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Photo Gallery: Sanding Ovations, Nov. 17, 2018

Sand sculpture event draws crowds on Treasure Island Beach

Bishop McLaughlin’s first loss comes in Class 3A final

Bishop McLaughlin wasn’t pulling any punches after its 25-16, 25-16, 25-22 loss to Doral Divine Savior Academy on Saturday afternoon in the Class 3A state final. As the Hurricanes (30-1) stood on the Suncoast Credit Union Arena floor watching the Sharks celebrate their first state title, explanations weren’t hard to come by.

Photos: Shorecrest defeats Benjamin in Class 4A Championship

With a sweep Shorecrest took down Benjamin 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22). Despite being district runners-up, Shorecrest (24-4) left no doubt that it is a deserving state champ. After losing to Calvary Christian in the regular season and the Class 4A, District 4 tournament final, the Chargers finally defeated the Warriors 3-1 in the region final. From there, they did not lose a set in their next two matches and lost only one set in the region playoffs.

Photos: Plant’s hot start falls short in Class 8A championship

And after winning the first set, a state title looked very possible. Then the momentum, and Plant’s confidence, started to fade. The Raiders won the second set by two points and never looked back in a 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-19) win at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Plant (27-2) was trying to win its 11th state championship in school history. St. Thomas Aquinas (26-5) won its sixth state title.

Photo Gallery: Friday night lights, the playoffs

Game highlights from Friday’s games as the top high school teams in Tampa Bay battled for the win.

Fans line up early for a chance at Hamilton tickets

Customers started arriving at 4:30 a.m., even though they knew made no difference. The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts opened single-ticket sales for Hamilton on Friday, the biggest milestone so far after two years of planning. The show runs Feb. 12, 2019 until March 10.