Welbon karate team punches ticket to nationals


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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Maurice “Mo” Eston scores 19 en route to gold medal. 14 SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

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SIDELINES Do you have a good sports scoop for us? Contact Justin Kline at [email protected].

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

From left: Javaras Stevenson, Nathan Jones, Justin Bulgreen, Bud O’Callaghan, Jacob Goad, Jacari Stevenson, Maurice Eston, Kory Brevik and Jacob Dube

gymnastics

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014

karate by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Welbon karate team punches ticket to nationals

GOING FOR

GOLD

With AAU Karate Nationals coming up next week, the Chris Welbon Karate team is ready to show its stuff and win some medals. Fresh off of a strong performance at last month’s AAU Super Regionals, Chris Welbon’s karate team is ready for an even bigger stage. The team will go to the AAU Karate Nationals July 3, in Fort Lauderdale, and look to recapture last year’s success. “Every year, we come back with lots of medals,” Welbon says. “Last year, we had several national champions. I don’t expect this year to be different.” Last month, in Fort Pierce, head coach Brian Warren led the team to several medals and event wins. One competitor, Julie Karlson, was even named first overall in her division. Warren chalks it up to everyone’s great individual efforts, and a lot of hard work. “Every other week, we have training on Friday nights or Saturday mornings,” he says. “Three hours of sweat, tears, blood. Jump rope, ladder drills, pad drills, sprints in the parking lot, kata training, hard fighting.” And, from the kids, the excitement is visible. Just watching them practice at the school, one can practically feel the energy from the other side of the room. “I think anybody from the team can make a big splash here,” Warren says. “They’ve

+ Plant City ballers win gold at nationals The Plant City Unified basketball team has been together for five years now, and all their years of their hard work finally paid off last week. By defeating teams from Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee — which Plant City beat twice — the boys were able to win the gold medal at the 2014 Special Olympics National Games in New Jersey. It was the cherry on top of a successful run by Hillsborough athletes, who also won three gold medals in cycling, one in track and field, and one silver apiece in track and golf.

BASKETBALL

+ P.C. Vipers to host tryouts Any boys in the area who have summer hoop dreams will have a chance to take them somewhere on Saturday. The Plant City Vipers travel basketball team will hold tryouts for the upcoming 2014-15 season at 11 a.m. June 28, at Mike E. Sansone Community Park, 1702 N. Park Road, Plant City. “We’re going to continue to develop as an organization to where we may have multiple teams — a ninthand 10th-grade team, and an 11th- and 12th-grade team,” President Reggie Rivers says. “We encourage boys who are interested in playing competitive basketball to try out.” Tryouts will be open to boys ages 14 to 18, with age eligibility determined by birthdate. The total registration cost, which includes a uniform and other registration fees, is $200. For more, contact Rivers at (813) 763-2390 or [email protected].

BASEBALL & SOFTBALL

+ Little Leaugers begin summer play As of Monday, district tournament action for Plant City Little League softball and baseball is underway. Although the 9/10 softball team has been eliminated, 9/10 and 10/11 baseball are still alive and kicking. Monday’s scores: 9/10 Softball: Lake Wales 20, Plant City 0 9/10 Baseball: Plant City B 9, North Lakeland A 5 Tuesday’s scores: 9/10 Softball: Lake Wales 8, Plant City 5 (Plant City eliminated). 9/10 Baseball: Plant City A 12, North Lakeland B 2. 9/10 Baseball: Auburndale A 11, Plant City B6 10/11 Baseball: Lake Wales 10, Plant City 8 Wednesday’s scores were not available for press time.

THE ROSTER Of the 13 competitors, 11 have been on this stage before. Only two — both in the Beginners divisions — are newcomers. Nick Gorman, 18 (Advanced) Peter Nguyen, 15 (Advanced) Emmarie Gaudet, 13 (Advanced Female) Ryan Bjelke, 15 (Intermediate) Jakob Arnold, 15 (Intermediate) Alvaro Padron, 14 (Novice) Julie Karlson, 11 (Novice) Joey Spitler, 11 (Novice) James Timberlake, 11 (Novice) Nick Karlson, 10 (Novice) Robbie Spitler, 9 (Novice) George Humphrey, 21 (Adult Beginner) Sebastian Padron, 10 (Beginner) been training hard. Anybody can do well if they put their mind to it. They’re talented kids. They all may medal gold — you never know.”

SEE KARATE / PAGE 13

WHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND?

Justin Kline

Photos by Justin Kline

Kelsey Slone and Alessandra Cappucci are excited to represent the Plant City area at the 2014 YMCA Gymnastics Championships.

At the upcoming YMCA National Gymnastics Championships, Kelsey Slone and Alessandra Cappucci will be the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World’s two lone representatives. The stage is set for young gymnasts from all over the United States, who are going to take over Tampa during the 2014 YMCA National Gymnastics Championships, which will take place July 1 to 5, at the Tampa Convention Center and Raymond James Stadium. Although there will be hundreds of competitors coming from cities far and wide, the team from North Brandon will be Plant City’s closest thing to a true hometown team. And, it’s got at least two reasons why everyone in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World should get ready to root for those girls. Representing the Greater Plant City area will be Kelsey Slone and Alessandra Cappucci, who hail from Plant City and Dover, respectively. These two young ladies are coming off solid performances at a mid-June AAU team tournament in Naples, winning first place in at least a few events, and look to carry that momentum into the first week of July. For Slone, these YMCA National Championships are her last chance of the season to get a perfect score — a feat she barely missed out on in Naples.

FROM BASEBALL TO BALANCE BEAMS

Unlike some of her teammates, Slone, 10, is something of a late bloomer to the sport. She first entered the sport of gymnastics just two years ago, coming from a very different background. “I’m a baseball fan, and I cheered when I was a kid,” her mother, Tiffany Slone, says. “You put your kids in what you did when they’re young and, when they’re old enough to decide — She decided on gymnastics, so we were like, ‘OK — whatever you want.’”

SEE GYMNASTS / 13

THE TOURNEY

The YMCA National Gymnastics Championships will be held from July 1 to 5, at the Tampa Convention Center and Raymond James Stadium, but competition doesn’t actually begin until July 3. Gymnasts from all over the country — a total of 20 states — will be competing against Kelsey Slone, Alessandra Cappucci and the rest of the North Brandon team for gold medals. For more information about the event, visit ymcagym nationals.org.

Chelsea Baker brought her signature knuckleball to the Tampa Bay Rays’ batting practice.

Knuckleball Princess makes MLB history Here’s a little bit of trivia On Monday, though, for you baseball fans out things were looking up. there: Who is the youngest The Rays were coming woman to ever throw batoff of a 5-2 win over the ting practice before a Major Houston Astros on Sunday, League Baseball game? giving them their second Whatever the answer series win over the ‘Stros was, it changed on Monday in two weeks. The ‘Buccos afternoon. It’s now had barely survived Durant High School their series against relief pitcher Chelthe Chicago Cubs, sea Baker, who also so there was some threw out the first confidence in the air. pitch right before Maybe this would be the Tampa Bay Rays the series where the played the PittsRays finally got their burgh Pirates. groove back? Spirits It was nice to be were higher than JUSTIN able to go to Tropithey have been. KLINE cana Field on a good Baker and her parday, which has been ents — who donned something of a rarity for the customized jerseys made Rays lately. The last time I for the occasion — had a went to a game, the mood ball out there. Her stepthere was somber — the father’s Hulk Hogan-like team had just ended a two- presence drew the attention week losing skid with a win of the cameras and microover Seattle, but the legend- phones, and he was happy ary Don Zimmer had just to tell ESPN and Fox 13 all died and the team dediabout his stepdaughter. cated that entire pre-game Her mother darted back ceremony in his memory. and forth between the two, A few hours later, the Rays snapping as many photos blew an attempt to rally as she could. She even had from a deficit and snapped Baker pose for photos with their new win streak at one SEE KLINE / PAGE 14 game.

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GYMNASTS / PAGE 12 It didn’t take too long for the then-8-year-old to make up her mind. “When I tried out, I loved it,” Kelsey Slone says. “And, I decided to do that. I just do gymnastics now, but I also do dance.” It was a natural fit. Slone picked things up quickly, with help from coach Tyna Papillon, and started entering competitions just this year. “I like competing, because I get a good feeling,” Slone says. “I like doing the balance beam. It’s just the thing that I have the most skill on — when I’m doing it, I feel confident. I also like the floor event.” It’s easier to get Slone to open up about gymnastics than it is to get many other kids — older or younger — to talk about other sports. Her obvious love for gymnastics has helped her parents, who are big baseball fans, adjust to the transition. “We’re still learning, but we trust the coaches,” Tiffany Slone says. “It’s one big family there. It’s not a place where you take your kid and you worry about them — I literally just hand over my kid and trust them.” Kelsey will be competing in the bars, balance beam, floor and vault events but says the beam is her favorite. It’ll also be a shot at redemption for her, in a way: a small mistake cost her a shot at a perfect 10 at her last competition. “When I went to a competition in Naples, I almost got a

perfect 10 on the beam,” Slone says. “There was one part that I did mess up on, but that was it. It was only a pivot turn — I wobbled a little bit. But, that was it.” Still, it’s a testament to the perfectionist nature of the sport. To make sure it doesn’t happen again, she’s been working on her routines for four days a week — a little over 12 hours — and has everything carefully mapped out in her mind. “I think I’m going to do good,” she says.

STOP THE STRESSES

While Slone is still fairly new to the sport, Cappucci is a six-year veteran. Her parents placed her and her siblings into several different sports from a young age, to see what would be the best fit, and the 9-year-old ended up choosing gymnastics over dance and soccer. Having been a gymnast since age 3, Cappucci has been comfortable with the sport for a long time. Last season, she frequently scored nines and enjoyed a lot of success doing what she had always done. But, this season, a few things changed. “This season, there were some changes made to the routines and stuff, so she worried a lot about them,” her mother, Leanna Cappucci, says. “The last three meets she did, we told her, ‘Don’t pay any attention to your scores at all. Just go out and have fun.’ And, she was back in the nines in

3ODQW&LW\2EVHUYHUFRP all three of them, because she stopped stressing about them. She wasn’t allowed to look at her scores or anything.” At the Naples event, Cappucci took home five medals and, among other girls in her age group, placed third in the country in the vault event. True to form, she just focused on what drew her to the sport in the first place: having fun. “I like all of the events,” she says. “My favorite is the bars, because I can’t wait to move up to the uneven bars.” Later in July, she’ll take a test to be eligible to compete in the uneven bars event starting next season. All she needs to be able to do is kip up to the higher bar — a skill she’s been working on and is close to achieving. Like Slone, Cappucci also will be competing in the bars, beam, floor and vault events in Tampa. She says she’s excited to be one of the Plant City area’s two representatives and hopes her hard work at the North Brandon facility will pay off. “I’m going to try to get nines on the bars, and all of the other events,” she says. Both girls also have something to look forward to in 2015. The next YMCA National Championships, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo., could be the first time the girls travel outside Florida to compete. It’s on their radars, but, for now, they both just want to go to Tampa and have fun and, hopefully, enjoy some success. Contact Justin Kline at [email protected].

Photos by Justin Kline

Chris Welbon’s karate team has set high expectations for the AAU Karate Nationals.

KARATE / PAGE 12 Warren and Welbon expect big things from the entire team, and a few of the competitors are especially excited for the upcoming tournament.

STAYING ON TOP

Julie, 11, a brown belt, enjoys competing in all events. She’s most familiar with kata, or a showcasing of form, and kumite, which is standard sparring. Last month, her firstplace finish in kata helped land her the title of best in her division. She’s now up for a fairly new challenge, though. Julie began training with weapons about two months ago and, coming off of a win at Super Regionals, now will test her skills against many more kids. “There was only one other person in Fort Pierce,” she says. Now, with around 2,000 people expected to compete in Fort Lauderdale, she has been studying film of her past fights to perfect her form. “I just prepare with my coaches,” she says. “They work on the stuff that we’ve done in the matches. They see all the mistakes, and we just work on it over and over again.”

As a first-level weapons user, Julie will be using a bo staff — the long, wooden staff most famously used by Donatello, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “You go up in different stages as you get into higher belts, and then you use different weapons, like nunchaku and sais,” Julie says. Her main goal is to win some gold, but she also hopes to learn a thing or two from the competition. “I’m looking forward to seeing new people and seeing how they fight,” she says. I was used to, like, four people, and now there will be 20 people.” Although Julie likes competing in every event, two of the other big winners at Super Regionals — the Padron brothers — are all about the kumite.

BASH BROTHERS

Alvaro and Sebastian Padron were used to wrestling with each other at home when they found karate two years ago. A year after Alvaro, 14 and the older brother, started taking classes at Chris Welbon’s school, Sebastian, 10, knew that he wanted to jump right in. “I just wanted to get (Alvaro)

Nick Gorman will compete in the adult division for the first time.

Alvaro Padron says he enjoys the competitive nature of martial arts. back for hitting me every day,” he says. No, they don’t hate each other — it’s just boys being boys, and they felt that channeling that energy into karate could be useful. And, they were right — both boys came out on top of their divisions in kumite at Super Regionals. “I like it,” Alvaro says. “You get to hit people. Kata’s not really my thing. After I do kata, I’m like, ‘Time to get my game on.’ I like fighting.” Alvaro also said Sebastian could really make some noise in his division next week. As a left-handed fighter, the younger Padron often takes his opponents by surprise to win his matches — just like he did to win last month. “Nobody thinks he’s lefthanded,” Alvaro says. “So, when he fights, all he does is just roundhouse kick them in the back, and he wins.” “I made two kids cry,” Sebastian adds. For two kids competing in a national tournament seven days from now, the brothers could not be more calm. One only has to talk to them for about two minutes before it’s clear they believe they will win. “I’m looking forward to getting my game on,” Alvaro says. Contact Justin Kline at [email protected].

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Justin Kline

Chelsea Baker got to meet her favorite player, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.

KLINE / PAGE 12 some of the media members. But, hey — it’s a mom thing. As relaxed as the atmosphere was, with the Rays keeping loose and the media’s questions all familiar, Baker was still a little nervous about possibly throwing the ball all over the place in front of her favorite players. And, the ESPN crew having her run so many wired microphones through her jersey made her a little uncomfortable. What’s it like, earning a place in baseball history? “I’m kind of nervous and stuff, because this is so big for me,” Baker said. “I’ve never done anything like this before,

but I’m really excited. So, it should be fun.” She first played catch with catcher Jose Molina and eventually calmed down. He was also the first player to bat and did end up whiffing a few times. Then, out of nowhere comes star third baseman Evan Longoria, who must not have gotten the memo. “I didn’t know we were going to be hitting knuckleballs,” he said aloud as Baker pitched to Molina. “I thought it was just normal BP.” Of course, with Longo came ESPN’s attention. Everyone with a media pass swarmed to the plate and, right as Baker was about to throw her first pitch, a cameraman yelled,

“You’re about to go live on SportsCenter!” A friend of mine who was watching SportsCenter said they showed the first few pitches, but not the one where Baker accidentally hit Longo. That one drew quite a few laughs in the third baseman’s direction. And then came staff ace David Price, who was excited for the pitchers’ duel. He actually fared better than Molina and Longo, taking two of Baker’s pitches all the way out to the warning track in center. But, he still whiffed badly on several of Baker’s knuckleballs. “I’m impressed,” he told some players after his at-bat. Baker then left the mound to do an interview with the media, which also aired on SportsCenter. “This is beyond anything I ever imagined,” she said. “It was a great opportunity. It was so unexpected — (Joe Maddon) surprised me with everything, the first pitch and all of that. I feel very honored that he was able to get me out here.” After a couple of questions about her career, one reporter asked, “What’s the one pitch you’re going to remember most out of all this?” “Definitely the one where I hit Evan,” she said. “Definitely not going to forget that, ever.”

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

MAURICE ‘MO’ ESTON Before the basketball championship game at the 2014 Special Olympics National Games, Plant City center Maurice “Mo” Eston knew he wanted to play better than in the previous game — he had scored eight points. In the big one, he led the team to the gold medal with 19 points in a 44-36 victory. You guys were just on Fox News this morning. How was that? It was fun. It was my first time being there. They asked about our games, how the dorms were and a lot of stuff. You guys also just won the gold medal at the National Games. What was the competition like up there? There was a lot of work to do. We had to play our hardest. One team was very good — Louisiana. We lost against them. Tell me about the championship game. It was a big stage, to me. It was my first time playing in a college gym. We played at Rider University. I was just trying to win. I had to guard No. 11. I played great defense. I did good on offense, but I kind of made some mistakes. I got 19 points. I scored from everywhere. You guys had been working hard for this all year, and then you got the gold medal. How did it feel to be able to put that around your neck? It feels good. We worked on this for a long time. What was the rest of the experience like in New Jersey? What did you do when you weren’t playing? We saw a lot of famous people. We saw the (WWE wrestler) Big Show. We went on a dinner cruise, it was fun.

We saw New York City and the Statue of Liberty. They had some good food there — salad, brisket. When you guys flew back home, did you have a lot of fans waiting for you? Oh, yeah. It was very exciting. Besides basketball, what other sports do you play? Softball and soccer. My favorite is basketball. What else do you like to do for fun? I like to play guitar. I have a bass guitar, and a Fender acoustic guitar, too. I’m also in Athlete Leadership. We talk about games, and volunteer, and we help raise money to go places. What’s your favorite food? Pepperoni pizza. What’s your favorite TV show? “That 70’s Show.” What’s your favorite movie? I like action movies. I just like them all. What are your plans for the rest of the summer? I’m playing softball. I’ll probably play right field.