The girls varsity volleyball season is progressing faster than a quick set.

Josh Celiscar a true freshman for the UCF football team and a Winter Haven High School alum, made a significant impact in his first collegiate game.

DAVENPORT — A late rally for the Ridge Community Bolts fell short as the Lake Wales Highlanders, playing in their first game of the season, held on for a 36-28 victory Sept. 18.

Zay Mathis turned in a career-best performance for All Saints Academy against City of Life Christian Academy, as he rushed for 200 yards and four touchdowns in a 64-6 win on Sept. 4.

Being thankful for the opportunity to play a high school football game outweighed the importance of wins and losses.

Warner University and Southeastern University picked up season-opening victories last Saturday.

HAINES CITY – The Ridge Community High School girls’ basketball program is teaming with the Haines City Police Department’s COPS unit for a fundraiser called “Hoops & Heroes.”

LAKELAND — The Winter Haven High School football team's first game of the COVID-19 era was spoiled by host Victory Christian Academy Sept. 11 on the campus of Southeastern University.

Auburndale High School graduate Artavis Pierce was among 18 players waived last Saturday by the Chicago Bears, as National Football League teams reached the mandatory 53-player limit in preparation for the start of the 2020 regular season.

Sept. 18 has emerged as a significant date when the Florida High School Athletic Association released its plan for the fall sports season.

Heading into his final year on the gridiron at Winter Haven High School, Jakobe Lane is set to lead a relatively young team this season. Lane is one of four siblings to play football at Winter Haven High.

What will a fall season of local collegiate athletics look like during the COVID-19 pandemic?

WINTER HAVEN — High school football programs within Polk County Public Schools, including the Winter Haven High School Blue Devils, were given the green light to begin practicing on Aug. 26.

Justin Stewart turned in a solid summer on the mound for the Leesburg Lightning, a team in the Florida Collegiate Summer League — a showcase and development league for college baseball players.

WINTER HAVEN – Organizers of an open bass tournament at Tanner's Lakeside on Sept. 12 want to create a college scholarship for young anglers.

Howie Judson, a former Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Redlegs, died Aug. 18 in Winter Haven.

Coming off of a solid summer for the Winter Garden Squeeze, Auburndale High alum Nicholas Shower is looking to continue that momentum into next spring in his final season at Ohio Valley University. For the Squeeze, Shower went 3-1 on the mound.

A partnership between local disc golfers and Polk County’s Parks and Natural Resources planning staff was recently awarded for its collaboration in creating a new disc golf course at Loyce E. Harpe Park, in Mulberry.

The Florida High School Athletic Association released the pause button last Friday and finalized a start date for the upcoming fall sports season.

Heading into her senior year at George Jenkins High School, Alicia Ruiz’s accomplishments separate as one of the top track and cross country runners in the state.

The All Saints Academy Saints are set to participate in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference’s new developmental football league this fall.

When the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors holds a much-anticipated meeting later this week at a hotel in Gainesville, a total of five months will have passed without sanctioned athletic competition.

The Florida Collegiate Summer League’s 2020 baseball season concluded last Friday with the Sanford River Rats defeating the host Leesburg Lightning 6-3 at Pat Thomas Stadium. Sanford swept the League Championship Series (two games to none) for the fifth title in franchise history.

Ashton Griffin turned in a stellar performance on the mound for the Winter Haven Elite in their fournament from July 27-28, pitching four innings and giving up no runs while striking out four batters. Griffin primarily pitches and plays first base and third base. He will be heading into his …

JoJo Debree hit a grand slam in the semifinal of a travel baseball tournament earlier this summer, helping to lift the Winter Haven Elite travel ball team to the finals, where they would also win 11-9.

With each passing day last week, the probability that the Florida High School Athletic Association’s fall season would start in July faded. Eventually those hopes disappeared.

Sports change quickly and unpredictably during a health crisis, but so far the summer is allowing some baseball players like Jakob Runnels to resume their career.

Nick Collins, who appeared in 11 games as a freshman during Polk State College’s shortened 2020 baseball season, was named the Florida Collegiate Summer League Week 2 Player of the Week (July 6-11).

WINTER HAVEN — Kris Dehnert’s colleagues affectionately call him “Promo.”

In a season that was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Camille Carnes went 6-2 in both singles and doubles tennis for Winter Haven High School. Her performance earned her first team all-county honors and she was recognized for being the most improved player.

Polk County Public Schools Senior Coordinator of Athletics Dan Talbot said that some details about the start of high school football season were still unknown during a PCPS Reopening Task Force meeting held July 8.

Winter Haven Elite Baseball High School Division traveled to Vero Beach the weekend of June 27-28 to play its first tournament of the season.

In a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicole Parker went 5-0 in singles and 4-1 in doubles for Lake Wales High School’s girls tennis team.

To say there was a big surprise waiting for Dawson Davis in the program he received on June 22 would be an understatement.

The NBA G League announced June 26 that Orlando Magic Two-Way player BJ Johnson and Lakeland Magic player Josh Magette have been named to the All-NBA G League Second Team and Orlando Magic Two-Way player Vic Law has been named to the All-NBA G League Third Team.

After joining the boys weightlifting team his freshman year of high school, Joshua Jones made huge strides in the sport. In his senior year, which was shortened due to the pandemic, Jones went 4-1 with a max of 330 pounds on the bench press and a max of 250 pounds in the clean-and-jerk.

For area athletes, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic go beyond not being able to play a full season of sports in the spring.

For the second time in four years, Lake Region High School has been recognized for achievement in sportsmanship.

Despite the rain interrupting every game on June 7 at the Gator Crawl travel baseball showcase in Gainesville, it didn’t stop Kooper Coconato from tearing it up in his limited appearances at the plate. In two games, Coconato went 2-for-2 and drove in five RBIs in both games.

* Polk County student-athletes began summer conditioning Monday, June 15, at school facilities under new guidelines due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Two weeks before the high school spring sports season was cancelled in April, the Florida High School Athletic Association announced the members of the 26th Annual Florida Dairy Farmers Academic All-State Team. And the honor was not lost on officials trying to further recognize a 2020 gradua…

Evan Newell has been fishing since he was able to walk. Newell, who is heading into his sophomore year at Santa Fe Catholic High in Lakeland, competed in three tournaments during the school year and won two of them.

Ken Riley, one of Polk County’s greatest and most well-known athletes, died in his home in Bartow on Sunday, June 7, at the age of 72.

LAKE WALES – On May 18, the Lake Wales City Commission voted to spend around $42,000, in part, to study the cost and economic impact of building a new athletic facility at Warner University.

Dawson Davis, a graduating senior at Lake Region High, is set to play baseball at Piedmont International University in Roxboro, North Carolina. He officially signed to play on May 30. Through eight games, Davis tallied three RBIs and hit one double before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short.

The Florida High School Athletic Association released the 2019-20 Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Awards standings last week. Lists reflected results from the fall and winter seasons.

Jona Goolsby, a senior at Lake Wales high school, got off to a tremendous start at the plate this season, batting .514 with a .564 on-base percentage and 14 runs scored. Goolsby committed to Florida National University on a visit in November and will be competing to start at second base.

Jasmine Edwards continues to be recognized for her stellar varsity basketball season with the Haines City Hornets.

In a shortened baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Region High’s Zach Calcutt hit .280 while going 1-1 as a pitcher with a 1.56 earned run average. Calcutt recently committed to play baseball at Webber International University. He’ll likely be a pitcher for Webber.

Earlier this month, the Florida High School Athletic Association released the Academic Team Champions for the abbreviated 2020 spring season, as well as the overall class winners for the 2019-20 year. The spring high school sports season was stopped March 14 and then cancelled April 20 due t…