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Locals earn Southeast titles

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY

nmurray@tampatrib.com

Published: May 13, 2009

Katie Burke of Hillsborough and Plant High's women's varsity 8 each won championships at the Southeast Youth Championship in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Sunday, the last stop before the scholastic national championships in Mercer, N.J., on May 22-23.

Burke entered the single sculls as the No. 1 seed after her victory at the Florida state championship in April, and lived up to the billing. But Burke wasn't completely happy with her performance.

"I was happy to win, but I think I was more happy with my race in my heat," Burke said. "The final, the first half, I was struggling, hitting some buoys and stuff. The second half, I picked it up and did what I had to do to win. I'm glad that I won, but I wish I'd had a bigger distance to the second person."

Plant's women's 8 continued the dominant form it showed in winning a state title as the crew of Molly Hamrick, Elisabeth Murray, Louisa Isbell, Sarah Smythe, Parker Hodges, Christianne Biggane, Taylor Athan, Ashley Bennett and cox Aubrey Larson put in a stronger performance in both their heat and the final.

"They won the final by a considerable amount," Coach Sky Elliott said. "I think we're confident in our ability to race hard, confident in our ability to turn it on."

Elliott added the crew performed well, but that there were one or two small things it could improve on as it prepares for the scholastic nationals.

"We have a couple of things we could be just a little better at going into scholastic nationals, so we're looking forward to working on those things," Elliott said. "I'm really happy that they were able to sustain the 2,000-meter race. We don't normally race 2,000 meters, so to go out and be competitive over 2,000 meters gives us so mental confidence."

Local soccer teams ready for State Cup

RSL Florida boys under-18 coach Steve Wolf remembers what it was like for him as a player to reach the Florida State Cup final four.

"This is really what you play for," Wolf said. "It's all about the memories you can create. I know when I was a kid I won a couple with the Clearwater Chargers, and it's something I'll never forget."

Three teams from RSL Florida and two from Black Watch will try to win a state title this weekend. Wolf's team will be without midfielder Domenic Cutrofello, who recently suffered a broken ankle, as they take on St. Petersburg's Strictly Soccer on Saturday.

"We have the greatest respect for Strictly Soccer, we've played them a couple of times this year, and they've been just brilliant matches," Wolf said. "I believe this game will go either way, I have great respect for their program."

RSL's girls under-18 team will be aiming to repeat as state champions, while the boys under-15 team will be trying to make their third consecutive trip to the final four. Coach Mo Loregnard's team has fallen in the final the past two seasons, but he is confident his squad can learn from past disappointments.

"The first thing we've been stressing to the guys was to get back to that position, to win the semifinal and get back to the final," Loregnard said. "Then, hopefully, we finish off the task by winning it all. We've been stressing to the group how important it is to be focused and ready from beginning to end."

RSL could meet Black Watch's boys under-15 team in the final, if Black Watch advances past Kendall in the semifinals. Black Watch's boys under-16 team is also in the semifinals, and will face SAA-Real Madrid. Black Watch coach Roland Moldovan's squad contains a number of 15-year-olds, all of whom are highly accomplished, including U.S. under-15 national team player Atsouh Ayah.

"I was very pleased, especially because it's our second year making it to the final four," Moldovan said. "I think it says something about this group of players. We have six under-15 players on our roster, and five are starters, so I'm very pleased with the way they approached the whole tournament."

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243.

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