Prep soccer: Final classifications

(photo from Oronosports)

Manatee County will look to send a prep soccer team to the state final four for the fourth consecutive time next winter. Listed below are the final classifications unveiled by the Florida High School Athletic Association this week. These include the local teams only.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 11 - Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Manatee, Charlotte, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice.
CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 - Bayshore, Palmetto, Southeast, Dunedin, Gulfport Boca Ciega, St. Petersburg Gibbs, St. Petersburg Lakewood, Seminole Osceola.
CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 - Cardinal Mooney, Booker, Clewiston, Fort Myers Bishop Verot, Fort Myers Dunbar, Fort Myers Gateway Charter, LaBelle.
CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8 - Bradenton Christian, Out-of-Door Academy, Saint Stephen's, St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg Canterbury, St. Petersburg Keswick Christian, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, Sarasota Christian.

Prep soccer: The fate of the teams that beat the locals

Lakewood Ranch's boys and girls soccer teams fell short in their quest to win state championships.
What they can take some solace in, however, is they lost to the best.
On the boys side, the Mustangs lost to Cape Coral in overtime during their first trip to the Class 4A-Region 3 final. The Seahawks went on to defeat Chochtawhatche 3-2 in the state championship game.
The girls team, which was looking for a second straight trip to the final four, lost to Lutz Steinbrenner in a Region 3 semifinal. The Warriors, in just their second year of existence, beat Naples Barron Collier to win the Region 3 final and then knocked off Harmony in a state semifinal.
The Warriors then defeated Merritt Island in overtime to claim te state championship.
Saint Stepen's boys team, which advanced to their second state semifinal in three years, fell to eventual state runner-up Jacksonville Providence in a Class 2A state semifinal.
One day after beating the Falcons, Providence lost to Delray Beach American Heritage in the state final.

Prep baseball: Canes' alum Clemen on the hill for SCF

BRADENTON - Manatee High graduate Josh Clemen will toe the rubber for State College of Florida's charity baseball game today against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field.
Clemen is 1-1 with a 3.37 ERA in 5 1/3 innings and five appearances this season for the Manatees. He was 5-7 with a 2.95 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings last year for the Hurricanes en route to making the All-Area First Team.
The Pirates and the Manatees will play a seven-inning game today beginning at 12:05 p.m.

Prep baseball: Canes hang with the Buccos

(photo by John Lembo)

BRADENTON - How did you spend your Wednesday?
Reed Carter, picture above in the red shirt, and the rest of Manatee's baseball team shagged flies while the Pittsburgh Pirates took batting practice at Pirate City.
Those two guys standing with Carter? Former Pirate Bill Virdon and Hall-of-Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, the latter of whom told Carter all about his home run that won the 1960 World Series over the New York Yankees.
For more on the Canes' day at Pirate City, check out Thursday's edition of The Bradenton Herald.

Panthers and the regional final: A winter tradition

(photo by Paul Videla)

You can spell regional final without BCS.

You just can't have a regional final without BCS.

Bradenton Christian's boys basketball team defeated Seffner Christian 73-62 during Tuesday's Class 1A-Region 2 semifinal. The Panthers (19-11) are in the regional final for the eighth straight year, and will host Orlando Christian Prep 7 p.m. Saturday.

OCP is the three-time defending state champion.

BCS coach David Magley instructs fans to get their tickets early, for the cozy gym will no doubt be a sold-out cauldron of noise.

"It will be an unbelivable atmoshphere," he said.

One the Panthers - and their fans - have become quite accustomed to.

Here is how BCS has fared in its previous regional final appearances under coach Magley:

2004 - defeated Winter Haven All Saints 68-51

2005 - lost to Florida Prep 70-63

2006 - defeated Oldsmar Christian 62-54

2007 - lost to Clearwater Calvary Christian 80-70

2008 - defeated Seffner Christian 68-49

2009 - defeated Lakeland Victory Christian 77-60

2010 - lost to Orlando Christian Prep 83-59

Live from Lakeland: Wrapping it all up

(polkartsalliance.org)

LAKELAND - The mats are all rolled up, the wrestlers have cleared out and the podiums have been taken down.
The Lakeland Center is an empty cavern in the aftermath of the state wrestling tournament, which came to a close Saturday night.
Here is a look at the locals who took home medals, awarded to the top six finishers in each weight class.

CLASS 3A
Manatee
Name: Travis Fulk
Weight: 135
Finish: Sixth
Final record: 35-10
Of note: The senior and four-time state qualifier earned his first medal Saturday before re-injuring his ankle and injury defaulting his final two matches. Fulk finishes his career with 157 wins.

Name: Alex Doran
Weight: 140
Finish: Third
Final record: 53-6
Of note: Doran leaves Manatee with the program record for wins in a single season (53) and a career (168), as well as four state medals. Doran never finished lower than fourth in four state trips.

Name: Quinn Tibbetts
Weight: Heavyweight
Finish: Second
Final record: 50-10
Of note: The senior made the most of his first and last trip to The Lakeland Center by reaching the state final. Tibbetts, who lost to Ocala Forest's Ricky Carter, was the lone county wrestler to reach a state final this season and rebounded nicely after losing the district final two weeks ago.

CLASS 2A
Lakewood Ranch
Name: Kyle Riley-Hawkins
Finish: Third
Final record: 42-2
Of note: What a comeback. After dropping his first match Friday, Riley-Hawkins won five straight to become the first Mustangs wrestler to finish better than fourth at a state meet. Riley-Hawkins, who was also named the Mike Kelly Most Outstanding Wrestler earlier this year at the county meet, became the first Ranch wrestler to place since Cory Monteforte in 2006.

Live from Lakeland: Tibbetts takes second

LAKELAND - Manatee's Quinn Tibbetts fell short in his quest to win a Class 3A state title at The Lakeland Center.
The senior heavyweight was pinned in 5:56 by Ocala Forest's Ricky Carter in the finals.