The DeLand High School wrestling team has enjoyed a very good season and now will play host to the FHSAA Regional Wrestling Tournament, which allows winning wrestlers the right to advance to the FHSAA State Wrestling Championships.
The competition, which will be outstanding, will take place in the new Bulldog gym Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25. Matches will begin at 9 a.m. daily. Many of these athletes will be going off to compete on the collegiate level after the 2023 season.
Volusia County schools are still making up for lost class time due to two hurricanes; therefore, there will be no early-release Wednesdays during the month of February. This means that students were in school the full day on Feb. 1 and 8, and will be in school the full day on Feb. 15 and 22.
Students are now in the middle of the third grading period, which ends March 9.
Citrus Grove Elementary School
The students of Citrus Grove Elementary School in DeLand celebrated Literacy Week recently. The week started out with Principal Jennifer Williams reading her favorite childhood story during the school’s news time. All the students enjoyed DEAR — Drop Everything and Read.
One day, all of the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders visited all the school’s kindergartners and first- and second-graders to read them a story. Citrus Grove also had a Storybook Parade, for which students dressed as their favorite storybook character.
PHOTO COURTESY SHANELLE ANDERSON
The week closed with Superhero Readers, with firefighters, police officers and community members visiting classrooms to read to the students.
DeLand Middle School
DeLand High School counselors will be visiting DeLand Middle School Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 22 and 23, so current eighth-graders can make their elective-course selections for the 2023-24 school year at DeLand High.
Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts
DeLand High School counselors will be visiting Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts in Lake Helen Tuesday, Feb. 21, so current eighth-graders can make their elective-course selections for the 2023-24 school year at DeLand High.
Southwestern Middle School
DeLand High School counselors will be visiting Southwestern Middle School in DeLand Friday and Monday, Feb. 24 and 27, so current eighth-graders can make their elective-course selections for the 2023-24 school year at DeLand High.
DeLand High School
DeLand High School athlete Sydney Neira has signed to continue her education and soccer-playing days at the University of Kentucky. She also ran cross-country and track for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Growler, the DeLand High monthly newspaper, has numerous editors, with the following serving in the named assignments: Ella Eagan, news and business manager; Abigail Vego, opinions; Izzy Helfrich, entertainment; Nanci Jimenez, features; Trace Kopka, co-business manager; Maston Morwick, “The Punk Punch”; Jamie Copeland, copy editor; and April Sniffen, adviser.
DHS Grad ’23 Bash will be 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, with the bus leaving at 5 p.m. and returning between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. The bash includes a trip to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the cost of $111, which includes two parks and transportation. Tickets will be for sale from Feb. 21 to March 9 in the Activities Office, with cash, check or card accepted. Students must be in good academic standing with no obligations. They must pick up a Volusia County Schools Field Trip Permission Form in the Activities Office and have it signed before purchasing tickets.
Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors at DeLand High will have elective-course registration through Friday, Feb. 17, through their English class with their guidance counselor.
Rising ninth-graders, counselors will be coming to your school for your elective-course selection registration. Private and home-schooled students attending DeLand High next year need to come to the DeLand High media center 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, to make their elective-course selection.
DeLand High has announced upcoming testing, including the following: PERT for dual enrollment Feb. 13-15; FSA ELA retakes Feb. 21-23; EOC algebra retakes Feb. 23-24; and ACT-NCR for graduation March 7-9.
Deltona High School
Deltona High School congratulates Daviana Huerta, Isabella Peña and Payton Woerner for their performance at the FHSAA Weightlifting Competition. Huerta placed second in the traditional level of competition, with Peña taking third in both Olympic and traditional, while Woerner placed third in Olympic. Each competed in a different weight division.
Blake Hinson, a graduate of Deltona High who plays for the University of Pittsburgh basketball team, leads the team in scoring and rebounds with 16.4 and 6.5 average, respectively.
Pine Ridge High School
Pine Ridge High School in Deltona will have the following testing: PERT, Feb. 13-16, and Algebra Bootcamp, Feb. 16-17.
DeLand High School Athletics
The DeLand High School Bulldog wrestling team for the first time ever earned a spot in the FHSAA Dual Wrestling Championship. The Bulldogs made it to the Final Four.
In their first round of competition, DeLand topped Oviedo Hagerty, 48-23. Then in the semifinals (the top four), DeLand ran into South Dade High School, the eventual state champs, losing 67-12. Osceola defeated Fort Pierce Central, 38-30, to move into the final round with South Dade, which won 44-9.
The Lady Bulldog weightlifters placed fourth in both the Olympic and traditional divisions of the FHSAA District Tournament, moving athletes on to the regional match to earn the right to advance to state. Mia Rhodes took first place in both divisions, while Alicia Robinson did the same thing, with two second-place finishes. Others taking second were Addison Ruocco, Leah Jensen, Katyah Ross and Aja Albright; gaining third place were Kaia Horn, Jaliyah Powell and Ross. Rian Anderson and Horn grabbed a fourth-place finish, and Anderson, Robinson and Powell achieved a fifth-place finish. The team is coached by Damion Dunn.
The DeLand boys’ basketball team defeated DME Blue, 41-40, and the Lady Bulldog basketball squad was topped by Winter Springs, 57-34.
Both the DHS boys’ and girls’ soccer teams participated in the first round of FHSAA district competition, with the Bulldog boys winning over Flagler Palm Coast, 3-1; Seth Policke, Jeshua Roldan and Gavin Nestle kicked goals. The Lady Bulldogs had their season closed out with a loss to Spruce Creek, 5-0. The DeLand squad finished the season with a 6-12 mark.
Amberleigh Sauer, a DeLand High graduate who participates in track and field at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, placed third in the Alachua County Collegiate Invitational held on the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track in Celebration Pointe in Gainesville. She gave the 4K shot put a shove of 38 feet, 6 3/4 inches.
The Bulldog athletic calendar thins out drastically with the closing of most winter sports and the preparation for most spring sports. Feb. 10-11, the junior-varsity wrestling squad will be at the junior-varsity state meet at Osceola High School in Kissimmee. Feb. 17-18, those Lady Bulldog weightlifters who earned the right to compete in the FHSAA State Meet will be in Lakeland for that championship.
Stetson University
The Eagle Battalion, which includes students from Stetson University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethune-Cookman University and Daytona State College, has once again won the Douglas MacArthur Award as one of the top ROTC programs in the nation. Only eight of the 274 ROTC programs nationally were so honored. The Eagle Battalion consists of more than 250 cadets, ranked tops in the Southeast Region. The battalion also received the award in 2019.
Stetson University Athletics
Stetson University Hatter basketball player Jalen Blackmon, for the second time this season, has been selected as the ASUN Newcomer of the Week.
Spectrum Channel 13 on Jan. 22 did an interesting piece on former Stetson football player Donald Parham, who now plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Stetson women’s tennis team topped Hillsborough Community College, 5-2, and were narrowly defeated by UCF, 4-3. The men’s tennis team lost to USF, 4-2, and defeated Georgia State, 4-3.
The Lady Hatter basketball team outscored Bellarmine, 50-48, with Jamiya Turner dropping in 14 points, while Kiya Turner scored 10 points with eight rebounds and three steals.
The Lady Hats were then stopped at home by Eastern Kentucky, 83-70, with five players reaching double figures. These were Khamya McNeal with 18 points and five rebounds; Kiya Turner with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals; Jaelyn Talley with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists; Jamiya Turner with 11 points and three steals; and Jordan Peete with 10 points. Those in double figures totaled 65 of Stetson’s 70 points.
The Stetson men’s basketball squad was stopped by Liberty, 74-45, with Blackmon scoring 11 points. Then Queens outscored Stetson, 71-65, with Blackmon getting 14 points, Stephan Swenson 11 points, Josh Smith with 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Alec Oglesby with another 10 points.
The athletic calendar for Stetson has the Lady Hatter basketball team playing against Florida Gulf Coast at home at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, with the men at North Florida at 2 p.m. that same day. On Wednesday, Feb. 15, the men host Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. On Thursday, Feb. 16, the women greet Austin Peay at 7 p.m.
The Lady Hatter softball season opens Friday, Feb. 10, with the Frank Griffin Classic Tournament on the Stetson campus. The teams in the tournament are Stetson, Providence, Dayton and Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Hatter baseball team opens its 2023 season at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, on Melching Field, which has had many improvements made over the summer. The Hatters play against Manhattan, which they will also play Saturday, Feb. 18, and Sunday, Feb. 19, with game times at 6:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
