INTERNATIONAL DOMINATION

10) All the old hippies who would normally care have sold their homes and moved to Ocala.

9) Marathon residents are too busy bitching about vacation rentals to care about anything else right now.

8) The cause has nothing to do with real estate, fishing or drinking.

7) The organizers use Tik Tok. Marathon prefers MySpace.

6) If it doesn’t affect the price of Tito’s, it doesn’t affect me.

5) Only liberals protest. And you know how Marathon feels about liberals.

4) Protests require dedication, planning and volunteers. ’Nuff said.

3) There is no real data that the movement will actually “put heads in beds.”

2) The assembly doesn’t include a silent auction, cash bar, goodie bags or commemorative T-shirt.

1) Your protest conflicts with Happy Hour.

The Kelly McGillis Classic is an annual women’s flag football tournament in Key West that draws dozens of teams from the U.S., Central America, Europe and Asia for three days of competition in the southernmost city.

But as several Marathon squads proved this past weekend, the road to a championship runs, literally and figuratively, through the Middle Keys.

Two Marathon teams captured first place in their respective divisions, with the city’s “Juniors” squad grinding out a 13-6 win in their championship matchup. Meanwhile, the city’s youngsters destroyed all comers, the Marathon Mermaids outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 121-0 en route to their third consecutive title in the “Girls” division.

In another strong showing, the Big Pine Women entered the tournament playoffs seeded third in their “Women’s Higher” division, going 2-1 over their first three matches before falling to eventual champion Blue Wave.

— Alex Rickert

Keys Weekly

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

Eddy Espinosa

The Scoreboard

Eddy Espinosa during the Hurricanes’ rivalry matchup against Key West. ELLA HALL/Keys Weekly

Senior, Coral Shores Basketball

This Week In Keys Sports

played the best game of his career in the win over Key West.”

Coral Shores’ Eddy Espinosa has been a key contributor to the Hurricanes’ machine that has dominated Keys basketball all season. The past few games, though, Espinosa has made it clear that he is not just a contributor; he is a force in his own right.

– Coral Shores head coach Jarrod Mandozzi

Espinosa stepped up and helped lead his team to eight consecutive wins and counting. In the ’Canes’ big Jan. 24 win over Key West, Espinosa dropped 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Head coach Jarrod Mandozzi said that the team has had many athletes step up throughout the season, but last week, “Eddy Espinosa was lights out, easily having his best game of the season.”

A dependable player all year, Espinosa stepped up when his team needed him and helped hand Coral Shores this year’s Kings of the Keys title with wins over both Marathon and Key West. For his continual effort and willingness to step back and be a team player, but also shoulder the team’s work when needed, Eddy Espinosa is this week’s Keys Weekly Athlete of the Week.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

Marathon claims district title in girls weightlifting

Monroe County’s strongest young women traveled to Miami on Jan. 28 for the FHSAA District 16 Championships, turning in a strong showing for the Keys.

Key West’s 2A girls took third place in both the traditional and Olympic style lifts. Aleksandra Turek brought home a first-place medal in the 199-pound division for the Conchs, granting her an automatic berth at the regional competition. Savannah Chadic and Valerie Thene won second-place medals in the 110and 119-pound weight classes, respectively, earning them at-large bids to regionals. Also qualifying for the Lady Conchs were Danna Correa (110-pound), Ella Hall (119), Neslo Atilla (129), Whitney Nervilus (129), Alexa Condella (139), Dazmine Jenkins (154), Vera Rodger (154), Samantha Ventimiglia (169), Kayle Matas Cabazuelo (169) and Youma Midy (unlimited).

Coral Shores’ Madison Tillman (154) and Sydney Eysenbach (unlimited) won district championship medals in traditional style lifts, qualifying them for the FHSAA 1A Region 4 event. Second-place finishers were Rachel Rusch (110), Lily Hitchcock (139), Jenille Arias (169) and Vanessa Gabriel (unlimited) in traditional lifts and Tillman and Vanessa Gabriel (unlimited) in Olympic style.

A host of Lady Fins will join the Hurricanes at the 1A Region 4 event as Marathon’s entire team advanced to the next round of lifting. Winning first-place medals in both the traditional and Olympic style events were Allie Brabenec (110), Mikkel Ross (129), Justice Lee (169) and Sabrina Schofield (183). Winning first in traditional style were Ella Dunn (101) and Sierra Earnhardt (119). Nicole Merryman (154), Larissa Prieto (119) and Ella Evans (129) took second in traditional style, qualifying them for at-large bids to regionals.

Additional qualifiers for Marathon are Marquisha Abraham (139), Tatyana Hribar (139), Malena Rocafort (154), Cassie Brezil (169) and Angelika Perez (183).

Also qualifying are Coral Shores’ Valentina Rizzo (101), Elizabeth Giordano (110), Leticia Lima (119), Kali Gomer (129),Calista Wittke (129), Mira Jones (129), Emma Leigh (139), Abbie Bergeron (154), Jennille Arias (169), Sahara Hernandez (183), Olivia Wilson (199), Emily Brown (199) and Vanessa Gabriel (unlimited).

Coral Shores and Marathon will travel to Lemon Bay for the 1A Regional Championships on Friday, Feb. 4. Key West’s 2A event will be held at Archbishop McCarthy High School on the same date.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald