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WRESTLING
+ Telfer becomes first SCHS state champ
2015 is shaping up to be a good year for Strawberry Crest High School, as the school has just won its second state championship.
Freshman grappler Cullen Telfer, competing in the 113-pound class, just cleaned house in the FHSAA State Championship Series and gave the wrestling team its first-ever state title banner. Telfer completed his run by beating North Port’s Anthony Tripke, 3-2, in Class 3A action.
Keep an eye out for next week’s edition of the Plant City Times & Observer, which will feature a profile of Telfer and his run through the state tournament.
SOFTBALL
+ Area teams compete in Spring Break tourneys
All three area softball teams got in on some Spring Break tournament action but, unlike their baseball counterparts, did not all play in the same tournament.
For the most part, things didn’t quite go as planned. Durant, Plant City and Crest combined for a 5-7 record during the week, but three of those wins belong to the Lady Chargers (6-7; 3-2 district).
Crest and Plant City (9-8; 4-1 district) both competed in the Sarasota Spring Slam tournament, which took place from March 13-14. The district-leading Lady Raiders got started with a 2-1 win over Sarasota, in which ace Noelle Dietrich struck out four and gave up no earned runs, but then lost, 7-3, to Orlando-Timber Creek later that day. The Lady Raiders then lost both of their Saturday games: a 3-2 nail-biter to Freedom, followed by a 7-1 loss to Bradenton-Lakewood Ranch.
Strawberry Crest, on the other hand, won its first three games of the tournament. The Lady Chargers swept their March 13 series, picking up an 8-3 win over Naples-Gulf Coast and a 1-0 win over Lakewood Ranch in nine innings. On Saturday, they kicked off that day’s slate with a 2-1 win over Alonso, but then took a 2-0 loss to Palmetto.
Durant went to Gainesville from March 6-7 for the Raider Invitational Softball Tournament, and Live Oak-Suwannee welcomed the Lady Cougars to the tourney by handing them a 7-2 defeat. Durant picked things up afterward, though, hanging in there throughout close losses to Monticello-Aucilla Christian (6-4) and Mayo-Lafayette (5-3). On Saturday, March 7, Durant went up against South Carolina-Bluffton and was able to leave Gainesville with a 7-1 win – in which the Lady Cougars combined for 11 hits.
Durant and Crest will get back into district play at 7 p.m. tonight. The Lady Cougars will be visiting Tampa Bay Tech, while the Lady Chargers will host Brandon. Plant City will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Robinson for a 1 p.m. game.