With only two holes left at the girls’ Class 1A state golf tournament last year at Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club in Ocala, Ashley Holder was 5-under par as the individual title lay within reach.

She would find trouble at the 17th hole, though, and finish in a three-way tie for third overall as a freshman at 1-under. After posting scores of 73 and 70, she was left to watch as two other competitors (who finished just one stroke better) decided the championship in a tie-breaking playoff.
The sophomore is now setting herself up for a chance to meet up with many of those state qualifiers once again, as seven of the top eight finishers at the state tourney returned to their teams this season.

“I know the competition is going to be tough,” Holder told WFTV.

To keep up with the pack, she’s been focusing on playing a smarter game while spending day after day out on the courses of both North Shore and Eagle Creek golf clubs.

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Congratulations to members of the Lake Nona HS Track and Field team that qualified for the 2010 FHSAA Class 2A Finals:

Boys’ 4×800 relay team- Manny Gonzalez, Joey Loyack, George Velez and Angelo Peralta

Lauren Heitz- Won the Regional title in the Shot Put and also qualified in 3rd in the discus

The Finals will be held on Saturday, May 1st at Showalter Field in Winter Park.

Congratulations to the Lake Nona HS Girls Tennis team, who won their regional match vs. Lake Highland Prep 4-3. The Lady Lions overcame 3 previous losses to the Highlanders this year (including one in the district tournament last week), to qualify for the state tournament. The FHSAA finals will be held next Monday-Wednesday, April 26-28, at Red Bug Lake Park (see http://www.fhsaa.org/tn/ for more information). We want to wish all of the girls and coaches luck as they compete in a state tournament for the first time in Lake Nona Athletics history.

It was a long day for the Lake Nona Boys and Girls Track team at the district meet (11:00 am – 9:30 pm) but the results were well worth the wait.

The girls got things started with a 7th place finish in the 4 x 800 relay with Mariah Espinal, Zaidy Velez, Nancy Polanco and Carnette Urayan. The boys followed that with a 2nd place finish in the 4 x 800 relay with Manny Gonzalez, Joey Loyack, George Velez and Angelos Peralta. Not to be outdone, Rebecca Bryant took 1st place in the girls long jump and then came back in the evening to win the girls 100 and finish 6th in the 200. Winning becomes contagious so Lauren Heitz went ahead and won the girls shot put and took third in the discus. Also in the girls shot put we had Courtney Kennedy finish third and Jalisa Swift finish 5th. On the boys side of the field events we had George Velez take 7th place in the pole vault, Pedro Marrero took 5th in the shot put and he also got 7th in the discus. Joey Loyack ran the mile in a very impressive 4:46 to finish in fourth place and Darby Rasch ran her mile in 5:47 to finish in 7th place. As the night went on, we had a couple of 300 meter hurdlers take home ribbons with Alexis Clarke finishing in 6th place and Roger Taylor finishing in 7th place. In the 800 meter race, Darby Rasch had a 5th place finish and Manny Gonzalez finished in 7th place. Nakaela Hooks had a strong run in the 400 with a 5th place finish. As if these places weren’t enough, the girls 4 x 400 relay team finished in 4th place with Alexis Clarke, Zaidy Velez, Darby Rasch and Nakaela Hooks. And for the last race of the night, our boys 4 x 400 relay team had the most exciting finish as Caleb McKinley came from 5th place with 80 meters to go to finish in 3rd place. Joining Caleb was Yaron Gonzalez, Angelo Peralta and Manny Gonzalez.

As a team, our boys finished in 7th place and the girls finished in 5th place. All of the athletes and relay teams that finished in the top 4 for their event qualified for the Regional Championship next Thursday. Your Running Lions represented the school well and we have several athletes competing next week for a chance to go to the state championship. Wish them well as they continue to strive for excellence.

Congratulations to the Lake Nona Girls Tennis team, led by Coaches Kelvin Rivera and Luis Estrada (of Lake Nona Country Club), for their 2nd place finish at the 2010 FHSAA Class 2A District 7 tournament. The ladies participated in 5 out of the 7 final matches. Gabriela Winter and Constanza Trimarchi won their matches in the finals, and also won their doubles matches. Maria Cespedes made it to the finals as a single and also in the doubles with Lura Normand. With the great finish, the Lady Lions have qualified to compete in the regional tournament!

The Boys Volleyball team won their first game last night against the Crooms Academy. After losing the first 2 games, the boys were able to fight back and win the last 3 games 25-9, 25-20, and 15-10. Leading the Lions’ attack was Connor Clarke with 22 kills and Christian Mendez with 25 assists. Way to go Lions and Coach Lavoie, Coach Cush, and Coach Quarles!

Congratulations to the Lady Lion Track Team for placing 5th out if 12 schools at the Winter Park Relays on Saturday, March 20.
Outstanding performances by:
The Lady Lion throwers, Lauren Heitz, Courtney Kennedy and Jalisa Swift who won the Shot Put relay and placed 2nd in the Discus relay.
The 400 meter Hurdle relay consisting of Alexis Clarke, Macy Miller and Carnette Urayan placed 3rd.
Our 4×100 meter freshman/sophomore relay (Sianni Cabello, Rebecca Bryant, Macy Miller and Jalisa Swift) placed 3rd
The Triple Jump Relay Nakaela Hooks, Alexis Clarke and Caroline Trimble placed 3rd.

Our next meet is the Freshman/Sophomore meet today (March 24) at Winter Park.

The Lake Nona HS Girls Tennis team is doing a great job in their inaugural season. The Lady Lions have an overall record of 7-2, and are led by Gabriela Winter, Constanza Trimarchi, Maria Cespedes, Cecilia Bryant, and Miranda Spacone. The girls are coached by Kelvin Rivera and Luis Estrada, who are the tennis pros at the Lake Nona Country Club.

The Lake Nona Water Polo team is really developing into a strong team. Last night, both the girls and boys team won their games against Edgewater High School.

The Girls Water Polo team defeated the Eagles in a 7 to 2 victory with Olga Ignatyeua stopping nearly everything Edgewater as the goalie and Taylor Bullock and Cassidy Sizemore netted a few goals to clinch the win.

Not to be out done, the boys’ water polo team easily grasped a win over Edgewater with a 16 to 11 victory. Both Keith Kocol and Josh Bobet had their first goals of the season and Charles Stewart and Ben Tracht both played an all around tough game with several steals, goal making passes and strong defense.

The Lions play their next Water Polo match today (3-19-10) against Gateway High School at the Bob Makinson Aquatic Center in Kissimmee. Come out and join the Pride as we cheer the Lions on to their next victory.

The Lake Nona Varsity softball won against Jones last night 15-0 lead by Alex DeJesus , who pitched a no-hitter, the first in school history. Lauren Heitz had an inside the park homerun and Andrenea Ward had a double to pace the Lion offense! Next game for the ladies is at Boone tonight at 7 pm.

Following their first ever win, the Lake Nona JV baseball team was dealt two losses this week at the hands of Orangewood Christian; however, the young Lions didn’t go down without a fight. Wednesday they lost by a 13-6 margin, that was keyed by two hits from Justin Gray. Yesterday Nona was on the losing end of a 12-8 tally. Vinnie Cuevas had a bases clearing double to lead the offensive attack. Next up JV will host TFA next Monday.

In what looked to be a football game rather than a lacrosse game, the Lake Nona lacrosse team defeated the visiting Wekiva Mustangs, 8 to 5. Thursday the 18th felt more like Friday the 13th as the game was delayed an hour due to a late arriving Wekiva team, and then with 8 minutes left in the 4th period, the “lights went out in Nona” (literally). After a short delay, the Lions were able to hold off a late charge by Wekiva, to earn their 6th victory of the season. Austin Howard again led the Lions offense with 5 goals, and Chas Trimble had his first goal of the season. The lacrosse teams ends their season 6 and 2.

The Lake Nona Lacrosse team defeated the Freedom Patriots last night, 13 to 2, guaranteeing them their first winning season. Cody Langston and Austin Howard each had 5 goals, and Nick Soracco added 3 goals. Goalie Matt Herrera also had an assisted goal. Tonight is the Lacrosse team’s last game, so come out and support them as we host Wekiva at home, game time 6:00 pm.

Last night the girls flag football J.V. team won its first game against Winter Park by a score of 6-2. Nadie Jimenez scored the only touchdown of the night.

The Varsity also won its first game last night beating Winter Park 20-0. A great effort by Nicole Fisher, who threw for 3 touchdowns, led the way. Brianna Wright had another good game on offense and defense. Cole Trimble had a great touchdown catch and Sarah Centeno also helped out a lot on offense. Congrats to all the girls earning their first ever victory in school history.

Injuries popped up again Friday night as key players continue to go down during this season of breaks, bumps and bruises.

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Also suffering an apparent knee injury on Friday night was the much-heralded junior QB at Lake Nona, junior Kevin Sousa, the No. 12-ranked player in the Sentinel’s Central Florida Top 50 for juniors. He left the game with 8:34 left in the first half and his status, too, is unknown. Lake Nona still nearly pulled out a win against Tenoroc, falling 20-17. Backup QB Tyler Arrington had two touchdown passes in relief.

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Kevin Sousa, QB, Lake Nona (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel / October 22, 2009)

In it’s first year of existence, Lake Nona High school has a little secret.

Well, OK, he’s not so little. But how about little-known. And that description won’t last long.

Six-foot-four, 210-pound junior quarterback Kevin Sousa is starting to make a name for himself and the school that just opened this year. He’s a big, athletic, force of a QB that college scouts are starting to recognize. And drool over.

He led Lake Nona to it’s first-ever victory Friday night, a 34-13 romp past Celebration. In the victory, Sousa was 13-for-17 passing with 238 yards and two touchdowns and had 12 carries for 198 yards rushing and three more touchdowns.

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