Happy New Year, Plant City!
I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for us.
Of course, it’s only Jan. 1. There won’t be much going on until next week, so I’ll save the outlooks and predictions for another time. Today, let’s take a look back at 2015.
What a year that was. Waves were made, tides were turned and championships were won. Some sports took heavy losses, but others thrived. On at least a few occasions, the human spirit triumphed in the face of adversity. This sportswriter’s heart was warmed several times.
First off, congratulations to all the teams that took home championships last year. We saw some kids, such as the Plant City Dolphins Mighty Mites, win their first championship in organized sports. We saw that even repeat winners, such as Durant High volleyball, can still get emotional over winning the district. We saw Plant City High football win the district for the first time in years, en route to posting the best playoff run in school history. We saw Strawberry Crest’s cheerleading squads become perennial contenders, joining the likes of the girls basketball program in the “Most Likely to Be Successful” category.
We also saw some individual athletes do remarkable things. Durant swimmer Katie Vasiloff became a back-to-back state champion as a sophomore. Plant City runner Luke Whitmore sacrificed a possible championship win to help an injured competitor finish a race. Freshman wrestler Cullen Telfer gave Crest its first-ever state championship in a boys sport. Special Olympics athlete Lonnie Coston, who is blind, not only learned the sport of powerlifting, but also excelled at it.
Personally, I’ve also met some incredible people. Evan Crowell used sports to help fulfill his Ivy League dreams. Russell Kemp and Jacob Meachum have stayed strong in the face of some serious health problems. Morgan Pierce actively raises awareness for others who have cancer.
I also want to congratulate our top five athletes and teams one. I don’t need to tell you that you had a great year — you didn’t earn these honors simply by being nice to me. I picked five people and squads that truly deserve to be considered the best of the best.
It was certainly a good year to be an athlete in Plant City, and I’m expecting big things around town in 2016.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.