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High five power poll
1. Speed to Burn
Wesley Chapel has produced its share of track speedsters over the years, but senior Brady Pineo may turn out to be the best one yet.
The Wildcat 100- and 200-meter burner committed last week to the University of Tennessee, choosing the Volunteers over Florida State, Miami and USF.
Pineo, who won the Class 3A, Region 2 titles in the 100 and 200 last year but finished eighth and seventh respectively in those races at state, has been on a roll in 2026. He has already posted the country’s second-fastest indoor time in the 200, clocking 20.79 seconds at The Legends of Alachua County Invitational, making it the fourth fastest time ever run in Florida.
He has run the 100 in 10.52 seconds twice this high school season and is the fifth-ranked combo runner (100/200) in Florida so far this season.
2. Happy Valentin Day
Kayla Valentin had the Performance of the Week on March 10 against River Ridge. Not only did the Wiregrass Ranch junior infielder step up to start the game in the pitching circle, she tossed the first shutout of her career in a 2-0 win, and nearly made it a no-hitter, allowing just a lone hit.
Wait, we’re not done. In the sixth inning, with the score 0-0, Valentin, who leads the area with a .609 batting average but had struck out her previous two at bats, smashed a two-run homer to provide the winning margin.
Not too shabby.
3. Cypress Creek baseball
The Coyotes used a fifth-inning rally to knock off rival Wesley Chapel and end the Wildcats seven-game winning streak. Since dropping their first three games this season, the Coyotes won six of their next seven.
4. Wesley Chapel baseball
The Wildcats may still be the best baseball team in the area, but we have to respect the head-to-head Gods.
5. Wesley Chapel softball
The Wildcats’ 8-3 start is being steered by sophomore Bailey Garrison’s scorching start, but Kali Manco and Jazmin Hill are hitting a combined .438 with 11 doubles, a homer and 26 RBIs. No wonder the Wildcats have scored seven runs or more in each of their victories this season.
Number of the week: 9
That’s how many extra base hits Cypress Creek sophomore shortstop Lily Briscoe has this season in eight games — four doubles, two triples and three home runs.
Don’t miss
If the state baseball tournament is just too far of a drive for you each year, how about taking the shorter trip to Wesley Chapel on March 23. That day, starting at 6 p.m., the Wildcats will host mighty Fort Myers Bishop Verot in a herculean matchup of state championship contenders. Bishop Verot was 32-3 last year, and lost in the Class 3A semifinals, while the Wildcats were the Class 5A state runner-up.
The Vikings, two-time state champs, are led by pitcher Joey Lawson, a North Carolina commit, who has three homers and 39 strikeouts in 20 innings, with his only loss coming to Jesuit, and shortstop Blake Lavenia.
The teams met last year in Fort Myers, with the Vikings posting a 12-2 win.
Shoutouts
• Garrison is so hot at the plate she went 3-for-6 with a double and three RBIs last week, and her average dropped to .528.
• On the other hand, while it is no easy task to raise your batting average when you’re already hitting in the .400s, Wesley Chapel junior infielder Noah Hartley has found a way. Since March started, the Wildcat has gone 7-for-10 with five runs, two RBIs and a pair of doubles in three games.
• Cypress Creek senior pitcher Colton Burrmann took over after the Coyotes took a 7-4 lead over rival Wesley Chapel and retired the final nine batters in order to finish off a big win. Burrmann hasn’t allowed a run in his last four appearances, throwing 8.1 innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight.
• Wiregrass Ranch tennis freshman Shrestha Ghattamaneni is a rising star, stepping in at No. 1 singles to go 3-0 for the undefeated Bulls this season, including eking out a 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-7) win over Sebring on March 9.
• Cypress Creek sophomore tennis standout Nicole Nguyen is now 45-2 in her career after a recent 6-0, 6-0 in singles and 5-0 (ret.) win in doubles against Hudson. Nguyen’s only losses came last year in singles to arguably the two best players in the county — Wiregrass Ranch’s Saachi Deshpande in last year’s Class 3A, District 7 championship, and Angeline Academy of Innovation’s Jagathi Patibandla. In a related note, Cypress Creek and Wiregrass Ranch, both currently undefeated, clash on March 26 at the Bulls’ place.
• Welcome to The Show, Megan Bucaille. The freshman infielder made her varsity debut for the Wiregrass Ranch softball team a good one, going 1-for-1 with a walk and three RBI in a 22-2 win over Anclote.
• Wiregrass Ranch’s Jonah Gonzalez was a triple-winner at the recent Coyote Invitational, taking home gold in the 100 (11.02 seconds), long jump (6.61m) and triple jump (13.37m).