It is “save the date” time for the free sports physicals and ECG screening for students involved with athletics, ROTC, band and the firefighting academy. These physicals are free only to Volusia County public-school students. Registration is required, and online registration will be open in early February.
The physicals will be given Wednesday, April 10, through Saturday, April 13, at Daytona International Speedway, 1801 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach.
No student-athlete will be allowed to receive a physical without appropriate signed forms. Parent/guardian signatures will be required for minors. Go to the Volusia County Schools website (www.vcsedu.org) for a list of the four forms needed to be eligible for the free physical. For more information, email vcssportsphysicals@groups.volusia.k12.fl.us. These are sponsored by AdventHealth and Volusia County Schools.
Friends of the DeLand Library will have their monthly book sale 3-5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, and 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3.
On Friday, hardback and softback books cost $1 each, and a group of eight pocket-size paperbacks cost $1. On Saturday, a bag of books costs $3, while a bag of children’s books costs $2 throughout the sale.
The income from book sales supports children, youth and adult programs throughout the year, along with reading programs, large-print books and special equipment or supplies that are not budgeted through Volusia County.
Donations of books, records, DVDs, CDs, puzzles and games are welcome. No magazines, please. The library is at 130 E. Howry Ave. in DeLand.
The next holiday for students and teachers is Monday, Feb. 19, when all can observe Presidents Day.
Volusia Pines Elementary School
Volusia Pines Elementary School in Lake Helen congratulates Jamie Carlson, Volusia Pines’ January Employee of the Month. She is a teacher who is the school’s social-media contact and is responsible for keeping Volusia Pines’ websites updated and sharing all the amazing happenings at the school. She also owns Customs by Carlson.
DeLand Middle School
On Saturday, May 11, DeLand Middle School will have an eighth-grade Terrier Gradventure, which will include a two-park ticket, shirts, transportation and dinner. The cost is $120, with a one-payment option due Friday, April 19, or a two-payment option with $60 due by Friday, March 15, and the second payment due Friday, April 19. Call the school for more information.
DeLand High School
DeLand High School has announced important dates for senior-class members. The Class of 2024 Senior Sway dates can be found at http://tinyurl.com/53dvu7pd. As the dates come near, this column will list them. All events take place in May.
The International Baccalaureate Program at DeLand High is offering a Trivia Night for IB parents, IB alumni and for friends of DHS and the IB program. That special night to help support the IB program will be 6-8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, at The Elusive Grape in Downtown DeLand. This is an adult-only event.
Tickets to Trivia Night cost $40 per person in advance or $50 per person at the door. This includes appetizers and two drink tickets.
Besides testing your IB knowledge, there will be a silent auction and a 50/50 drawing. This is presented by Ludus Platform, which has a 5-percent charge plus a 75-cent-per-ticket convenience fee. For more information, call DeLand High’s IB program.
Deltona High School
Deltona High School has updated the list of important dates for seniors. The first item on the list is the prom, which will take place Saturday, April 13, in Daytona Beach, followed by the Grad Bash on Friday, April 26. Tickets are required for both of these events. Go to the Activities Office or email bkruston@volusia.k12.fl.us for more information.
Blake Hinson, a Deltona grad who plays basketball for the University of Pittsburgh, scored 24 points against seventh-ranked Duke in a Pitt win, 80-76. Hinson currently leads his team in scoring, with an 18.4-point average, along with a 5.0 rebound average. Pitt is currently 11-7 on the season.
University High School
University High School in Orange City has announced the dates of a couple of upcoming events: Grad Bash will be Friday, April 26, and the prom will be Saturday, April 27.
DeLand High School graduates
Kevar Williams, a student-athlete at the University of Florida, is back to running on the Florida Track team after a year of injuries. He competed for the Gators in the McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational at Texas A&M, and placed sixth in the 60 meters, with a time of 6.906.
Alize Munn, a student-athlete at Salem College, plays basketball for the school. On Jan. 10, she scored 35 points against William Peace College for the Spirits.
Munn is currently averaging 15.5 points per game, while shooting at 56.2 percent. The 5-foot-6-inch senior also averages seven-and-a-half rebounds and one block per game, while shooting 75 percent from the free-throw line.
In 2023, she received two honors from the USA South Conference — Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week. The USA South Conference is a D-3 conference with eight schools in North Carolina and two in Virginia.
Bridgette Gordon, the new basketball coach at Florida A&M University, has picked up her second win as a head coach. Gordon played college basketball at the University of Tennessee and won a gold medal in basketball in the Olympics.
Chance Tressler, son of Barry Tressler, now attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he is on the track-and-field team.
Chance Tressler competed at the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet in Gainesville, winning the weight throw with a 43-foot-7-inch effort, and taking third in the shot put with a 43-foot-10.75-inch put. The shot put weighs 16 pounds, while the weight that is thrown is 35 pounds. The next week at the RADD Meet, he placed third in the shot put with a 44-foot-7.50-inch effort.
Ethan Tussing is the throws coach at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. His Icelandic athlete, Gudrun Hallgrimsdottir, has the 10th-best weight throw in the NCAA at this writing. She broke her own personal record, as well as the school’s record, along with the facility, meet and Icelandic age-group record with the throw of 71 feet, 1.25 inches. She was only .07 meters from being ninth.
DeLand High School Athletics
Junior Lady Bulldog pole vaulter Kylie Neira of DeLand High School took third at the Jimmy Carnes Meet with a jump of 11 feet, 11.75 inches. She then turned around a week later at the RADD Meet and won the event with a vault of 12.5 inches, outdistancing second place by more than a foot.
The Bulldog basketball team lost to DME Academy Blue, 52-38, Nazaret Christian Academy, 59-50, and New Smyrna Beach, 55-53. The last loss was in the first round of the Five Star Tournament. Jahvari Campbell scored 14 points in the Nazaret games.
The DeLand boys soccer team lost to Matanzas, 2-0, to New Smyrna Beach twice, 4-0 and 1-0, and to Jacksonville Mandarin, 7-1.
The Lady Bulldog soccer team was topped by Crescent City, 2-0, then topped Belleview, 8-2. In the Belleview game, Yasmin Rios had the hat trick (three goals), while Chloe Caven had two, with Riley Myers, Lairen Ramirez and Kaitlyn Hatfield each scoring once.
The DeLand girls basketball team defeated Matanzas, 54-30, but lost to Sanford Seminole, 46-36. In the first round of the Five Star tournament, they lost to New Smyrna Beach, 43-42.
On Friday, Feb. 2, the Bulldog sports calendar has the competitive cheer team at the FHSAA Championships in Lakeland. The boys basketball team will play at Merritt Island at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and the girls basketball team will compete at New Smyrna Beach at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3, finds the Bulldogs hosting the Five Star Conference Wrestling Tournament, which starts at 10 a.m. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, the team goes to Jacksonville Sandalwood to compete at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Stetson University Athletics
The Stetson University Hatter men’s basketball team was stopped by Chicago State, 77-70, with Stephan Swenson scoring 21 points along with seven assists and two steals. Alec Oglesby scored 17 points, and Jalen Blackmon added 10 points. The team also lost to FGCU, 80-56, with Blackmon scoring 17 points and Oglesby scoring 10 points with six rebounds.
The Lady Hatter basketball team went into overtime to stop Queens, 73-71, with the regulation score ending at 62-62. Jaelyn Talley scored 17 points with seven rebounds, Jordan Peete made 14 points with three steals, Jamiya Turner scored 13 points with 13 rebounds, and Khamya McNeal added 10 points with eight rebounds. The Lady Hats then lost to Kennesaw State, 63-48, with McNeal getting 10 points with three steals.
The Stetson tennis teams opened their 2024 season with each losing a match. The Lady Hats lost to Georgia Southern, 4-3, with Zali Morris, Noa Cohen and Magdalena Hedrzak winning in singles competition. The men were shut out by Florida Atlantic, 7-0.
The Stetson men’s tennis program has added former Hatter Fabian Penzkofer as an assistant coach. He hails from Tutzing, Germany, and graduated from Stetson in 2022.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Stetson basketball calendar has the men at Central Arkansas at 4:30 p.m. and the women versus Bellarmine at 2 p.m. in Stetson’s Edmunds Center. The men then go to Bellarmine Wednesday, Feb. 7, and the women play host to North Alabama at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8.
The Stetson home calendar has the women’s tennis team facing Wofford at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb. 3, they host Mercer at 10 a.m. The men’s team greets Wofford at noon Sunday, Feb. 4.
Hatter softball and baseball are about to open their 2024 seasons. The Lady Hatter softball team opens first with a Friday, Feb. 9, game at 3 p.m. against Binghamton University, followed that same day by a game with Southern Illinois Evanston at 5:30 p.m.
The Hatter baseball team opens Friday, Feb. 16, at 6:30 p.m., against West Virginia, followed by three more outings with the same team Feb. 17, 18 and 19.
College honors
Mark Leavitt, of DeLand, has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester at Nazareth University in Rochester, New York.
Andrea Ellis, of DeLand, graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, in the fall of 2023 with a major in postgraduate PMH Nursing.
Hailey Echevarria, of Deltona, daughter of Robert Echevarria and Lisa Echevarria, has been named to the fall 2023 dean’s list at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Hailey is majoring in chemistry.
Samantha Flaute, of DeBary, and James Gorman, of Deltona, were named to the President’s List for the fall 2023 semester at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ava Flaute, of DeBary, and Sydney Healy, of Orange City, were named to the dean’s list.
Jarrett Bourque and Veronica Marin, both of DeLand, were named to the fall 2023 dean’s list at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida Campus in Port Orange.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
