Ten East County athletes to watch in 2017

As the East County area continues to grow in population, so does the amount of prominent sports figures. Here is a look ahead to 2017 and top athletes to watch.

1 — Deshaun Fenwick, Braden River

The Braden River running back will be a senior when he takes the field in the fall, and with former teammate Raymond Thomas graduating, Fenwick will have less competition for carries. He recently picked up scholarship offers from the universities of Mississippi and Missouri, both Southeastern Conference schools.

In perhaps Fenwick’s best display of domination, he had six carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns, and a 65-yard touchdown catch, against Ida S. Baker last season — in the first half. 

2 — Sophia Falco, Lakewood Ranch

To know what kind of special athlete Lakewood Ranch senior Sophia Falco is, just flip through the school’s record books. She holds records in the long jump (20 feet, 5 inches), triple jump (40 feet, 5 inches), 100-meter dash (11.59 seconds) and 200-meter dash (24.11 seconds).

The Mustang girls track and field team won the 2016 Class 4A state title thanks in large part to Falco, and will try to repeat as champs in 2017.

3 — Max Munroe, Out-of-Door Academy

He’s not a flamethrower, but Out-of-Door Academy junior pitcher Max Munroe gets results.

Munroe was the only pitcher from Florida named to last year’s 15-and-under Perfect Game Tournament All-American team. His fastball runs about 83 miles per hour, but Munroe has the ability to work in a sharp curveball and has great overall command, according to Perfect Game.

The Thunder lost in the district championship game to Northside Christian last season, but with its ace Munroe back on the mound with more experience, they’ll look to advance even further this season.

4 — Damien Gordon, Lakewood Ranch

The Lakewood Ranch boys basketball team may be led by its senior class, but a junior has the potential to be a breakout star in the future.

Damien Gordon is tenacious on defense, averaging 3.1 steals per game as of Dec. 9. He can also score, leading the team with 18 points in an 83-54 win over Venice on Dec. 13.

His athleticism is on display every time he attempts even a simple layup. As his junior season wraps up and travel ball begins in the summer, look for Gordon to become even more of a household name in recruiting circles.

5 — Antonio Saviano, Premier Sports Campus

The man behind Premier Sports Campus is Antonio Saviano. He’s been the director of sports there since 2013.

Last year, Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch brought tons of revenue-generating events to the area, headlined by the European Showcase by Luis Figo in November.

Saviano already has events lined up for 2017, including an Italian Soccer Camp on June 5. He has also said he hopes to continue working with Luis Figo on soccer showcases. 

6 — Denali Schappacher, Lakewood Ranch

The Lakewood Ranch senior outfielder is already committed to play softball at the University of Central Florida, but first she and the Mustangs have one more chance to bring home a state title.

Last year, the softball team won the Class 8A District 8 title game, in which Schappacher had a home run, triple, two singles, and also stole home, but lost in the regional semifinals 2-1 to Countryside.  

Schappacher led the Mustangs in runs scored, steals, base hits, batting average and on-base percentage last season.

7 — Chance Sharbono, Braden River

The Braden River senior wrestler finished third in the 138-pound division of the Class 2A tournament last year. Sharbono feels as though he should have won, and he has worked hard to make sure his Pirates career ends with him raising a trophy over his head.

Sharbono’s workout routine sets him apart. After the usual team practice, he will head for a 30-mile bike ride. Two to three days a week, he does an additional low-weight, high-rep cardio lift session. He does all of this because, simply, it's what he needs to be the best.

8 — Kate Walker, Braden River

In 2015, former Braden River swimmer Ryan Walker became the first Pirate to ever win a state title, placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke. His sister, Kate Walker, a freshman at the school, has a real chance to become the second.

Kate Walker finished in the top-10 in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard fly at the state meet in 2016, and with another year of experience under her belt should challenge for the medal stand as a sophomore in 2017.

9 — Colin Prince, IMG Academy 

The Lakewood Ranch resident plays lacrosse at IMG Academy with his brother, George Prince. Both of the brothers are headed to Dartmouth College when they graduate (Colin is a junior, George is a senior), but only Colin is recovering from major surgery.

This past October, Prince traveled to Children’s Hospital in Boston to mend a fracture to the bones connecting his hamstrings and pelvis. He also had scar tissue on his sciatic nerve, causing pain when he ran. He had played through the injury for two years prior to the surgery, and Dartmouth had never seen him play fully healthy before it offered him a spot on its roster.

Colin Prince’s recovery from surgery will be a fascinating story to watch over the next 12 months. 

10 — Connor and Jake Krug, Out-of-Door Academy

OK, this is cheating a bit, but it's impossible to talk about one Krug brother without the other. The Out-of-Door Academy eighth-grade brothers are both five-star tennis recruits currently ranked in the top-100 in the country.

They also make a good team. They won the 14-and-under doubles division of the United States Tennis Association National Selection Tournament in Atlanta on Nov. 28. As 2017 is served up, the brothers should continue to climb the national rankings and attempt to bring state titles, both individual and doubles, to ODA.