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Determined Wharton stymies Leto
By ROD GIPSON Heading into the last week of the regular season, the Leto girls basketball team was among the hottest in the county. The Falcons had set a school record for wins with 18, boasted one of the area's top players in junior guard Yarenis Blanco, and went into the Class 5A, District 8 tournament as the second seed. Fast forward to Thursday and none of that mattered. Blanco was strong as usual, scoring 15 points, and had some supporting help, but a determined Wharton defense and some offense of its own stymied the Falcons. Wharton upset Leto 57-51 in the district semifinal. The Wildcats now have a shot at winning the district for the third straight season. Leto's Sheena Kee had nine points while Holly Manninen, Sandy Stout and Amber Eihardt each had eight. Wharton (12-12) was led by Whitney Burton's 23 points and Willamina Folks' 17. Wharton will face top-seeded King in the district final next Thursday. COACHES: Leto has hired Jerrell Cogman to take over its football program. Cogman, 28, replaces Andy Martin, who coached the Falcons for five seasons. Martin's squads went 4-26 during the last three seasons, including 0-10 in 2002. Cogman, a Plant and Bethune Cookman College alumnus, previously was a defensive assistant with Tampa Bay Tech and Freedom High. It was during his stint at Tech that he met Oscar Gonzalez, Leto's athletic director. Jefferson coach Mike Simmonds will remain with the Dragons after being offered the offensive line coaching job at his alma mater, Indiana State. Simmonds was an All-American lineman at ISU in 1986 and a 10th round draft choice of the Buccaneers in 1987. This past season, Simmonds led Jefferson to a 13-2 record and the Class 4A state championship game. BOYS BASKETBALL: Antonio Russell scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth period Wednesday to lead Gaither to a 70-62 win over Sickles. Brandon Harrison added 16 points for the Cowboys, who improved to 12-8 in the season. In other games, Freedom topped Middleton 61-60, Chamberlain defeated Jefferson 51-50, Plant beat Alonso 52-39, and Leto fell to Robinson 57-54. ALUMNI: Former Chamberlain standout golfer Akio Sadakata has had a tough start as a rookie on the PGA Tour. Akio, a 1999 Chamberlain graduate, has played in four events so far. In the season-opening Sony Open, Sadakata made the cut, tied for 74th place and earned $8,595. However, he missed the cuts in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the ATT Invitational at Pebble Beach. He is playing in the Buick Open this weekend in San Diego. GIRLS SOCCER: Sophomore Caitlyn Bliss scored 15 minutes into the match and Gaither made it stand as the Cowboys defeated Sarasota 1-0 in the Class 4A, Region 2 quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Cowboys (15-4-1) advance to the region semifinal next Tuesday against Wellington.
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