Prep cross country: Bayshore's Meester-Kitterman takes ninth at Junior Olympics

photo by Grant Jefferies

Bayshore rising senior Canaan Meester-Kitterman had a solid showing during the USATF Junior Olympic Championships at North Carolina A & T State University this past weekend.
Meester-Kitterman qualified for the finals of the 1,500-meter run and took ninth with a time of 4:10. Though he finished one spot shy of a medal, he still managed to record a personal-best time in the event.
Meester-Kitterman is shooting for his third consecutive trip to the state cross country meet this fall.

Prep volleyball: Saint Stephen's looking for two coaches

Saint Stephen's is looking to hire a pair of volleyball coaches.
The school is hiring for a freshman and JV coach. Anyone interested can contact athletic director Carlos Boothby at cboothby@saintstephens.org.

Prep baseball: ODA' Dietrich an All-America pick

Tyler Dietrich, a catcher last spring at Out-of-Door Academy, earned second-team honors on MaxPreps' 2013 Baseball Small Schools All-American Team.
Dietrich hit .481 with 20 RBIs and 14 steals while throwing 73 percent of runners trying to steal as the Thunder won their second district title.
Dietrich will not be returning to ODA after his father, Billy, stepped down as the school's baseball coach.
Tyler Dietrich originally committed to play at Houston, but has withdrawn that commitment.

Prep baseball: Catching up with other area draft picks

photo by Grant Jefferies

A day after Cord Sandberg played his first professional baseball game in Bradenton as a member of the GCL Phillies, here is a list of how some of the area's other draft picks are faring.

J.R. Murphy - The IMG product and Bradenton native is playing well after being promoted to the New York Yankees' Triple-A team in Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Murphy, 21, is batting .308 in 12 games with the RailRiders, with two home runs and six RBIs. A catcher, Murphy has thrown out of five of 16 runners trying to steal (31 percent), and was the Yankees' second-round pick in 2009.

Correlle Prime - Prime is back with the Colorado Rockies' Rookie League team in Grand Junction, where he is batting .261. He hit his professional home run on Tuesday, the same day Sandberg hit his, and hasn't made an error in seven games at first base. The Rockies chose Prime, a Manatee alum, in the 12th round of last year's draft.

Zack Larson - The Lakewood Ranch grad is with the Minnesota Twins' Gulf Coast League team, and has shown some power, homering twice in his first 15 plate appearances for a .714 slugging percentage. Larson, a 20th-round pick last year, is batting .286 through his first four games. The GCL Twins aren't scheduled for any games at Pirate City this summer, but do come to Sarasota to play the GCL Orioles on July 2.

Ryan Pope - A Bayshore graduate and the first player ever to be drafted out of the Savannah College of Arts and Design, Pope joins Murphy on the RailRiders' roster. After stumbling during a 2011 Triple-A stint, Pope has pitched better thus far, posting a 2.92 ERA and 1-0 record in five games. Pope has walked just one in 12 1/3 innings while striking out seven.

Sean McAdams - Another area player drafted in 2012, McAdams is back in Sarasota with the GCL Orioles. He has a 8.10 ERA in two appearances, but does have one save and four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

Granden Goetzman - The Palmetto native is healthy after missing most of last year with a stress fracture in his back, but is off to a slow start. Goetzman began the year with the Tampa Bay Rays high Single-A team in Bowling Green, but is now with low Single-A team in Hudson Valley after hitting .153 in 21 games at Bowling Green. Goetzman is batting .200 in six games with the Renegades.

Michael Ohlman - A Lakewood Ranch product, Ohlman is at high Single-A for the first time and making the most of it. Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, Ohlman is hitting .306 with five home runs and 21 RBIs and four triples in 41 games with the Frederick Keys. Ohlman has been a designated hitter for 27 games and a catcher for 14, during which he has thrown out six of 27 runners trying to steal (22 percent).

Prep football: Gugliemini named FHSAA football official of the year

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Andy Gugliemini is best known around the area for his work with wrestlers.
The Florida High School Athletic Association appreciates the way he handles football games, too.
Gugliemini was named the FHSAA's football official of the year earlier this month. Gugliemini is also Manatee's wrestling coach.
He has officiated a regional final and state semifinal during his 20-year career and is also the president of the the Southern Independent Conference Officials Assocation.
"It's a huge honor, man," Gugliemini said. "I've put a lot of time in off and on the field. If I'm going to do something, I want to be the best."
As for wrestling, Gugliemini and his charges are headed to Orlando this week for the AAU Scholastic Duals, which run until Monday.
"And Tuesday," he said, "we go to Sea World."

Prep baseball: ODA looking for a baseball coach

Because of commitments to his business, Billy Dietrich has stepped down as Out-of-Door Academy's baseball coach.
Dietrich said he and his family will be relocating, which means Billy's son, Tyler, will also be leaving the school.
A rising junior and a catcher, Dietrich hit .480 with 20 RBIs and caught 73 percent of runners trying to steal this spring. Dietrich, according to his dad, is on a number of Division I radars. Tyler had verbally committed to play baseball at the University of Houston but said he has withdrawn his commitment.
Dietrich was also in the mix to be the football team's starting quarterback.
Billy Dietrich led the Thunder to the program's second district championship this spring, as ODA defeated Cardinal Mooney, which won both regular-season meetings, in the Class 3A-District 10 final.

Prep baseball video: Manatee's Cord Sandberg talks about his pro baseball debut