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Solid Top To Bottom

By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: February 3, 2009

There are no words needed to describe just how tough Saturday's Class 3A-District 5 wrestling tournament at East Bay will be. All you have to do is look at the results from last weekend's Hillsborough County Championships.

While Brandon won its 37th consecutive county championship on Saturday at Wharton, the next four in the final team standings - Durant, Riverview, Bloomingdale and Alonso - reside in the same district.

"It really speaks volumes for itself on how tough our district really is," Riverview coach Wili Sargable said.

If it doesn't, consider two other teams - Sickles (ninth) and Gaither (10th) - managed top-10 finishes at the county meet, while all eight of the district's county representatives finished in the top 15, with East Bay and Plant City placing 14th and 15th, respectively. And the ninth district representative, Lakeland, is no slouch, either. The Dreadnaughts recently placed fifth in the Polk County Championships.

"The thing with that district is there are solid guys in every weight class," Bloomingdale coach Donny Peek said. "Almost all of us have full lineups, and most are tough from top to bottom."

All of it sets up for a very tough day of competition in the opening meet of the postseason.

"It's going to be a dogfight," Sargable said. "I think it's wide open, I really do. I think Durant is probably the frontrunner. However, us and Bloomingdale and even Alonso, we're going to be in there battling. We're not going to lay down."

SOLID OUTING: Each of Tampa Bay Christian's four wrestlers placed in the top six over the weekend at the 2009 John Raich Memorial Tournament at Jupiter, helping the Rams finish 10th in the 31-team field.

Kevin Norstrem improved to 34-1 on the season after winning the 112-pound title. Victor Fugate (103 pounds) finished third, while David Alonso (130) and Travis Berridge (119) placed sixth.

SCHEDULE

DISTRICT TOURNAMENTS

Wednesday

Class 2A-District 9 at Seminole

Friday

Class 2A-District 7 at Winter Haven

Class 2A-District 8 at Jefferson

Class 1A-District 9 at Mulberry

Class 1A-District 10 at

Clearwater Central Catholic

Saturday

Class 3A-District 5 at East Bay