Wharton runner conquers 5Ks, blood pressure condition

The symptoms always seemed to nip at her heels. Erin Bailey could hold them off for most of a 5-kilometer race, but not all of it.

As sure as Boston hosts marathons, the symptoms would overtake the Wharton High standout at some point down the stretch.

"I know when it's coming," she said.

The stomach cramps would be followed by drooping eyes. Then her hands would contort into a claw shape. In the worst episodes, her legs would become rubbery and her world would darken.

For the longest time, such was Bailey's distance-running modus operandi: pass the finish line, pass out.

"It was like tipping a cow," veteran Wharton cross country/track coach Wes Newton said.

Today, Bailey's low blood-pressure condition — neurocardiogenic syncope — is under control. So far, the early stage of her senior cross country season has been uneventful; she even placed third Saturday in a race at North Port High. But before receiving the proper diagnosis and medication, Bailey would enter a race knowing the nauseating scenario awaiting her in the final meters.

She kept running anyway.

YMCA finalizing 5th annual Saturday Night Lights fundraising event; sponsorships still available

The New Tampa Family YMCA will host its 5th annual “Saturday Night Lights” party on Saturday, October 3 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the New Tampa Family YMCA.

This casual, football-themed event will raise funds to benefit the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign, which provides scholarships for children and families with special physical and financial needs who cannot otherwise afford the benefits of the YMCA.

“Last year's event was such a hit, that we've decided to continue with that theme,” said Ginger Bean, event chairperson. “Attendees will enjoy supporting their favorite teams while sampling local restaurants' favorite dishes and bidding on unique auction items.  And the best part is, the proceeds will provide opportunities for less fortunate families to participate in the programs and benefits of the YMCA.”

Karate students bring home titles

WESLEY CHAPEL --- Two members of the Keiko Shin Karate Academy competition team, Melissa Wark, pictured second from right, and Tyler Luginski, pictured at far right, traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, to participate in one of the largest traditional karate tournaments held in the United
States earlier this month.

Hosted by the Amateur Athletic Union, top-rated athletes from all over the country were invited to compete for the gold in 22 different sporting events, including karate. The duo competed in their respective advanced black belt divisions in both kata (form) and kumite (sparring), bringing home a total of four medals. Each won gold medals in their sparring competitions and silver medals for kata.

In order for Melissa and Tyler to be invited to participate in the Junior Olympic Games, both placed in the top of their divisions in district, super regional and national qualifiers throughout the year.

Also pictured are Elvis Ramic, 14, and Sabina Ramic, 10, of New Port Richey. At the Junior Olympic Games, Elvis earned two silver medals in the 14-year-old male advanced black belt division by placing second in both kata and kumite.

Sabina, who competed in the 10-year-old female advanced black belt division, won second place in kata and secured the gold medal in kumite by defeating all opponents in her division. 

Under the instruction of owner and Sensei Ernest Fuentes, third-degree black belt, the academy, at 26312 Wesley Chapel Blvd., Ste Road 54, offers traditional Shotokan Karate-do training to children and adults, based on tradition, philosophy and discipline.

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Pasco County AD Bell's firm grip deserves a hand

From the Times:

By John C. Cotey

Phil Bell isn't the kind of guy who beats his chest.

So let me do it for him:

Not here.

Not now.

Not ever.

Of course, that sounds nothing like Bell, the soft-spoken, big-stick carrying Pasco County athletic director.

He is calm, cool and nice enough that if you stay on the phone with him longer than five minutes, you're tempted to ask him out to the nearest eatery for wings and a ball game.

But he is deadly serious about his job.

Bell and Zephyrhills principal Steve Van Gorden's decision Tuesday to fire Zephyrhills football coach Jerrell Cogmon wasn't done specifically to send a message, but it does.

While Hillsborough County has been awash in Transferpalooza this past offseason — more than 50 kids, many notable, have switched allegiances — Bell said he plans to keep a firmer grip on his county.

Cogmon is gone for a few reasons. But most significant: A volunteer assistant coach who left Wesley Chapel for Zephyr­hills had inappropriate contact with one of his former Wildcats via phone, text messages and MySpace pages.

One of those former players decided to transfer to Zephyr­hills. And apparently, Cogmon knew all this was going on.

The rule on that is pretty simple: You can't follow one of your coaches to another school, for whatever reason, without losing athletic eligibility for one year.

"It's the toughest decision I've ever had to make,'' said Van Gorden.

But in some ways, the easiest.

Tommy Tonelli to coach Wharton basketball again

From the Times:

By Joey Knight

That ruckus you hear in New Tampa is a collective hurrah from the Wharton High fan base.

Tommy Tonelli, who guided the Wildcats boys basketball team to a decade of astounding success before taking a position on the USF staff, is returning to his old gig.

Bulls coach Stan Heath announced in a Monday afternoon news release that Tonelli, his director of basketball operations the past two years, was headed back to Wharton. Tonelli, 213-73 in 10 seasons as Wildcats coach, couldn't immediately be reached.

"I wish him nothing but the best," Heath said in the release. "His contributions have been significant and he will be missed, even though he won't be too far away."

Before leaving to work for his alma mater, Tonelli, a former USF point guard, guided the Wildcats to three district titles, three region semifinals appearances and one region finals berth. He was named the Times' coach of the year three times.

"I really appreciate the opportunity Stan gave me to be back at USF. I enjoyed it and it was a learning experience," Tonelli said in the USF release.

"The opportunity came about for me to go back to Wharton and I just felt like it was an opportunity for me, the sake of my family and professionally, that I couldn't pass up."

Sign up now for New Tampa Little League

Registration is underway for the New Tampa Little League's fall season.

This year, for the first time ever, registration is taking place over the Internet at this link:

http://public.teamzonesports.com/newtampalittleleague/registration/index

Registration is $85 for the Challenger and Midget divisions; $175 for all other divisions.
Registration takes place through Aug. 26. After that, there is a $30 late fee.

Go to New Tampa Little League website for more information.

Event sponsorships still available for upcoming YMCA's annual fundraiser

Sponsorships are still availale for the New Tampa Family YMCA's 5th annual “Saturday Night Lights” party, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the New Tampa Family YMCA.

The casual, football-themed event will raise funds to benefit the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign, which provides scholarships for children and families with special physical and financial needs who cannot otherwise afford the benefits of the YMCA.

“Last year's event was such a hit, that we've decided to continue with that theme,” said Ginger Bean, event chairperson. “Attendees will enjoy supporting their favorite teams while sampling local restaurants' favorite dishes and bidding on unique auction items. And the best part is, the proceeds will provide opportunities for less fortunate families to participate in the programs and benefits of the YMCA.”

Former Wesley Chapel QB Jenkins to enroll at Troy

From the Times:

By Joey Knight

Former Wesley Chapel quarterback Greg Jenkins, who enjoyed a breakthrough junior college season in 2008, has committed to Division I Troy University.

Jenkins, entering his sophomore season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, said he settled on Troy last week. He plans to complete his associate of arts degree at MGCCC in December and enroll at the south Alabama school in January.

"I feel like it's the best situation for me right now," Jenkins said by cell phone Wednesday morning. "It's basically the same offense (as MGCCC's) — spread, no-huddle, but they throw a lot more than we do. I like that."

A 2008 Wesley Chapel graduate, Jenkins walked on last year but quickly won the starting quarterback job. He threw for 1,407 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading his team (10-2) to a juco state title and bowl victory.

Jenkins (6-2, 210 pounds), who said he was a science credit shy of signing with a four-year program out of high school, will join another former North Suncoast star — ex-Central tailback DuJuan Harris — at Troy.

MGCCC coach Steve Campbell was a lineman for the 1987 Troy team — then known as Troy State — that won a Division II national title.

Wesley Chapel MMA school teaches techniques without the attitude of UFC

[KERI WIGINTON | Times]

From left, instructor Mike Spielberger spars with Thaer Sarsour while instructor Raz Sarsour works with Morgan Engdahl.

Mike Spielberger doesn't hate the UFC, he just disagrees with its personalities.

Most anyone who follows those fights knows those Ultimate Fighting Championships guys are hulking, brash and usually covered in tattoos.

Not at the Wesley Chapel Karate mixed martial arts class.

"UFC and MMA is very popular right now," Spielberger said. "We teach it as complete form of self defense, but we are very family orientated and we don't promote 'Come on in and let's fight.' We have discipline."

After bulking up at the training table, college football linemen can see large weight loss when they're done playing

From the Times:

By Greg Auman

TAMPA — When Lee Roy Selmon Jr. first played football at age 13, he weighed 230 pounds. Five years ago, in his final season at USF, he played at 295.

Today, he's gotten used to having to convince people he really played defensive tackle in college.

"That's my biggest challenge nowadays," he says. "They say 'What position did you play? Defensive back? Safety? I must have had it wrong.' "

Today, Selmon weighs 190 pounds. Gone are the size-44 football pants, replaced with size-32 slacks.

"It's a huge difference," said Selmon, 28, one of several former USF linemen who have been able to shed considerable weight after their football days. Once there's no practical benefit to being huge, there's good reason to get down to a healthier weight.

"It melted away fairly quickly once I changed up my diet," said Selmon, who had three knee surgeries as a player and wanted to lighten the burden on his joints. "You look better, you feel better, so it acted as its own incentive."

The son of former Hall of Famer and Bucs legend Lee Roy Selmon estimates his daily intake as a player was more than 4,000 calories over five meals.

"The hardest thing was getting that appetite down, getting that stomach a little smaller to where I wasn't hungry all the time," said Selmon, who starting eating more grilled chicken, fish and seafood. "Steamed vegetables instead of french fries," he said.

Selmon can laugh now about his football years, when staying big was a deciding factor in what he and his linemates ate, especially at team meals.

"We'd just smother everything in ranch dressing," said Selmon, now an account executive with Ultimate Staffing in St. Petersburg. "Instead of a little cup of ranch dressing, we'd have a whole pitcher at our table. We'd drench spaghetti, potatoes, prime rib, everything, all coated in ranch. So just not doing those type of things has really helped a lot."

Derrick Sarosi started 44 games on the offensive line at USF, and when he finished trying to make an NFL roster in 2005, he weighed 335 pounds. Seeking a new challenge, he took up weight loss, buying into the Atkins Diet and weighing himself twice a day. He lost 110 pounds and now has settled in at a healthy 250.

"I'm a different person," said Sarosi, who works in Tampa in construction for a remodeling company. "I just looked at myself and thought 'There's no reason to be 335 pounds.' I wanted to feel better, and it was addicting. I just thought 'It'd be great to get a shirt off the rack and know it would fit.' "

Not all college linemen are meant to be that big. Nick Capogna struggled for five seasons to add weight — and his family owns an Italian restaurant in Clearwater — topping out at about 275 pounds as a senior center in 2007.

Less than two years later, he's down to 225, having had his uniform with the Clearwater Police Department resized twice in six months on the job.

"My job used to be to push people around, but I knew that now, I need to be able to run people down," said Capogna, who recently updated his Facebook status to say he "is sad to say goodbye to XXL and enter the puny world of XL."

Capogna took up a Brazilian jujitsu class and found the workouts helped him drop weight, but a change in diet is the biggest reason.

"I'm not saying everything I eat is healthy, but I go into the grocery store looking for fruits and vegetables," Capogna said.

Capogna remembers seeing teammate Mike Lube, also trying to gain weight for football, melt a gallon of ice cream and drink it from the box. Lube, whose playing career was cut short by a knee injury, is now a program assistant with USF football and has dropped 50 pounds since his playing days.

Dr. Denise Edwards, an assistant professor at USF who runs the college's Healthy Weight Clinic, said dropping to a more normal weight has health benefits all over the body — less susceptibility to high blood pressure, heart and liver disease, and joint problems such as arthritis.

"It's obvious that it can take away a lot of the risk," Edwards said. "As soon as you can get extra weight off the joints, you'll notice the benefits immediately."

That's true for former Florida State center David Castillo, now a medical student at FSU who has dropped about 35 pounds to his current 285.

"As an offensive lineman, you always get picked on by the backs and receivers: 'Oh, you're the big fat guy,' " said Castillo, 27, who regularly runs in 5k races now. "We get the last laugh, because all the linemen thin out after football and all those little guys get heavy."