Monday, June 28, 2010

Pastornicky part of Dunedin's title run

Bradenton native Tyler Pastornicky, a graduate of The Pendleton School at The IMG Acadamies, helped the Dunedin Blue Jays win the Florida State League's North Division crown in the first half.
A shortstop, Pastornicky is hitting .267 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in his first full season with Dunedin, which is a high Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays drafted Pastornicky, 20, during the fifth round of the '08 draft.
Pastornicky and the Blue Jays visit the Bradenton Marauders for a four-game series beginning July 22.

Rivals ranks Blakely fourth

Manatee running back Mike Blakely is ranked fourth on Yahoo!/Rivals.com's latest list of Florida's top 100 senior.
Blakely earned a four-star ranking from rivals.
Blakely is behind a couple of familiar faces on the list - Tampa Plant's James Wilder Jr. is second and Punta Gorda Charlotte's Mike Bellamy, who has committed to Clemson, is third.
Linebacker Tony Steward from St. Augustine Pedro Menendez is ranked first.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Brown happy to be heading to Dean

Ryan Brown took just one visit to Dean College, a junior college in Franklin, Mass.
But that was enough for the Manatee senior.
"I just felt that it was the best opportunity for my career," he said Tuesday after signing with Dean at The Shake Pit.
Brown made the Class 5A all-state first team this seasons thanks to his ability to long snap and work out of the shotgun. He will long snap at Dean too, he said.
"That's what they want me to do up there," he said.
Brown, who played a key role in Manatee's march to the Class 5A state title game last season, is going from one successful program to another. Dean won the National Junior College Association's Northeast Football Conference for the the third straight year (28-4 in that span) and is coached by Todd Vasey, the conference's coach of the year for three straight years, as well.
"I liked the coaches," Brown said, "and got to meet a lot of the players."
Brown plans on heading north Aug. 17 and major in business.

Former Cane Geldmaker earns All-America status

Manatee alum Sam Geldmaker, an offensive lineman at Gannon University in Erie, Pa., was picked for the 2010 Consensus Draft Services (CDS) Division II Preseason All-America second team.
One of 10 offensive lineman named to either the first or second team, Geldmaker, a tackle, helped key an offensive line that allowed Gannon to finish second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in rushing (178.9 yards per game) last season.
Geldmaker is entering his senior season having earned consecutive berths on the all-conference team as a sophomore and junior.
Gannon had its first winning season since 2003 last year, finishing 6-5.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Pendleton's Perry drafted by Diamondbacks

Blake Perry, a senior pitcher at The Pendleton School at The IMG Acadamies, has been taken in the sixth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 181st pick.
Originally from Danville, Ky., Perry transferred to IMG in the spring of 2009. The 6-foot-5 pitcher, who has committed to the University of Kentucky, went 2-0 with a 3.54ERA with 29 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings pitched with Pendleton this season.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Dearing recommends creation of Division II

Roger Dearing, the executive director of the Florida High School Athletic Association, has agreed with the urban/rural committee for the need of a new classification.
The committee recommended the creation of a Division II classification, open to member schools in communities designated rural by the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development and whose enrollment is 500 students or less.
The association's board of directors will vote on the measure during next week's meeting in Gainesviile.
In other news, Dearing also approved a recommendation by board member Russell Wambles that would allow students in grades six through eight at combination schools to compete in sub-varsity levels only.
It would require a change in the FHSAA's bylaws. If approved, the change would be forwarded to the association's representative assembly for consideration in 2011.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Mitchell no longer Panthers' AD

Drew Mitchell is no longer the athletic director at Bradenton Christian.
A graduate of BCS who became the school's athletic director in 2005, Mitchell said Friday he was the victim of budget cuts.
Football coach Allan Gerber takes over as school's new AD.
Mitchell oversaw the school's decision to add football for the '05-06 school year, a move duplicated months later by area private schools Bradenton Prep, Out-of-Door Academy and Saint Stephen's. BCS also added girls soccer that year, as well, and decided to move boys soccer, formerly a fall sport, to the winter.
Under Mitchell, BCS placed fourth in the Florida High School Athletic Association Floyd E. Lay Sunshine All-Sports Awards the last two years, and was ninth in '08.
"I graduated from Bradenton Christian," he said, "and I will always keep it close to my heart."
Mitchell also helped BCS start the Smoothie King Classic in 2007, the area's only girls and boys holiday basketball tournament that drew 16 teams last December.
Mitchell has been hired to teach at Palmetto Charter School, accepting the job after turning down the AD position at Citrus Park Christian.
"That's a stressful job, being an athletic director," he said. "This way, the hours are better.
"Sometimes the Lord has a different path for us to take, and this is it."

Friday, June 4, 2010

Bayshore, Lakewood Ranch and Southeast among academic team leaders

Seven of Lakewood Ranch's athletic teams were ranked in the Florida High School Athletic Association's team champion awards program for the spring.
The award is based on each team's cumulative grade-point average.
The Mustangs girls Class 3A track and field team (3.661 grade-point average) and Class 2A boys weightlifting (3.353) will receive a plaque for finishing first in the state in their sports.
The school's baseball team was fourth(3.263), the softball team was third (3.476), the boys tennis team was fifth (3.504), the girls tennis team was second (3.731) and the boys track team was 14th (3.000)
Baseball and softball compete at Class 4A, while tennis and track are 3A.
Bayshore's baseball team was 10th in Class 4A (3.117) and Southeast's baseball team was fifth in 3A (3.260).

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Blakely ranked in Rivals top 100

Manatee running back Mike Blakely made Rivals.com's list of the top 100 senior football players in the country. He is ranked 22nd.
Blakely earned a four-star ranking after totaling nearly 2,000 of receiving and rushing last season.
James Wilder Jr., whose Tampa Plant Panthers head to Bradenton on Aug. 27 for a Kickoff Classic that will be broadcast live on ESPN, was ranked third.
Florida has 20 players on the list, including 12 in the top 20.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Manatee ranked 15th by MaxPreps

Manatee's football team has been labeled by MaxPreps as one of 25 national contenders for the 2010 prep football season.
The Hurricanes were ranked 15th on the list, and MaxPreps.com writer Stephen Spiewak said Manatee re-established itself as a football powerhouse last season despite falling to Tampa Plant in the Class 5A state championship game.
"The Hurricanes have a foundation in place that could position them to be better in 2010," Spiewak writes.
He notes that the team's two top players from last season, quarterback Brion Carnes and wide receiver Ace Sanders, are being replaced by the talented tandem of Cord Sandberg and Quenton Bundrage, which teamed for four touchdowns during Manatee's spring victory over Palm Bay Bayside last Friday.
Electric playmaker Mike Blakely returns, along with most of the defense - most notably the front four of Drakkar Wilson, brothers Chris and Quinton Pompey, and Marquis Dawsey.
Dawsey saw time at linebacker against Bayside, an idea that was tossed around last season.
Click here to see the rest of the top 25 football teams throughout the country, according to maxpreps.com.