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Diane Stephenson, Academy at the Lakes’ varsity softball coach, was inducted into Indiana University’s Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 28. Stephenson became the first female to receive an athletic scholarship from IU in 1977 to play softball, and also became the school’s first softball All-American in 1981. Stephenson, too, served as the head coach of IU’s softball program from 1988-2002, where she posted a career record of 453-464-4.

In July, Stephenson was named AATL’s head softball coach, replacing Jerry English. She concurrently operates the Positive Force Fastpitch Academy in Saint Petersburg.

Saint Leo University men’s basketball was picked to finish second in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) preseason coaches’ poll.

The Lions finished two votes behind the SSC preseason favorite Barry University, receiving two first-place votes in the poll.
“It’s nice to see the conference coaches picked us to finish second, but we don’t focus on a preseason poll,” Lions’ head coach Vince Alexander said, in a release. “It’s not where we are now, it’s where we want to be in March that matters.”
Last year, the Lions went 19-12 overall (10-6 in the SSC) and made a trip to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. The Lions open up the 2016-17 season on Nov. 12 against Alabama-Huntsville in the Sunshine State Conference/Gulf South Conference Challenge in Florence, Alabama.

The Land O’ Lakes High varsity girls golf team finished 13th (out of 16 teams) at the FHSAA Class 2A State Championship on Nov. 1-2 at the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Orlando. Land O’ Lakes shot 409-397—809. The Gators also reached the state tournament in 2015, where they finished in 14th place (out of 16 teams).

State Tourney Results:

Land O’ Lakes Gators

Maggie Schmook (junior) 89-86—175

Daniela Vasqez (senior) 91-96—187

Miranda Bradley (sophomore) 102-98—200

Sarah Sanderson (sophomore) 127-117—244

The Division I football offers are piling up for Jordan Miner, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior defensive back at Wiregrass Ranch High School. On Oct. 13, Miner received offers from both the University of Maryland and Penn State University, bringing his offer list to seven. Miner also has scholarship offers from Bowling Green (Ohio) University, Middle Tennessee State University, the University of Toledo (Ohio), Tulane (Louisiana) University and the University of South Florida. Through seven games, Miner has 30 tackles, three tackles for loss and three interceptions. Miner is a four-star recruit, according to 247sports.com.

The Wharton High School boys cross-country team swept the Hillsborough County Western Conference meet on Oct. 13 at Al Lopez Park in Tampa. Wharton’s Tre Rivers, Casey Pleune, Noah Damjanovic, Sahil Deschenes and Frankie Godbold each finished in the top five, capturing all five of the first-team all-conference National Division honors. Wharton High junior Ryan Anders placed ninth to claim second-team honors. Seven schools (including Wharton) compete in the National Division: King, Freedom, Strawberry Crest, Hillsborough, Middleton and Tampa Bay Tech.

First Team

• Sophomore Tre Rivers: first place in the division in 16:22 (set a new school record for sophomores)
• Freshman Casey Pleune: second place in 16:49 (broke his own school record for freshmen)
• Junior Noah Damjanovic: third place (16:52)
• Junior Sahil Deschenes: fourth place in (16:57)
• Junior Frankie Godbold: fifth place in (17:12)

Second team

• Junior Ryan Anders: ninth place in (17:47)

Dexter Leverett, a junior tailback at Wesley Chapel High, surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the Wildcats’ 48-13 victory over Anclote High on Oct. 14. Through seven games, the 5-foot-9, 163-pound back ranks third in Class 5A in rushing yards (1,026) and yards per game (146.6). Leverett, a transfer from Taylors, South Carolina, also has scored eight touchdowns.

“He’s got it all,” Wildcats coach Anthony Egan said about Leverett last month. “He’s a power back, he’s explosive, and he’s got that top-end speed—the kid runs a 4.53 40 (yard dash). He’s just a really quick kid…and he can make cuts in the open field.” Wesley Chapel’s last 1,000-yard rusher was in 2009, when Jon Mahan ran for 1,129 yards.

Saint Leo women’s senior Nicole Weber was named the Sunshine State Conference Swimmer of the Week following her performance at a double dual meet on Oct. 14 at Lynn University in Boca Raton. The honor marks Weber’s eighth of her career. Weber, a native of Konz, Germany, posted three individual first-place finishes, and also swam a leg of Saint Leo’s first-place 200 Medley Relay team. Weber won both the 200 Breaststroke (2:17.73) and 100 Breaststroke (1:05.29). She also capped the meet with a first-place time of 2:09.09 in the 200 Individual Medley (IM).

Weber’s 200 Breaststroke time is the fastest in Division II this season. Her 200 IM time ranks fourth, while her 100 Breaststroke time ranks fifth. The Lions next meet is Oct. 28.