Lakewood Ranch honors 11 athletes at signing ceremony
As John Rivera waited to stand atop the podium for winning the 800-meter run and receive his first high school gold medal Friday, he took a moment to reflect upon the weight of the moment. The victory was probably the biggest moment of his Lakewood Ranch career, he said.
The 800 is the senior’s signature event. It will carry him well beyond high school as his career in track and field continues. Monday was proof of that as Rivera was one of 11 Mustang seniors to be honored with a signing ceremony in the Lakewood Ranch High School Auditorium. Rivera donned a Mississippi T-shirt after committing to Ole Miss last month over Florida, Georgetown and Penn State.
“Right when I stepped foot on the (Ole Miss) campus, immediately it felt so, so good,” Rivera said. “I know they’re going to take care of me and that was the biggest thing.”
Rivera was one of three athletes to commit to Division I programs. Wrestler Hunter Reed, a first-team All-Area selection by the Herald, was honored for his commitment to Campbell, and golfer Maya Isom pledged to Sacred Heart.
Brice Easton, who won a gold medal with Rivera in the 3,200 relay at Saturday’s Class 4A championship, committed to Division II University of Tampa.
The rest of the commitments included three football players, one boys basketball player and three girls basketball players.
▪ In football — Chris Hadley, a first-team All-Area choice as a safety, will play at Division III John Carroll University in Ohio’ defensive tackle Bailey Jackson will play at D-III Heidelberg University in Ohio; and defensive end Jerome Minton will play at D-III Carthage College in Wisconsin.
▪ In boys basketball, point guard Devin Twenty, the Herald’s All-Area Player of the Year, will play at D-III Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.
▪ In girls basketball, guard Shauntavia Green (a first-team All-Area pick), small forward Aleah Robinson and post player Ciera McKinon will all play at Daytona State College, a junior college program in Daytona Beach.
Reed’s commitment to the Camels comes after perhaps the most successful career in the history of the Mustangs’ wrestling program. Aside from a weight snafu as a junior, Reed finished in the top three at the state tournament during each of his seasons with Lakewood Ranch. Reed, who wrestled in the 132-pound weight class this year, will have to bulk up before he gets to North Carolina, where he expects to wrestle at either 141 and 149 pounds. He could redshirt his freshman season.
“They said if you’re good enough to start you can,” said Reed, who chose Campbell over Kent State and D-III York College of Pennsylvania.
Rivera won’t be in quite the same position, although he was also careful to choose a school where he’d be challenged rather than immediately step in as the top 800 runner. He’s spoken extensively with Ryan Vanhoy, the Rebels’ distance assistant coach, during the past six months about his potential future with Ole Miss.
Rivera is planning to focus more on strength training than he has in the past to potentially add cross country to his repertoire down the road after he was the Herald’s All-Area Athlete of the Year in boys cross country this fall.
“I’m not going to be the best right away,” Rivera said. “I’m going to have to work to be the best and that’s what I want. I don’t want to go into a program being No. 1 right away and then have people just working off me in my freshman year. I want to be the freshman that is the underdog.”
▪ Across town, Bayshore also took part in an unofficial signing day with wide receiver Nick Charles-Crowl being honored for his commitment to D-III Wisconsin Lutheran College.
This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch honors 11 athletes at signing ceremony."