Seminole’s top athletes

Best of 15-16 recognized during BHSN Breakfast of Champions

By Dean Smith

Herald Staff

   HEATHROW — It’s time once again to take a final look at the top athletic performers from 2015-2016 before the new school tear gets rolling.

   Back in May, the 8th Annual 2016 Breakfast of Champions was held at a new venue in Seminole County, with nearly 200 people in attendance at the Heathrow County Club.

   Hosted by Bright House Sports Network, the Central Florida Sports Commission and the Seminole County Recreation Council, with sponsorship help from Seminole County Public Schools, 35 athletes, coaches, and administrators were honored for their achievements on and off the field.

   The event also revealed the newest Seminole Sports Hall-of-Fame inductees in Craig Wise and Keith Rivers.

   The Central Florida Gliders was founded by Coach Wise in 1989. It is a cross country club primarily serving boys and girls in Seminole and Orange Counties.

   Wise, who enters the Hall as a Contributor, has more than 25 years’ experience in guiding athletes and teams to perform competitively, as evidenced by over 60 national championship titles earned by the club’s athletes.

   He started the club as a healthy activity for his six children. He is a long-distance specialist producing athletes that competed in Footlocker, USATF, and AAU track and cross country competitions. In the last 10 years, Wise has also trained athletes in the hurdles, sprints, throws and multi-events to compete in local, state, and world-class competitions. He currently manages the Central Florida Gliders’ coaching staff and the club’s expanding operations.

   Wise has a USATF level I and Level II certification in the multi-events. He also has a USTFCCCA Track & Field Sprints/Hurdles Event Specialist Certification as well as a USTFCCCA Technical Certification.

   Wise holds an MBA degree in marketing and finance from the University of Pittsburgh and BA degree in biology from Hampton University. After a career in corporate banking, he is a successful entrepreneur and professional recruiter, who coaches job seekers and has authored a book on interviewing. He volunteers his time extensively in the community with youth, including coaching hurdlers at a local high school.

   Here are some of the successes the Gliders have achieved:

   * 66 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES;

   * 4 USA Junior National Championships in Track & Field;

   * 12 USATF Individual National Championship Titles in Track & Field;

   * 5 USATF Outdoor Youth Championship Titles in Track & Field;

   * 1 Nike HS Indoor Track National Championship Title in Track & Field;

   * 10 AAU Individual National Championship Titles in Track & Field;

   * 15 AAU Individual National Club Championship Titles in Track & Field;

   * 1 AAU Team National Club Championship Title in Track & Field;

   * 10 AAU Individual National Championship Titles in Cross Country;

   * 7 AAU National Team Titles in Cross Country;

   * 1 USATF National Team Title in Cross Country;

   * USA World Jr. Participants (2);

   * USA Pan-American Jr. Participant (1).

   Keith Rivers is recently retired from the NFL. He played for Cincinnati Bengals, the NY Giants and the Buffalo Bills. He was heavily recruited by all the major Division I programs. The University of Florida, with then head coach Ron Zook, heavily recruited Keith but he elected to attend USC, which was near his birthplace of Riverside, California. He was the 9th overall draft pick in the 2008 draft.

   Rivers, who was represented by his father as the Breakfast, played and graduated high school from the Lake Mary High School. He was a highly decorated letterman as a linebacker in football for the Rams and his awards include USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, EA Sports All-American, Insiders.com All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 10, Super Prep All-Dixie, Prep Star All-Southeast, Fox Sports Net All-South, Gatorade Florida Player of the Year and Florida Class 6A Mr. Football runner-up as a senior linebacker.

   He also played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

   Rivers accomplished many great feats during his college career such as being selected to wear the #55 jersey. All members of the so-called USC linebacker “Club 55” are Junior Seau, Willie McGinest and Chris Claiborne. However, one of the greatest accomplishments was the fact that he graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy, Management, and Planning.

   The Administrators honored by BHSN this year were Coach of the Year Jeff Johnson, the head man of the ultra-successful boys soccer program at Orangewood Christian, and the Athletic Director of the Year was Lake Brantley High’s Jerri Kelly.

   The Scholar-Athletes of the Year were Lyman cross country/track standout Jordan Armstrong (Boys) and all-around athlete Olivia Albano (Girls) from Hagerty.

   During his time as a Greyhound, Armstrong finished 12th, 8th and 5th respectively at the Class 4A Cross Country Finals and was an integral part of the team's state championship run in the fall. His track credentials are equally impressive finishing 5th in the 3,200m and 3rd in the 1,600m at the state meet in May and boasting personal bests of 4:19.16 and 9:30.90. Armstrong has accepted an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and will mostly likely major in Applied Physics.

   Albano is a multiple-sport standout, having competed as a gymnast as a youngster and then taking part in Track and Field, Cheerleading _ where she was a member of the back-to-back State Championship squad, and Girls Weightlifting _ in which was a 4-time SAC conference GWL Meet Champion, 4-time FHSAA Regional GWL Meet Qualifier, 3-time FHSAA State GWL Qualifier, 2-time FHSAA State GWL Meet 2nd place finisher, and has been named as her schools GWL Team MVP 3-times.

   There were a number of repeat winners _ Girls Bowling _ Oviedo’s Katelyn Jones; Boys Cross Country _ Lyman’s Joshua Jacques; Girls Swim/Dive _ Hagerty’s Ashley Boddiford; Boys Water Polo _ Seminole’s William Huether; and Girls Water Polo _ Lake Brantley’s Dezirae Straub _ but the biggest newsmaker was Lake Brantley’s Jared Bernhardt, who was named the Football-Offense Player of the Year and the Boys Lacrosse Players of the Year.

   Here is the list of the Seminole County honorees:

   * Athletic Director of the Year _ Jerri Kelly, Lake Brantley.

   * Coach of the Year _ Jeff Johnson, Orangewood Christian, Baseball.

   * Boys Scholar Athlete _ Jordan Armstrong, Lyman, Cross Country/Track and Field.

   * Girls Scholar Athlete _ Olivia Albano, Hagerty, Cheerleading/Track and Field/Girls Weightlifting.

   * Baseball _ Joe Sheridan, Hagerty.

   * Boys Basketball _ John Mooney, Lake Brantley.

   * Girls Basketball _ Aniquah Swan, Seminole.

   * Boys Bowling _ Robert Poole, Lake Mary.

   * Girls Bowling _ Katelyn Jones, Oviedo.

   * Cheerleading _ Rachel Woodruff, The Master’s Academy.

   * Boys Cross Country _ Joshua Jacques, Lyman.

   * Girls Cross Country _ Daniela Urzua, Lake Mary.

   * Football-Defense _ D.J. Artis, Seminole.

   * Football-Offense _ Jared Bernhardt, Lake Brantley.

   * Boys Golf _ Austin Hitt, Lake Mary.

   * Girls Golf _ Jennifer Zhou, Lake Mary Prep.

   * Boys Lacrosse _ Jared Bernhardt, Lake Brantley.

   * Girls Lacrosse _ Molly Garrett, Winter Springs.

   * Boys Soccer _ Chase Gwynn, Orangewood Christian.

   * Girls Soccer _ Alex Nowak, Oviedo.

   * Softball _ Shanika Klett, Lake Howell.

   * Boys Swim/Dive _ Maverick Layne, Seminole.

   * Girls Swim/Dive _ Ashley Boddiford, Hagerty.

   * Boys Tennis _ David Gorshein, Lake Mary.

   * Girls Tennis _ Katie Groves, Lake Howell.

   * Boys Track and Field _ Sean Clarke, Lyman.

   * Girls Track and Field _ Sinclaire Johnson, Lake Brantley.

   * Boys Volleyball _ Lawrence Savallo, Lake Mary.

   * Girls Volleyball _ Payton Caffrey, Winter Springs.

   * Boys Water Polo _ William Huether, Seminole.

   * Girls Water Polo _ Dezirae Straub, Lake Brantley.

   * Boys Weightlifting _ Tristen Sands, Lyman.

   * Girls Weightlifting _ Judith Mandujano-Rodrigue, Lake Mary.

   * Boys Wrestling _ James Nereim, Winter Springs.