Charles W. Flanagan High School Baseball

The big day finally came for 4 seniors as DJ Swatscheno, Chris Connelly, Mitch Massard and Nick Navarro made it official as to which schools they planned on attending next year. Each player signed their National Letter of Intent this morning in the Principal's Conference Room at 10:00am. With parents, coaches, teammates, teachers and school officials present, Athletic Director Larry Brown, Assistant Principal Moses Barnes and Coach Evans made short speeches before the signings to recognize their crowning achievements. Swatscheno will be a Miami Hurricane, Connelly is headed to Jacksonville University to join former Falcon, Glenn Witkowski. Mitch Massard committed to Florida International and Nick Navarro will take his services up to Birmingham, Alabama where he will be playing for Samford University. We are extremely proud of each of these student-athletes for their individual achievements and wish them success in their future. The 4 Division 1 signings represent the most D1 signings on 1 day by any athletics team in Flanagan High School History!

Shortstop Luis Penate and OF/2B Jesse Mesa have verbally committed to Central Florida Communtiy College in Orlando. Catcher/OF Joel Carranza has decided to attend Broward Community College next Fall. 7 out of the 8 seniors have committed early. Official Signing Day for Division 1 programs is November 8th. Official signing day for Junior Colleges is January 15th.

The 2 time Defending State Champion Flanagan Falcons welcomed home their seniors on Thursday Night when the team recieved their Championship Rings. The players and coaches had a grand half time celebration during the Falcons football game vs. Taravella. The band formed a giant semi-circle in the middle of the field and players walked through a row formed by the cheerleaders on the 50 yardline. Each member of the team recieved their District, Regional and State Championship patches as well as a T-shirt, plaque and gift from Athletic Director Larry Brown. The State Championship Ring was presented by Flanagan Principal Dr. Sharon Shaulis. The Flanagan Falcons baseball program would like to thank Mr. Brown, Dr. Shaulis, the parents and fans for all their support of Flanagan baseball. We would also like to thank Herff Jones for the beautiful rings and framed pictures of our "Back To Back" State Championships.

DJ Swatscheno has verbally committed to the University of Miami, the 6'2 lefthander went 9-2 with a 0.89 ERA and struck out a Broward County leading 131 batters in 2006. Chris Connelly will attend Jacksonville University in the fall of 2007. The 6'0 centerfielder batted .322 with 5 HR's and 23 RBI in 2006. 1B/RHP Mitch Massard has orally committed to Florida International University. The 6'3 righthander batted .381 with 3 HR's and 12 RBI as a junior in 2006. C Nick Navarro has verbally committed to Samford University in Birmingham, AL. The Switch hitter batted .302 with 6 HR's and 23 RBI in 2006. Congratulations to these 4 Seniors and their families!!!

The Flanagan Falcons completed a stellar 2006 campaign by capturing the schools 2nd Consecutive State Championship. The win over Sarasota 7-1 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota propelled the Falcons to the top of the National Polls. The #3 National Ranking is the highest finish for any athletic program at Charles W. Flanagan High School (10 year history). Led by seniors RHP Glenn Witkowski who had a magnificent high school career, the Jacksonville University signee finished his career with with a 34-2 record including 30 straight wins. The Falcons also part with 2B Eric McCans who has been the catalyst as the Falcons lead-off hitter for 3 seasons. He was a 2 time 1st Team All-Broward selection and will continue his baseball career at Nova Southeastern University. LF J.D. Martinez has also been an key member of the 2 State Championship runs. He provided the defensive highlight of the 2005 season by making a game saving catch in last years State Championship game. He is currently undecided on his collegiate plans. The other seniors leaving this year are C Phillip Burnette, OF Fred Collin, RHP Steven Thorsland and UTL Cory Teramo. All four young men have played modest roles in the Falcons State Championship run. Burnette was called upon early in the season and performed extremely well. The Falcons posted a 11-0 record with Phil behind the plate. Fred Collin will be attending Anna Arundal Community College in Baltimore, MD. in the fall on a baseball scholarship. Cory Teramo will be attending Florida Atlantic University on an academic scholarship. Steve Thorsland proved that persistance pays off. This young man was plagued with adversity throughout his career and for one season he was able to harness himself, Steve led Broward County in saves in 2006 with 7 (A School Record) highlighted by his strike out of Monsignor Pace 3B Chris Marerro to save a 3-1 win. All 7 men will be successful in their future but they will have a lasting memory of their careers as Falcons "State Champions Back To Back"!!!