Hit or Miss: 11.05.15

It’s time for a change, both literally and figuratively. 

This past Sunday marked the end of Daylight Savings time, signaling the onset of winter and, in my case, the combination of late nights and very early mornings.

Clearly the man who invented DST didn’t have small children, but that’s a whole different column. 

It also means the winter sports season is upon us. 

As the Braden River football team and the Braden River, Lakewood Ranch and ODA swim teams make their playoff pushes, signaling the end of the fall sports season, soccer and basketball will jump to the forefront with wrestling and girls weightlifting added into the mix soon afterward. 

The Lakewood Ranch girls soccer team opened its season with a 2-0 shutout victory against crosstown and district rival Braden River Oct. 27. Sophomore Faith Schyck scored both goals for the Lady Mustangs, who figure to be in the hunt for the district title once again. Lakewood finished as the district runner-up for the first time since 2010 last season, and with eight upperclassmen returning, including goalkeeper Danielle Wilson and midfielders Julia Ortiz and Mackenzie Fischer, Lakewood should control its own destiny. 

Then again a lot can happen with 13 games still remaining on the schedule. 

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Boys and girls basketball teams open their seasons this week. While Lakewood saw both of its basketball teams reach the postseason as district runner-ups last season, Braden River is hoping 2015 will be a turning point for a pair of Pirate programs looking to rekindle the success of years past. 

After finishing 0-21 a year ago, the Braden River girls will look to give second-year head coach Kristen Fulmer her first win when the team opens its season Nov. 9 versus Southeast. The Pirates will have their hands full with a Seminoles team that advanced to the Final Four last season, but not to worry Pirate Nation. That first win will come. It’s only a matter of time. 

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East County resident Amy E. Whittington completed her third full Ironman Oct. 17. Whittington, who owns T3-Prep, a personal training studio in Lakewood Ranch, competed in Ironman Maryland, and she rocked it. Whittington finished eighth in the women’s 35-39 division and 342nd overall with a time of 11 hours, 34.02 minutes.  

Whittington completed her first triathlon when she was 12 years old and she hasn’t turned her back on them since, having completed more than 60 triathlons and three full Ironman races over the past 24 years. Based on her recent performance, she doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.