+ Local athletes accept offers
We love to see local athletes make the leap from high school to college sports, and this month saw a number of our area’s seniors figure out their futures. Here’s what we know from the schools’ athletic directors:
For Plant City High School, Bailey Bowden (swimming) signed with Vanderbilt; Kellyanne Hurst (golf) committed to the U.S. Naval Academy; Jyquis Thomas (football) got an offer from Temple; Hassan Bailey (football) got an offer from FAMU; and John Broome (football) got an offer from Marist.
For Durant High School, Chase Levesque (golf) signed with Stetson; Lexi Thompson (volleyball) signed with Ole Miss; Taylor Farrell (softball) and Paxton Sims (baseball) signed with the University of Tampa.
Congratulations to all of you!
+ Area teams win before break
The Plant City and Strawberry Crest basketball teams mostly entered Thanksgiving break on a good note. Three of the four teams won their final games, and both Chargers squads won big.
Strawberry Crest’s boys improved to 3-0 this season with a 76-47 win Nov. 21, over district rival East Bay. After the Indians (1-1) took a 17-9 lead in the first quarter, Crest started to find its groove and blew the contest wide open in the second half. Five of the seven Chargers who had their number called scored in double digits, led by Austin Griffin’s 17 points.
The Lady Chargers (3-1) also smothered East Bay (1-4). Crest capitalized on a 26-7 first-quarter lead and turned the game into a 64-27 rout.
This one came down to defense, as only one Indian reached double digits.
Aliyah Gregory led all scorers with 17 points, and Maiya Trigg was right behind her with 15.
Plant City’s girls rebounded from a 66-42 blowout loss against Tampa Bay Tech with a 59-55 win at Bloomingdale. Shayna Lawrence and Lacey Hargrove both led Plant City (2-3) with 17 points.
The boys team let their game slip away. Bloomingdale (3-0) went on a 21-10 fourth-quarter run to pick up a 66-49 win over the Raiders (2-1).