Kylie Neira has done it again — for the second time in two years! A junior at DeLand High, she claimed the state FHSAA 4A state championship in pole vaulting. On May 18, at the University of North Florida, she outjumped all the 4A competitors to win the title and nearly set the state FHSAA record for the event.
There was a rain/lightning delay during the competition, but Neira didn’t let that bother her. She was nearly 12 inches ahead of second place, clearing 12 feet, 9.75 inches to win the crown, which she also did last year.
Neira made three attempts to break the FHSAA record of 13 feet, 3 inches, nearly doing it on her first attempt after claiming the title. This gave DeLand 10 points toward the state team championship, which was won by Jacksonville Creekside. Those 10 points placed DeLand tied for 19th place in the state with 59 schools scoring points, and several making attempts but not scoring.
Neira is the first Bulldog to win two state titles in track and field since the early 1960s. Only three other DeLand High athletes since the ’60s have won state titles: Dana Fluegel, K.O. Taylor and, several years ago, Kevar Williams.
Kylie Neira was not the only Bulldog to take a place at the state meet: Sophomore Owen York placed eighth in the boys discus event. York spun the discus out 157 feet, 3 inches, to grab eighth place and one point toward the state crown. York’s one point for the DeLand team put the team in 60th place in the state team competition list out of more than 63 scoring points and the numerous teams that scored none.
The other West Volusia athletes that qualified for the state meet made strong appearances. Senior Nyrania Barr-Miller, of University High in Orange City, placed ninth, just missing a medal, in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 14.73, which was quicker than her qualifying time of 15.16.
Another University senior, Hannah Judge, placed 14th in the 1600-meter race at 5:14.71, which was four seconds faster than her qualifying time.
The only other appearance at the state meet was the boys 4X100 relay team from Pine Ridge High in Deltona in the 3A state meet, which took place the day before the 4A meet at the same location. The team of Quintin Grant, Caleb Ray, Ethan White and Elijah Thompson ran the quarter-mile relay in 42.04, placing 11th. In their race, which was won by Plantation American Heritage, the winners ran a 39.39, which set the record not only for the state of Florida but for the entire United States. This was the first-ever below-40 run by a Florida school.
Volusia Online Learning has announced that it is now accepting applications for full-time enrollment for the 2024-25 school year. Applications can be found at www.volusiaonlinelearning.com. For more information, call 386-506-0014.
The Stetson University men’s soccer program is offering a Soccer Day Camp June 10-14 and July 8-12. The camp is for boys and girls ages 5-13.
It will take place on Rinker Field, starting daily at 8:30 a.m., and the cost is $225. The camp will offer a blend of learning with fun.
Go to stetsonmenssoccercamps.totalcamps.com for information, or email efjimenez@stetson.edu.
A DeLand resident who attends Iowa Western Community College has been selected as an All-American by placing third in National Junior College Athletic Association National Track and Field Championships: DeLandite Sarai Simpson placed third in the shot put at the meet, earning her All-American honors. She shoved the 4K ball 47 feet, 5.25 inches.
DeLand High School
The Beta Delta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha has presented a $1000 scholarship to DHS senior Hayden Williams. He is one of three high-school seniors who will participate in the second annual Florida Federation of Alpha Chapters “Florida Intensive Youth Summit.”
The DeLand High FFA members set a new record by earning 184 industry certifications. This was a 92.5-percent passing rate of those taking the test from the DHS Ag Program.
Deltona High School
The Adams Cameron Foundation has presented one of two 2024 Bob Adams Memorial Scholarships to Chase Cerroni, a senior at Deltona High School. He is also a recipient of the Cambridge Scholar Award, and is a member of the National Honor Society, the Science Olympiad and the International Thespian Society.
Cerroni plans to attend the University of Florida and hopes to eventually work for Nintendo.
The other winner was Miles Markland of New Smyrna Beach High School.
Pine Ridge High School
Two Pine Ridge High School seniors have won two of the four 2024 James T. “Tom” Russell Scholarships. The two who won a $500 scholarship were Edward Wilkerson and Hailey Pearson. The other two were Isabelle Cahn of Port Orange Atlantic High and Samantha Jolley of New Smyrna Beach High.
Area sports nominees
The Daytona Beach News-Journal has named numerous Volusia and Flagler county athletes to the newspaper’s nomination lists for becoming the Volusia/Flagler High School Sports Athlete of the Year for different sports. Those from West Volusia high schools include Daksh Talati from University High in Orange City for boys tennis, Ella Pringle and Alison Bierwagen from DeLand High for beach volleyball, and Tashia Williams from DeLand High for flag football. The Athlete of the Year winners will be announced Monday, June 3, at the Ocean Center.
Stetson University Athletics
Stetson University Hatter baseball player Brandon Hylton has been named the ASUN Player of the Week. This is the second time he has been named during his career at Stetson.
The Stetson University men’s golf team earned the right to compete in the NCAA Regional Tournament, a first for the team. They competed on the course at Purdue, placing 13th. Vanderbilt claimed the regional title. The other top five teams competing in the NCAA National Tournament were Purdue, Florida, Arizona and New Mexico.
Stetson golfer Wendy Hsiao has been named to the Third Team All-ASUN.
The Hatter baseball team has been busy. The team lost to Queens, 12-10, who scored twice in the bottom of the 10th inning for the win. Daniel Labrador homered twice.
They then topped No. 10 FSU, 10-5, in which Lorenzo Meola and Yohann Dessureault each homered twice, while Kyle Jones and Evan Griffis each had one home run.
Then, the Stetson team closed out their 2024 regular season with three wins over Central Arkansas, to make them co-champions of the ASUN, with Austin Peay and Florida Gulf Coast with matching 20-10 marks. They first downed Central Arkansas, 3-1, with Meola homering, followed by a 7-4 win over Central Arkansas, with Landon Moran and Jayden Hylton hitting one out of the park. In the final game with Central Arkansas, the Hats won, 10-8, with Logan Hughes and Gio Cueto homering.
College honors
Nicholas Christiano, of Deltona, has been named to the Vice President’s List for the spring 2024 semester at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. He graduated this spring with a degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration.
Josiah Hilton, of Orange City, has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2024 semester at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.
