Tag: Wharton

Wharton Boys Turn In Best Finish Ever At State Cross Country Meet

whartonxc — The Wharton High boys cross country team hoists Tre Rivers into the air after his first-place finish at the District championship meet. (Photo courtesy Kyle LoJacono)

The best finish in Wharton boys cross country history went anything but smoothly.

There were critical injuries, tough courses and some flat performances to overcome. But in the end, the Wildcats managed to do something no other boys cross country team at the school had — crack the Top 10 at the State Championship race with a ninth-place finish on Nov. 5.

“It was really a testament to the kind of kids we had on the team this year,’’ said third-year head coach Kyle LoJacono.

Behind sophomore Tre Rivers’ ninth-place finish in a personal best of 16 minutes and 16 seconds, the Wildcats finished with 286 points at the Class 4A State race at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Juniors Noah Damjanovic (71st), Sahil Deshenes (89) and Frankie Godbold (99) all cracked the top 100, while freshman Casey Pleune was 113th.

The Wharton finish was the second-best of all the Hillsborough County public school teams competing at the event, behind only Newsome, which was third with 185 points.

It was a deserved ending to a season that resembled a run through tough, wandering terrain.

It began with high hopes. Wharton lost seven seniors, but returned a strong group of underclassmen, led by Rivers. Pleune joined the team in the fall, and set a number a freshman school records.

“We 100-percent expected to do what we did,’’ LoJacono said. “We knew the group coming back not only had the talent, but the right kind of mindset to do it.”

In the summer, though, the Wildcats lost senior Veyd Tandel to a broken leg, a disheartening injury considering Tandel was something of an inspirational leader after running with the team for three years before finally making varsity for the first time.

Meanwhile, Damjanovic broke his foot in the summer, and saw his times early in the season hang around 18 minutes, a tough start for a runner who was used to finish in the mid-17-minute range.

And at the Region 4A-2 race, Dennarius Murphy injured his calf and couldn’t run at States, so Zach Kane had to step up.

But, perhaps the biggest obstacle for the Wildcats to overcome was a race at the University of Florida Mountain Dew meet at the UF Golf Course in Gainesville in which they finished 15th overall (after being seeded to finish 10th), only placing three runners in the top 150.

“They were really demoralized after that race,’’ LoJacono said.

Two weeks later, however, the Wildcats took on another big hurdle, traveling to Tallahassee for the pre-State FSU Invitational race, which was disrupted by Hurricane Matthew, causing some teams to drop out. That opened the door for Wharton to be moved into the elite race — where the Wildcats finished eighth and placed all five scorers in the top-100 runners.

The Wildcats also closed the gap with District 4A-6 rival Steinbrenner, their average time just 15 seconds behind the Warriors, who finished fifth at the FSU race.

“That is where things turned around,’’ LoJacono said.

So began a series of races where the Wildcats chased down, and eventually passed, their rivals. At the Hillsborough County Championships, Wharton finished third, just eight points behind champion Steinbrenner.

At the District race the following week, Rivers broke through to win the individual title in 16:41, and the Wildcats were just two points behind first-place Steinbrenner.

Finally, at the Region 4A-2 race, the Wildcats caught the Warriors. Behind another strong finish by Rivers, Pleune and Deshenes, Wharton finished fourth overall, a whopping 43 points ahead of Steinbrenner.

“That was the first time we were ever able to beat Steinbrenner,’’ LoJacono said, and the following week they did it again at state, as the Warriors finished one spot and 13 points behind Wharton.

Now that the Wildcats have caught the rabbit, the target could be on their backs next season. They return everyone, and plan on using a strong track and AAU season to bolster their chances at finishing even better at States in 2017.

“I told them, now you have to set your bar and your motivation higher,’’ says LoJacono. “They may be chasing us next year.”

Samhouri Finishes Strong

Wharton senior Rania Samhouri, who was featured in our last Neighborhood News issue, was the only girl ‘Cat to advance to States, where she finished ninth overall.

Samhouri, who improved on her 30th-place finish last season, ran the race in 18:49.

cross country Wharton

BBD Widening Enters Final Phase

Local residents have been waiting more than 20 years for the main thoroughfare through New Tampa to be widened from a four- and six-lane divided roadway to an eight-lane divided roadway to relieve the area’s infamous traffic congestion. And, while it may be premature to say there’s a light at the end of the, well, Boulevard, local residents are a step closer to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) finally being “Bruce B. Done.”

Work on the last of the four segments of BBD widening finally began on Oct. 18, and is expected to conclude by the end of summer 2018. Prince Construction LLC’s finalization of Segment D, a 1.44-mile-long stretch between just south of Pebble Creek Dr. and County Line Rd., should conclude the long and sometimes arduous process of the major project that runs from just north of Bearss Ave. to the Pasco County line.

According to the county’s website, Segment D is a $24-milion project that is funded through the Public Works Transportation Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and was awarded $5 million from the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The segment will include a landscaped median, drainage improvements, pedestrian safety features, sidewalks, a multi-use path and an upgraded traffic signal system.

Segment A, which is still the most congested area of BBD and extends from Bearss Ave. to Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms (see previous page), is a $54-million project that should be finished around August 2017.

Segments B and C, which bracket the work that was done around the same time I-75 was widened, were considered the most difficult of the segments geographically, but they were finally completed earlier this year.

bbd-n The same night that work began on Segment D, the county held a pre-construction meeting in the Paul R. Wharton High auditorium about widening BBD. If you think New Tampa is tired of talking about the traffic on BBD, consider this: the county set up three stands showing the area of construction, but the meeting was attended by only a dozen or residents.

One of the more vocal participants wasn’t even a resident, but rather a bus driver for Wharton who expressed a number of concerns about the traffic flow in the morning and afternoon during construction. Cheryl Puelo, who lives in Thonotosassa but has driven a school bus for Wharton almost since the school opened, said long lines in the morning at the Oak Preserve Blvd. entrance are already an issue that construction needs to be careful not to exacerbate.

Hillsborough Public Works Department project manager David Vogel said that every effort will be made so as not to interfere with the three primary driveways in use at Wharton during peak times.

“We told the principal of the high school (Brad Woods) we will do everything we can to coordinate,’’ Vogel said. “We can’t completely eliminate any impacts, but we will try to limit them, with things like night and weekend work.”

Others in attendance wondered how the road work would affect the already congested areas in front of both Walmart and Wharton, and asked about additional traffic lights to help drivers pulling out from businesses along BBD.

One piece of good news – the left turn lane in front of the Walmart that causes so many issues with drivers suddenly swerving right to exit it will finally be corrected.

“The biggest (problem) is the amount of traffic in the corridor,’’ Vogel said. “There is drainage and power lines (that need to be repositioned and considered), and the staging and coordination for something like that is always a challenge. Power lines have to be moved. And traffic has to be shifted to get a 66-inch pipeline in there.”

And So It Begins…

As a result, Vogel warns that for the first year or so, travelers won’t see many changes happening in terms of the actual road. He estimates that the first 400 days (of the 685 estimated to complete the project) will be underground work. Travelers will first notice temporary pavement put in as traffic is shifted over to allow crews to dig and position the utilities and power and water lines.

“It’s an urban project, so you have utilities and things like that,’’ Vogel said. “The part people have the hardest time with is the underground work. You’re digging holes, you’re putting in pipe, water and sewer and all that stuff. No one sees any progress. All they see is they are digging here and, a month later, they are digging here again.”

Vogel said in many ways, the final segment will be the easiest. In Segment A, a bridge and four retention ponds needed to be built. Segments B and C also involved a bridge and working around construction at the busy BBD exits off I-75. By comparison, Segment D has far fewer challenges.

And, while it won’t mean drivers won’t become frustrated as the widening unfolds, Vogel said locals will start to see significant improvements by the end of next summer.

“There’s just a little bit of pain involved until you can get the cure,’’ he said.

Samhouri Heads To State Cross Country Meet

The Wharton Wildcats put together the best cross country team in the Tampa Bay area in 2015. The Wildcats took third place at the Class 3A State championships behind then-sophomore Alisha Deschenes, who finished 21st overall.

The team’s next best finisher was junior Rania Samhouri, who was 30th.

With such key runners expected to return, the future of Wharton cross country looked good for 2016.

But, head coach Anthony Triana did not know at the time that only one of his top state finishers would ever run again for the Wildcats. The one that has, however, has seamlessly stepped into her role as the team’s No. 1 runner.

Samhouri, who was the team’s No. 5 just two seasons ago, is headed to the State meet as an individual after finishing fifth at the Class 4A, Region 2 meet on Oct. 28, finishing the difficult 5K (3.1-mile) course at Holloway Park in Lakeland in 19 minutes, 13.82 seconds, 34 seconds slower than her personal best.

The 2016 Florida High School Athletic Association’s State championships will be run tomorrow at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, and Florida State University is the host. Samhouri will begin her quest to top last year’s finish at 9:40 a.m.

The Wharton girls team did not qualify for a return to state, finishing eighth in the Region. Only the top six teams and top 15 individual finishers qualify for state.

Deschenes, a soccer player first who stars for both the Wharton side and one of the top club teams in the state, decided that her junior year, the most important from a recruiting standpoint, was too important for her not to focus on soccer.

After trying to balance it all over the summer, the grueling club schedule just presented too much of a conflict and Deschenes stepped away from the cross country team.

The good news, however, is that Samhouri was ready for the challenge. “When you lose your number one, you have to have a backup plan,” Triana said. “But, even before Alisha left, Rania was already starting to step up to that number one spot.”

As a sophomore, Samhouri made dramatic improvement all season long.

She was the team’s number five runner, with a top time of 20:58 early in the season, but by the Pre-State meet at FSU towards the end of the season, she was well under 20 minutes, posting a 19:44.

This season, she already has run 18:40 at the North Port Invitational. That ranks her in the top-10 in her classification heading into States.

Samhouri had a great rabbit to chase this season in defending State champ and State meet record holder Bailey Hertenstein of Riverview.

It was chasing Hertenstein, Tampa Bay’s best cross country runner, that helped push Samhouri to the 18:40 she ran at North Port, and chasing Hertenstein again at the Hillsborough County Championships helped Samhouri run her second-best time of the season, covering the 3.1-mile course in 18:48.

“When there’s someone in front of you, you can’t help but try and close the gap,” Samhouri said.

Gaps have been just what Samhouri has been closing all season.

She broke through for the Class 4A, District 6 title on her way to qualifying for state. At Al Lopez Park in Tampa, she broke from the start line and raced to the front, and despite some competition midway through by a pair of Steinbrenner runners, she managed to pull away and finish first by nine seconds.

If you ask Samhouri about her individual accomplishments, she’ll deftly defer you to what her team has accomplished, which included a third-place finish at Districts.

“At the end of the day, it’s about what can I do to make the team better?,” Samhouri said.

Proof, perhaps, that Samhouri has grown as both a runner, and a leader.

“She wants that leadership role, we have trust and a confidence level with each other,” Triana said. “She knows and speaks to every girl on the team, she supports (not only) the varsity girls, but the kids on JV, too.”

cross country Wharton

Wharton’s Zachary Godbold Wins Javelin Event At Junior Olympics

Wharton freshman Zach Godbold (center) receives his gold medal for his career-best throw of 167 feet, 5 inches, in the javelin at the AAU Junior Olympics in July.

Looking for something new to try, Zach Godbold’s eyes caught a javelin sitting in the grass near where his Running Tigers of Hillsborough County Track Club teammates were training.

Uninterested in the long distance runs that had lured him to the club with his big brother Frankie, Zach had been only mildly satisfied with throwing the shot put and discus. “They were just okay,’’ he says.

But, the javelin? Now, that looked a little more interesting.

Turns out, Zach made an excellent choice that day. He is now the best 14-year-old javelin thrower in the country and the reigning AAU Junior Olympic (JO) champion. In August, the New Tampa teenager turned in the biggest throw of his life, a whopping 167 feet, 5 inches — at the biggest event of his life — to capture the gold medal.

“It was pretty big,’’ Zach says. “Especially because it was such an important event.”

The JO win capped a huge spring and summer for Zach, a 14-year-old freshman at Wharton. He won a handful of local and regional events, and improved his throws by more than 40 feet from the beginning of track and field sea zach_godbold_4 son to the end.

“I think that’s what was most impressive, how he went from throwing 120 to 140 to 160,’’ said his father, Frank. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Frank and his wife Maria hardly imagined such heights were attainable five years ago,
when Zach first noticed that javelin laying in the grass near the track at Turner-Bartells K-8 School, where the Running Tigers practiced.

Coach Gig Brown told him to give it a try. It was a natural fit.

“I wasn’t the best at it (right away),’’ Zach says, “but I learned it quickly.”
There aren’t many sports at which the natural athlete hasn’t succeeded. He plays top-flight club soccer for the Temple Terrace Spirit, he was an exceptional pitcher on the Little League baseball diamond, he has run track and he’s currently playing junior varsity football — as a kicker and punter — for the Wildcats.

zach_godbold_2 But, it is this most unique sport that has brought Zach his greatest success.

Once Brown got him started, Zach took it from there. He would find a place to throw while his teammates raced around the track, and he and Frank would search out empty fields near their Arbor Greene home to practice, often at the overgrown baseball fields across from Pride Elementary. Because actual javelin coaches are about as rare as an uncongested road in New Tampa, Zach studied YouTube videos in his free time to hone his craft.

“The javelin is much different from other throwing events because you don’t need to be big and strong and have a lot of muscles to throw it,’’ says Zach, who is 5-foot-9 inches tall and roughly 160 pounds. “If you’re smaller and want to try throwing because you don’t like running, you can be good at this.”

Or great, as Zach was this summer.

He had competed at the Junior Olympics the three previous years, in the javelin and the discus, but had never had his breakthrough.

In 2013, he finished seventh, followed by a second-place finish in 2014 and 12th-place in 2015.

Taking It To His Rival

His primary rival was No. 1-ranked Jack Caudle of Atchison, KS, who beat out Zach for the gold in 2014 and set a national record for 13-year-olds while winning again last year, with a throw of 147-11.

If he were to win, Zach knew it was Caudle he would have to beat as they squared off with 58 other competitors at Turner Stadium in Humble, TX.

Competitors are allowed three throws in the preliminary round, with the top eight advancing to the finals, where they get three more throws. The best throw, including those in prelims, wins gold.

Zach wasted no time — on his first throw, he delivered a career-best toss of 167’-5”.

“I felt pretty confident, and I knew that was going to make it into the finals,’’ he said.

Zach didn’t manage a better throw, though he did clear 160 feet with two other throws.

He didn’t need to improve, however. He anxiously watched as the other competitors tried to better his top distance, including Caudle, who had come up short on his first five throws.

But, the tall lefty had one throw — and one nerve-wracking moment for the Godbold family — remaining, and he sent the javelin sailing high into the Texas sky, his best throw of the competition.

“I was so nervous,’’ Zach said. “I knew it was going to be really close.”

It was — Caudle came up with a throw of 166’-10”, just seven inches shy of a third straight championship, and in the stands Frank and Maria Godbold jumped with joy.

“I thought Maria was going to lose her mind,’’ Frank said, chuckling. “I’m real proud of him, obviously. Not just about winning, but doing it on the biggest stage. The other guy had just been better than him, and to see him get over the hump, it meant a lot. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this kind of moment when he started throwing a javelin.”

As a former Little League pitcher and back-up quarterback in football who was only used for long throws like Hail Marys, the javelin was the perfect fit. Most in his age group send their javelins arcing high into the air; Zach is known for his low, long throw.

“He always had a tremendous arm,’’ says Frank. “His uncle used to tell him he should be throwing a baseball.”

In five years, Zach has developed into one of the best young javelin throwers in the land. He has put away his 600-gram (21-lb.), 7-foot-long javelin for the winter, while he focuses on football and soccer.

Despite the fact he can’t compete in the event in high school because the javelin is not a sanctioned high school field event in Florida, like the discus and shot put, Zach plans on throwing the javelin all the way to college, and maybe beyond.

Next spring, he moves up to the 800-gram (28-lb.) javelin, which is between 8’3’’ and 8’7” long, the same one you see being thrown at the Olympics. He will continue to travel the state and country as he competes in AAU track season and competitions, with one goal in mind — to keep getting better.

“It’s definitely something I love doing,” Zach says, “and I’m definitely sticking with it.”

Like five years ago, that’s probably another good choice.

javelin junior olympics Wharton Zachary Godbold

Wharton Volleyball Kids Could Lead Way

Wharton volleyball star Kathryn Attar poses for a picture, with a freshman to her right, and two others to her left.

“My babies,’’ the senior says, only half-jokingly.

This year, the Wildcats’ outside hitter might just be feeling like the team mother, as she adds a larger leadership role to go with her prodigious talents at the net.

Not that leadership is a new thing for Attar. The past three seasons, she has led the way for Wharton volleyball on the court, with 1,110 kills, including 358 last season. She has established herself as one of the top players in the state.

However, she has always been younger than other players on the team.

But, now that three starters — setter Tyler Sroufe, middle blocker Lindsey Schaible and libero Chanelle Hargreaves — from a team that went 43-12 the past two seasons are off playing Division I-A college volleyball, all that remains from that experienced and cohesive group is Attar.

She does have her babies, however: the freshmen trio of hitter Jeanette Henderson, middle blocker Jamie Koopman and setter Ella Hileman.

“It’s great for Jeanette or anyone in that position that every day, she gets to see and learn from the best in the game, in the state, at that position,’’ Barber says. “Kathryn is very much like an assistant coach this year. She’s always been the youngest on the team, so this is her year to really kind of be the leader not just physically, but also from a maturity level.”

Wharton Senior Providing Leadership

Barber says having Attar, who has verbally pledged to play college volleyball at Yale University, makes the Wildcats instantly competitive. But they they will need more. The team does return sophomore setter Gracie Viloria, who played a lot last season after Sroufe got hurt. Senior Allie Schneider, who transferred in last season, her first with Wharton, and junior Devyn Kettner, who was called up from junior varsity late last season, return.

What could push them even deeper into the playoff picture, though, will be the development of the youngsters.

“It goes in waves,’’ Barber says. “We were in this situation (losing a lot of starters to graduation) 3-4 years ago. Now we’re back to a new start. To me, that’s what keeps it fun in coaching. The challenge will be getting them far enough along to make a push at the end of the season and take advantage of having Kathryn.”

Because Wharton is changing from a 5-1 alignment (with one setter) to a 6-2 (with two setters), Hileman will play a key role. “She is going to be a really good setter,’’ Barber says.

Henderson, who plays the same position as Attar, is only 5-6 but has the kind of vertical leap that would make a lot of basketball players jealous. “She has great jumps,’’ Barber says. “She’s already has some good kills against some tough teams. I’ve been impressed.”

Koopman will try to step into Schaible’s role in the middle. Last year, Schaible had a team-best 180 blocks to go with 229 kills. Koopman, who is 5-foot-10, won’t be expected to put up those kind of numbers her first season, but Barber expects her to improve and become a force under the tutelage of Attar.

“Even though she doesn’t play the middle (blocker position), she knows everything,’’ Koopman says about learning under Attar. “She just knows what to do. It’s great, I love playing with her.”

Hileman agrees. “Kathryn can teach because she knows how everybody’s position is played,’’ she says. “I’m a setter, and she knows what I do. It’s good, because she’ll help all of us, not just one of us.”

Freshman Class To Help Wharton Volleyball For Years

While Barber says Hileman, Koopman and Henderson — all starters — will play the biggest role among his freshman, they won’t be the only ones making their mark in the next few years. He says he has a dozen first-year prepsters playing this year, some of whom he will reveal later this season when they get called up to varsity.

“Overall, our freshman group is outstanding, it’s the best we’ve had,’’’ says Barber, whose team is now 5-6, but after a stumble at the Academy of Holy Names tournament the Wildcats have won their last three matches, including a win over Wiregrass Ranch.

Attar thinks that talent will develop enough by the end of the season to make the Wildcats a team to be reckoned with come playoff time in October.

A player of her All-State talents can carry a volleyball team to a successful season, but the kind of help the freshmen can provide could mark the difference between good and great.

“I’ve seen noticeable improvement already, and there should be more noticeable improvement by the end of the year,’’ Attar says. “You wouldn’t look at us and think we haven’t played together before. We should be really good by the time Districts (begin).”

Wharton High 6th Annual Harvest Volleyball Tournament

WHEN: September 30-October 1.

WHERE: Wharton High gymnasium, 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

TEAMS: Wharton, Brandon, Durant, Freedom, Sunlake, Gaither and two teams to be named.

OUTLOOK: This annual event is also a food drive, with fans urged to help fill a large box outside of the gym with canned or boxed food items which is used to help feed people at three local food banks.

volleyball Wharton