Bracy is the defending state champion in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4×100-meter relay. He posted the fastest 100-meter time in the country as a sophomore with a wind-aided mark of 10.19 seconds.

Over the weekend, Bracy recorded a time of 10.26 in the 100-meter dash at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Jones High School sophomore Levonte Whitfield (10.53) finished second.

A number of other local student-athletes also turned in impressive marks at the annual meet.

Chris Curtis of Dr. Phillips took fourth in the triple jump (44-feet, 5 inches) while Colonial’s Derek Knott came in sixth (44-feet).

The 4×1600-meter relay team from Dr. Phillips placed second (18:05.96) and the 4×100-meter relay team at Jones placed third (41.72).

Wekiva senior Jovan Davis took second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.37) and third in the long jump (22-09.75), while Wekiva’s 4×200-meter relay team took third at 1:28.07 to finish just ahead of Jones.

Bracy will be challenged in the Dream 100 by Remontay McClain of Covina, Calif., who was the winner of the adidas Meet of Champions. The defending California state champion in the 100 meter and 200 meter has recorded a top-time of 10.35 seconds in the 100.

In its seventh year, the adidas Grand Prix will take place at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island. Visit www.adidasgrandprix.com for more information.

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The Florida Collegiate Summer League recently announced the formation of a new wood-bat baseball league to its operations beginning this summer.

The Futures Wood-bat League (FWL) will provide an opportunity for graduated high school seniors and current college players the chance to tune their skills and get a head start on their college baseball careers prior to ever walking on campus.

FWL players will consist of those who have signed National Letters of Intent and are on pace to play college baseball in the Fall of 2011. The league will provide a collegiate-level playing experience for its participants.

The FWL will consist of four teams with small rosters, ensuring adequate playing time and repetitions for all participants. Each team will play a 20-25 game season on the same quality fields that Florida Collegiate Summer League teams use. Games will be played locally in Central Florida during the months of June and July.

“With the launch of the FWL, we are pleased to provide a transitional and highly competitive opportunity for the college baseball stars of tomorrow,” FCSL Vice-President and FWL Director Stefano Foggi said. ”The league will feature some of the best players from the state of Florida, and will be the highest level of play available at this age.”

More information is available by emailing sfoggi@floridaleague.com or calling 321-206-9174.

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In a rematch of last year’s finale, the Wildcats won 52-44 over Dr. Phillips behind a game-high 25 points from Rivers. The Duke signee shot just 8-of-25 from the field but pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Neither team shot particularly well as Winter Park (28-5) went just 4-of-20 from beyond the arc and Dr. Phillips (27-6) finished 3-of-19 from long range. The Panthers also struggled from the free throw line, going 5-of-15 on the night.

Winter Park led by six points for much of the second half before the Panthers tied the game at 34-all with five minutes to play. Dr. Phillips closed the gap when they got a layup and free throw from Shane Larkin, followed by a 3-pointer by Isaac Lane.

The Wildcats took over from there, though, as Rivers ignited an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer of his own. Three buckets from BillyDee Williams and a tip-in by Brett Comer followed to put the Wildcats on top for good at 45-34 with two-and-a-half minutes to go.

“To repeat and get another state championship with my team, that means everything to me and our community,” Rivers said afterwards. “We’re so blessed to be here.”

Rivers entered the game averaging 28.8 points and six rebounds per game. Austin Keel scored 11 points for Winter Park. Williams added seven points.

Larkin ended his career with 10 points (4-of-13 shooting), 10 rebounds and seven assists. He entered the game averaging 19 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists and has committed to DePaul University.

Dr. Phillips got a team-high 12 points and five rebounds from Darius Andrews.

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Jones (25-6) lost 60-54 to Tallahassee Rickards despite a game-high 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting from senior Angelo Warner. Matt Williams finished with 12 points and seven rebounds while DeMarcus Croaker added 11 points for Jones.

The Tigers trailed for much of the night before Warner put Jones up 24-22 on a drive to the hoop with close to five minutes to play in the third quarter. The teams battled back-and-forth throughout the second half.

Warner helped Jones go up 46-39 with four minutes left in regulation, but Rickards closed out the fourth on a 9-2 run from there. A free throw by Rickards’ Jakari Bush with 1:22 remaining eventually sent the game in overtime tied at 48-all.

The Tigers quickly fell behind by six points in the extra period and never recovered. Jones knocked down only 3-of-18 tries from beyond the arc on the night. Rickards made 51-percent of its shots from the field.

In the early game, The First Academy lost 53-41 to Weston Sagemont after blowing an eight-point halftime lead.

The Royals held Sagemont to just 28-percent from the field in the first half but were outscored 38-18 in the final two quarters. TFA (25-6) gave up the lead for good with 7:44 to play when UCF signee Rod Days, Jr. hit two free throws to put Sagemont up 30-29. Days was held to just nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.

The First Academy had trouble shooting from long-range throughout, connecting on just 2-of-16 shots from three-range. The Royals were also outrebounded 42-20.

Dillon Graham led TFA with 18 points and four rebounds. Taylor Akers chipped in 12 points with four rebounds and two assists.

On Wednesday, Orlando Christian Prep’s bid at winning a fourth-straight title ended in the Class 1A semifinals, where the Warriors (24-6) lost 42-41 to West Palm Beach Summit Christian.

Three more local teams hit the hardwood today in semifinal matchups. Leesburg (26-4) takes the court first against Tampa Blake (28-2) at 2:30 p.m. in Class 4A.

In Class 6A, Dr. Phillips (26-5) faces Miramar (20-7) at 4 p.m. while Winter Park (26-5) takes on Miami Columbus (29-3) at 7 p.m. The Wildcats defeated Dr. Phillips in the state title game a year ago.

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“We just had to play our game at that’s what we did,” Griffey said afterwards.

The daughter of former major leaguer Ken Griffey, Jr. put Dr. Philips (31-2) ahead 51-39 with four minutes to go in regulation after taking a steal the other way for an easy layup.

The Rams (30-3) responded by closing out the quarter on a 14-2 run behind baskets from Morgan Jones, Sarah Taylor, Alexis Fitts and Peggy Smith, who hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining to tie the game. But the game-winning shot in the final seconds came up short for the Rams from atop the arc.

Lake Mary outscored Dr. Phillips 23-14 in the final period but were unable to carry that momentum over.

In overtime, Arianna Cumbie and Griffey each knocked down shots to put Dr. Phillips up by four points before Jones and Taylor tied the game up on trips to the free throw line. Following Griffey’s free throw to put the Panthers ahead for the final time, the last two shots of the game came up empty for Lake Mary.

The win gives Dr. Phillips its first state title since 1992 and the program’s second win of the season over last year’s champion.

The game was tied at 20-20 at the break. Dr. Phillips took a 39-30 lead after three quarters.

“Once we knew how to break their press and break their defense it was easy from then on,” Griffey said. She finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-15 attempts and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Hannah Schaible grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for Dr. Phillips while classmate Sydnei McCaskill led all players with six assists. McCaskill also finished with eight points and seven rebounds. The Panthers played with just one junior and one senior throughout the season.

Jones, one of four senior starters for Lake Mary, finished with a game-high 20 points (7-of-26) and seven rebounds. She will play her college ball at Northwestern next year. Taylor finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

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On Friday, Lake Mary (29-2) takes on Miami Dr. Krop at 4 p.m. followed by Dr. Phillips (29-2) against Hollywood South Broward at 8:30 p.m. in semifinal games.

The Panthers were the only local team to defeat Lake Mary this season when they won 62-51 on Dec. 11. The Rams only other loss came by one point against Hollywood Christian.

Dr. Phillips suffered losses lost to Olympia and Edgewater this season.

Also still in the hunt for state titles are Port Orange Atlantic in Class 3A and Leesburg in Class 4A. Atlantic (21-7) plays Tampa Catholic tonight at 8:30 p.m. while Leesburg (23-6) faces St. Petersburg Lakewood on Friday at 10 a.m.

Ronni Williams averages 21.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for Atlantic. Leesburg has gotten 13.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game from Ashley Perry and 13.2 points from Baylie Bridges this season.

Lake Mary senior Morgan Jones leads the defending 6A state champs with 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Senior Sarah Taylor is averaging 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 steals.

The young squad at Dr. Phillips has been led by freshman Taryn Griffey, the daughter of former Major League Baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr., along with Sydnei McCaskill and Hannah Schaible. Griffey averages over 15 points and 7 rebounds per game.

The Panthers lost in the state semifinals last year 46-42 to Miami Lourdes, the team Lake Mary beat by nine points in the title game. Lake Mary lost 27-25 to Miami Norland in the 2009 state finals.

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The match took nine rounds of penalty kicks to decide. The final attempt by Torin Theilhelm sailed high over the crossbar, giving Fort Lauderdale University School a 9-8 win.

Although neither team could miss up to that point, a substitution in goal by the Highlanders was nearly enough to help them get the decision.

After the first five penalty kicks got past LHP starter Ethan Willings, Steven Sahlsten was in position to stop each of the next three attempts but was unable to do so. The University keeper was then called upon to boot in what would prove to be the winning goal.

The teams battled to a 0-0 tie after 100 minutes of play, much of which took place in the middle of the field where a stalemate unfolded. Shots on goal were few and far between.

Lake Highland saw its best chances to score come by way of inbound throws from Conner Willings. But any attempts by the Highlanders to follow up those tosses were thwarted by University.

The first real opportunity came less than 10 minutes into the first half, on a header from Michael Rasmussen that landed just off its mark. Moments later freshman Austin Fort got his foot on a loose ball inside the goal box but had that shot knocked away by the keeper.

Rasmussen nearly broke the tie with 29 minutes left in the game when he chased the ball down deep inside the box. But a shot off his left foot was blocked by the timely slide of a defender.

It was Lake Highland’s first trip to the title game after losing five times in the semifinals since 2002.

The Highlanders were the only boys soccer team to advance to the state finals last week. Port Orange Spruce Creek lost 2-1 to Miami Varela in its second trip to the Class 6A state semifinals and Celebration had its season come to a close in a 4-0 loss to Cape Coral in a Class 4A semifinal.

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The District 6 champs meet up with Cape Coral today at 5:15 p.m. in a Class 4A state semifinal at the University of Tampa.

Celebration (16-1-3) had been led this season by Santiago Echeverri, a player who not only scored goals but constantly created for teammates. He had tallied 19 goals and nine assists before a red card in the district championship ended his year.

Playing without a kid who first-year Celebration coach Julio Machuca calls one of the best high school player he’s ever been around, the Storm carried on with an increased level of play while out on the pitch.

“We overcame by doing a good job of playing team soccer,” Machuca said. “Tactically, this team has played really well and has stepped it up a notch.”

Celebration prepared for today’s game by simply concentrating on what they do best throughout the week, which Machuca said is playing a possession-based style of soccer.

“It’s important to be really secure on our end,” he said.

Busloads of Celebration High School supporters are expected to turn out in Tampa to cheer on the Storm.

Also competing in the final four is Lake Highland Prep (17-7) and Port Orange Spruce Creek (26-1-4).

Lake Highland has lost in the state semifinals five times since 2002. They take on Fort Myers Bishop Verot in Class 3A today at 12:45 p.m.

Spruce Creek fell a game short of playing for a title in 2008. They’ve drawn Miami Varela on Friday at 3 p.m. in Class 6A action.

Celebration is playing in its sixth postseason tournament. They lost to New Port Richey Mitchell, the eventual state champs, in the region finals a year ago.

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Oviedo (25-3-1) defeated Vero Beach (22-4-2) on penalty kicks 3-2 in the Class 6A title game at the University of Tampa’s Pepin Stadium.

The match was as close as the final score would indicate.

Sarah Buckley was the first to connect on a penalty kick for Oviedo, but the Lions trailed 2-1 with each team down to its final two attempts.

Meagan Borger and Morgan Campbell converted for the Lions from there. But it ultimately came down to freshman goalkeeper Lindsay Preston, who dove to her left to make the final save of the game.

“She’s a great keeper,” Campbell said of Preston afterwards. “She’s been practicing those PK’s all season. She’s been diving left and right and saving them the whole time, so I believed in her.”

Oviedo trailed 1-0 when Vero Beach got a goal with 26 minutes remaining in the first half. And despite coming close to repeatedly tying things up, the Lions would not do so until just 10 minutes were left in regulation.

That’s when Campbell took possession of the ball in the left side of the box and sent a shot to the back of the far corner of the net. The goal was all the Lions would need to extend the game.

Oviedo maintained its aggressive play from there, getting five more solid shots on goal before going back on the attack in the two overtime periods.

“It was just the will to win,” Oviedo coach Scott Waisanen said. “Our girls wanted it so bad, more than anything else.”

On Friday the Lions earned a 2-1 win over Miami Palmetto to advance to the championship when Katie O’ Kennedy scored with only seconds to spare in double overtime. Campbell also scored on a free kick earlier in the match.

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