Meet the man behind the mic for Metro vs. Florida Challenge, Wekiva High -- Observer Preps

APOPKA A lot goes on during the Metro vs. Florida Challenge each fall.

For each of the 22 varsity boys basketball games that took place at Apopka High on Nov. 23, 25 and 26, stats are kept, play-by-play is called via a live-stream, a public address announcer helps to keep the in-house spectators entertained and, of course, there is social media that needs doing.

Such things should not seem extraordinary for an event that has, over the years, become one of the most anticipated of the high school hoops calendar — to many, it serves as an unofficial kickoff to the varsity boys basketball season in Central Florida.

What is remarkable, though, is that everything listed above — stats, play-by-play, public address and social media for each and every game — was done by one man. 

So, while there were several stellar performances throughout the three-day event by the young men on the court, the most impressive of those performances just might be by Mark Bartschi — the man at the scorer’s table.

“This event has become so well thought of, quite honestly, because of what Mark does.”

— Scott Williams, lead organizer of Metro vs. Florida Challenge and head basketball coach at Apopka High

“I’m blessed just to turn (Bartschi) loose, to let him do what he does,” said Scott Williams, the head coach of the Apopka basketball team and lead organizer of the event, dating back to its inception in 2010. “This event has become so well thought of, quite honestly, because of what Mark does.”

Of course, those who may have been introduced to the multitasking talents of Bartschi through the annual event are just getting a taste of what the Wekiva High Athletics Departments gets on a routine basis.

A decade ago, when Wekiva High was set to open, the school hired a chorus teacher named Jami Bartschi — Mark’s wife whom he met while the two were in school at Rollins College. 

Little did anyone on campus know at the time that the school was getting quite the two-for-one deal: In addition to a talented and well-regarded chorus teacher on campus, the school also got its own volunteer sports information director.

At a faculty picnic ahead of the school’s opening in 2007, Bartschi was introduced to then-head football coach Ty Parker. When Bartschi mentioned he had a background with announcing and sports information from his days as a student in Polk County participating in the FHSAA’s now-defunct Student Sports Information Director program, Parker asked if he might be interested in doing the public address for the Mustangs’ home football games.

Bartschi obliged and did so well he made a fan — Williams, who was the head coach of the Wekiva boys basketball program at the time. After doing just football for the 2007-08 school year, Bartschi added boys basketball in 2008-09 — and that was only the beginning.

“That just gradually snowballed to the point where I cover pretty much anything that happens on campus at Wekiva,” Bartschi said.

A decade into his volunteer relationship with the school, Bartschi is now responsible for maintaing and updating WekivaMustangs.com and the athletics department’s Twitter account, @WekivaSports.

For Wekiva coaches like Gersino Lubin, who is in his third season as the head coach of the Mustangs boys basketball team, having someone like Bartschi around to lend an air of professionalism to the presentation of their program’s home games is a welcome thing.

“I could be here all day bragging about Mark Bartschi,” Lubin said. “I think there’s five of him and he just clones himself, because he is that savvy technology-wise. … He’s doing 22 games, and you can’t tell which is first or less.”

“I think there’s five of him and he just clones himself, because he is that savvy technology-wise. … He’s doing 22 games, and you can’t tell which is first or less.”

— Gersino Lubin, Wekiva High boys basketball coach

Williams, who took over the program at Apopka High after leaving Wekiva, insisted on retaining Bartschi for his signature event. Together, the duo has helped build the reputation of the Challenge over the years, adding new wrinkles and features seemingly each year.

“He has a very creative mind and he loves thinking outside of the box … he’s always looking for solutions,” Wiliams said.

Bartschi is paid for the Challenge, given it’s long hours, but does what he does for Wekiva on a volunteer basis. He says he has welcomed the added responsibilities over the years both because he loves doing it as a change of pace from his day job in human resources at Disney, but also because he sees it as a need. 

With athletic directors at public high schools being swamped with paper work and other responsibilities, Bartschi believes schools are undermanned in terms of their ability to disseminate information and promote events, something he believes his crucial for a newer school like Wekiva to build tradition.

“It’s a mix of both — I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love,” Bartschi said. “I do legitimately enjoy it.”

As for the long days at the Challenge each fall — games on Wednesday and Thursday of that week tipped off at 10 a.m. and ran well past 10 p.m. — he says it is a challenge, but a welcome one.

“I do definitely go home and crash,” Bartschi laughed. “At the same time, it’s also invigorating. … There’s also a sense of achievement that ‘hey, I just did 22 consecutive basketball games — let’s see Bob Costas or Jim Nantz pull that off.’”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].