Wharton Invitational victory keeps Sickles on top of Coaches Poll

Posted Jan 26, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jan 26, 2010 at 01:13 PM

Sickles’ dominant performance in the Wharton Invitational kept the Gryphons on top of the Hillsborough County Coaches Boys Soccer Poll entering this week’s district championships, as the top eight teams in poll remained unmoved.

The Gryphons also moved up five places in the latest ESPN Rise Fab 50 rankings, released on Tuesday, moving them into the No.17 slot in the rankings.

The only changes saw Tampa Prep move up one spot to No.9, and Wharton enter the poll as Berkeley Prep dropped out of the rankings.

The district tournaments could see multiple top five match-ups. Tonight sees No.2 Plant City and No.4 East Bay face off in the Class 5A-District 8 semifinals, and the winner could face No.5 Newsome in Friday’s final. No.1 Sickles and No.3 Gaither could also meet in the Class 5A-Disrict 9 final.

The full poll is listed below:

1. Sickles (19-1-2)
2. Plant City (12-1-2)
3. Gaither (13-3-1)
4. East Bay (13-3-1)
5. Newsome (12-4-3)
6. Steinbrenner (10-2-2)
7. Jesuit (14-4-3)
8. Tampa Catholic (11-4-3)
9. Tampa Prep (12-4-2)
10. Wharton (8-5-2)