Prep notebook

Tampa Bay Tech girls claim district crown

BRANDON -- All three are on the state's girls' basketball polls and all three were in the mix during their district championship games. Durant, Tampa Bay Tech and Bloomingdale all reached their respective district's title games but the trio had mixed results in the Feb. 15 finales.

Tampa Bay Tech won its game, claiming the Class 4A, District 9 championship with a 59-43 win over Armwood. Bloomingdale lost the Class 6A, District 5 title game to Venice 55-52 and Durant fell 58-51 to Haines City in the Class 5A, District 7 championship game.

The Titans, who avenged last season's district semifinal loss to Armwood, were led by Chichi Okpaleke's 24 points and 12 rebounds. Okpaleke scored seven points in Tech's decisive scoring 21-6 run in the third period. Tech, ranked ninth in Class 4A, improved to 22-3 on the season while Armwood is 20-9.

Durant, ranked sixth in Class 5A, got 23 points from Lawanda Fowler but fell seven points short. The Cougars' loss left them 24-3. Bloomingdale is 21-6 after its loss to Venice, but holds on to its No. 10 ranking in Class 6A. The girls regional tournament runs today through Tuesday.

WRESTLING: The Class 2A, District 7 wrestling finals basically turned into a dual match Saturday when Brandon and Sickles squared off in nine of the 14 title matches. In the other five title matches, Brandon wrestlers faced athletes from Sickles and Durant.

But numbers were on Brandon's side with 11 of its 14 finalists taking their matches. Brandon secured the district championship, its 29th in a row, with team total of 360 points. Sickles was second, followed by Durant, Plant and Armwood. East Bay finished eighth and Tampa Bay Tech ninth.

Champion wrestlers for Brandon included Alejandro Figueroa (103 pounds), John Santana (112), Cesar Grajales (119), Ryan Joyce (130), Eddie Hutchinson (135), Tommy Hutchinson (140), David Craig (145), Rocky Cozart (152), Matt Juncal (189), Rashard Goff (215) and Keith Simmons (275). Durant's Derek Beaty captured the 160-pound weight class.

In the Class 3A, District 6 championship meet, Bloomingdale lost the event for the first time in four seasons. The Bulls placed third, behind Venice and Manatee, but had four individual champions. Nick Perrone (125 pounds), Nick Miles (140), Nick Diaz (160) and Derek Saibi (275) each won titles. For Saibi, who went 34-1 this season, his district championship win was the 100th of his prep career. The regional wrestling meets take place this weekend.

BASEBALL: Hillsborough County opened the prep baseball season Feb. 11 with two preseason events. At the Bloomingdale Classic, Bloomingdale beat Jefferson 7-3 and King topped Gaither 11-7. At the Brandon Preseason Tournament, Chamberlain defeated Brandon 3-2 and Alonso topped East Bay 7-2.