For the fifth consecutive year, Dr. Phillips Competitive Cheerleading brought home the FHSAA State Championship and tied with Women’s Swimming in the Dr. Phillips Record Books for the most consecutive state titles in school history. For the ladies it was business as usual, as they have won every FHSAA competition since the sport was recognized by the state in 2009. The Panthers (81.7) held off second place Lakeland (75.6) on the strength of their execution but predominantly on the difficulty level of their stunts, which continues to raise the bar every year.
At the Wrestling District Championship, DP crowned three champions and a runner-up as the team took home a fifth place finish. Senior Justus Griffith (27-4) captured his second consecutive title with a 4-2 decision over Apopka in the 113 pound class. In the 195 pound division, junior Edison Munnings (24-7) continued his post-season surge with a 5-3 decision over Lyman. Sophomore Colby Meeks (22-4) capped a sensational tournament with a pin over Apopka 28 seconds into the third period. Sophomore Garrett Aycock (20-12) earned a runner-up silver medal in the 120 pound class while sophomore David Hellinger (33-12) also qualified for next week’s Regional Tournament with a fourth place finish at 182 pounds.
Men’s Basketball traveled to the Mosaic Stinger Shootout in Bartow last night for a battle with defending 5A State Champion Lake Wales and that’s exactly what it turned out to be. The teams were tied 32-32 at the half. DP fell behind by as many as nine in the third quarter before storming back in the fourth quarter to take a 72-70 lead on a David Stephen three-pointer and a free throw with 30 seconds left in regulation. Lake Wales went the length of the court, drove in for the tying layup and drew the foul with eight seconds remaining. The potential game-winning free throw was off the mark but the Lake Wales shooter fought for the rebound, pulled the ball back beyond the arc and threw up a wild one-handed three-pointer that found it’s way in at the buzzer for the 75-72 win. A tough loss for the Panthers but they showed solid effort in fighting back when the game seemed to be getting away from them. RaShawn Powell led the Panthers (18-7) with 33 points, Tyriefe Beard finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, and David Stephen added seven points and seven rebounds. DP, seeded second, will travel down to Cypress Creek for the District Tournament to take on third-seeded Freedom at 6:00 pm Wednesday in a must-win game to advance to the title game as well as the Regional Tournament the following week.
DP Softball started their seaon yesterday with a pre-season doubleheader with visiting Satellite and the Panthers came away with a split. In the first game, DP allowed a pair of fist-inning runs but exploded for eight runs of their own in the fifth inning to win going away. In the second game, Satellite jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and withstood a three-run DP rally in the final inning to hang on for the victory. Sophomore Donna Ryan filled the scorebook, going 7 for 7 on the day while Caitlin Jones knocked in four runs. Kaley Eastwood had a solid day at the plate with outstanding situational hitting and freshman Rebekah Boggs picked up a pair of infield hits and scored the first run in DP’s late rally in game two. They’ll open the regular season Tuesday at home vs. East River.
