Volusia County Schools will host a Home Run 5K on Saturday, April 15, starting at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. The 5K will start at 8 a.m., while the Kids Run the Bases will be at 9:15 a.m. The course will wind through Halifax Harbor Marina, along the City of Daytona Beach walking trails, and down historical Beach Street. Proceeds from the race will benefit and be divided equally among all Volusia County Schools high-school track-and-field programs.
The entry fee is $25 for 5K Run/Walk community members. Volusia County Schools employees can participate for free, with their family members entering for $10.
Volusia County students can participate for $10, with the same cost for the Kids Run the Bases event. Students age 12 and younger can join for free.
VCS employees and students must bring their VCS-issued or student ID to packet pickup or in-person registration. Individuals can register at https://runsignup.com/Race/FL/DaytonaBeach/VolusiaCountySchoolsHomeRun5K.
Awards will be given in the following categories: overall; masters; grand masters; and the top-three finishers in 15 categories for males and females.
VCS employee schools/departments will receive wellness funds for the top-five teams with the highest participation for their school/department, with first place receiving $450; second $350; third $250; fourth $150; and fifth $100.
Daytona Tortugas mascot Sheldon will be present. T-shirts, swag bags and baseball-themed finisher medals go to the first 300 finishers. There will be music and light food available.
Volusia County middle-schoolers are reminded that several things should be done with their laptop each day. Students need to bring laptops that are 100-percent charged, and they should keep track of their charging cord.
Laptops should be stored in their protective sleeve, powered down between classes, and closed between class activities. Keep food and drinks away from the laptop; no decals or stickers on the laptop allowed.
Report any laptop issues, and keep your login credentials private.
Spring Holiday begins Monday, March 13, with students returning to class Monday, March 20.
Deltona Middle School
The Deltona Middle School Charger Orchestra earned all superiors at the District 6 competition. Victoria Senko is the orchestra instructor at Deltona Middle.
River Springs Middle School
River Springs Middle School in Orange City congratulates Michael Leader for 35 years of service to Volusia County Schools.
Deltona High School
Seniors at Deltona High School who would like to share their baby photo in a slideshow for graduation may submit the photo through email with their name and Alpha Code to Deltonahs2023@gmail.com. The deadline is May 12, and Deltona High reserves the right to not include photos that are deemed inappropriate.
Prom tickets went on sale Feb. 27 for juniors and seniors at Deltona High. The prom will be Saturday, April 8. The tickets cost $75 for the next two weeks, with the price increasing to $85 after Spring Holiday.
Senior basketball player Isaiah Robinson has been named the FACA District 9-5A Co-Player of the Year, while head coach Brad Fraser has been named Coach of the Year for the same area.
The East Coast Track Classic at Flagler Palm Coast found junior Carlos Cerrud taking seventh place in the 1,600-meter run at 4:38.19, while the girls’ 4X100 relay took eighth with a time of 55.57.
Earlier in the week, the Wolf track team had its first meet of the season, with five schools competing. Cerrud won the 1,600 with a clocking of 4:43.99, while the boys’ 4X800 relay also won, with Cerrud, Lincoln Davis, Lowell Cummings and Renn Telles running the distance in 8:56.41.
Trinity Christian Academy
At the Deltona track meet, Raylynn Adcock of Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona won the long jump at 15 feet, 1 inch.
Pine Ridge High School
Pine Ridge High School in Deltona offers congratulations to Lakiesha Callahan-Miller for being named the First Year Teacher of the Year.
Panther students Myles McCarty and Deirdra Milord are the school’s new Mr. and Miss Pine Ridge.
Taylor Middle-High School
The students in the construction program at Taylor Middle-High School in Pierson took a field-study trip to observe work at the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office. This was arranged by Wharton-Smith Inc.
University High School
The Titans of University High School in Orange City participated in two meets, with Nyrania Barr-Miller winning two events at Deltona by outrunning the competitors in the 100-high hurdles at 15.31, and in the 400 at 61.11.
Caleb Elkind won the 3,200-meter run at 10:26.55, with Anthony Lebron winning the 400 hurdles at 65.24. The girls’ 4X400 relay team claimed the win at 4:42.88.
The Titans then traveled to Sanford to compete in the Seminole Invitational, where the boys’ and girls’ squads each placed seventh out of 11 schools.
Morgan Northey won the girls’ discus with a 91 foot-6-inch throw; placed second in the shot put at 28 feet, 5 inches; and placed third in the javelin at 64 feet, 7 inches.
Barr-Miller took second in the high hurdles at 15.09, while Morgan Harvill placed third in the 1,600 run at 5:44.17.
Angel Barnes won two adaptive events by running 41.61 in the 200 and 3:00.38 in the 800. Lebron placed second in the triple jump at 41 feet, 5 inches.
DeLand High School Athletics
The DeLand High School Bulldog baseball team opened the 2023 season with two wins and one loss. The Bulldogs topped Spruce Creek, 8-4, with Lamar Edwards going 2-for-4 and scoring two runs. Anthony Ruocco went 2-for-4, with Luke Hoffmann going 2-for-3, with one run and 1 RBI.
The Bulldogs lost to the Bulldogs of Flagler Palm Coast, 2-1, with Ruocco going 1-for-2 with an RBI. The team then downed Seabreeze, 4-2, with Chris Caruso getting a triple.
The Lady Bulldog flag-football team opened the spring season with a 7-2 win over Seabreeze.
The DeLand track teams went to the East Coast Classic in Bunnell, where Kylie Neira won the pole vault at 11 feet, 9 inches, and Shamia Allen placed second in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 2.5 inches.
The boys’ 4X800 relay team placed third with a 8:29.11 time, and Frederick McCaskill took third in the 400 hurdles at 63.07. Jamil Cunningham (2), Emily Lamb (2) and Sydney Neira also scored points for the Bulldogs, who placed ninth in the boys’ competition and eighth in the girls’ competition, with 14 schools competing.
The DeLand boys’ weightlifting team competed at Spruce Creek. Jaycee Kane, Gabe Cyr, Jackson Oldham and Jayden Lewis finished first in their weight division in the traditional competition. Those taking second place were Erick Gilbert (2), Johan Rodriguez (2), Lewis, Kane, Vincent Chen and MJ Smokes.
Third-place finishes were collected by Ayden Burns (2), Cyr, Reed Wilgers (2), Dante Mascio, Oldham, Wyatt Dunne (2) and Mohammad Knio.
The DeLand softball team was stopped by Space Coast, 7-3, with Brianne Yocum going 2-for-4, with a run and two RBIs.
The Bulldog boys’ tennis team opened with wins over New Smyrna Beach, 5-2; Mainland, 7-0; and Pine Ridge, 7-0; and lost to Father Lopez, 5-2.
The Lady Bulldog netters lost to New Smyrna Beach, 7-0, Mainland, 5-2, and Father Lopez, 7-1, but scored a win over Pine Ridge, 6-1.
On Friday, March 10, the track team competes at Lake Brantley at 3 p.m.
On Friday, March 10, the flag-football team plays at Deltona at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The beach-volleyball team plays DME Academy in the Spruce Creek Tournament on Friday, March 10. The tournament runs through Saturday, March 11, beginning at 10 a.m. each day.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14 and 15, the Bulldog baseball team is at New Smyrna Beach for tournament play at 10 a.m. daily.
Stetson University Athletics
The Stetson University Hatter baseball team stopped Manhattan, 8-6, with Yohann Dessureault and Christian Pregent hitting home runs, but the Hatters were topped by the University of Miami, 11-2, with Evan Griffis and Jayden Hylton homering.
Delaware came to town and downed the Hats, 18-8, with Andrew Estrella going 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles, accounting for four RBIs. The Hatters then turned the tables on Delaware, winning, 15-3, with Pregent and Estrella hitting home runs and Pregent getting four RBIs.
The Stetson men’s basketball team defeated Austin Peay, 76-56, with Luke Brown scoring 15 points with four assists. Josh Smith added 14 points and eight rebounds; Sam Peek dropped 13 points with eight rebounds and four assists, and Wheza Panzo scored 11 points with five rebounds.
In the next outing for the Hats, Lipscomb outscored Stetson, 98-91, with Jalen Blackmon getting 20 points, Peek adding 19 points, Brown scoring 17 points with seven assists, Alec Oglesby making 16 points, and Panzo collecting 10 rebounds.
The Lady Hatter basketball team lost to Kennesaw State, 70-57, with Khamya McNeal scoring 12 points with five rebounds. They also lost to Jacksonville State, 69-62, with McNeal scoring 18 points with five rebounds. Jordan Peete added 14 points.
The Stetson softball team defeated No. 25 UCF, 4-3, while also stopping Monmouth, 6-1, with Dylan Anthony getting a double. Cornell topped the Lady Hatters, 22-1, while Stetson downed the same club, 5-3, later in the day. Marissa Baxter made a home run. Presbyterian came into DeLand with a 12-0 mark, and the Lady Hatters ended the winning streak, 7-5, with Baxter again hitting the ball out of the park.
The beach volleyball team, which saw Shae Henson named by the ASUN as the Preseason Player of the Year, also earned a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Carolina Ferraris was named to the All-Conference First Team, as was Anete Namike.
The team opened the season with four wins: 5-0 over Mercer, and 3-2 wins over Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida.
Jordyn Humphrey scored four goals as she led the Lady Hatter lacrosse team to a win over George Washington, 12-7. The team was defeated by Campbell, 18-7, and by Canisius, 17-10, with Jessica Duggan scoring three goals.
The Stetson men’s tennis team lost to Georgia Southern, 4-1, with Lucas Olivier and Marc Saura winning the No. 1 doubles match.
The Lady Hatter tennis team stopped Bethune-Cookman, 7-0, and lost to South Florida, 4-2.
On Saturday, March 11, the lacrosse team greets Merrimack at noon, and St. Francis of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, March 14, at 11:30 a.m.
Also on Tuesday, March 14, the Stetson baseball team hosts Fairfield at 6:30 p.m. Then the Hatters host Fairfield at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15.
On Wednesday, March 15, the men’s tennis team greets Pacific at 2 p.m. and Washington University of St. Louis at 3:30 p.m.
On Friday, March 17, the baseball team meets Kennesaw State at 6:30 p.m.
The women’s tennis team faces North Florida at noon Friday, March 17.
On Saturday, March 18, the softball team faces Queens at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and the baseball team meets Kennesaw State at 6:30 p.m.
During the day Saturday, March 18, the Hatter rowing team meets Drake, Embry-Riddle and Jacksonville.
The men’s tennis team faces North Florida at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18.
College honors
Lauren Lord, of Deltona, was named to the dean’s list for the 2022 fall semester at the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Dana Johnson, of Deltona, has been accepted into the Behavioral Health Service Corps program at William James College, a school of psychology in Newton, Massachusetts.
Ava Kelley, of DeBary, was named to the dean’s list for the 2022 fall semester at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Kelley is attending the College of Continuing and Professional Studies.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
