Reading off some of the names that have played in the annual Saladino Baseball Tournament is like reading the list of a MLB All-Star team. Carl Everett, Luis Gonzalez, Dwight Gooden, Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield and Plant City High’s own Kenny Rogers are just a few of the former Major Leaguers to play in the […]
Continue ReadingHigh Schools
Plant City girls pumped for flag football season
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 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 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 […]
Continue ReadingHeysek brothers lead Raiders team
Harrison Heysek remembers playing tennis with his mother, Mary, when he was just 6 years old. “We would hit back and forth in the driveway,” he said. “It just expanded from there.” Harrison is one of a set of triplets. His brothers, Alex and Spencer, also grew up playing tennis, gaining interest from their mom. […]
Continue ReadingTwo area grapplers qualify for state meet
Durant’s Austin Haley and Plant City High’s Lance Dounges both qualified for the Class 3A FHSAA State Wrestling Championship, which will be held Feb. 15 and 16, at the Lakeland Center. Haley placed second in the 126-pound weight class for the Cougars at the Class 3A Region 2 championship last weekend at Osceola High School, […]
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