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Saint Leo University men’s golfers Nilo Sanchez and Simon Knutsson have been named 2019 Srixon/Cleveland All-American Scholars.

They were among 540 student-athletes to earn the honors in 2018-19 and just two of 10 Sunshine State Conference golfers this season.

Sanchez, a Lutz native, played in 10 tournaments for 30 rounds of golf, with a scoring average of 76.30.

Knutsson played in 10 tournaments with a scoring average of 74.27, where he tied the team low round of 66 during the season. He also captured two top-10 finishes, including one top-five finish.

The duo helped the Saint Leo men’s golf team earn the Golf Coaches Association of America Outstanding Team Academic Award last month.

Fourteen Pasco-Hernando State College student-athletes across five sports recently announced their commitments to continue their athletics and academics careers at various four-year colleges and universities.

Here is a list of the commitments:

Baseball
Ryan Ayrey — Bethune-Cookman University (Division I)
Anthony Cassos — Southeastern Oklahoma University (Division II)
Joey DelGatto — University of North Carolina-Pembroke (Division II)
Josue Sanchez — Florida Memorial University (NAIA)
Yaniel Ramos — Florida Memorial University (NAIA)
Kyle Khachadourian — University of New Orleans (Division I)
Brayden Lyman — University of West Alabama (Division II)

Basketball
Theaplias Williams — Huntington College (Division III)

Cross-Country
Quincy Mayer— Georgia Southwestern State University (Division II)
Madaline Toth — Georgia Southwestern State University (Division II)

Softball
Alyssa Baratta — Ursuline College (Division II)
Brandy Ashmore — Warner University (NAIA)

Volleyball
Abby Epstein — Southern Connecticut State University (Division II)
Natasha Bannister — University of West Florida (Division II)

Ken Willis, left, and Dave Panno, far right, teamed up to win the South Pasco Bassmasters (SPBM) July tournament on Lake Tarpon, hauling in five bass for a total weight of 15.28 pounds. The duo caught their bass using plastic frogs in pepper grass and fishing deep water brush piles with 10-inch plastic worms. The next SPBM tournament is slated for Aug. 17 at Lake Hernando. Also pictured is Kristofer Sampson. For information, visit SouthPascoBassmasters.com.

The Lutz Baseball 12U A division recreation all-star team finished tournament runner-up in the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth 12U South Florida State baseball championships in Belleview, earlier this month. The all-star team won five games in the tournament before falling to Winter Park in the championship; they finished the all-star season with a 13-2 record. The 12U team was one of five Lutz Baseball programs to participate in Florida state tournaments (8U B division, 9U A division, 10U A division, 10U B division).

A pair of Land O’ Lakes Little League all-star baseball teams recently captured titles in their respective age divisions.

The Land O’ Lakes Little League senior division (ages 14 to 16) won the Little League Florida state championship, besting seven other teams in Braden River.

The Land O’ Lakes seniors now advance to the Little League southeast region tournament in Safety Harbor, which runs July 19 through July 24. It will also feature teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Meantime, the Land O’ Lakes Little League major division (ages 10 to 12) captured the Little League Florida District 25 championship and qualified for the sectional tournament in Plant City.

Lutz resident Alyssa Hayman has earned a spot in the USA Track & Field (USATF) Hershey National Junior Olympic Championships in Sacramento, California. Hayman qualified for the prestigious event by finishing in third place in the 11-12 girls division 1,500-meter racewalk (15:42.49) at a USATF regional meet in South Carolina over the July 4 weekend. The national championships will take place July 22 through July 28.

Former Saint Leo University men’s basketball standout Junior Searcy is going pro — internationally.

The 6-foot-4 forward recently signed a professional contract with the Wiha Schwennigen Panthers of the Pro A league in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany.

The three-year Lions player capped off his career playing in 24 games during the 2018-2019 season, posting 10.7 points, 4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28.2 minutes per game; he also made 38.5 percent of 3-pointers.

In three seasons at Saint Leo, Searcy tallied 757 points with 286 rebounds, 124 assists, 52 steals and 48 blocks.

Searcy will begin his German pro career in September. He will be one of three active Saint Leo players playing international pro basketball, joining Spenser Mitchell (Lithuania Palanga BC; class of 2014) and Justin Satchell (Dosa Dominican Republic; class of 2017).

Pasco High student Olivia Walters recently qualified for the National Sporting Clays Association All-American Team. To be eligible for the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) All-American Team, a shooter must be a member in good standing with the National Skeet Shooting Association-National Sporting Clays Association, must shoot a minimum of 500 NSCA registered targets, and must shoot their respective state and regional shoot or the SCTP National Championships. Walters was officially recognized by the Pasco County School Board. From left: Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning, James Walters (Olivia’s dad), Olivia, Deborah Walters (Olivia’s mom), and Pasco County School Board Chairwoman Alison Crumbley.

Five-year-old Ava Ledbetter, left, and Ryan Loftis, 6, of Zephyrhills’ East Pasco Gymnastics club both earned all-around first place finishes in their age group at last month’s 2019 AAU Gymnastics National Championship in Orlando. It is both Ledbetter’s and Loftis’s first year competing in the sport. They are coached by Lisa Pitts.