1999 Times' All-County Teams

Disclaimer: Picking this year's all-county teams was agonizing. The boys coach of the year choice was pretty easy, but beyond that, we had a tough time. Do you give player of the year to Casey Stump, who was unavailable when his team needed him the most? We decided on Jeff Thwaites there. Gaither's Diane Sumner was probably the ideal coach of the year pick for girls, and she was lobbying hard for Kristine "Scotty" Scotland to be player of the year--probably a good choce as well. HOWEVER, that would have given Gaither all four honors...would that be fair? Probably not. So, we did the best we could. We took arguably the best girls team, Tampa Catholic, and selected its best player (Tickles) and coach (Rushing-Braum). The result was probably that no one was satisfied! (At least we spread around the team selections, and our picks we not just copies of the Tribune's picks)

Your feedback is appreciated.

Note: This is the unedited version of what ran in the St. Petersburg Times on 3/17/99. ©1999

Boys

TAMPA - You can’t blame University of South Florida men’s soccer coach John Hackworth for getting a little excited when he talks about next year’s team.

The Bulls return several players from a squad that has made three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, and now Hackworth has signed several of the county’s top seniors.

Four USF signees headline the Times’ All-County team. In Player of the Year Jeff Thwaites, Hackworth said he’s found “phenomenal attacking player.’’

“Jeff’s a fantastic passer,’’ Hackworth said. “He uses his left and right foot. He can play a short 10-yard pass, but could swing his foot and place a pinpoint pass 40 yards. And he’s tremendous on set pieces.’’

Besides Thwaites, Hackworth said that Bloomingdale’s Casey Stump is a player who could come in and make an immediate impact.

“Casey not only shows a tremendous work rate and tenacity, he’s a smart defender,’’ Hackworth said. “If he’s ever beat, which is rarely, his recovery runs are always instinctively done correctly.’’

Hackworth also signed versatile Gaither midfielder Ben Cowherd, a player Hackworth rates “right up there with Casey and Jeff’’ and hard-working Bloomingdale forward Paul Sanders, whom Hackworth said is “truly competitive.''

The USF coaching staff had hoped to land one of these premier players, but Hackworth said getting all four was “awesome.’’

Joining the Bull recruits on the first team are Jesuit’s Shea Helmle and Jeremy Poklemba, who finished their careers with three consecutive state titles. Helmle is a skillful striker who can pass and score, and Jesuit coach Bob Bauman said Poklemba was a legitmate Player of the Year candidate with his dominating play at sweeper.

Durant’s Jamin Hollinsworth racked up 27 goals in 20 games and helped the Cougars to the Class 5A regional finals. Sickles’ Dustin Beach was a prolific scorer as well, leading the county in scoring with 27 goals and 10 assists.

Aaron Fail was the midfield captain for Chamberlain and a good student as well. His essay on “What Soccer Means to Me” won a $1000 scholarship at this year’s Senior Soccer Challenge.

Scott Everhart is a heady midfielder who showed he could score against the best, notching both Hillsborough goals in the Senior Challenge. Antony Roca anchored the Cowboy defense and stopped numerous breakaways to help Gaither to the Class 6A state semifinals.

Gaither coach Adrian Bush earns Coach of the Year honors for a season in which his team won the King tournament, beat Bloomingdale and Jesuit, and handed No. 1 Oviedo its only loss of the year.

Times' All-Hillsborough Boys Team

First Team

Second Team

Honorable Mention: Berkeley Prep - Gerard Palacios, Jens Nystroem, Justin Sachs. Blake - Alex Ahren. Bloomingdale - Cory Stump, Brandon Hancock, Bobby Anderson. Brandon - Rusty Roush, Geoff Marshall. Chamberlain - Justin Pullaro. Durant - Ryan Minichbauer, Adrian Washington. East Bay - Fabian Beyer. Gaither - Jared Rose, James Hossenlop. Hillsborough - Andre Lewis. Jesuit - Damien Orato, Pat Svetitz, Bryce Wegerle. King - Lonnie Houston. Leto - Bryan Drayne, Mario Munoz. Plant - Bobby Boswell, Billy Boswell. Plant City - Blake Baldwin, Josh Kiper. Riverview - Travis Jones. Sickles - David Moore, Seth Von Steenbergan. Tampa Bay Tech - Jake Blanton, Brent Metcalf. Wharton - David Loos, Shane Provost.

Girls

TAMPA – Not satisfied with a season in which her team crushed all of its Hillsborough County opposition and finished 23-2, Tampa Catholic coach Rori Rushing-Braum is constantly looking for perfection.

That quest took her Crusaders within one game of the state title, falling in penalty kicks to nemesis Clearwater Central Catholic.

“CCC didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves,’’ Rushing-Braum said after a 1-0 loss to the Marauders early in the season.

As Coach of the Year, Rushing-Braum nearly brought to fruition her four years of cultivating a nucleus of nine seniors, beginning with Player of the Year Andi Tickles. Many of the Crusaders’ scoring plays started in the middle a creative pass by Tickles. She also took every corner kick, free kick, and penalty kick with a surgeon’s precision.

Lorrie McDonough was on the receiving end of many of those passes, leading the Crusaders in scoring with 28 goals. Ginger Lynn, a two-way player, could take on the toughest marking assignment or go forward and score. Maris Carr was a steady presence in the backfield, scooping up anything that came past midfield.

Equal in talent and expectations this year were the Druant seniors. Khara Maddix was an adept passer and scorer, always in sync with speedy teammate Mandy Schumacher. Watching the two work a give-and-go was like seeing a fine-tuned machine.

Durant’s junior midfielder Kellie Evans was the county’s leading scorer with 35 goals and was perhaps the best pure athlete on the field.

The county’s steadiest, most effective defender this year was Gaither’s Kristine “Scotty” Scotland. Seeing the field with uncanny awareness, Scotty sucked in every loose ball like a vacuum. “You just can’t replace Scotty,’’ Gaither coach Diane Sumner said. “She’s just that special of a player.’’

Jessica Kmiotek, an intelligent and graceful player in the midfield, was Gaither’s key playmaker with 27 assists. Smantha Hoit (30 goals) was a talented scorer for King. Bloomingdale’s Amy Ballard was a solid presence in the backfield for a stingy Bulls defense. And Kathy Atkins was the county’s premier goalkeeper, giving up just 0.5 goals per game.

Times' All-Hillsborough Girls Team

First team

Second team

HONORABLE MENTION: Academy of the Holy Names - Kathryn Steffens. Armwood - Jackie Eugeno, Allison Brauner; Berkeley Prep - Coleen Kalifut. Blake - Emily Winton, Chavon McGuiness, Katy Nyquist. Bloomingdale - Alison Gilman, Christie Pollock, Valerie Pendino, Kelly Yarborough. Brandon - Stephanie Fowler. Chamberlain - Julie Reyes. Durant - Melissa Diamond, Erica Murphy. East Bay – Lacey Miranda, Shawna Kramer. Gaither - Tally Payne, Michaelene Cadiz. Hillsborough – Hillary Thompson; Jefferson - Jaime Martin, Danielle Etzler, Melissa Young. King - Kelly Owen, Jennifer Tustison, Amanda Bell. Leto - Miriam Jiminez; Plant - Christina Drenberg, Diana Leon, Plant City - Kate Stevens. Riverview – Marcelle Medford, Daniella Marin, Laurynn Oliver. Sickles - Maria Phelsgard. Tampa Bay Tech - Susie Ball; Tampa Catholic - Hanah Gordon, Julisse Maya, Stacy Thomas, Lisa-Marie DiPaola. Tampa Prep - Isabel Krusen. Wharton - Jessica Ghiotto, Britanny Van Trees, Dana Quigley.