Looking for a prep event to take in over the next seven days? Here are a few suggestions:

February 21, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

STATE SWIMMING

Good luck getting a ticket — they aren’t sold at the door and you have to know somebody who knows somebody who’s got a friend to get one — but if you can score one it’s worth the price. Schools like Cincinnati St. Xavier, Columbus Upper Arlington and Gates Mills Hawken annually produce some of the nation’s top swimmers. Add to this the fact the Valley is sending almost 20 swimmers and divers to the meet and it will make for a fun three days … provided they let you in the door.

STATE WRESTLING

Hopefully this won’t jinx him, but Fitch High’s Tony Jameson goes after his fourth consecutive state championship starting next Thursday. Sure, he’s got to qualify out of the district meet this weekend — he has to finish at least fourth — but that should be a mere formality. Just how rare is it to win four straight titles? Only 13 have done in state history.

GIRLS DISTRICT BASKETBALL

Take your pick — there’s six sites with local teams playing in semifinals tonight — and the championships are Saturday afternoon. Tonight’s Boardman-North Canton Hoover showdown (Part 3 for 2007-08) in the Division I event at Alliance is pretty intriguing. The Spartans haven’t fared too well in Parts 1 and 2, losing by seven and 27 points, but something tells us Boardman coach Ron Moschella will have at least a couple of new looks for the Vikings.

Or, there’s the Division II doubleheader at Fitch. The first game features Salem and Struthers — the Wildcats took the measure of 21-0 Southeast last week — with top-seeded Canfield against a dangerous 12-10 Kenston team in the nightcap. The Bombers’ 10 losses have come to teams with a combined 147 wins and seven of them are still alive in the tournament.

Eleven other schools are playing tonight.

The area’s two top teams, Poland and Warren Harding, make their tournament debuts this weekend. The 20-0 Bulldogs play Southeast at Boardman High School Friday night at 6. Poland finished the regular season averaging over 90 points per game, and incredibly, no individual is averaging more than 15. Want another statistic? — the Bulldogs average more than 75 shots per game. Please, if you have a heart, take some Ben-Gay for the scoreboard operator at Boardman.

Saturday at 6 Warren Harding (19-1) takes on Solon in the Warrensville Heights Division I sectional. The Raiders don’t have quite the gaudy numbers that Poland has put up, but they’re averaging better than 80 points a game and winning by almost 25. Again, not to jinx them, but the Raiders won’t be too close to home this postseason — their regional is at Cleveland State before the state tournament in Columbus.

ALL OF THE ABOVE

Quite frankly, attendance has been steadily dwindling at high school events over the past few years. Yes, the economy is down and gas prices are high, and the weather can be bad. Still, it’s the last chance you may get to see a relative or neighbor competing, so take the time to go to a game and cheer them on.