From soccer and softball players to cheerleaders and calendar girls, the Plant City High School flag football team features a wide range of skill sets. It’s the main reason why head coach Larry Langston said this may be his deepest and most talented team yet, despite being young at several positions. “We have a lot […]
Continue ReadingOlympians step up to plate for softball
Olympians Michele Smith and Dot Richardson joined International Softball Federation president Don Porter Feb. 22, at the ISF headquarters in Plant City, for a presentation to local dignitaries on the progress of getting softball back into the Olympic Programme. It’s a process Porter and others have been hard at work to accomplish after the sport […]
Continue ReadingSHOW ME THE MAUNEY: Classic opens eyes to new sport
As I drove down Cowart Road Saturday to arrive at the DI Polo Complex, I still wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve covered a wide variety of sports in my still young career, from lacrosse and rugby to Le Mans racing, but the game of polo was still foreign to me. Rows of exotic cars […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Trent Robertson
Born in Hawaii before moving to Washington and later Kenosha, Wis., where he lived for about 13 years, Trent Robertson found a home in Florida playing basketball for Durant High School. The guard led the Cougars this year with 20.3 points per game, along with five rebounds, 2.8 steals and 3.3 assists. He recently committed […]
Continue ReadingSCOREBOARD: Durant baseball remains undefeated
Tyler Danish pitched a complete-game shutout Tuesday to lead his Durant team to a 2-0 victory at Alonso. Durant improved to 5-0 with the win and will host Newsome Friday. The Cougars are now the only undefeated team in Class 8A District 7. Four of those five wins came as shutouts. Danish, a University of […]
Continue ReadingPlant City’s McBride takes home award
Plant City High School 2014 OL/DL Montel McBride continues to rack up awards and attention at post-season combines and camps. Most recently, McBride took the Top Offensive Lineman Award at the Valdosta MVP Camp over the weekend in Valdosta, Ga. McBride went to the camp with teammates from TeamNextLevel. McBride was the only player in […]
Continue ReadingHOMETOWN HEROES: Long Way From Home
For Jacob and Misty Kesler, the National Guard was a compromise. “He wanted to go into the (U.S.) Army, and I didn’t want him to leave, so we decided the National Guard would be the best option,” Misty says. “That way, he was still in but home at the same time.” Plant City natives, high […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Sergio Garcia
Plant City senior Sergio Garcia has been a bright spot in the lineup for Plant City baseball in this early stage of the 2013 season. The second baseman is hitting .650, with a triple and two doubles going into Tuesday night’s game with Hillsborough. He has played all four years on varsity for the Raiders. […]
Continue ReadingSHOW ME THE MAUNEY: The true meaning of ‘student athlete’
We’ve all heard the stereotypes. Some popular ones include the derogatory phrases “meatheads” and “dumb jocks.” Athletes across the globe defy these misconceptions every day, and Plant City area athletes certainly are doing their part of squashing these stereotypes. The more I cover local high school sports teams, the more I take note of the […]
Continue ReadingHumble beginnings fuel Crest foursome
Seniors Yasmine Gardiner and Brittany Barber remember what it was like. “When we started off, we were kind of the joke of the school,” Gardiner said of the the inaugural Strawberry Crest girls track team in 2009. Both young and raw talents as freshmen, the duo flew below everyone’s radar that year. When current juniors […]
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