Coaching pair leaves

Central boys soccer coach John Andruss and his wife, Lisa Bilodeau, the school's girls cross country coach, resigned last week and have taken teaching jobs at Louisa County High in Virginia.

They taught at Central for seven years. Andruss teaches physics and biology, Bilodeau 10th-grade English.

Andruss led the Bears to a district title this season, and Bilodeau won four Gulf Coast Athletic Conference crowns.

Andruss said they made the move in part to be closer to their home state of Massachusetts and the grandparents of their children, Mia, 4, and MacKenzie, 1.

"We wanted some place in between and Virginia kind of reminded us of Massachusetts," Andruss said. "Plus we wanted to get out of the heat. We don't like the heat ... not so much."

Louisa is located in central Virginia, 35 miles from Charlottesville and 95 from the state capital of Richmond.

Bilodeau -- the 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000 GCAC cross country coach of the year -- will be replaced by Julliann D'Avila.

BASEBALL: Former Hernando first baseman Stephen Blanton has begun his professional career with zeal, batting .360 for the rookie-level, Gulf Coast League Orioles.

In seven games as an outfielder, Blanton, 19, has 2 doubles, 9 hits and 3 RBIs. He has a .440 slugging percentage and a .433 on-base average.

Hernando alum Bert Snow, attempting to come back from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last spring, has been promoted to Double-A Midland.

Snow, 25, has pitched three scoreless innings -- striking out four -- for the RockHounds.

He had 5 saves, a 1.00 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 18 innings for Class A Visalia in the first phase of his rehab. Snow had reached Triple-A Sacramento by the end of 2000 and was in big-league camp in spring training last year when he tore a ligament in his elbow.

Central alums Thomas Lobianco and Sean Steele have committed to college programs.

Lobianco, a left-handed pitcher who went 7-3 with a 2.96 ERA as a senior, will play for NCAA Division III Chowan (N.C.) College.

Steele, a first baseman who batted .346 with 18 RBIs, will attend Southeastern College, a Division II school in Lakeland and a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

"I really liked the coaches," Lobianco said of the Chowan staff. "They really seemed like they will work with me. They have two starter spots open, so I hope I can come in and get one of them."

Academic grants will pay for Lobianco's tuition.

He joins a long list of county athletes attending Chowan.

Central graduates Joe Condron, Jimmy Sterling, Ed LaRose, Jacob Baker, Brandon Valenca and Mike Lastra and Hernando grads Derrick Mobley, Ryan Bunch and Tony Joseph played football there last year.

Josh Smith, a senior at Central, was named to the Blue-Gray Classic Tournament team, which will play July 23-25 at Jacksonville University.

Smith is among 18 players selected for the Southwest squad. He went 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA for the Bears this season.

Three regional teams from the North will play against two Florida squads and one Mid-South team in the tourney.

SOCCER: Jennifer O'Sullivan, the first female professional athlete in county history, has been released by the Women's United Soccer Association's New York Power.

O'Sullivan, 23, did not play this season after suffering a knee injury.

The 45th overall selection in the first WUSA draft, O'Sullivan played 59 minutes in parts of six games in 2000.

O'Sullivan's brother, Sean, has signed to play at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.

O'Sullivan, a lanky midfielder with deft ball-handling abilities, owns Central records for single-season goals (27, set as a senior), and assists (23, as a junior), and was named the Times' All-Citrus/Hernando Player of the Year after leading the Bears to an 18-4-2 mark and the Class 3A, Region 2 semifinals.

The Red Raiders play in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.

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