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The Sunlake High School Seahawks are receiving votes in the Associated Press Florida high school football poll for Class 6A. Armwood (ranked second) is the only other Tampa Bay area team either in the poll, or receiving votes. Sunlake has won at least eight games every year since 2010.

The Pasco-Hernando State College women’s cross country team looks to build off last year’s success after it finished eighth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)Half-Marathon Nationals in Levelland, Texas, and 31st in the 5K at the NJCAA Division 1 National Championship in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The team’s first 2016 meet is at the College of DuPage Invitational on Sept. 2 in Warrenville, Illinois.

According to head coach Jacqueline Wachtel, the team is seeking a top-20 finish at nationals.

Top returnees:

• Charlene Sanchez, sophomore (19:49 5K)
• Cynthia Negron, sophomore (20:57)
• Marffee Simbulan, sophomore (21:57)

Top incoming freshman:

• Kylyn Burbine (Central High School)
• Aaleigah Knight (Pine Forest High School)
• Annaliese Besaw (Nature Coast Technical High)

The Pasco-Hernando State College women’s volleyball team is looking to build off last season’s 20-13 mark. The team returns four players from last year, including team captain Danielle Christian (189 kills, 85 blocks.) Other returning sophomores include setter Jordyn Mattos, outside/right side hitter Marissa Niedermayer and right side hitter Jordan Anderson. Twelve incoming freshmen are expected to bolster the team, including former Wiregrass Ranch standouts Austin Kopenski and Courtney Rottum. Their season, which began on Aug. 24, runs through November.

Academy at the Lakes finished eighth overall in the 2015-16 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Award 2A private school standings, the highest in the Tampa Bay area. It marks the fifth straight year the Wildcats have finished among the top eight in the final standings. The school’s highest finish in the Sunshine Cup standings came during the 2014-15 school year, placing third overall. The All-Sports Award standings are based on criteria that award points for state, regional, or district championships won in each sport sanctioned by the FHSAA.

The Saint Leo women’s basketball team has added two players to its 2016-2017 roster: Kamryn Kimmel, a prep standout from Ohio, and Nikira Hooks, a junior college product from North Dakota.

Kimmel, a 5-foot-6 guard, joins the Lions from Pleasant High in Marion, Ohio. As a high school senior, Kimmel (9.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.5 assists, 3.0 steals) earned First-Team Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference (MOAC) honors, while helping her team earn a MOAC championship, and an Ohio State Championship runners-up nod.

“Kamryn Kimmel is expected to be a workhorse who challenges for playing time at the point guard position,” Saint Leo coach Anthony Crocitto said, in a release. “She handles, defends and will fit well in our system.”

Hooks, a 5-foot-11 forward, heads to Saint Leo following a successful sophomore season at Williston State (North Dakota) College, a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) school. As a sophomore, Hooks started all 24 games, averaging a team-best 17.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 47.6-percent from the field. She earned Second Team All-Region and was in the Top-25 of NJCAA for free throw percentage.

“Nikira Hooks will look to impact this program in many, many ways,” Crocitto said. “She is a long guard-forward who will shoot the three, rebound the ball on both ends and post you up at times. We see Nikira’s experience supporting in a successful transition from the junior college ranks. She has a strong scorer’s mentality, but will pass and make solid basketball decisions with the best of them.”

With the addition of Kimmel and Hooks, the Lions will have six newcomers in the upcoming season, as the duo joins Ragen Dotson, Gina Brierley, Courtney Cox and Madelin Lang.

Steinbrenner’s Devon Connors, a senior outside linebacker/defensive end, has committed to Florida International University, a Division I school. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Connors recently transferred from Carrollwood Day School, where he logged 53 tackles and 10 sacks in 2015. Connors is a two-star recruit, according to Scout.com.

Saint Leo men’s golf standout
Hugo Bernard came from behind to win the 112th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship on Aug. 11 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Bernard, a sophomore at Saint Leo, won by two strokes with a four-round total 271 (-11) over Andy Zhang, 273 (-9).  Bernard, the first Canadian to win the title since 2011-12, opened slowly with a first round 73 (+3) before firing off rounds of 64 (-6), 69 (-1) and 65 (-5) to capture the Canadian Men’s Amateur title. With the win, Bernard became the first Quebec native to win the tournament since Craig Matthew in 1998.