On Thursday, Dec. 8, Volusia County Schools will present the 17th annual High School Showcase at the Volusia County Fairgrounds from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The purpose of the showcase is to allow parents and students to learn about programs and career academies available at each of the Volusia County high schools.

FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools has announced that 40 high-school juniors have been selected to participate in the Tomorrow’s Leaders Program. This is the 35th year that the program has been offered.

The selected students will participate in five seminars designed to familiarize them with different services and aspects of life in Volusia County, and to help them develop leadership skills. The program includes lectures, presentations, discussions and physical tours of various businesses and governmental facilities.

Those selected from West Volusia high schools are Fidha Chowdhury, Ella Eagan, Lauren Hill and Jaliyah Powell from DeLand High; Katie Berrios, Natalie Bradley and Jimmie Stone, Deltona High; Sophie Headrick, Katherin Ruiz and Eddy Wilkinson, Pine Ridge High in Deltona; Jocelyn Aquirre, Isabela Cosio and Kayden Duncan, Taylor Middle- High in Pierson; and Rylee Amodeo, Fabiana Oyola and Alea Smith, University High in Orange City.

The Florida High School Athletic Association welcomes all member schools to participate in the 2022- 23 Sprouts Farmers Market Spirit Showdown. Submission of entries began Nov. 15, and the deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The Sprouts Farmers Market Spirit Showdown is a competition designed to promote good sportsmanship and school spirit.

Now that the Thanksgiving Holiday is over, everyone is turning their interest to the Winter Holiday, which begins Monday, Dec. 19, with classes resuming Tuesday, Jan. 3.

McInnis Elementary School

During the season of giving, the students at McInnis Elementary School in DeLeon Springs, through numerous efforts, raised $9,200 for American Heart Florida. Their goal was $7,500.

On Friday, Dec. 2, the PTA will be hosting their annual Christmas Dance, which is a fun fundraiser for the PTA.

DeLand High School

Brian J. Goddard has been appointed assistant principal at DeLand High School.

Pine Ridge High School

Tina Hackney, media specialist at Pine Ridge High School in Deltona, will be receiving the 2022 Florida Power Library School Award during the Advocacy General Session of the annual Florida Association for Media in Education Conference.

DeLand High School Athletics

The DeLand High School Lady Bulldog soccer team stopped Pine Ridge in a preseason match, 8-0. In that game, DeLand’s Alina Evans scored the hat trick (three goals), Katelynn Hatfield added two goals, and Bri Seiple, Savannah Bruno and Bri Yocum each had one goal. Yocum had two assists, and Desi LeMay, Madi Mandell, Bruno, Elena Olazar and Maci Cowart each had one. Aliyah Inosencio and Kayla Sharp paired defensively, allowing only three shots on goal.

The girls also defeated Mainland, 2-1, with Evans and Yocum getting the two DeLand goals, and Yocum coming in in the 80th minute of play. Assists scored against Mainland were earned by Bruno and Maria Montes.

The DeLand girls’ soccer team played two games at Pierson, with the Lady Bulldogs winning the early game (the junior varsity) and the late game (varsity), both against Taylor Middle-High.

In the early game, DeLand won, 8-0, with Hatfield scoring four times with one assist. Samantha Sharp had two goals, Riley Myers had one, with an assist, and Yasmin Rios had two assists. Tatiana Verdel and Kieona Ross played solid defense.

In the late game, DeLand won, 2-1; Yocum and Bruno had the two goals, and Evans added an assist. The defense was led by Inosencio and K. Sharp. The lone goal by Taylor was kicked by April Mendoza.

The Bulldog boys’ soccer team won one and tied one, with the win coming against Pine Ridge, 5-1, and the tie of 0-0 against Matanzas. Aurelio Silva scored twice, and Michael Soto, Isaiah Harper and Denilson Williams each scored once. Racso Lago had the goal for the Pine Ridge Panthers.

The Lady Bulldog golf team recently had its award presentation. Most Valuable Player was junior McKenzie Coody, and Most Improved was sophomore Evie Cohen. The Powerhouse Award went to Kylie Theessen, the Popular Potential Award was presented to Josie Knight, and the Precise Award went to Sydney Knight.

The team is coached by Dina Pinson, who played her high-school golf for coach Forest Duncan at Deltona High and was an All-SEC player at the University of Florida.

Kissimmee Osceola, who ended the DeLand football team’s run for the state title, moved forward another week by defeating Treasure Coast, 10-7.

The Bulldog sports calendar has the Bulldog wrestlers at the University Clash Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3.

Also on Friday, Dec. 2, the Bulldog basketball team plays host to Rockledge at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the Lady Bulldog basketball team competes at Deltona at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 3, the girls host Vanguard at Spruce Creek at 2 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3, also marks the beginning of the Five Star Boys’ Soccer Tournament at Pierson Taylor. Matches will be on Dec. 3, 6 and 8.

On Monday, Dec. 5, the Lady Bulldog basketball team goes to Mount Dora Christian Academy for games at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Bulldog basketball team plays at Innovation in Ocoee at 6 p.m., and the Lady Bulldog soccer team competes at Seabreeze at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The Bulldog basketball team plays at Lake Highland Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the Lady Bulldog basketball team will be at New Smyrna Beach at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. that same day.

The girls’ weightlifting team competes at Pine Ridge at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, and the Lady Bulldog soccer team will play at Orangewood at 6 p.m. that day.

Stetson University Athletics

Luke Brown, first-year player for the Stetson University Hatter men’s basketball team, was named by the ASUN as the Newcomer of the Week. Before going to Ireland for tournament play, the men defeated South Florida, 68-67, with Brown scoring 20 points and Stephan Swenson gaining 15 points, with Aubin Gateretse collecting two blocked shots.

While in Ireland, the Hats won one and lost one. They topped Rider, 78-68, with Wheza Panzo getting 15 points and five rebounds. Swenson had 13 points and nine assists, and Jalen Blackmon dropped in 10 points, while Stetson had three players scoring 8 points each.

In the final round in Ireland, Niagara handed Stetson its first loss of the season, 66-62, with Swenson collecting 15 points with four assists, and Josh Smith pulling down seven boards.

The Lady Hatter basketball team collected two wins. First, the Lady Hats downed Johnson, 92-22, with Jaelyn Talley getting 13 points, Sydney Gouard 12 points, Skylar Treadwell 11 points with six rebounds, Jordan Peete 11 points with six rebounds, Haley Stinebrickner 10 points, and Anabel Ellison 10 points and six assists.

The Hats then welcomed Furman to the Edmunds Center and handed the visitors a 77-61 loss. Alyssa Hargrove had 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists, with Talley scoring 17 points, Kiya Turner 12 points, and Peete 11 points.

The Stetson volleyball team lost to Jacksonville in their last regular-season match, 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 24-26, 7-15). At this game, Stetson honored seniors Kennedy Muldrow, Alexis Thompson, Yamelis Mojica and Elena Djokovic.

The next outing was in the ASUN Tournament, when they faced Liberty, the top-ranked team in the tournament. Stetson was the eighth seed. The match went to Liberty, 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 14-16).

The Stetson sports calendar finds the Lady Hatter basketball team playing host to Denver at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and the men’s basketball team heading to the University of Florida on Sunday, Dec. 4, with game time to be determined. The women’s team will play at FSU at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.

— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.