Colton Zimring – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- The LRHS baseball team played in the Sarasota Classic over last week’s spring break. The tournament featured about 10 teams from all over Florida and a team from Tennessee.

The LRHS baseball team won one game and lost three in the tournament.

The baseball team is now 6-6 for the year and is looking forward to making the second half of the season better than the first.

Coach Ryan Kennedy said, “We have an opportunity coming up to make our second half of the season very successful and I believe we can do it.”

The Mustangs look to start their second half of their season with two upcoming home games, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 and Friday, March 31.

Cate Eschmann – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – Seniors only have five weeks of school left and many can hardly contain their excitement.

“I feel fantastic. I’m so ready to get this done and graduate. I feel old,” Alex Ortega joked.

Calista Carroll agreed.

“I’m so excited for it to be over,” she said.

Abby Oswalt said, “I’m so relieved. It’s been a long time coming.”

“I’m excited to get out of here, excited to start a new chapter. Beyond ready for this change,” said Bianca Berente.

Kara Mathis felt similarly.

“It’s really exciting, but also eye opening because no I have to gain an entirely different kind of responsibility than I’ve had before,” she said. “I’ve done this kind of schooling for 13 years now, so change will be hard but I’m hoping it will also be fun. I’m glad all my hard work is finally going pay off and officially starting my life,” she said.

“I’m ready to leave,” said Lyle Hanner.

Jonathan Reid – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – The LRHS varsity track and field team will travel to the University of Florida in Gainesville to take part in the Pepsi Florida Relays from Thursday, Mar. 30 to Saturday, Apr. 1.

Athletes traveling to the meet for field events will include juniors Drew Butler, Donna Dunkum, Noah Oxley, Nick Napier, and Harry Barthelemy along with senior Sam Jackson.

Runners who will compete include seniors Sophia Falco, Brice Easton, and John Rivera, juniors Andrew Dean and Shay Lee, sophomore Jonathan Reid, and freshman Ava Klein.

Falco placed third in the 100 meter dash and fourth in the 200 meter dash at FSU Relays last weekend.

Jackson placed fourth in both the shot put and discus at FSU Relays while Rivera finished first and set a meet record in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:51.89.

The boys 4×800 meter relay team, who most recently set a school record while winning the FSU Relays in 7:55.18, will look to improve their sixth fastest time in the country so far this season.

Students competing before Saturday will be leaving school Thursday at 10:45 a.m.

Morgan Lingle – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – The LRHS Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) is participating in the Alafia Suncoast Championship on April 1. This meet will determine who moves on to state competition. The meet starts at 10 a.m.

Ten schools and 106 runners will compete at this meet. Lakewood Ranch is sending 23 runners.

JROTC instructor Lt. Col. Richard Roller said, “There is a lot of parity in the teams that are competing so there is going to be a lot of competition. Our team has come back from spring break and really attacked practice, so if we go into this meet with the confidence we have from practice I anticipate us doing well.”

Senior Derrick Hadley said, “I am confident that we have worked hard at practice and we have the ability to do well on Saturday.”

Lauren Wood – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- The Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) held their annual State Leadership Conference in early March, and Mustangs returned with some memorable titles.

FCCLA is a family-based leadership club that provides kids with a place to receive community service hours and guidance.

On March 11, students from all over the state went to Orlando to compete for titles such as State Officer, State President, and Vice President of Public Relations. Over 50 events are available for students, some of which include fashion, recycling and redesign, food, and many other categories.

LRHS Juniors Taylor Trevithick and Skylee Miller returned home with the titles of state president and vice president of public relations, respectively.

Trevithick commented, “I worked really hard to get here. So many people compete to get the title, but only one can win to represent their region.”

Trevithick has been in FCCLA for three years, and wishes to continue for the rest of her high school career.

“FCCLA has really helped me realize what I want to become because it just provides all of us with so many opportunities. I really enjoy being in it,” Miller agreed.