Tag: wharton high

Wharton’s 2022 Valedictorian Will Stay Local For College

When Sonya Patel walks across the stage as Wharton High’s Class of 2022 valedictorian during the school’s graduation ceremony on May 25, she will do so with its highest-ever GPA — 9.40.

Sonya didn’t set out to break any records. In fact, being valedictorian wasn’t even her goal.

“But,” she says, “I did want to push myself to do my very best.”

She wanted to learn as much as she could and take advantage of every opportunity placed in front of her. Her incredible work ethic led her to set that new high mark for future Wharton students to aspire to beat.

Sonya spent all of her school years in New Tampa, starting at Pride Elementary and going to Benito Middle School before attending Wharton.

When she graduates, she’ll stay close to home. She plans to attend the University of South Florida in Tampa and major in biomedical sciences on her way to a career as a doctor.

“I plan to apply to medical school in the future,” Sonya says. “I currently have fields that interest me but I’m keeping an open mind about what I actually want to do in the medical field.”

When she started high school, Sonya wasn’t sure she wanted to be a doctor. She signed up for dual enrollment (DE) classes at Hillsborough Community College that sounded interesting, and the more classes she took in the medical field, the more she became sure she wanted to one day help people in that way.

While those dual enrollment classes helped her solidify her future plans, along with a lot of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, they also helped her earn that sky-high GPA.

“I counted at least 15 science classes that she’s taken, and it blew me away,” says Christi Atkinson, who is Sonya’s Marine Science teacher this year. “She takes on so many activities and is capable of managing her time and getting everything done. It’s amazing.”

Knowing it’s a long journey through med school and residency, Sonya’s AP and DE classes will help her get her undergraduate requirements out of the way, and because she’s a high school student, the classes have been free.

“It seemed a great way to work on my future goals,” she says, earning credits toward her undergraduate degree while learning about what she calls “cool subjects.”

While she’s worked hard in school, she enjoys spending her free time painting, doing henna body art and cooking. She says her most fun class has been orchestra, where she plays the cello.

Her orchestra teacher, Elise Prather, says, “She has been a dream student. She is respectful, kind, communicates effectively, is a great team player, gives 110% on everything, and is very helpful to me and other students.”

While Sonya was accepted to several schools, she decided USF was the most convenient and least expensive choice.

“And it has great opportunities, so I’m not missing out,” she says.

When she graduates from high school, Sonya will have earned 62 credit hours from Hillsborough Community College, plus many hours from her AP classes, which will help her fulfill her college general education credits. She hopes to finish her Bachelor of Science degree at USF within two years.

She says she loves volunteering, especially at the local Bay Chapel food pantry, because she appreciates that her community has a local food pantry to help those who need some help.

In addition to her difficult academics, orchestra and volunteering, she also serves as co-president of Wharton’s Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society club, secretary of the Science National Honor Society and orchestra clubs, and is a member of the school’s National Beta Club and National Honor Society.

“She’s just a really good kid,” Atkinson says. “She’s someone you can rely on and depend on.”

And while Sonya and her peers dealt with a lot of adversity due to Covid-19, Atkinson adds, “she adapted very well and rose above the challenges.”

That’s what Sonya intends to do in the future, too. She’ll keep setting goals, working hard, making practical decisions, and taking the next step forward.

As she moves from one chapter of her life to the next, she says, “I’m looking forward to new experiences, whatever they may be.”

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Award-Winning High School Artists Featured In Local Exhibit

Submissions by 11 New Tampa teenagers were chosen as award winners in the 2022 Hillsborough Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Exhibition. Of more than 1,200 entries, judges chose 231 art awards and 95 writing awards.

Wharton High senior Brianna Lee picked up three photography awards, including Three Bodies (right) being chosen as one of just five American Visions Nominees. The nominees are chosen from among all Gold Key winners, and one of the five will be selected the overall winner by a national panel. Brianna won a second Gold Key award for Caked On Disguise, and Faultless was chosen as a Silver Key winner.

Brianna describes their artwork as inspired by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust and beauty.

“There are only two models in this picture: one model with a beautiful full figure with well-defined curves and the other with a tall, slim frame,” she says. “By overlapping the two photos of the two different body types creates a semi-distorted, unusually small body in the middle. This is also another body type that some people strive to change themselves to. I hope this work can show that there really is no perfect body type and that it will constantly change time and time again, and no one should feel the need to change along with it.”

Gold Key winners will be submitted to the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers in New York City, where they could be selected as national winners and recognized in a ceremony this summer.

Several other Wharton students also were recognized:

• Sabrina Valencia won a Gold Key award for the digital art piece Body Water, which also won a Judges’ Award, and a Silver Key award for Dyssoconnected.

*The Vulnerability of Black Men* by Terance Eady

• Taylor Vanderpuyl won a Gold Key award for the photograph We Eat the Mushroom The Mushroom Eats Us which also won a Judges’ Award, and an Honorable Mention for Megan.

• Terance Eady won a Gold Key award for the photograph The Vulnerability of Black Men.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Isabella Ancheta for the photograph Reflections and to Pranshu Modi for the painting Tokyo.

These students are all taught by Wharton art teacher Curt Steckel.

Honorable Mentions also were awarded to Benito Middle School students in the drawing and illustration category.

• Ananya Dongre won for The one who makes me smile and Frances McKoen won for Medieval Battle.

These students are taught by art teacher Cheyenne Causby.

Freedom High had three writing award winners, all taught by English teacher Robert Counts.

Frankie Vilsaint won a Silver Key award for his dramatic script The Egg Thief.

In the science fiction and fantasy category, two students were awarded an Honorable Mention, Haileigh Mereness for Beating Hearts and Jayden Mujica for Dark World.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, established in 1923, is the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the United States and claims to be the largest source of scholarships for young artists and writers. Previous winners include Stephen King and Andy Warhol.

This is the eighth year that the Hillsborough County Public Schools and the Hillsborough Education Foundation are serving as the regional affiliate for the national award program.

The Hillsborough Region Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards virtual awards ceremony is available online at EducationFoundation.com/2022ScholasticArtandWritingAwards. These and other award-winning works are on display at the University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery (310 North Blvd., Tampa) through Friday, March 25. The gallery is open Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Wharton Falls Short At State

Carlos Nesbitt converts an alley-oop pass from Trent Lincoln in the second quarter of the Class 6A state semifinals in Lakeland Thursday night. Wharton fell 52-47 to Martin County. (Photos: Charmaine George)

For three quarters of Thursday’s Class 6A State semifinal clash with Martin County, Wharton High looked like the better basketball team. The Wildcats’ defense was just a little bit better, the offense was more accurate shooting the ball and Wharton always seemed on the verge of a putting the Tigers in a hole so deep they wouldn’t be able to climb out of it.

Then, in less than a minute, everything changed, and Wharton saw its hopes of advancing to the first State championship game in school history evaporate.

Led by a trio of seniors and a stifling press, Martin County (26-4) turned the game in their favor to start the fourth quarter and the Wildcats never recovered, falling 52-47 at the RP Lending Center in Lakeland.

Martin County’s Jayden Pressey, who was 0-for-6 from three-point range, buried a wide-open triple from the corner to start the fourth quarter, and the Tigers began pressing, and a slew of Wildcat turnovers and mistakes followed. The Tigers made free throws and another bucket inside, and in 57 seconds had spun off an 8-2 run to give Martin County a 39-36 advantage with 7:03 remaining in the game.

Wharton’s Trent Lincoln drives to the hoop in the first half.

The Wildcats, who finished 28-3, never led again.

“We weren’t in our press attack alignment,” Wharton coach Tommy Tonelli said. “and we had some guys out of position in the process. That’s it. It’s that simple. We had a plan, we knew what we wanted to do, we knew what they were running, we just didn’t get guys in the right spot. It just made it that much more difficult to execute what we needed to do.”

The press overwhelmed Wharton, which already had 13 turnovers heading into the last quarter but committed seven more with the heat turned up.

“When we were able to get the ball out of (Wharton point guard Trent Lincoln’s) hands, they got a little helter-skelter,” said Martin County coach John Leon. “We had to take a chance with the press. If we hadn’t, I’d be kicking myself.”

Pressey had all nine of his points in the fourth quarter, including a bullish drive to the basket to give Martin County a 45-39 lead with four minutes left. Another Pressey basket off a turnover stretched the Tigers’ lead to 49-41.

Ryan Davis, a thorn in the Wildcats’ side all night, led Martin County with 18 points and seven assists.

After shooting just 24 percent in the first half, the Tigers shot 67 percent in the second half, and were scorching hot in the fourth quarter, making 8 of 10 shots.

Wharton guard Lucean Milligan is fouled in the second quarter, and made both his free throws to give the Wildcats a 16-13 lead.

For three quarters, however, it looked like it might be Wharton’s night. They held the Tigers to one basket in the first quarter and led 8-3, and behind strong play from seniors Trevor Dyson and Carlos Nesbitt, forged a 16-15 lead at the half.

The third quarter was back and forth, and midway through, Chandler Davis canned a three-pointer and gave Wharton its biggest lead, 29-22, of the night.

However, despite eight points in the quarter from Dyson, Martin County was able to rally and keep it close heading to the fateful fourth.

Dyson, who was 4 of 6 from three-point range, and Davis, a junior, each scored 16 points to lead Wharton.

Dyson added 11 rebounds, while Nesbitt chipped in seven points and eight rebounds. Both seniors played all 32 minutes.

“I told the guys afterwards they exceeded my wildest expectations,” Tonelli said. “Not that I didn’t think they were capable. We were Conference champs, District champs and Region champs. The only goal we fell short of was being State champs. But there’s a lot of guys that play basketball and can’t say they are any of those things.”

basketball tommy tonelli wharton high

Tonelli Looks Back On 500 (And Counting) Basketball Wins At Wharton

On Dec. 7, Wharton High’s Tommy Tonelli joined rarified air when his Wildcats beat Chamberlain 75-46 to give him his 500th career win. He’s now at 514 wins, and the Wildcats are off to one of the best starts in program historyat 19-1. Among current public school coaches in Hillsborough County, Tonelli has no peers.

We caught up with Tonelli before Christmas to talk about milestones, both current and past.

NN: What does 500 wins mean to you?

TT: No doubt it’s an accomplishment, but I’m very in tune with the fact that I’ve been very very fortunate to have had some great players from Day 1 when the school opened.

NN: Did you ever imagine something like 500 wins when you got into coaching?

TT: No matter what age, what level, I’ve always been very competitive. I want to win no matter what I’m doing. I didn’t get into coaching to win 500 games, I just wanted to win every game. That’s the approach I took.

NN: So you’re 10-1 (now 19-1) this season, looks like you’re on your way to the next 500?

TT: (Laughs) I doubt it. This is my 23rd year. I can’t imagine coaching 23 more years, no chance…. I’m just proud I’ve done it at one school. At a public school, you’re at the mercy of who shows up and I’ve been really lucky over the years to have some outstanding players.

NN: Do you remember any of the other milestone wins?

TT: I do remember No. 400. The only reason I didn’t talk about it is because it was a District semifinal game and we were playing at Sickles against Wiregrass. The winner of that advanced to the District final and State playoffs, and I didn’t want to put any additional pressure on so I didn’t mention it to anybody.

NN: What about the first win ever?

TT: Of course. It was the school’s first-ever game, a home game vs Leto. They had Mike Jenkins (Ohio State football, Atlanta Falcons WR) and Ricky McConnell (6-foot-8 All-County forward). We didn’t even have padding on the walls at the end of the court yet. We beat them 70-63. The guys played great. We had a good team from Day 1, with no seniors, but great players like Terrell Farris, Joe Colangelo, Cliff Russ, Chris Christie.

NN: Was that the most memorable win?

TT: The first game was special, but I really think when we beat University High 41-39 to get to the State final four in 2013, that was the most memorable. It was a great game, and we had a special team with CJ McGill, Chase Litton, Sir Patrick Reynolds, Jaken Grier…my son Thomas was on that team, too.

CJ made a free throw with 4.5 seconds left and their point guard drove the length of court and got all the way to the basket, but Chase Litton came over and had the kid shot it, I’m sure Chase would have blocked it. The kid had the presence of mind to know he wasn’t going to get the shot off, and he double clutched and whipped this bullet pass to the corner…and (his teammate) wasn’t expecting it. It hit him in the stomach and caused him to bobble it, and by time he gathered it and shot, the buzzer had gone off. He made the shot, it was close. The refs gathered to talk about it. If it was a three-pointer, we lose.

It seemed like forever. They broke from the huddle and waved off the basket. I’ll never forget that game.

NN: Is there a loss you’ll never forget?

TT: Yes. The two Regional playoff games back-to-back at Windermere Prep (2019 and 2020). I don’t think I’ve ever had two more devastating, sickening, crushing losses than those. And both (59-57 loss in 2019, 54-53 loss in 2020) were games I could have done more to help the team and help determine the outcome of the game. I don’t feel like I made good decisions down the stretch to help us, and I think I’ve prided myself on that over the years.

NN: What’s your best-ever Wharton team?

TT: I know for sure the all-time Wharton team is 2007. That team had Shawn Vanzant, Adam Noble, Anthony Gomez, Leonard Simmons. Our only losses were to (national prep powerhouse) Mount Verde and Lake Howell in the Regional championship. That Lake Howell team was incredible. We lost by 11, the closest anyone came to beating them. They won the 5A State championship game by 43. Any other classification, with no Lake Howell, our team wins the state title.

NN: If you had to put together an all-star team of all the guys you’ve coached, who’s on the All-Time All-Wharton team?

TT: That’s a tough question. I think you start with Shawn Vanzant and Darin Green. Xavier Owens, A.J. Astroth, Damian Dixon, Anthony Gomez. Oh man. Who am I missing? Danny Green, Terrell Farris, Joe Colangelo. Man oh man, this one caught me off guard. Sir Patrick Reynolds, CJ McGill, Chase Litton. There’s others, but those guys are all in that top group.

NN: Are you going to be around for win No. 600?

TT: I’m just looking forward to this afternoon (which turned out to be a 63-49 win over Hillsborough High). I’m not in my 30 and 40s any more. The demands have gotten harder.

We’re just finishing four games in 5 days, 7 games in 12 games. Plus my responsibilities as guidance counselor are greater. I take a lot of pride in that as well.

NN: Other than a State title, there’s probably not much left to accomplish. You have to be proud of what you’ve done at Wharton though.

TT: We haven’t won a State championship, but those are so hard to come by. There’s so many variables, so many things you can’t control. I think Sickles is the last Hillsborough County public school to win one, and that hadn’t been done prior to them doing it since 1982. It’s just really hard. But I feel like, sure, we haven’t won a State championship, but in many regards we have a State championship program. We’ve never had a losing season, that’s one thing I’m really proud of. I’d venture to say there’s not many schools that have been around the last 25 years that can say they haven’t had a losing season. Would I rather have some losing seasons mixed in there and be able to say we won a State championship, sure. But, we’ve sustained excellence. The winning tradition is a credit to all the kids. We’ve built a program (with the kids from Benito, Turner-Bartels and around the area) and I think we built something the community can be proud of.

tommy tonelli wharton high

Education Notes — Heroes, The Road To Success & Flying High!

Saving A Student’s Life: All In A Day’s Work

On any “normal” day on a high school campus, the most extraordinary things can happen.

On Aug. 17, a Wharton High student started experiencing a medical emergency, and the school’s resource officer and nurse are credited with jumping in to save the student’s life, working together until paramedics arrived.

Video from Deputy William Mellana’s body camera was released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, showing him performing CPR on the student with the assistance of an automated external defibrillator (AED), which he continued until paramedics arrived. Prior to his arrival on scene with the AED, school nurse Alicia Robertson already had started CPR.

Thankfully, the student has since returned to school.

Alicia deflects any praise directed toward herself and Deputy Mellana, saying it was a team effort to aid the student.

“Several educators and a student who sought out an adult, who initiated help, all played roles in responding in a timely manner to assist the student that day.”

Hillsborough County Public Schools released a photo of the pair and said, “We could not be more proud and thankful to have these two incredible people at Wharton High School to protect our students and staff.”

King High Seniors From New Tampa Collect, Disperse School Supplies

Three King High seniors from New Tampa have launched the Road to Success School Supply Drive to support students and teachers in their school and throughout the wider community.

Toluwa, Onella and Emma launched the drive with collection boxes at businesses, including Mahana Fresh in New Tampa, Staples and The Salvation Army in Wesley Chapel, and the Ice Dreammm Shop in Lutz.

Their goal is to support students who need tools to be successful in school, and supplement teachers who often have to pay out of their own pockets to keep their classrooms stocked with basic supplies.

The drive was to benefit the Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF), a local nonprofit that distributes school supplies to the county’s schools and students with the greatest needs, with some of the collected supplies directly benefiting King High, where the students attend.

Although their collection for the drive has ended, the teens invite supporters to donate to HEF online at EducationFoundation.com/programs/donate/ and note that it’s part of the “Road to Success School Supply Drive” in the instructions section.

For more information, visit RoadtoSuccessDrive.com and see the latest news about the drive on Instagram @roadtosuccessdrive.

Wharton Physics Experiments Soar To 80,000 Feet

Wharton High physics teacher Christopher Hart says his AP Physics C class jumped at the chance to develop an experiment that could be tested during the launch of a weather balloon up to 80,000 feet at an educational event held at Tampa’s MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) on Aug. 28.

The launch was organized by Space Trek, an educational company based out of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, FL, and was part of a Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) event encouraging students to get excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts.

Hart says HCPS executive director of science education Larry Plank invited his students to design and place and experiments in the balloon, knowing of Hart’s previous experience with the type of programming required to execute them.

AP Physics C is one of four Advanced Placement physics classes offered at Wharton, and Hart says the students in the class have previously had at least one or two years of physics prior to entering the class.

But, it still wasn’t an easy feat to start school on August 10, and have everything designed and ready to launch less than three weeks later.

The class brainstormed a wide range of ideas and came up with two different experiments. One used four ultraviolet sensors to test different brands of sunscreen, while another measured how the size of different volumes of foam insulation changed with temperature changes as the balloon rose.

Hart says 80,000 feet is teetering toward the edge of space, where the highest-flying spy aircraft fly.

“There are pretty dramatic temperature changes, from below zero in some layers of the atmosphere, to spike really high when leaving the atmosphere,” Hart explains.

He says he told his students that the items they touched in designing the experiments would go to the highest point away from earth, farther than anything they’ve ever touched.

“They outsmarted me,” he laughs, saying that one of his students touched a moon rock at MOSI just to prove him wrong.

He says opportunities like this can be inspirational for students.

“It shows them the real world application of what they’re learning in the classroom,” says Hart. “They’re taking something that is very math-oriented and sometimes very abstract, and they can see it, feel it and touch it. It shows them how that math is applied, and hopefully encourages them to continue their education in this path.”

The students who participated in the event include Dillon Cao, Alex Lopez, Sean Grass, Adriana Salazar, Alex Devers, Dane Devers, Timothy Norwood, and Harshavardan Yuvaraj.