Six boys and five girls teams are still in contention for a berth in the Anne Arundel County public school basketball championship games set for Feb. 26 at North County's new gym as play resumes tonight. No games were scheduled last night because of primary elections.
No. 10 Old Mill (16-2 overall) is 10-2 and in first place in the boys league, and the Patriots visit South River (5-13, 3-9) tonight.
Arundel (14-4) and No. 13 Broadneck (13-5), the defending champion, follow in second place at 9-3, with Annapolis (13-5), North County (11-7) and Severna Park (11-7) all 8-4.
With four games left, it is one of the closest races in recent memory.
"I thought coming into the season it was going to be pretty balanced and that four or five teams would be pretty good," Annapolis coach John Brady said. "Old Mill and Broadneck got off to good starts along with Arundel."
After losing, 62-51, to Broadneck in early January, Brady's Panthers won seven straight before losing at Broadneck, 65-56, on Friday.
Annapolis lost, 61-60, to Broadneck in last year's county final after Old Mill had taken the two previous title games.
"I told a lot of people early in the season that the teams who would play for the county championship would change drastically as we went along," Broadneck coach John Williams said. "I knew several teams would be involved at the end, and they are."
The only definite is the No. 3 Arundel girls (13-4), who lead their league at 12-0, with Meade (11-6), Old Mill (14-4) and No. 14 South River (13-5) all at 9-3. No. 10 Southern is 8-4.
Arundel has won the past four county championship games and shared the title with Severna Park in 2003, when snow prevented the game form being played.
Swimming -- Broadneck won the boys title and Severna Park the girls in the Anne Arundel County championships Friday at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center. With Doug McWhorter setting a county record in the 50-yard freestyle at 22.65 seconds, finishing second in the 100 butterfly and swimming a leg on two gold-medal relays, the Broadneck boys rolled up 121 points. South River was runner-up with 85 points, followed by Annapolis (80) and Severna Park (79). Charlie Melesh of Annapolis set a county record in the 100 butterfly at 55.41. Sophomore twin sisters Emily and Sarah Lloyd led Severna Park to the girls title by 135-112 over Broadneck, with South River a distant third with 89.
Quick hits -- The state boys and girls basketball draw is set for Feb. 24 at Long Reach High in Howard County at 10 a.m. ... On Monday and Tuesday, the state indoor track and field championships will be held at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. The Class 1A and 2A meets are set for Monday, with the 3A and 4A the next day. ... Junior Taylor Petrisko scored 12 points to lead Chesapeake (5-12) to a 31-30 upset of Meade (11-6) in girls basketball Friday. ... Severn opened its new gym, the Edward St. John Athletic Center, on Friday with a 53-51 win over rival St. Mary's. Marvin Smith led the Admirals (14-9) with 17 points.