Prep notebook

Brandon area is favored in state poll

BRANDON -- If there were any doubts about how Brandon-area softball is perceived outside the region, the state's latest softball poll answered them. Bloomingdale, Riverview and Durant all ranked in the state poll and playing well heading into the second half of the season.

On the Class 6A poll, Riverview checked in at No. 2 with 92 votes. The Sharks received three first-place votes but it wasn't enough to unseat top-seed Venice, which had 93 votes. Bloomingdale received 44 votes to earn the eighth-place spot. On the Class 5A poll, Durant placed third with 74 votes.

Bloomingdale is almost assured of a higher spot on the next poll, to be released March 25. The Bulls defeated Riverview 2-1 last Saturday in a key Class 6A, District 5 game. In a battle of two of the county's top pitchers, Bloomingdale's Allison Kime outdueled Riverview's Beth DiPietro. Kime struck out 12 and allowed three hits from the mound, added a double and scored the Bulls first run of the game. DiPietro, meanwhile, allowed five hits and struck out six and led the offense with a triple and a double. Jasmine Rivera and Tiffany Anderson also had doubles for Bloomingdale.

The two rivals, now both 3-2 in the district, split their two regular season games and won't face off again until a possible meeting in the district tournament at the end of April.

TRACK & FIELD: After placing in almost every event and earning wins in the high jump and two relays, the Tampa Bay Tech girls ran away with the Seminole Rotary Invitational Tuesday, winning by 45 points. Chichi Okpaleke won the high jump by clearing 5feed, 2 inches and her teammates captured the 4x400 and 4x1600-meter relays. Bloomingdale's girls placed fifth.

The Bloomingdale and Tampa Bay Tech boys didn't fare as well at the Ed Wells Jr. Invitational in Clearwater. The Bulls were 10th and the Titans placed 17th in Tuesday's meet.

ALUMNI: Former Armwood standout James Anthony returns to the area as a member of the East Tennessee State men's basketball team. Anthony will be the starting point guard for the No. 15 Buccaneers today when they face off against second-seeded Wake Forest in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum. ETSU and Wake Forest tip off 30 minutes after the St. Joseph's-Auburn contest, which begins at 12:25 p.m.

Anthony, a 2001 graduate of Armwood, began this season as a reserve but broke into the starting lineup last month when another local product -- Tampa Bay Tech's Tiras Wade -- left the team for personal reasons. A 1,505-point scorer in his prep career who averaged 22 points a game his senior season for the Hawks, Anthony has averaged six points, three rebounds and 24 minutes a game since becoming a starter. His team won nine of 12 games and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

SCHOLARSHIPS: Two local quarterbacks and a running back have signed college scholarships. Brandon's Adam Garrison has signed with Charleston Southern and Ryan Watts of Armwood has signed with Northwood University, a Division II school in Michigan. Riverview running back Keon Hines has accepted a scholarship from Wagner College in New York state.