Mike Ridaught
With the turn of the calendar to February, the winter sports seasons begin to heat up with postseason play.
The girls and boys soccer district tournaments are wrapping up this week with regional tournament play beginning next week. The girls begin on Feb. 8, followed by the regional quarterfinals for boys on Feb. 9.
The Buchholz (Gainesville) girls, who were guests on The Prep Zone sports show at Sonic Drive-In last Wednesday, will play for the Class 6A-District 2 title on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Lincoln (Tallahassee),
Meanwhile, the P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) girls, who just won their third straight district title this past Saturday, will be guests on the show this Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. You can listen to the show on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and online at IamCountryRadio.com.
The P.K. Yonge boys were guests two weeks ago. The Blue Wave, who are 17-1-1 and ranked ninth in the state in Class 3A by MaxPreps, will play Newberry on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the 3A-District 4 semifinals.
The FHSAA Girls Soccer Finals will be held Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, while the boys championships take place Feb. 24 and Feb. 26. They will be held at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
Last week marked the end of the regular season for girls basketball. District tournament play begins on Tuesday.
The best team in the Mainstreet coverage area is likely Hawthorne (1A-District 8), which is ranked third in the state in Class 1A by MaxPreps and sixth in the all-classification regional rankings.
However, Gainesville (6A-District 3), Fort White (1A-District 6), and Trenton (1A-District 7) are all No. 1 seeds in their respective district tournaments.
Also keep an eye on No. 2 seeds Suwannee (Live Oak) in 4A-District 2, P.K. Yonge (3A-District 2), Bradford (Starke) in 1A-District 6, and Newberry (1A-District 7).
The regional tournaments begin on Thursday, Feb. 10. The FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals will be held at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Feb. 23-26.
State championship events are as early as next week. The FHSAA Girls Weightlifting championships will be held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 10-12, at Port St. Joe High School.
The FHSAA Wrestling state championships take place the first week of March at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. District and regional tournaments take place the next few weeks.
This is the last week of the regular season for boys basketball.
The district tournaments begin next week, followed by regional play, which begins on Thursday, Feb. 17, and concluding with the state tournament in Lakeland the first week of March.
The month of February will be super busy.
Boys weightlifting began today and the first date of the regular season for lacrosse and tennis is Monday, Feb. 14. Softball, baseball, and track & field begin their regular seasons on Monday, Feb. 21.