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New Lineup Affects Wrestling

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By DAREK SHARP

dsharp@tampatrib.com

Published: April 1, 2009

PLANT CITY - The Florida High School Athletics Association has finished up the grand realignment plan for its sports, and the proposed changes vary from negligible to noteworthy.

For the Durant and Plant City wrestling teams, the FHSAA's new districts put them definitively on the latter side of that scale.

With the schools anticipating the loss of several hundred students to Strawberry Crest, both Durant and Plant City were dropped from wrestling's largest classification of schools (3A) down to 2A.

Anyone who follows the sport around here might instantly say, not good news, because Brandon has been dominating 2A in the state for nearly a decade.

But as fate would have it, Brandon just so happens to be moving up to 3A next year. And that's just fine with Durant coach Dennis Kitko.

"To say the least, we are super excited to be where we are," Kitko said. Basically the Cougars stand a much better chance at bringing more wrestlers to the state meet.

If the new districts are upheld - schools had until last week to request a move in or out of a district due to geographical concerns, but there likely won't be many changes - then Durant immediately gains an advantage.

To start, the Cougars, along with Plant City, would be in a smaller and at first glance much easier district (2A-9). Durant finished second in the most recent District 3A-5 meet; the other teams that finished in the top four (champ Bloomingdale, Alonso, Riverview) all stay in Class 3A.

The new 2A-9 will have Armwood, Blake, East Bay, Hillsborough, King and Sickles along with Plant City and Durant.
Wrestlers must finish in the top four of their weight class at the district tournament level, then must do the same at the regional meet to advance to the state finals. Plant City's new region includes schools from Pinellas County, but none of them big powers (like Countryside or East Lake), along with schools from the Manatee/Charlotte/Lee county area.

Kissimmee Osceola, which merely won the state 3A title this year, is no longer in Durant and Plant City's region.

Other sports the FHSAA announced realignment proposals for in mid-March were cross country, golf and swimming. Essentially the non-"game" sports were all taken care of at the same time.

Durant's swimmers are, for the first time, not in the same classification as Plant City. The Cougars drop from 3A to 2A where their new district opponents will be Armwood, Blake, East Bay, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Jesuit, King, Leto, Sickles, Spoto.

Plant City will have it significantly tougher in the sport: state power Newsome moves into 3A-4.

In cross country, Plant City and Durant will still be in the highest Class (4A), but the district meet will take on a vastly different feel. Instead of running against all Tampa Bay area teams, 4A-3 will have 15 schools from the Orlando area and only Plant City, Durant, Bloomingdale and Newsome from east Hillsborough.

Golf does not encounter much of a difference at all. In fact, the proposed 2A-11 is nearly identical to the league Plant City and Durant has been in. King and Spoto are gone, replaced by Tampa Bay Tech.

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