Hoppe, Westminster Runners Highlight Local Sports

  High School cross country runners took to Larry and Penny Thompson park for the annual Junior Orange Bowl Classic Invitational.

  Westminster Christian’s Victoria Hoppe (pictured at right) finished seventh overall to lead the local contingent.

  Teammate Natasha Strump took ninth, with Coral Reef’s Briana Vergara taking 10th.

  Homestead freshman Antravia Snow impressed with a victory in the girls’ 5k open run.

Coral Shores Wins Meet

  CoralShores senior Collin Dickerson separated himself from the pack with a strong performance in a 7-team meet at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

  Leading the way, Dickerson finished the 3.1 mile course in 18.01.

  Bobby O’Shaben, Bernie Lietaert, Jack Yeaker, and Mason Baker all helped contribute to the Canes’ team victory.

  On the girls’ side, Marissa Bogue finished fifth to help lead the Lady Canes to a fourth place finish as a team.

Westminster To Face Palmer Trinity At District Finals

  Both Westminster and Palmer Trinity breezed their way through preliminary matches against MarathonHigh School and ArchimedanSchool respectively.

  The first game was Westminster facing a 4 loss MarathonHigh School.

  The first set started off sluggish as the two were tied at 7-7. However, the Warriors were able to pull away with the set and closed it with an impressive kill by Nikkia Benitez.

Westminster’s momentum continued in the second set as it featured 20 consecutive service points by Gabrielle Miller. They won the set 25-3.

  The Warriors closed the match with another dominate set with a score of 25-3.

  Palmer Trinity looked to have a similar result right after the Warriors played as they faced the Archimedan Owls.

  Palmer Trinity too had a slow start in their first set as they were down 3-5 at one point. A quick timeout quickly turned the set around and the Falcons closed it out with a score of 25-10.

  The Falcons steamrolled through the second set as junior Grace Hibshman completed the set winning block with a set score of 25-9.

  A straight set win was sealed by Juliette Hamilton’s ace leaving a set score of 25-8.

Since these two teams won, they will face each other for the district title on Thursday night at Westminster’s gym at 7.

  When asked what he is doing to prepare against a balanced Warriors team, Palmer Trinity Head Coach William Gonzalez said “Minimizing error and maximizing our confidence.”

South Dade Falls

  South Dade volleyball fell to TERRA in a 5-set thriller (25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 24-26, 15-13).

  Despite coming back from a two-set deficit, South Dade was undone by Grace Cope’s 14 kill performance.

Coral Shores Toppled By Marathon

  CoralShores saw early-season victories against their rivals avenged as they fell to Marathon in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-22).

  Melissa Helphrey performed well, keeping Marathon’s defense on its heels, but the Dolphins used lessons learned over three regular season and one pre-season loss to help defeat the Lady Canes.

FHSAA Announces Return of Student Spirit Competition

  Following the success of the inaugural Sunshine State Spirit Showdown, the Florida High School Athletic Association will bring back the statewide sportsmanship and school spirit video contest for the 2014-15 school year.

  “We were very pleased with the creative responses from last year’s contest and we are looking forward to growing this contest in the upcoming school year,” said FHSAA Executive Director Dr. Roger Dearing.

“The Sunshine State Spirit Showdown personifies pride and passion for one’s school while promoting sportsmanship and it is always great to recognize the enthusiasm that makes high school athletics such a draw for students, parents, coaches and fans.”

  All FHSAA member schools are invited to participate by uploading videos to www.fhsaa.org/upload.

The videos must range from 90 seconds to three minutes, including at least 30 seconds of why that school’s student section is the best in Florida, and be submitted by February 2, 2015 to be eligible for consideration.

  Fans will then have the chance to vote for their favorite video through a Survey Monkey link on FHSAA social media platforms, with voting lasting from February 12 to March 12, and those online votes will enhance the selected school’s score.

  Members of FHSAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will evaluate all submissions on March 13.

  The winning school will be announced on March 16 and will receive a plaque and banner from FHSAA.

  Full details about the Sunshine State Spirit Showdown contest, including how to enter, video specifications and how the winner will be determined, are available at http://www.fhsaa.org/departments/special-programs/sunshin