Lacrosse a popular attraction at state games
About 2,500 youth lacrosse players on130 teams in14 divisions were part of a recent Sunshine State Games showcase at Pine Trails Park in Parkland.
“We had teams from all over the state come over for this tournament,” tournament director Bo Lamon said. “We started putting this together six months ago. It went very well, and I’m pleased with the competition and amount of teams who have showed up.”
Broward and Palm Beach counties were well represented. In the Boys High School A Division, the Xtreme team captured the championship with an 11-2 victory over Stealth HS Black. The Xtreme squad includes a majority of players from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale.
In the Girls High School A group, Florida Select of Delray Beach edged Stickbenders Gold, 9-8. The Storm Lacrosse Red squad won the Middle School B Division title with a 7-6 victory over the Orlando Stingers.
The Storm, whose membership is composed of players from Weston and Davie, entered three teams in the tournament. Coach Jim Hill’s Storm Lacrosse Red contingent won its first four games with relative ease.
The championship match went into overtime when the Stingers knotted the score at 6-6 with 30 seconds left. This forced a Braveheart tiebreaker method where the game is decided in a 3-on-3 format. The Storm’s Olivia Lewis scored on a pass from Hannah Brassie to clinch the championship.
Yankees turn up power in Little League Majors final
The Fort Lauderdale Little League’s Prodeco Tech Yankees got off to a tough start this season, but they played their best baseball when it counted the most. The team of 10-12-year-olds put it all together down the stretch
Covenant House 5K attracts hundreds to the beachfront
and won the Major Division title with a 13-0 victory over the Royals at Bayview Park.
Yankees manager Mike Franco handed the ball to pitcher Spencer Regli to bring home the championship, and the 12-year-old did not disappoint. He allowed only one hit through four innings before the mercy rule took effect.
“I learned to pitch a lot better because of the training I received from Coach Mike and my dad,” said Regli, a sixth-grader at St. Mark’s School. “I played travel ball but came back to play with this team and had a great season and a lot of fun.”
Regli received plenty of support at the plate from Hunter Kreizinger, Kevin Grzeszczak and Joshua Arena. Defensively, the team was led by catcher Matthew Pearson and second baseman Michael Cespedes.
Grzeszczak, of Pompano Beach, is in his third season with Fort Lauderdale Little League. The sixth-grader at Pompano Beach Middle School plays multiple positions and is adept at all of them.
“At the beginning of the season, we had our heads down because we were losing,” Grzeszczak said. “Then we started practicing and got better and better.”
Cespedes, 10, was the youngest player on the team.
“I improved a lot because I got to play with older kids,” Cespedes said. “I learned to have discipline at the plate and become an allaround player.”
Franco said the players showed strong determination to turn their season around.
“They put the effort in and turned things around,” he said. “It was nice to see them so happy, which is the best part. To see those smiles on their faces is the best ever.”
For Pompano Beach’s Ngozi Uwah, running for a good cause on the beach makes the annual Covenant House 5K something special. And winning it is a bonus. About 700 runners met in front of Fort Lauderdale’s Parrot Lounge for the start of the race that benefits the Covenant House, a shelter for homeless and runaway youths. The race was put on by the Urban League of Broward County Young Professionals Network.
Uwah finished in first place in the women’s competition, while Martin Killian took the men’s crown. Uwah is a member of the Fort Lauderdale Runners Club and is a former Rutgers University runner.
“I run for fun and to stay in shape,” Uwah said. “I have come in second in this race before, and I’m happy to come out here and support a great cause. This is a great course and a terrific atmosphere with friendly people. It feels nice to win.”
Young Professionals Network president Matthew Brennan was on hand with more than 50 volunteers. “Once you understand what a cause like the Covenant House is for, you understand the reason why you want to help out,” Brennan said.