Each week, our HomeTeam staffers nominate male and female Hot Shot athletes from each of the counties we cover, then we turn the voting over to readers. These nominations span Saturday, Jan. 18 through Friday, Jan. 24. The winners get a T-shirt and bragging rights over every other school in the area. Read up on our nominees, then vote until noon Monday.
Female nominees
Abby Bravo, Tampa Prep soccer: The senior stepped up in leading scorer Darla Harrison’s absence in the Terrapins’ 2-1 region quarterfinal win Thursday, scoring a pair of goals in a 10-minute span. The goals were Bravo’s sixth and seventh of the season.
Hannah Brookover, Calvary Christian soccer: The distance runner played a big role in the Warriors’ first playoff win, scoring two goals in a 3-0 victory over Carrollwood Day in the Class 2A region quarterfinals.
Victoria Cannata, Land O’Lakes soccer: The sophomore, who has 26 goals this season, was a major factor in both goals scored against Hudson in Thursday’s Class 3A region quarterfinal. She scored Land O’Lakes’ first goal on a penalty kick and st up a teammate for the second.
Brianna Froncillo, Seminole soccer: Her goal off a free kick capped off a wild comeback in which the Warhawks scored twice in the final six minutes to beat Plant City 3-2 in the Class 4A region semifinals.
Karli Gutsche, Newsome soccer: The Auburn commit had three goals in Newsome’s 7-0 region quarterfinal win against Orlando Boone on Thursday. Gutsche also had an assist in Newsome’s Jan. 17 district championship win against George Jenkins.
Balea Schumacher, Mitchell soccer: The senior has had a busy couple of weeks. In addition to helping her team to a perfect season, she recently committed to Nova Southeastern. She had two goals in Mitchell’s shutout of Lakeland in the Class 4A region quarterfinal.
Male nominees
Chris Faddoul, Wiregrass Ranch soccer: The freshman had a breakout game against top-seeded Mitchell in the 4A-8 district final. He scored from 40 yards out for the Bulls’ winning goal and was part of an own goal as the Bulls nabbed their first district title.
Tom Guglielmello, Land O’Lakes basketball: The 6-foot-1 junior was the Gators’ MVP in Tuesday’s 48-43 win over Gulf, according to his coach. He scored a game-high 27 points, making five 3-pointers. He also had six steals.
Brandon Jones, Largo basketball: The senior had game highs in two high-profile wins. He scored 19 points against Wharton in the Keith MacCollom Shootout last weekend, then helped the top-seeded Packers sweep district foe Mitchell on Friday by scoring 26.
Blake Rehl, Hillsborough soccer: The junior forward had the winning goal in the sixth minute of overtime on Thursday to lift Hillsborough to a 4-3 win against top-seeded Brandon in the 4A-9 district semifinals. Rehl leads Hillsborough with 14 goals, eight more than the next best Terrier.
Ali Tajik, Tarpon Springs soccer: The sophomore midfielder scored both goals in the Spongers’ 2-0 win over Dunedin in the 3A-10 district final. The goals helped Tarpon Springs win its first district championship since 1997.
Blake Wilson, Steinbrenner soccer: The senior midfielder scored the winning goal from 30 yards out in the ninth minute of overtime to lift Steinbrenner to a 2-1 win against East Lake and its first district title in the sport. Wilson leads the Warriors with 17 goals.