Avon Park senior James Bland became the first state wrestling champion in school history when he won the 160-pound weight class at the Class 1A state tournament in Lakeland on Saturday night. Bland outpointed Tronic Williams of South Fort Myers 14-5 to win the gold medal. Red Devil senior Jace Grimmett won his semifinal match on Saturday morning to reach the finals in the heavyweight class CHECK BACK FOR DETAILS AND MORE RESULTS ...more

February 21, 2009

It's hard to find much to complain about following an undefeated season, but after three regional and district championships, James Bland's experienced enough to know improvement is always possible. ...more

February 20, 2009

Three Red Devils were crowned regional champions and the Avon Park wrestling team furthered its growing reputation on the mat Saturday at the Class 1A-Region 2 meet at Matanzas High School. ...more

February 16, 2009

James Bland, Kemosi Hatten and Jace Grimmett each won regional titles on Saturday night and the Avon Park wrestling team missed out on a team regional championship by the closest of margins at the Class 1A-Region 2 meet at Matanzas High School. ...more

February 15, 2009

Avon Park's James Bland, Kemosi Hatten, Jace Grimmett, Omar Torres, Charles Hubbard and Alvin Moore won individual district titles on Thursday night and the Red Devil wrestling team won the program's first-ever district championship with a dominating performance at the Class 1A-District 8 meet at Lake Wales High School. ...more

February 6, 2009

Where there's smoke, there'll be barbecued chicken and pork - at least in downtown Tampa today. ...more

November 15, 2008

Fire Chief Walter Mathews liked to stand up in his Hudson Touring Car while his driver charged to fires. The brazen act eventually cost Mathews his life in 1929. While speeding to the burning Alhambra Café on Franklin Street, one of his cars collided with an aerial truck at the corner of Cass Street and Florida Avenue. ...more

September 1, 2008

Nearly three months after code violations forced 13 men to leave Liberty Manor, the shelter for homeless veterans is ready to welcome them back. ...more

July 25, 2008

PAXTON — Facing elimination, the Sebring American All-Stars let their bats do the talking on Monday night at the AA Pitching Machine state tournament. ...more

July 1, 2008

PAXTON –– The Sebring American Pitching Machine All-Stars got off to a solid start at the AA State Tournament on Saturday with a 9-4 victory over East Lakeland. Gabe Gomez and Everett Hurst were 4 for 4, Scott Hamilton was 3 for 4, Brian Lane was 2 for 3 and Jan Martinez added two hits to send Sebring into the winners' bracket. Hunter Martinez, Dalton Baker, Jace Lewis, Clint Patrick and Logan Gregis each added hits. Sebring scored five runs in the pivotal third inning and jumped out to a 9-1 lead after four innings. "We gutted it out," said Sebring coach Eric Lewis. "We threw it around a bit, but I'm real proud of all of them." ...more

June 30, 2008