Centennial's Stephen Lepore with Wayne Gent, Superintendent of St. Lucie Public Schools
March 28, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL – St. Lucie West Centennial Student-Athlete Senior Stephen Lepore conducted an on-camera, live interview with Wayne Gent, Superintendent of St. Lucie Public Schools. The interview, in conjunction with Treasure Coast Sports Journal, took place during the Cobra Relays Track Meet in Fort Pierce at Lawnwood Stadium this afternoon.
Stephen who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a sprinter on the school's Unified Special Olympics Track Team. He submitted a list of questions to the Superintendent prior to the interview, which is a standard journalistic practice when doing a non-investigative story.
Stephen will now edit the entire interview and provide Treasure Coast Sports Journal a finished copy which will be published on the company’s social media assets and internet site. A copy will also be provided to St. Lucie Public Schools and SLW Centennial High School for their use.
Superintendent Gent made a special trip to Lawnwood Stadium in the middle of a busy work day to participate. He commented afterward that, “Stephen did a really great job and came up with some excellent questions”.
Look for Stephens Interview with Superintendent Gent in the very near future on www.TCSportsJournal.com or on our Facebook, Twitter of Google Plus social media sites.
March 28, 2017 - Fort Pierce, FL - Stephen Stagg and Kyle Schammn combined for five strike-outs, while walking seven and allowing six runs to overcome Community Christian 11-6 at the Lawnwood Baseball Complex on Monday, March 27, 2017 in a non-district matchup. St. Andrews improved to 11-1, the best start in the three-year-old high school history. The small 2A school suffered its only loss this season to 9A powerhouse Fort Pierce Central.
The Lions are sitting in first place in Region 2A – District 4, with a one-game lead over City of Life Christian Academy who they have already beaten twice this season.
By the numbers and at the mid-way point of the season the Lions are overpowering their District opponents. District teams have scored a total of 546 runs this season with 100 of them – or 18% being scored by St. Andrews. Of the 544 runs allowed in District play thus far St. Andrews is responsible for only 14 of them, 100% less than their closest opponent and only 3% of the district as a whole.
St. Andrews hosts the 2A-4 District series this spring at Lawnwood Stadium that begins the first week of may.
The Titans have been spoiled for the past four years with star senior pitcher Katlyn “Light Speed” McCue.
AT 8-0 LADY TITANS CLICKING ON ALL CYLINDERS
March 22, 2017 – St. Lucie County, FL – The Treasure Coast Lady Titan Softball Team is clicking on all cylinders this season. With a perfect 8-0 record, the Titans took down District 9-7A rival Fort Pierce Central yesterday by a score of 8-1.
This year’s crop of student-athletes includes only three seniors so the team will be competitive for the next couple of seasons at the least.
The girls lead long-time powerhouse Vero Beach in the local 9A division by a full two games and will earn at least a tie with the Indians for the number one seed in the district playoffs which begin on April 24th and conclude on April 27th at St. Lucie West Centennial High School. The district champion and runner-up each advance to the Regional Tournament to determine who will represent specific divisions and classes at the State Championship Series held annually in May at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach.
Divisions are created and managed by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and include 1A – 9A. The determination of what division a school will be classified under is based on the school’s student population as follows, according to the FHSAA: 1A 72 – 600; 2A 32 – 161; 3A 162 – 378; 4A 379 – 738; 5A 740 – 1,358; 6A 1,359 – 1,700; 7A 1,701 – 2,039; 8A 2,040 – 2,406; 9A 2,407 – 4,492.
Junior Brianna Thomas accounts for 13.3% of the Lady Titan runs with her amazing batting average of .667, on-base percentage of .773 and slugging percentage of .833.
At the plate the Titans are led by Junior Brianna Thomas who pitches and plays center field. Thomas is batting .667 with 16 hits (average of two per game), eight runs scored and 12 RBI’s. And she manages an extra base hit in every other game she plays in. She has an on-base percentage of .733 along with a slugging percentage of .833 and has only struck out twice all season. Her eight runs scored account for 13.3% of all the runs the team has scored this season, while her 12 RBI’s account for almost a quarter of the RBI’s the team has put in the books this year.
Freshman standout Madison Hurley is hitting .429 with 12 hits, 10 runs and two RBI’s for the Titans.
But as already mentioned this team runs deep. So deep in fact that of the student-athletes that have played in all eight games so far this season, eight of the top nine batting averages belong to underclassmen including standout ninth-grader Madison Hurley who is hitting .429 with 12 hits, 10 runs and two RBI’s. And the combined batting average of this gang of eight is .431.
In the circle the Titans have been spoiled for the past four years with star senior pitcher Katlyn “Light Speed” McCue whose father Joe Jr., and grandfather Joe Sr. serve as the team’s head coach and assistant coach, making the Titan softball franchise a team of three generation McCue’s.
Light Speed has been truly blazing this year. Besides being undefeated in her six starts she averages 10.6 strikeouts per game – well over one per inning. Her opponent’s batting average stands at just .139. Putting that in perspective, 86.1% of the batters McCue has faced never reach base!
So what does the future hold for these dolls of the diamond? It’s hard to tell. But with the season over halfway completed and district play scheduled to end in just a couple of weeks the numbers sure look promising.
Here’s why –
There are 74 total teams in the FHSAA 9A classification. Of those only 16% are unbeaten in their district this season, including the Titans. The average district games winning percentage stands at .486, while the Titan’s is at 1.000. Add to that these girls score just over ten runs per district opponent faced with the overall average runs scored by other schools in the 9A class at 6.5 runs per game and it’s not hard to see why media giants such as MaxPreps predict that Treasure Coast will have a deep run into the playoffs this season.
Stephen Lepore: A young man that has made thebest of his high school years despite a disability.
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March 21, 2017 - St. Lucie West, FL - At Age two Stephen Lepore was just like any other toddler, talking up a storm, singing the theme song to Barney and just enjoying life. While his mother, Kathleen, was off at work he would hang out with his father. When his father was working it was mommy time for this St. Lucie West family of three.
Yet not long after Stephen turned two something changed; he just stopped talking and became very withdrawn.
“It was as if a light switch had been flipped off”, says his mother.
The transformation from happy go lucky bouncing baby boy to a child reserved and secluded, often staring at nothing and with a blank look on his face was startling to Kathleen and husband, Glen. They did not know what to think or what to do.
Medical professionals diagnosed Stephen with Autistic Disorder, something the Lepore's knew nothing about which was quite scary for a young mother and father.
In 2013 the American Psychiatric Association grouped together Autistic Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder,Pervasive Developmental Disorder-not oherwise specifiedandAsperger syndrome under a single diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that as many as 1 in 68 children suffer from some form of ASD which is much more prevalent in boys (1 in 42) than in girls (1 in 189).
However, 17 years ago, little was known about ASD.
Yet this did not stop the Lepore family for doing everything they could for their bundle of joy.
“It sure was not easy. We went everywhere, did everything and saw just about every specialist we could find. We pulled all our resources together. We were not going to let this thing beat us or get the best of our child”, said Kathleen.
Kathleen and Glen became not just advocates for their son, but super advocates.
They started by enrolling Stephen in intensive speech therapy to try and get him talking again. And it worked. By age five Stephen was talking and communicating again, although not to the same extent as other five-year old’s. However, it was a positive sign and a huge improvement over the past three years of almost total silence.
His mother and father attribute the turnaround to the efforts of Mrs. Melissa Whalen, who led Stephen’s Intensive Behavior Class at Savana Ridge Elementary School in Port St. Lucie. Not only did Mrs. Whalen teach Stephen his first words, but she taught him sign language as well.
While a student in their specialized Autism Spectrum Disorder Unit at Palm Point Educational Research School another teacher Ms. Katie Malloy, encouraged the family to consider placing Stephen in some non-contained classes such as Choir and Drama. Children with disabilities may often be placed in contained classes apart from the general education population at their school due to the additional resources that they require.
Kathleen and Glen agreed and Stephen not only took part in a school play but he remembered all 120 of his lines and those of the other children as well.
“I knew Stephen would be a special young man, not just because of his disability but because of his ability”, says Mrs. Malloy.
St. Lucie County School Board Vice Chairwoman, Dr. Donna Mills speaks with SLW Centennial HS Principal Andrea Popwell at the 2nd Annual St. Lucie Unified Games held at Lawnwood Stadium onWednesday, March 8th.
When Stephen moved on to high school he didn't just move to a new school, he moved out of his comfort zone, out of what was normal for him, a process which can be very daunting for many individuals diagnosed with a disability, especially those diagnosed with ASD. But he made no hesitation to give his new situation a chance. Yes, he struggled at first (as many first-year high school students do), adapting to a new school, a new routine, new teachers, and many new classmates, however, he continued to do what he does best, smile and enjoy every second he can. He quickly made friends and became adapted to his new routine, fully buying into what was expected of him and what he knew he could accomplish, according to Mrs. Malloy.
“Stephen is a young man that has made the best of his high school years. He is an active participant in the Unified Special Olympics where he excels as a sprinter and is a key member of the Television Production Program where he writes, produces and anchors the morning news program, said Ms. Andrea Popwell, the Principal at St. Lucie West Centennial High School.
Stephen is a key member of the Television Production Program
where he writes, produces and anchors the morning news
program at St. Lucie West Centennial High School.
Through the years, the family refused to give in or give up hope. And now 17 years after showing his first signs of ASD, Stephen is set to graduate from Centennial in just a couple of months, with not just a 2.6 GPA, but also with a Standard High School Diploma, a huge accomplishment not just for Stephen, but for the teachers, classroom aides and administrators that have unselfishly stood by him throughout his elementary, middle and high school years.
Stephen Lepore has set the standard for students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment, in St. Lucie County, by not just breaking down the barriers that needlessly label people with disabilities, but breaking through them.
It’s these barriers that parents such as the Lepore’s seek to make a thing of the past by energizing, enabling and strongly advocating on behalf of their children.
With the help of a school system that is in the middle of a massive turnaround, these barriers will come crumbling down sooner rather than later All to the thanks of not only teachers and school system employees but to super advocates like the Lepore’s who refused to give up when the going got tough!
Lady Gators Bryanna and Alexis Sharot making Fort Pierce proud.
March 19, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL – When Fort Pierce Central grads Bryanna and Alexis Sharot enrolled at University of Florida this past fall they were itching to be involved in a sport. They had been stellar student-athletes while at Central on both the swim team, where school records fell & regional championships were earned and on the girls weightlifting team.
Participating in athletics at one of Florida’s most difficult schools academically is a challenge for any student, especially incoming freshmen. The pressure to maintain good grades is often overwhelming, especially at a school like UF which has an international reputation for everything that happens on the historic campus.
But these two twins aren’t your typical students.
With mom, a trauma nurse and dad a successful small business owner having the drive to succeed runs deep in their veins.
Bryanna, who is on a pre-med track is an A/B student while Alexis who is a nursing major has a mind blowing 3.5 GPA and is being inducted into the Honor Society next weekend.
Both girls are coxswains on the UF row team. Coxswains sit at the stern (rear) of the boat and face the bow (front) of the boat. They steer the boat and are responsible for its overall navigation. This is the first year that they have rowed.
The team is considered a club sport this year, however, because of the success they have had, they are hopeful that the sport will earn a NCAA Division One slot in the near future.
And that future D1 acceptance may come down to a National Competition on May 27 at the 1996 Olympic Site in Gainesville, GA on Lake Lanier where these Lady Gators hope to bring home a National Title.
