Vallery follows legend at Oviedo
who coached the Lake Highland Prep state championship team of 2014, is leaving the Highlanders to become head coach for Oviedo. Oviedo athletic director
announced on Wednesday that Vallery will replace the winningest coach in Florida high school basketball history,
Kershner, who compiled 901 wins in 45 seasons as a head coach, announced his retirement from coaching earlier this month.
“I’m honored and blessed to have the opportunity to succeed coach Kershner,” said Vallery, who spent 17 school years at LHP. “I’m excited to try to live up to his resume. It’s definitely an impressive one.”
Vallery, 43, followed another big name when he signed on for his second stint as Lake Highland’s head coach prior to the 2013-14 season. Former Orlando Magic forward
had coached the Highlanders to the program’s first state title in the previous season, with Vallery as an assistant and with Berry leading the way as a junior.
Vallery took the reins and directed the Highlanders to a repeat championship behind Berry, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of this year’s NCAA Tournament for North Carolina’s title team.
He had a 107-63 record over six seasons as Lake Highland’s head coach (2003-05 and 2013-17), including the 29-4 title team.
Vallery who played high school basketball for Lake Brantley and went to college at UCF, said the Oviedo job brings him closer to his home and to Master’s Academy, where his wife has taken a job for the coming school year.
“Oviedo as a school has a tradition of winning,” Vallery said.
Kershner spent 21 seasons at Oviedo, recording a 454-153 record. The Lions won district titles in each of the past four seasons and were Class 7A state champions in 2014.
“With Jason’s personality and what he’s been able to do before, I believe he’s going to be a great fit for Oviedo High School,” Jarzynka said.
Two of the area’s leading football programs, Apopka and Orange City University, match up tonight as spring practice winds down across the state.
Apopka, a perennial power coming off a 9-1 season, hosts the Titans, who have gone 8-2 for three consecutive seasons without making the state playoffs. University running back
a 6-foot, 190-pound rising senior who has committed to sign with Miami, is the No. 1 prospect on the 2018 Sentinel Super 60 list and is rated by 247sports as the No. 2 running back prospect in the nation.
Apopka has two of the top offensive linemen in the state in and
The pole vault could again be a marquee event at Saturday’s postseason Flo Golden South track and field meet at the National Training Center in Clermont.
The boys entry list includes state leader and Class 4A state champion
of Winter Park. The girls list includes the girls 4A state champ, Winter Springs senior
along with the Golden South record holder, four-time Georgia state champion
Dingler cleared 13-feet, 1
inches a year ago to set the meet record. Two months later she hit a career-best 13-11
to place fifth in the World U20 Championships in Poland.
Her 2017 best is a winning FSU Relays mark of 13-10, which ranks No. 2 nationally.
The Golden South opens at 8 a.m. with Prep Division events. The Classic Division events for leading high school-age athletes starts with field events at 2 p.m., leading to 5:30 running finals.
who was a senior guard on the Winter Springs’ 2007-08 state semifinal basketball team, is one of the new assistant coaches for Bethune-Cookman University. Taylor, a standout college player at Eckerd, had previously been on staff at Marshall and Salem University in West Virginia.
Lake Minneola’s the 4A state girls long jump runner-up as a senior, committed to sign with USF on Monday.
Ninth grader of The First Academy was selected as Florida Dairy Farmers Class 1A boys track and field athlete of the Year after taking 110- and 300-meter hurdles titles and placing second in the long jump at state. He ranks sixth nationally among freshman in the 300s with a best of 38.96 seconds and is the No. 7 ninth grader in the 110s at 14.52.