Hit or Miss: Jen Blanco

Anyone who has watched a boy or girls basketball practice at Lakewood Ranch High school knows how hard those teams push toward success.

So it wasn't a surprise when the announcement came that Lakewood Ranch swept both Florida Athletic Coaches Association District 16 Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors for Class 7A. 

Junior forward LaDazhia Williams, who is averaging 16 points and seven rebounds per game, won the Player of the Year award for girls basketball while sophomore guard Damien Gordon, who is averaging 11.1 points per game, won boys basketball’s top honor. 

"I think he's very deserving and I'm really proud of him for getting it," Lakewood boys coach Jeremy Schiller said. "If you could've seen the reaction of our players when we announced it in practice, they just went nuts for him. That's what makes our group special." 

Lakewood girls coach Tina Hadley and Schiller both were named Coach of the Year.

"I was really excited to see us sweep in on the girls side and the boys side because I think it shows all the hard work that these kids and these coaches put into it," Schiller said. "Tina Hadley being named Coach of the Year, she gives me a lot of motivation with how hard she works in her program. I've always got to try to keep up with her." 

Both teams are intense when it comes to pursuing excellence but Hadley and Schiller have created an environment where their players want to challenge themselves. They want to leave their mark on the Mustangs program. 

Under Hadley’s guidance, the girls have have reached the regional tournament each of the past four seasons and advanced to their second-consecutive regional championship game Feb. 12.

Behind Williams, who finished with a team-high 21 points and added six rebounds, Lakewood held off Palm Harbor 49-42 to capture its first regional championship and earn a berth in the state Final Four for the first time in school history. 

India Searls added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Kailyn Scully, who found out she had been accepted to the University of Florida following the Mustangs win, contributed nine rebounds and eight assists. 

Next up, the Mustangs will make the trip to the Lakeland Center Feb. 19 to face Niceville, which also will be making its first state semifinal appearance. The winner will advance to the state championship to face the winner of the other semifinal between Winter Haven and South Broward. 

Lakewood Ranch and Winter Haven met to close out the regular season Jan. 23 with the Blue Devils pulling out a 49-48 victory in an overtime thriller. Could a rematch be on the horizon?

Meanwhile, the Lakewood Ranch boys were chasing similar goals.

Since taking over the program in 2010, Schiller has guided the Mustangs to back-to-back 20-plus win seasons and regional tournament berths while seeing his team secure Lakewood’s first boys basketball district championship since 2005. Most recently, the boys beat North Port 74-61 in the Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals Feb. 11 to advance to the regional semifinals Feb. 16 against Fort Myers Riverdale. 

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Parke Phillips appears to be having the time of his life, and The Out-of-Door Academy baseball team has been fortunate enough to have been along for the ride. 

Through the first three games of the season, the Thunder catcher, who has committed to play for Brown University, is 8-for-10 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, including a pair of grand slams, and three walks. 

In the words of ODA coach Tim Orlosky: "He is not human." 

Thanks in large part to Phillips, ODA is off to a 3-0 start, having outscored its opponents 36-11.

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The Lakewood Ranch wrestling team has found continual success this season, posting top five finishes week in and week out. Last week, the Mustangs junior varsity squad deserved some recognition of its own. For the second-consecutive season, Lakewood won the six-team Manatee County Championship Feb. 10. 

John Riley (182 pounds) and Joey Kelly (220) both won individual county titles with seven additional wrestlers posting either second or third-places finishes. 

Back at the varsity level, Lakewood Ranch wrestlers Hunter Reed (120), Dylan Cameron (132), and Nate Lancaster (220) all went 5-0 to win their respective weight classes and lead the Mustangs to a third-place overall finish at the Manatee County Championships Feb. 11. 

In doing so, Reed became the first Lakewood Ranch wrestler to go undefeated during the regular season, finishing with a 59-0 record. 

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Three members of the Braden River wrestling team also can add Manatee County Champion to their list of accolades this season. Riley Dunn (106), Lucas Romano (126) and Chance Sharbono (138) all won their respective weight classes at the varsity Manatee County Championships Feb. 11. Sharbono also won the overall Most Outstanding Wrestler award.