented artist. She excels at anything she picks up.’’

The next step is college. Ashleigh’s goal is to attend medical school at USF and eventually become a psychiatrist. Early on, she thought maybe she might like to be a lawyer, but after taking advanced classes in biology and psychology, she decided to change her goals.

“I would read books on those subjects just for fun,’’ she says. “Sometimes I’m kind of a nerd.’’

Just because she is off to college doesn’t Ashleigh’s goals will change. She still doesn’t want to get a B. And, she says she would like the chance to walk on to USF’s track team.

She won’t be far away from the Wesley Chapel home where she grew up. She’ll be able to visit her younger brother Luke and parents, Robert and mom Michelle, often. As expected, Ashleigh credits her parents as having been a key to her success.

“They’ve been very encouraging,’’ Ashleigh says. “They’ve never pressured me. They put a lot of trust in me.’’

Well-earned trust. 

“We’re lucky that she’s been so driven,’’ Robert says. “We haven’t had to push her. She’s taken care of her academics. She’s really taken control of her life. She’s made our jobs as parents a lot easier.’’

The Cypress Creek High graduation is scheduled for Wednesday, June 2, 7 p.m. at the school’s football stadium.